9 Jan 2015

Je suis Charlie

Following the shocking and tragic Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, I joined my Renfrewshire Labour colleagues Neil Bibby and Mary Fee at the Scottish Parliament to condemn the attack on the magazine and show our support by displaying signs reading “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) as a tribute to those killed by gunmen of the satirical French weekly. The attack in Paris is an attack on freedom of speech and democracy everywhere in the world. We should first of all send our prayers to the family and friends of the victims and then show solidarity with those who are standing up against terrorism. I’m sure that ordinary law-abiding Muslims are just as horrified as anyone else at this atrocity and we must always be vigilant against the radicalisation, particularly of young people, in any walk of life. My colleagues and I wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder in a show of support for the magazine, journalists and cartoonists around the world who are using the slogan to express their grief and outrage at this brutal attack on all of the victims, who were going about their work, and also for press freedom.