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[Up2Late]

Al Jazeera denies Rumsfeld charge it airs killings

June 04, 2005 11:50:36 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Updates with Jazeera remarks paragraphs 2,4, previous SINGAPORE)

DUBAI, June 4 (Reuters) - The Arab TV channel Al Jazeera rejected on Saturday as unfounded U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's accusations that it was encouraging Islamic militant groups by airing beheadings of foreign hostages in Iraq. "Al Jazeera ... has never at any time transmitted pictures of killings or beheadings and ... any talk about this is absolutely unfounded," the television said in a statement.

(Clip)

The channel voiced "deep regret and surprise" over Rumsfeld's remarks.

Rumsfeld earlier said:

"If anyone lived in the Middle East and watched a network like the Al Jazeera day after day after day, even if he was an American, he would start waking up and asking what's wrong.

But America is not wrong.

"It's the people who are going on television chopping off people's heads, that is wrong,"

he told a security conference in Singapore.

"And television networks that carry it and promote it and jump on the spark every time there is a terrorist act are promoting the acts," he said.

(More at link above)