Canadian media union calls on
Palestinian
leader to help secure
release of captive BBC journalist
OTTAWA — CWA/SCA Canada is
calling on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas to take whatever action he can to secure the
release of Alan Johnston of the BBC who has been held
for more than a month by his abductors.
Delegates to the semi-annual meeting
of the media union in Toronto on the weekend unanimously
passed the following resolution:
"Mr. Johnston's month-long
abduction violates both his individual rights and
the basic principles of a free press. As we are sure
you (President Abbas) recognize, it also does a disservice
to the interests of the Palestinian people you represent.
"We join the international
community in trusting that your efforts, and those
of other Palestinians of good will, will lead to
a speedy and happy resolution of this unfortunate
incident."
Johnston, 44, a correspondent for the British Broadcasting
Corporation, was reported to have been abducted by
masked gunmen on his way home from his Gaza City office
on March 12. There have been no ransom demands.
The union's resolution adds to a growing international
clamour for Johnston's safety and freedom. More than
35,000 worldwide have signed an online
petition at
the BBC website.
The BBC said Monday it is "highly concerned" but
had no independent verification of a claim by a Palestinian
militant group that it had killed the journalist. On
Sunday, the previously unheard of Tawhid and Jihad
brigades claimed it had executed Johnston.
On Saturday, the National Union of Journalists in
the U.K. strongly condemned the abduction. Delegates
to their annual conference voted unanimously to support
the campaign to free him.
Johnston has been the BBC's correspondent
in the often violent Gaza Strip for the past three
years and is the only foreign journalist from a major
media organization based in Gaza.
Johnston joined the BBC World Service in 1991 and
has spent eight of the last 16 years as a correspondent,
including periods in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.