General News of Friday, 9 January 2015
Source: Starrfmonline.com
President John Mahama has condemned last Wednesday’s attack on journalists of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France.
According to the President, the incident is a clear case of an ambush of press freedom.
Eight journalists – including the magazine’s editor – died along with two policemen, a maintenance worker and a visitor when masked men armed with assault rifles stormed the Charlie Hebdo offices on Wednesday, January 7.
The magazine has angered some Muslims in the past by printing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The offices were firebombed in 2011.
The gunmen were heard shouting “we have avenged the Prophet Muhammad” and “God is Great” in Arabic (“Allahu Akbar”).
Commenting on the issue at an event in Accra, Mr Mahama said the incident is regrettable.
“People are doing all these in the name of religion justified by theology; are we reading the same holy books, or we are interpreting them differently,” he wondered.
He continued:” I know the Quran says that you must seek knowledge even as far away as China, so why must poor individuals be abducted and killed?”.