Day: August 3, 2022

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Georgian Service, Gerard Biard, the editor in chief of the controversial French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, talks about the difficulties in creating satire in times of war, especially in Russia’s ravaged media landscape.

After his magazine was targeted by gunmen in a 2015 attack that left 12 people dead and 11 injured, Biard understands better than many the huge risks that come with the publication of material deemed by some to be problematic.

The Islamic extremists who carried out the attack said they were acting in revenge for the publication of cartoons that mocked the Prophet Muhammad. And with the proliferation of social media, Biard says that the risks have increased, making everyone — not just journalists and activists — potential targets.

RFE/RL: What is your and Charlie Hebdo’s take on the war in Ukraine and its main architect, Russian President Vladimir Putin?

Gerard Biard: Of course, we stand [with] the Ukrainian people. The main fear with the war is that it will degenerate into a Third World War. But I think that a Third World War has already begun; it’s a war between countries with democratic values and democratic systems and institutions on one side and those who don’t have them on the other.

It’s not only about Russia — there is China, Iran, and some others even in Europe, such as Turkey. Countries who don’t have a culture of democracy. The main problem with Russia — and you have the same problem with China — is that there is no culture of democracy, no foundation for it. And war is easy for dictators….For example, with [former U.S. President Donald] Trump, he tried to [carry out] a coup. He tried to [hold on to] power and, as we know, he failed….Because in the United States, you do have this political culture of democracy, you have institutions, you have something to defend. [But] there are no such things in Russia. It never was a democracy. The same for China….How do you sell democracy in a country where no one is buying it?

RFE/RL: What is it like to look at this war through the prism of political satire?

Biard: The problem when you are [talking] about looking at a war through satire is that you have to deal with civilian deaths, and that’s one of the major taboos. You have to be very precise, very accurate in what your message is, as satire is usually open for many interpretations.

You have to choose very carefully the way you treat this subject. On the war in Ukraine in particular, looking at the front-page cartoons we’ve published, most of the time we use the war in Ukraine to also deal with French political realities. For example, right now I’m looking at this cartoon that we made a few weeks ago, before the French elections: On it, there is Putin playing with a drone, but this is not just a regular drone; it has the face of [French far-right leader Marine] Le Pen and the text says: “Putin’s Drone. Can It Win?”….

And then we have various cartoons dealing with the character of Putin himself. He is so easy to [work with because] he is a dictator, and dictators are the easiest to draw for a caricaturist — although by far not the safest. But for better or worse, we’re used to being threatened, not only by dictators but by almost anyone who is on social media nowadays. And not just cartoonists; anyone can be threatened by anyone these days.

RFE/RL: Out of the many cartoons Charlie Hebdo has done on Putin, which one is your favorite, and which depicts him most accurately?

Biard: There is one where he is made into a gorilla. You don’t even need to explain this cartoon. The way Putin is depicted as a gorilla with tiny, tiny, tiny [genitals] over the red nuclear button. You look at this cartoon and you [immediately recognize] Putin.

RFE/RL: On the subject of presidents, let’s discuss yours, French President Emmanuel Macron. Quite a few eyebrows were raised at his persistence in continuing to telephone Putin despite the fact that Putin showed no signs of wanting to cooperate. Plus there are Macron’s remarks on how we shouldn’t humiliate Russia or Putin. What is your take on Macron’s position?

Biard: It’s a lot to do with the way Macron is politically. His main objective is to lead. Obviously he tried but he failed, because it’s not so simple. He tried to lead the “European action” regarding the war in Ukraine. He tried to remain the main interlocutor for Putin in Europe, but the problem that he didn’t understand was that Putin doesn’t want one.

And he’s not the only one who tried. There was [former French President Nicolas] Sarkozy, who in 2008, when Putin attacked Georgia, went to Moscow, to the Kremlin. We didn’t know what he said to Putin, but looking at his face at the end of the meeting, we knew at this moment how Putin responded. It was “f*** off.” That’s the only response Putin knows: “F*** off. I do what I want.” Maybe in other words, but he said “F*** off” to Macron, as well.

RFE/RL: The right to mock, to ridicule, is an integral part of artistic license. How symbolic or ironic is it that there are no notable satirical media outlets left in Russia?

Biard: Even in Soviet times, there were [satirical publications.] Putin is a real autocrat. The Soviet Union was a system; you had many people. [But] with Putin, you just have one person who wants to control everything. He doesn’t [tolerate] objections or any criticism. Nothing. He managed to cancel all criticism. You can still do it, but you’ll go to jail, or you will die. And you won’t die in a pleasant way. That’s the main problem with Putin.

RFE/RL: I remember the Kremlin spokesperson blasted you and Charlie Hebdo for a 2015 cover on the Russian plane crash in Egypt, which killed 224 people. Was civilian death a sensitive topic back then? Is it not ironic now that your cartoon was called sacrilegious and blasphemous when you look at what Russia is doing in Ukraine?

Biard: Yes, generally speaking, [as I said,] civilian deaths are one of the main taboos. With Ukraine, Putin has no problem [with dead people], no taboo. Regarding the “sacrilegious” and “blasphemous” [accusations], these days with social media every word can be blasphemy….It’s very difficult today to be a cartoonist or a satirical artist. You can’t be a satirical artist on Facebook. It’s impossible.

Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

August 2, 2022, (NAIROBI, Kenya): H.E. Dr. Mulatu Teshome, former president of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has arrived in Nairobi to lead IGAD’s short-term Election Observation Mission (IGADEOM) to the 9 August 2022 General Elections in the country.

He will hold meetings with senior officials, key national and international stakeholders as well as heads of other election observation missions to brief them about the mandate of the mission.

The IGAD Short-term Election Observation Mission (IGADEOM) that was constituted in response to an invitation by the Republic of Kenya, is composed of 7 core staff and 24 short-term observers. The short-term observers include representatives of electoral bodies and other public institutions as well as diplomats drawn from six IGAD Member States, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda.

A joint pre-election assessment mission preceded the observation mission. IGAD conducted the assessment mission alongside African Union, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC) to the Republic of Kenya from 25 June to 25 July 2022. The assessment mission appraised the level of election preparedness in the country with the intention to provide support for a peaceful, free, and credible election.

The deployment of the IGADEOM in Kenya is in line with IGAD’s mandate of promoting good governance, democracy, human rights and rule of law in the region. It is also guided by relevant continental instruments such as the 2007 African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, as well as the IGAD Guideline and code of conduct for Election Observers.

The objective of the IGAD Election Observation Mission (IGADEOM) is to make an independent, objective and impartial assessment of the 9 August 2022 general elections in the Republic of Kenya in accordance with the national, regional and international standards for democratic elections.

Source: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations

MBABANE – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes the Government of Japan’s contribution of JPY 200,000,000 (equivalent to E25 Million) in funding from the Government of Japan to ensure the provision of nutritious meals to over 24,000 (11,571 girls and 12,659 boys) school children across Eswatini.

A press briefing and signing ceremony was held today to mark the contribution. The ceremony was officiated by the Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Honorable Dr. Tambo Gina, in the presence of the Ambassador of Japan, H.E. Mr. Norio Maruyama and WFP Eswatini Head of Office, Deepak Shah.   

In 2021, during the closure of schools as a result of COVID-19 regulations, most children were deprived of their only meal of the day. The scourge of COVID-19 has aggravated food insecurity through limited economic opportunity and high commodity prices, exacerbating vulnerability, especially among women and children.

The amount of E 25,000,000 (the equivalent of US$ 1,641,497) will be allocated for the Homegrown School-Feeding (HGSF) programme, which seeks to provide nutritious and diverse meals to school children. The food basket consists of pap/rice, beans, spinach, cabbage, onion, lettuce, vegetable oil and eggs – a recent addition. Apart from the rice and vegetable oil, the food is sourced from over 600 local smallholder farmers belonging to 17 registered cooperatives.

In addition to guaranteeing a healthy cooked lunch to school children – for many, their only meal of the day – the funding will ensure smallholders access to guaranteed markets for their produce, thereby facilitating sustainable food production. Participating farmers will also be trained in “conservation” agriculture techniques, helping them boost yields and cut costs.

“We are grateful to Japan for this timely contribution, one that will allow us to pursue our life-saving and life-enhancing work here”, said Mr. Shah. “Covid-19 triggered large-scale job losses, slashed family earnings and opportunities, and severely aggravated already severe food insecurity, especially among the poorest and the youngest”. 

Sixteen percent of Eswatini’s 1.2 million people are acutely food insecure, and a similar proportion of its children are physically stunted by chronic malnutrition, according to the most recent assessments.

H.E. Norio Maruyama – Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of Eswatini said “During this unprecedented time, we would like to contribute again to improving the livelihood of vulnerable people in Eswatini. This assistance illustrates a long-standing friendship between our two peoples.”

The Government of Japan has been funding food assistance for developing countries since 1968 and is a long-standing partner of WFP in Eswatini.

Source: World Food Programme

The new Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, presented her credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Kamboj served as Ambassador to Bhutan, beginning in 2019.  Between 2017 and 2019, she was the High Commissioner of India to South Africa with concurrent accreditation to Lesotho.  From 2014 to 2017, she was Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).  She served as India’s Chief of Protocol from 2011 to 2014.

In 2009, she was the Deputy Head of the Office of the Secretary-General at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.  Between 2006 and 2009, she was India’s Consul General in South Africa.  She also served as Counsellor at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations from 2002 to 2005.  While there, she doubled as the Mission’s Head of Chancery.

From 1999 to 2002, she served as Deputy Secretary, and later, as Director in charge of Foreign Service Personnel and Cadre at the Ministry of External Affairs.  Between 1996 and 1999, she was First Secretary (Economic and Commercial), as well as Head of Chancery at the Indian High Commission in Mauritius.  She also worked as Under Secretary in the Europe West Division of India’s Ministry of External Affairs from 1991 to 1996.  She began her career as Third Secretary in India’s Embassy to France from 1989 to 1991.

She is fluent in Hindi, English and French.

Source: United Nations