Dirty media

In 'Global assault on local peace' (December 3), I suggested that three basic tactics which become clear from the case of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui are dirty media, inquisition trials and 'Zeroland'.

Dirty media is "the tool with which an individual or nation could be declared guilty without trial," as I suggested. We can see this pattern in several issues that are threatening the peace and/or sanity of the world today:

• Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was branded an al Qaeda terrorist without even the minimum requirement of bringing such allegations against her in any court of law in the first place.


• Following the Mumbai Carnage in November, the extremist elements in India were quick to accuse Pakistan. Once again, it was media rather than impartial investigation and reliance on facts which put fuel in the campaign.


• The current state-sponsored terrorism of Israel against the people of Palestine is being labelled as war or retaliation against militants

In each of these case we find that the dominant media is giving a certain color to events and states, lobbyists and decision-makers are either becoming slavish followers of opinions created by the media, or they are part of the media's invasion on sanity.

It is not only individuals and states who are being threatened. Today, reason and sanity are at risk.