Western media's double standards

Prime Minister Imran Khan became part of the 'Human Chain' formed on Friday to show solidarity with the people in Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). Speaking on the occasion, he said, "we will continue reminding the international community that eight million humans have been locked up in Kashmir." He also took the opportunity to highlight Western media's double-standards, pointing out that "the proportion of coverage of the Kashmiri people is much less as compared to the issue of Hong Kong." The two situations running almost parallel, inevitably, call attention to how they are treated in news coverage. One is a humanitarian crisis created by relentless bloody repression, the other a political protest campaign dealt with considerable restraint.

The siege of Indian-held J&K, a disputed region as recognised by UN Security Council resolutions, has continued for more than nine weeks. During this period, dozens of young men have been killed by occupation forces; thousands of others, including political leaders, businessmen, and journalists have been thrown behind bars; custodial torture is common practice; countless women have been subjected to harassment and sexual abuse; and many denied medical help have died. The UN Human Rights Council as well as independent rights organisations such as Amnesty International, have been expressing grave concern over the humanitarian disaster in the occupied region. Yet it hardly finds mention in news and views programmes of major Western news networks. In sharp contrast, the protests in Hong Kong continuously get the first, if not the second spot in headline news. The protesters' initial demand for the withdrawal of a controversial law has long since being accepted, but they have kept demonstrating asking for the Chief Executive's resignation and some other measures. Their demands may or may not be valid, but peaceful they are not. They have attacked government buildings, including the legislature, to which the government have been responding by resorting to tear gas shelling - not an unusual sight in countries such as ours. But no one has been killed.

Clearly, what is happening in Hong Kong pales in comparison with the situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir. From the news perspective, Kashmir is far too serious and hence of much greater news value than Hong Kong. But here the principles are thrown out of the window. In one case, the news is blown out of proportions whilst the other more serious one is ignored. The reason is obvious. Hong Kong is played up to show China in a bad light, and Kashmir disregarded because it exposes gross human rights violations by India, an attractive market for Western countries' goods and military hardware. The unsavoury reality is that the independent Western media are not so independent when it comes to covering events in countries where their governments' interests are involved. Political agendas take precedence over what the people need to know.