Alan Johnston is Free!!!

BBC Gaza reporter Alan Johnston, center, was released
Wednesday after nearly four months of captivity.

After nearly four months in captivity (12 March -04 July) BBC Gaza reporter Alan Johnston is a free man. He was kidnapped at gunpoint on his way home from work 14 weeks ago by militants claiming to represent the Army of Islam.

In the wake of the civil war in Gaza, political leaders representing Hamas pledged to secure his release. (Hamas severed all ties with the Army of Islam in the wake of the kidnapping.) On Wednesday, Hamas surrounded the compound of the renegade Doghmush Clan with gunmen on rooftops and in alleys. I'm certain it was tense, but they were able to secure his release, although not entirely without violence. Gunfire was exchanged, and a civilian was killed. It was unclear which side was responsible, although Hamas did issue a statement claiming that the renegade militants of the clan were responsible.

He was taken immediately to the home of deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Esmail Haniyeh, where he contacted the BBC and his father. (I just heard moments ago that he has left Gaza, and has crossed the border into Israel, and is en route to Jerusalem.) Hamas leaders in Gaza issued a statement that the rule of law would be enforced in Gaza and the rescue of Alan Johnston was proof that the rule of law would be enforced, and parties acting outside the law would meet stiff resistance.

Now, I'm no expert in the middle east. But I do like to think I am relatively sane, and that leads me to assess the situation as it is, rather than how I would like it to be. Hamas is in charge in Gaza. Period. That is the starting point. Pitching mighty fits and dispensing collective punishments is not going to change that, and continuing down the current path is just stupid. You work with what you have to work with, and you strive to make something better.


It isn't the 80's, Arafat is dead, Fatah is corrupt, Hamas is militant and Israel is nervous.


I get it.


But I also remember the timeless advice of Moshe Dayan: "If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."

So let's talk.

Let us hope...

In the wake of the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, senior Hamas leaders have vowed to work their influence to free kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston. Johnston was snatched off the street by gunmen on 12 March, and has not been seen or heard from since, although his wellbeing has been claimed by the Army of Islam, the group that has claimed responsibility for his abduction.

"We have started taking practical steps to release Alan Johnston." Hamas leaders said in a statement released yesterday. Ousted Prime Minister Esmail Hamiya, echoing the sentiment that the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip was a positive development and offered the best hope forhis freedom. "From now on, there will be one legitimate armed forde. We will bring discipline and law to Gaza. It will thus be easier to gain the liberation of the British journalist Alan Johnston. His kidnappers will listen to us more closely."

The Army of Islam, which claims to be holding Johnston has demanded the release of several Islamic militants and the Palestinian-born cleric Abu Qatada who is imprisoned in Britain.

In the wake of the kidnapping, Hamas, trying to move toward legitimate governance from armed insurrection, severed all ties with the Army of Islam, and denounced the abduction. Hamas and Haniya have repeatedly called for his release.

May they be able to secure it soon.

"So long as our government requires the backing of an
aroused and informed public opinion
...it is necessary to tell the hard bruising truth."
--Margueritte Higgins

Those who put themselves in harm's way in a quest to tell the truth in the face of tyranny and mortal peril are unique and special people and they are deserving of our support. Without them, there is no free press, and without a free press, society can not be free.

Today is Alan Johnson's 53rd day in captivity. He was abducted at gunpoint in Gaza, and neither his family nor the BBC have heard from him since.

In December 2006, the United Nations Security Council passed resolution 1738, demanding governments around the world respect the safety of those in the media. Journalists don't want - they don't deserve - special treatment. They do deserve equal treatment. Journalists shouldn't be singled out to be silenced. That's why back in Gaza, Alan's colleagues in the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate have turned out in such numbers to demand his release. 14 foreign journalists have been kidnapped in the Gaza Strip since 2005 - so far, each of them has been released unharmed. But everyday, local journalists face harassment, intimidation, kidnap and worse.

I can not state strongly enough just how important the free press is. the founders realized the import full measure, however, as James Madison so eloquently stated, "The freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.'' Press freedom was specified and made law in the very first amendment to our Constitution. The press is the only profession outside government that is afforded such a Constitutional provision. It is truly that important.

The free press does not exist in a vacuum, however. It requires the support of an active and informed citizenry. If you are not active and involved now, get active and involved today. A good start would be to click the button beneath this post (or in the sidebar where it will remain until Mr. Johnson is free) and sign the petition. It is the least any of us can do for a man who went to the sound of the guns that the truth might be told.