The slogan "Je Suis Charlie" has come a long way from the immediate aftermath of the attacks on the weekly satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Horrified by the attacks in Paris, people around the world have come together to assert that they too were Charlie, putting the phrase on Facebook and Twitter, and affixing it on placards, declaring that they would also stand up for the cause of free speech and the right to offend.
This, it turns out, isn’t a risk-free assertion to make. On Sunday, a German newspaper in Hamburg that had reprinted some of Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons in solidarity was attacked, AFP reported.
"Rocks and then a burning object were thrown through the window," a police spokesman told AFP following the incident at the offices of the regional tabloid, the Hamburger Morgenpost. "Two rooms on lower floors were damaged but the fire was put out quickly."
Morgenpost wasn’t the only publication that reprinted the Hebdo cartoons in solidarity, nor was it the only that faced flak in return. In India, Mint, a business paper published by the HT Media, also decided to run a number of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons that satirised not just Islam but other religions on its front page. Reporting the news of the attacks the cover of the newspaper on the day after featured a number of the cartoons that Charlie had run over the years, including the most provocative ones featuring prophet Muhammad.
At the time the paper was lauded for being brave in a country where people are quick to take offence and quicker still to go to court over it or resort to threats. Alongside, of course, there was a debate about whether it was prudent to insist on publishing that kind of speech that, whether morally defensible or not, would fall afoul of Indian law.
On Sunday, however, Mint itself answered that question by issuing a note to its readers about the cartoons that were carried. “The front page visual capturing the unfortunate terrorist attack in Paris was carried in the best traditions of journalism,” the paper said. “However, we have received feedback that it has offended some people. Since that was never the intention, we have removed the same. Mint remains committed to the principles of responsible journalism.”
This, it turns out, isn’t a risk-free assertion to make. On Sunday, a German newspaper in Hamburg that had reprinted some of Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons in solidarity was attacked, AFP reported.
"Rocks and then a burning object were thrown through the window," a police spokesman told AFP following the incident at the offices of the regional tabloid, the Hamburger Morgenpost. "Two rooms on lower floors were damaged but the fire was put out quickly."
2 detained following arson attack at German paper that ran Charlie Hebdo cartoons, police say - @AFP http://t.co/rcNEU4ar8K
— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) January 11, 2015
Morgenpost wasn’t the only publication that reprinted the Hebdo cartoons in solidarity, nor was it the only that faced flak in return. In India, Mint, a business paper published by the HT Media, also decided to run a number of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons that satirised not just Islam but other religions on its front page. Reporting the news of the attacks the cover of the newspaper on the day after featured a number of the cartoons that Charlie had run over the years, including the most provocative ones featuring prophet Muhammad.
At the time the paper was lauded for being brave in a country where people are quick to take offence and quicker still to go to court over it or resort to threats. Alongside, of course, there was a debate about whether it was prudent to insist on publishing that kind of speech that, whether morally defensible or not, would fall afoul of Indian law.
Charlie Hebdo: Why I would never publish something blasphemous, by @ShekharGupta | http://t.co/n1AWHZxoX5 pic.twitter.com/4VDm9mM6Iq
— Saif Ullah Khan (@saifizm) January 9, 2015
On Sunday, however, Mint itself answered that question by issuing a note to its readers about the cartoons that were carried. “The front page visual capturing the unfortunate terrorist attack in Paris was carried in the best traditions of journalism,” the paper said. “However, we have received feedback that it has offended some people. Since that was never the intention, we have removed the same. Mint remains committed to the principles of responsible journalism.”
Hilarious - Mint apology sums up how shallow Free Speech grandstanding is http://t.co/znvzjt3HrI pic.twitter.com/lyi0N1vD1y
— Offstumped Report (@offstumped) January 11, 2015
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