The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has apologized for a statement made by correspondent Humphrey Hawkesley last week during coverage of events in Beirut. Hawkesley, who was covering both the funeral of arch-terrorist Imad Mughniyeh and the three-year anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, concluded that the men had “different visions” but were both “regarded as great national leaders.”
The apology came shortly after Associated Press photographer Don Mell sharply criticized BBC for comparing Hariri with Mughniyeh. Mell was held at gunpoint by Mughniyeh’s terrorists in 1985 as journalist Terry Anderson was kidnapped. Anderson was released in 1991.
BBC issued a statement calling Hawkesley’s wording “imprecise,” and apologizing to all who were offended by the statement.