The three days of terror attacks, resulting in seventeen deaths in Paris not only dominated the headlines last week but also deeply saddened and terrified nations across the globe. The deaths of the cartoonists and editors of the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, appeared to threaten liberal values of freedom of speech and freedom of expression. However, France has remained resilient.
On 7 January 2015, two gunmen, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, entered Charlie Hebdo offices, killing twelve people, including the magazine’s editor, eight cartoonists and a policeman, and wounding many others. After the tragic attacks, they claimed to have “avenged the prophet Muhammed”. This attack followed a controversial cartoon published in Charlie Hebdo featuring the Islamic prophet, the supposed ‘justification’ for the vicious attack. On 9 January, the brothers were killed following a stand-off with French Security Services. Amedy Couliably held 15 hostages, killing four of them, at a kosher supermarket in East Paris. Couliably was believed to have killed a policewoman the day before this (8 January). Couliably was killed by police who stormed the supermarket, rescuing the hostages. It was later revealed that these two devastating incidents were linked. In a video, purportedly from al-Qaeda in Yemen, al-Qaeda said it planned the Hebdo attack.
As a result of the attacks, people worldwide gathered in demonstrations, showing defiant solidarity. The phrase “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie), was globally used by people who sought to show their support. President Francois Hollande has insisted the magazine and its values will continue, “Charlie Hebdo is alive and will live on… You can assassinate men and women but you will never kill their ideas”. Three million copies of the “survivors’ issue”, were printed while usually sixty thousand copies are sold every week. More are being printed as the first release sold out within hours. This issue is available in six languages and proceeds will be given to victims’ families. Charlie Hebdo’s latest cover shows a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad weeping while holding a sign saying “Je suis Charlie” (and, above, the headline “All is forgiven”. Militant Islamist websites disagree with, and threatened, the decision to publish another cartoon of the Prophet. One commentator argued, however, “This issue is symbolic, it represents their persistence, they didn’t yield in the face of terror”.
Cohesion, unity and solidarity against terrorism was shown on 11 January. Huge crowds, estimating 3.7 million people, gathered to participate in a march of unity in Paris. This included forty world leaders, such as David Cameron, who linked arms at the start of the marches. In Montreal, Canada, about twenty five thousand people attended a rally in support of the seventeen victims. Thousands of demonstrators held pens, asserting their right for freedom of expression. Amado and Sederer state, “By honoring these people lost, and their lives dedicated to the freedom of expression that is fundamental to liberty and democracy, they have become modern heroes in an enduring struggle to sustain the values that make us human”. In the aftermath, France responded to terrorism peacefully yet were strong and resilient, upholding freedom of expression, a fundamental human right.
Image Credits:
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/11/world/gallery/paris-unity-rally/