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To: James Harding, Director of News and Current Affairs, BBC
The BBC must provide fair coverage of the protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline
Ensure that the BBC provides sufficient open and honest reporting on the protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline to enable people around the world to understand the issues involved.
This story has been ignored by many news agencies despite its importance in terms of balancing the need to provide economic benefits to a small number of multi-national companies against the protection of the water supply for a significant proportion of the USA. There are existing transport routes to move oil and the proposed pipeline will threaten jobs and railways in "rust belt" America.
Why is this important?
There have been debates about the proposed pipeline to transport oil across America for over 2 years. The route chosen appears to be in breach of several treaties between the Government of America and first nation tribes concerning the preservation of sacred land and burial sites; investigation by the the Army Corps of Engineers, charged with ensuring the safety and sustainability of any use of public lands, has been cursory and incomplete.
A small group of First Nation people, with support from across the world, are trying to stop the pipeline, not only because of the threat to sacred land but also because of the threat to drinking water.
There is significant evidence that their human rights have been breached and that actions by local law officers have been illegal and disproportionate.
Full and fair reporting by the BBC would facilitate a wider debate on the important balance between the demands of corporate monopolies and social and environmental protection.
