‘Drive around many parts of the city, and it
looks much like any other big Middle Eastern
capital,’ says Andrew North, who took over
from Caroline Hawley as BBC Baghdad
correspondent in December 2005. ‘Busy and
colourful market streets, thronging with people
and traffic.Yet everyone going about their
daily business here lives under the shadow
of sudden, random violence.’
Capturing a full picture of the situation in Iraq
against this daily backdrop of violence proved
challenging and complex in a year when events
in that country and the wider Middle East
continued to dominate the news headlines.
In addition to its permanent news presence in
Baghdad, the BBC relied on the determination
and courage of a network of contributors
throughout Iraq.
‘It’s been an enormous challenge covering Iraq
and, to a lesser extent, the wider Middle East,’
says Liliane Landor, Editor, BBC World Service
News Programmes.‘In Iraq the security situation
has made it very difficult on the ground – it’s
simply too dangerous for correspondents to
move around and we’ve had to think of more
creative means to cover the country.’
One response was to take an in-depth look
at the reality of life in special Iraq Days during
the year. People from all walks of life, all over the
country, described their experiences. They
ranged from an insurance broker whose
business was thriving to a hairdresser who often
had to manage without any water. ‘Through our
contacts we managed to get under the skin of
what is happening and give people a better
understanding of how Iraqis live today,’ says
Hosam El Sokkari, Head of BBC Arabic.‘On a
day-to-day basis, it’s not just the explosions, the
bombs and the conflicts but also how do they
feel about the changes in Iraq and how do they
perform their normal duties and tasks.’
‘Parliament for Arabs’
Despite considerable competition, BBC Arabic
radio listening held up strongly, aided by the
launch of new FM services in key areas, such
as Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq and in Gaza.
A new medium-wave service was launched
in Lebanon. Online usage reached an all-time
high of over 21 million page impressions a
month, strengthening the BBC’s impact as it
prepares to launch its new Arabic television
service in 2007.
Throughout the year, the rapid pace of
events seldom slowed across the whole of
the Middle East. Forming a complex chain of
developments, key stories included Israel’s
withdrawal from Gaza, Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon’s illness and the elections in Israel,
the Palestinian territories and Egypt and
their aftermath.
The BBC’s ability to report and analyse events
from a wide range of viewpoints played an
important part when Israel evacuated its
settlers from Gaza.Vivid on-the-ground
reporting and story telling were combined
with specialist depth and insight which put the
withdrawal into context for a world audience.
World Update was presented for a week both
from inside the settlements in Gaza and
where the Palestinians are in control. BBC
reporter Ahmad Budeiri covered the
evacuation from inside the Israeli settlements
for BBC Arabic.
BBC Arabic has provided news and current
affairs coverage around the clock since the
Iraq war. In 2005, it launched a new
programme for young audiences, BBC Extra,
broadening the agenda to social issues such
as health and women’s rights. Interactive
programming was extended to provide a
growing forum for radio and online audiences
to debate the latest events. ‘We have been
called a “Parliament for Arabs”, where
people can contribute different views and
perspectives without fear of being marginalised
or judged,’ says Hosam El Sokkari.
‘BBC Arabic is one of the leading news
providers in the Middle East and we will be
the only one offering a coordinated service
across radio, online and television,’ says Jerry
Timmins, Head of Africa and Middle East
Region. ‘TV will give us access to areas we are
unable to reach on FM and meet a genuine
audience demand.’
BBC Persian site blocked
In Iran, BBC correspondent Frances Harrison
had to operate under restrictions to cover
major stories.The domestic and international
implications of the election of a new hard-line
government – and the increasing tensions
over Iran’s nuclear programme – were the
dominant themes on radio and online.
The BBC’s Persian Service offered audiences
strong coverage of the election, which
included rare interviews with the leading
contenders, Rafsanjani and Karubi.The then
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Egyptian
Director General of the International Atomic
Energy Agency Mohammad Al Baradei, and
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, were
among the big names interviewed on the
nuclear debate.
Traffic from Iran to bbcpersian.com nearly
doubled during election week. However,
the Iranian authorities ordered the blocking
of the site in January 2006, depriving many
Iranians of a trusted and respected source of
free and independent information
at a time of growing tension. It remains
the dominant news site in Persian. Many
people still manage to access the site, and the
weekly web forums continue to attract a
large number of responses both from inside
Iran and elsewhere in the world.They offer
a unique window through which we can
see what ordinary Iranians think about
events inside and outside their country.
Representations are being made to lift
the ban.
The uprising in Andijan was the most
important event in Central Asia.When
demonstrators were shot dead in the Uzbek
city last year, BBC World Service, uniquely
among international media, was able to
report from the scene and provide full
coverage of the aftermath. The powerful
audio recording of the events as they
unfolded is now the only original record of
what happened in Andijan on 13 May 2005.
Services in Uzbek and English have succeeded
since that date in analysing the long-term
impact despite very restricted access.
Leaving Baghdad
Caroline Hawley, the BBC correspondent
in Iraq since before the fall of Saddam
Hussein, left Baghdad in December to take
up her new post as the BBC’s Middle East
correspondent. ‘There is a lot I will miss
about Iraq,’ she said. ‘But I am relieved to
be escaping a city where it is not unusual
to be woken up by bombs.’
Iraq Days
Ordinary Iraqis told their own stories in
the BBC’s special days of coverage. ‘Just
now we’ve got electricity, but I’ll bet you it
won’t last more than a couple of hours at
most,’ said Um Mustafa, a hairdresser from
Baghdad.‘Not surprisingly, there’s no one
here yet, no customers. People are generally
more afraid in the morning. Eventually they
venture out.’
Gaza Withdrawal
In August 2005, BBC News correspondents
witnessed events across Gaza as Israeli
soldiers began to remove people from
their homes.
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A year in review |
The Middle East and Central Asia |
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