Support for Alan
- 27 Mar 07, 12:58 PM
On Monday, Mark Thompson, 麻豆社 director general, spoke to a rally of colleagues of Alan Johnston, our reporter in Gaza who we believe has been abducted. Palestinian journalists in Gaza also staged a one-day strike in support of Alan.
Mark said this to the rally: "Exactly two weeks, at 2:15pm on a Monday afternoon, Alan Johnston left the 麻豆社's bureau in Gaza to go home. He said goodbye to his colleagues, got into his car, and promised to phone them when he reached his flat. He never rang. His car was found abandoned. We believe he was abducted. No one from the 麻豆社 has seen or heard from Alan since, though we're told by others that he is safe, and being looked after.
"Alan is one of those rather amazing 麻豆社 people, who make extraordinary sacrifices and take considerable risks because they believe a story needs to be told... We continue to talk to the people in the Middle East, and in the UK, to try and secure Alan's release. But two weeks after he was abducted, all of us, in London and in Gaza, want him home."
You can hear Mark Thompson's full speech here.
Jon Williams is the 麻豆社's world news editor