Tuesday 3 December 2013

Lockerbie tragedy anniversary documentary to be broadcast by STV

[This is the headline over an item posted recently on the Allmedia Scotland website.  It reads as follows:]

A documentary marking the 25th anniversary of the Lockerbie tragedy – when a Pan Am flight exploded in the skies over the town – is to be broadcast by STV.

Says the broadcaster of the hour-long documentary, which will be transmitted on the 17th of [December] at 9.30pm, it is to feature “eyewitness testimony with unique archive footage to tell the story of what happened”.

The tragedy claimed the lives of all 259 passengers and crew on board the plane, on a non-stop transatlantic flight between London and New York. 11 Lockerbie residents also died.

Adds STV: “Footage from STV’s news archives, including some material that has never previously been broadcast, is combined with first-hand testimonies from local residents who relive the events of 21st December 1988 on camera in their own words.

“The documentary also hears from four families of American victims of the tragedy and members of the emergency services who responded to the disaster.”

Elizabeth Partyka, deputy director of channels at STV, is quoted, as saying: “This brand new documentary includes the first-hand accounts of some Lockerbie residents who have never spoken on camera before and through their stories, and that of many others involved, builds a definitive account of what happened 25 years ago. The Lockerbie Bombing tells a story of a night in Scottish history that should be remembered and this is a timely tribute.”

Alan Clements, director of content for STV and executive producer of The Lockerbie Bombing, is also quoted, as saying: “I was working in the BBC newsroom in 1988 and was on site at Lockerbie within a few hours of the plane coming down. We worked through the night to put the breakfast news on air and the experience of being in that small town as the full extent of the tragedy unfolded is one that I will never forget. It is an honour that the people involved in this programme have allowed us to tell their story and I hope it is a story that will never be forgotten.”

The Lockerbie Bombing is produced by STV Productions for STV and Smithsonian. The documentary will be also broadcast on ITV on Tuesday, December 17 at 11pm.

6 comments:

  1. I hope we're not going to have more hate directed against Megrahi, though I suppose that's too much to hope for. The thing is, Alan Clements knows about the baggage evidence, I believe. Then decided not to pay any attention to it.

    A documentary just about the disaster itself could be very good though.

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  2. I suspect this Lockerbie documentary will in fact be another Lockerbie memorial recounting the horror but not the facts of the disaster.

    The same format is promoted on 9/11 anniversaries when we witness footage of people jumping from buildings but no explanation of how the towers fell, beyond the glib.

    The motive is to promote the pain of victims to deter pertinent questions about the truth.

    The same ploy happens at PMQs when the names of those fallen in Afghanistan are read out to deter questions about why we are actually there.

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  3. I might have known. Is there no batsqueak crazy notion you don't subscribe to, Dave?

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  4. That response reveals more about you than me.

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  5. I think that Dave is right when he points to the depiction of suffering as discouraging for anyone who'd stir up matters. With emotions being high, dissenters will face stronger reactions.

    Like many other things this depiction will probably not happen as part of sinister planning, but be a built-in automated routine.

    - - -

    I also think there will be strong a correlation between those who believe in a cargo door failure theory for PANAM103's fall, and those who believe in an inside job for 9-11.

    Depending on where you stand in both those matters, you may take this as a compliment or the opposite! :-)

    Some people are just more open to theories that others will find uneatable.

    It is unfortunately impossible to apply measurable standards, even more so anything agreed to by all.

    - - -

    Isn't it curious that for most Americans, the "batsqueak crazy notion" would apply to Megrahi's innocence - while David's 9-11 views would find much wider support over there.

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  6. I have recently received a "9/11 Truth" comment. I have rejected it. This is not the place, even with some spurious link to Lockerbie.

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