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BBC statement to SVT regarding 2005 Niger reports

The following is the full statement issued to Sveriges Television (SVT) by the BBC in response to questions about the latter's reporting on the 2005 food crisis in Africa.

Published: 19 November 2008 18:25 CET

BBC News refuted the TV2 allegations unequivocally and we absolutely stand by the validity and professionalism of Hilary Andersson’s reports.

The BBC reported the events in Niger in 2005 as faithfully and precisely as we saw them. Hilary Andersson, a journalist who is praised across the media industry for her work, led much of that reporting.

As the BBC’s Africa correspondent she was a permanent presence in the area for over three years and her reports from Darfur in 2004 were duly acclaimed when the BBC won the coveted RTS award for its coverage from the region.

Hilary approached the story of what was happening in Niger with the same diligence and professionalism she has always shown in her work.

Reports of crisis in Niger were circulating in the British and international media weeks prior to Hilary’s arrival in the country, so it would have been plain wrong of us not to have examined the story.

Significantly, the BBC was not urged by the UN to visit Niger at this time. The BBC’s decision to cover the developments in Niger was taken on the ground and after Hilary and her team had witnessed for themselves the ongoing situation – a situation that clearly justified wider exposure.

Hilary and her team spoke to locals in eastern Niger whose crops had been wiped out by the locusts.

Importantly, the FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission of December 2004 documents that 26% of crops in affected parts of Niger were wiped out by locusts.

The BBC filmed many dead cows, including a huge pile in a village east of Maradi in eastern Niger. Hilary and her team also witnessed people eating the rotten meat of their dead cattle.

The BBC included the sequence re eating leaves after the team had questioned those involved on whether it was “normal behaviour” and been told that it was not.

The BBC will continue to strive to earn the trust of all its audience and this, we believe, will be best achieved by continuing to deploy remarkably talented reporters like Hilary Andersson to cover news wherever and whenever it’s breaking with accuracy and impartiality.

Pope to address environment in speech to crowd of 800,000

Arriving from Mozambique, where he pleaded for understanding and the renunciation of violence in a country riven by 16 years of civil war and now jihadist attacks, the Argentine pontiff warned of the dangers of deforestation and the impact of environmental degradation.

Francis told his hosts that they should “create jobs and money making activities which respect the environment and help people escape poverty.” Madagascar is home to 25 million people, the vast majority of whom live in poverty with income of less than two dollars a day.

The pope said there “were many causes driving excessive deforestation which benefits just a few people… and compromises the future of the country.”

The authorities must ensure social justice, he added, echoing concerns about the global environment highlighted by massive fires across the Amazon forest.

After the welcoming ceremonies, the pope's first engagement Saturday is a mass and prayer vigil with at least 12,000 young scouts.

Tafika Fanomenza, 39, who is helping to coordinate the scores of volunteers involved in the preparations, as well as in the pontiff's security, hoped Francis' visit would help bring about change in Madagascar.

More than half of the young people on the world's fifth-largest island are out of work, even if many boast good qualifications.

Political instability has done nothing to help the development of an economy largely dependent on agriculture, and the export of vanilla and cocoa in particular.

Liberal-leaning president Andry Rajoelina was elected to a second term last year mainly on promises of jobs and housing.

Crowds of 800,000

Sunday will mark the high point of Francis' visit with a huge mass in the capital expected to be attended by some 800,000 pilgrims.

Many had already started setting up tents on the outskirts of the city on Friday, armed with posters of the Argentine pontiff.

Prospere Ralitason, a 70-year-old farm worker, arrived with some 5,000 fellow pilgrims from the central eastern town of Ambatondrazaka, 200 kilometres (125 miles) away.

“We are tired, but it's worth making all these sacrifices to see the pope with our own eyes and receive his blessing,” he told AFP, impatient to set out on the final two-hour hike on Sunday to attend the mass.

“We spent 65,000 ariary ($18/16 euros) and brought three kilos of rice to make the trip to Antananarivo,” said another pilgrim and farm worker, Jean-Claude Rabemanatrika, 40.

“There are five of us at home and we don't have enough money so we had to choose just one family member to make the trip.”

“We've provided toilet, showers, a sick bay and somewhere to cook for our 5,000 guests,” beamed Marino Andriamasy, 35, who is in charge of the makeshift site where the pilgrims are staying.

John Paul II

The last pope to visit was John Paul II 30 years ago.

“I was a lieutenant when I helped with the security of John Paul II in 1989. Today I am a divisional general and overseeing security for Francis' visit to Madagascar,” said Samuel Rakotomalala.

Some 700 police officers will be deployed at the site, which is also equipped with 200 surveillance cameras and the 12,000 young scouts will also help out.

In June, 16 people were killed and dozens hurt in a stampede outside a sports stadium in the capital during a free concert.

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