French Communist Daily Publishes Charlie Cartoon on Front Page.
Those who claim that Charlie was an ‘imperialist’ and ‘racist’ plot by those in thrall to power should answer this question: why has the French Communist Party aligned daily published this front page today?
Note the line on the Front Page above, “founded by Jean Jaurès.”
That is, by one of the best anti-militarist secularists and socialist democrats ever to have walked the planet.
The defender of Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
The defender of laïcité.
Killed by an enemy of freedom: Raoul Villain a supporter of Action française, a group that backed the Catholic Church against the ‘insults’ of the unbelievers.
* More coverage from L’Huma here.
Andrew is inviting us to accept an ad hominem argument: because Jean Jaurès founded this newspaper, it therefore cannot be supporting racist and imperialist ideas. One does not need to read the editorial: illustrating with the Charlie Hebdo cover is a not very subtle form of dog whistle politics that speaks a thousands words.
Duncan Chapel
January 14, 2015 at 2:25 pm
Duncan, as you must have the evidence for your assertion, which “racist and imperialist ideas” are supported by, presumably, the editor & some staff of l’Humanité?
One may not “need to read the editorial” but surely it would help one make a more qualified informed comment. Who knows, one might be surprised by what it says, one might be disabused of one’s pre-judgment, one’s prejudice, one might learn something. Reasoning, inquiring, still seem to yield the occasional virtue.
And Duncan, can the CH cover mean only one thing, is it really designed so simply that it can convey only one meaning or one feeling? Do we all hold just one interpretation, & what in fact is it?
Jara Handala
January 14, 2015 at 2:57 pm
I am making a link between the assassination of Jaurès by a supporter of a clerical fascist group and the clerical reactionary killers of today.
I am not a member of the PCF.
One further thing I note the PCF has given active support to our Kurdish brothers and sisters, sending delegation to the border with Kobane, and a special envoy to the besieged city itself.
Something which the majority of the British left and liberal media has failed to do.
http://www.humanite.fr/le-resistant-qui-lit-ocalan-et-deleuze-559623
Andrew Coates
January 14, 2015 at 5:16 pm
I repeat the question asked by previous BTL commenter, Jara Handala, to Duncan Chapel: on what basis do you claim that CH promotes “racist and imperialist ideas”? Please provide some evidence. And let’s hope it’s better than Mehdi Hasan’s ignorant and/or dishonest accusation of “racism” against CH – an accusation based upon a CH cartoon attacking the Front National!
Jim Denham
January 14, 2015 at 9:51 pm
For readers’ info, yesterday there was an interview with a famous Algerian cartoonist, Slim, who worked for both Charlie Hebdo & l’Humanité in the 1990s, driven into exile by Islamist threats:
http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/110325 (15′; ‘Voices of the Middle East & North Africa’, longstanding weekly programme, providing by far the most interesting coverage)
Slim featured in ‘Caricaturistes – Fantassins de la démocratie’ (‘. . . Foot Soldiers . . .’), premiered at Cannes last year. It was shown the night of the murders on Canal+, then on Friday by France 3:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slim_%28b%C3%A9d%C3%A9iste%29 (no English entry)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartoonists_-_Foot_Soldiers_of_Democracy (obviously in French too)
Jara Handala
January 15, 2015 at 9:33 am
Excellent research Jara.
I wonder what’s going to happen when the British edition of Charlie is published this Friday.
Andrew Coates
January 15, 2015 at 11:11 am