Alan Johnston is a free man.

insafehands

From here

BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has been freed from kidnappers in Gaza after almost four months in captivity.

Television pictures showed Mr Johnston, 45, leaving a building and entering a white car, accompanied by armed men. He said he was tired but in good health.

During his time as a hostage, three videos were released featuring images of Mr Johnston or of his belongings.

Calls were made for his release in rallies worldwide and in an online petition signed by some 200,000 people.

Mr Johnston was handed over to officials of the Hamas administration, reports say.

radiospan

Fantastic news. Just signed the petition today!

Seems to have been a prisoner release exchange?

mike65

Really? I heard he had radio most of the time so could listen to the Beeb, proberly kept him sane.

Mike.

Thrill

Looked a bit tired but in good health. Good to see him being released.

walshb

I'm happy for the man.
I just hope he has learned his
lesson. He is not wanted under any circumstance
in these parts of the world. When will any of them
learn. And I bet he'll soon be saying how he
intends to go back and still do his job.
I'll have no sympathy for him then.

A Dub in Glasgo

eh?

Dublin's Finest

walshb wrote:

I'm happy for the man.
I just hope he has learned his
lesson. He is not wanted under any circumstance
in these parts of the world. When will any of them
learn. And I bet he'll soon be saying how he
intends to go back and still do his job.
I'll have no sympathy for him then.

Nutter.

flogen

walshb wrote:

I'm happy for the man.
I just hope he has learned his
lesson. He is not wanted under any circumstance
in these parts of the world. When will any of them
learn. And I bet he'll soon be saying how he
intends to go back and still do his job.
I'll have no sympathy for him then.

If you were paying any attention over the last few months you'd see that the vast majority of people in the Middle East, as specifically Palestine, wanted Alan Johnston free because he was the only Western journalist left in Gaza and at that was a neutral voice who didn't just assume Palestinians were terrorists.

The people who kidnapped him were and still are in a very, very small minority.

walshb

flogen wrote:

If you were paying any attention over the last few months you'd see that the vast majority of people in the Middle East, as specifically Palestine, wanted Alan Johnston free because he was the only Western journalist left in Gaza and at that was a neutral voice who didn't just assume Palestinians were terrorists.

The people who kidnapped him were and still are in a very, very small minority.

Minority or NOT, they still kidnapped him and he is very lucky to be alive. And don't be so naieve...No westerner is wanted in Palestine. It's all just politics and diplomacy. They can't stand the West anymore than the Iraqi's can...As far as the majority are concerned, he's a foreigner on their soil, journalist or otherwise. He is and obviously was a target....

Were you on the ground in Palestine asking this vast majority if they wanted Johnston
or any other British or Western person on their soil?
As far as the normal person in Palestine is concerned, these are the very
people who created Israel, the so called source of their problems.
You may be watching some news snippets of peoples claiming they
were happy. But the palestines in general want nothing
to do with the West, except maybe their money

walshb

Dublin's Finest wrote:

Nutter.

I agree, any person going to places like Palestine and Iraq are nutters and
can all be expected to be met with hostility...It's a fuc**** war zone for chris sake....

flogen

walshb wrote:

Minority or NOT, they still kidnapped him and he is very lucky to be alive. And don't be so naieve...No westerner is wanted in Palestine. It's all just politics and diplomacy. They can't stand the West anymore than the Iraqi's can...As far as the majority are concerned, he's a foreigner on their soil, journalist or otherwise. He is and obviously was a target....

You're showing your own naivety by assuming Palestinians automatically hate foreigners and "Westerners".

Were you on the ground in Palestine asking this vast majority if they wanted Johnston
or any other British or Western person on their soil?

Obviously not, but were you there asking them if they didn't?

As far as the normal person in Palestine is concerned, these are the very
people who created Israel, the so called source of their problems.

I'm sure a fair few in Palestine do believe that, but I'm going to guess that the majority of Palestinians (not just the ones that make it onto our news networks) are educated enough to realise that people alive in Europe and the US today probably didn't have anything to do with the creation of Israel - I'm sure they can also see the amount of countries that condemn Israel's actions on a regular basis including at EU and UN level.

You may be watching some news snippets of peoples claiming they
were happy. But the palestines in general want nothing
to do with the West, except maybe their money

How exactly do you think other country's relationships with each other would fare if money wasn't a reason? Do you think the likes of the EU would have lasted as long as it has if it wasn't to the economic benefit of the respective countries?

Dublin's Finest

walshb wrote:

I agree, any person going to places like Palestine and Iraq are nutters and
can all be expected to be met with hostility...It's a fuc**** war zone for chris sake....

Eh...no, Alan Johnston's not the nutter. :rolleyes:

walshb

Dublin's Finest wrote:

Eh...no, Alan Johnston's not the nutter. :rolleyes:

Yeah he is......Was I the one kidnapped?
You would want to be a nutter to believe
that you can go to places like Palestine and Iraq under the current
climate and expect to simply roam around and 'do your job'...

Ken Bigley and Hassan found this out didn't they?

walshb

flogen wrote:

You're showing your own naivety by assuming Palestinians automatically hate foreigners and "Westerners".



Obviously not, but were you there asking them if they didn't?



I'm sure a fair few in Palestine do believe that, but I'm going to guess that the majority of Palestinians (not just the ones that make it onto our news networks) are educated enough to realise that people alive in Europe and the US today probably didn't have anything to do with the creation of Israel - I'm sure they can also see the amount of countries that condemn Israel's actions on a regular basis including at EU and UN level.



How exactly do you think other country's relationships with each other would fare if money wasn't a reason? Do you think the likes of the EU would have lasted as long as it has if it wasn't to the economic benefit of the respective countries?

Hate foreigners and westerners? I didn't say that. I said that Palestine is sick and tired of British and US policy and western policy as regards the trouble with Israel. We know that they hate each other with a passion and Palestine have said they will NOT be happy until Israel is obliterated. This is unfortunately reality and the belief of palestinians. And the Israelis also hate the palestinians. I won't even mention Iraq. We all know the state that country is in because of Western interference. It was bad before, but much worse since. Any foreign person on their soil is a target for extremists in these countries. Absolutely anybody. It's that simple. So any persons going to these countries should know better. They are risking their lives and should NOT be surprised that they will at any time be potential kidnap victims.

Now you say it's NOT the majority. But do you really think the avergae Iraqi or Palestinian give a flying F*** about some westerner being kidnapped and executed. If the truth be known and they said what they really felt, their would be parites all over Palestine and Iraq. But diplomacy and political pressures and correctness play a part....

flogen

walshb wrote:

Hate foreigners and westerners? I didn't say that. I said that Palestine is sick and tired of British and US policy and western policy as regards the trouble with Israel.

You didn't say that either - you said Palestinians don't want any westerners or foreigners in their country, full stop.

We know that they hate each other with a passion and Palestine have said they will NOT be happy until Israel is obliterated.

You're confusing Palestine with Hamas - that's like saying all Irish people want to have US military going through Shannon airport because Fianna Fáil do.

Sure, Hamas are the biggest party in the Palestinian legislature but I'm willing to bet that their wish to see the destruction of Israel was not the reason for them getting so many seats, just like Fianna Fáil's support for US military in Shannon was not the reason for that party getting so many here.

This is unfortunately reality and the belief of palestinians.

That's an ignorant generalisation to make.

And the Israelis also hate the palestinians.

So is that.

I won't even mention Iraq.

Good, because that would be off topic.

We all know the state that country is in because of Western interference. It was bad before, but much worse since. Any foreign person on their soil is a target for extremists in these countries. Absolutely anybody.

OK - you've just proven your own point wrong there. Foreign people are a target for extremists, who by definition are not populist.
Alan Johnston's kidnapping was condemned by both sides of the Palestinan divide (Fatah and Hamas) and the kidnappers were in the vast minority.

It's that simple. So any persons going to these countries should know better. They are risking their lives and should NOT be surprised that they will at any time be potential kidnap victims.

Any person going to these countries should not be so ignorant to assume they are impervious or above reach and even Johnston himself said he was aware of the potential threat from the Army of Islam well before they actually struck, so I doubt he was completely surprised it happened... that doesn't make it right nor does it make it something that is his fault.

Now you say it's NOT the majority. But do you really think the avergae Iraqi or Palestinian give a flying F*** about some westerner being kidnapped and executed.

Well for a start they don't have to care about the westerner to be opposed to their kidnapping - they may see kidnapping of western journalists as counter-productive even if they don't really care about the individual journalist's fate.

But anyway, Yes, I do. I think the average Iraqi or Palestinian would prefer that these things were not done in their name.

In the case of Johnston I think most Palestinians were angered at his kidnapping because he was the only person telling their story to the rest of the world in a fair way.
If Western media are happy to base themselves in Israel and detail the human side of the story to their audience but are unable to do the same from the other side there's a good chance that Western viewers will end up with a bias concept of the war.

If the truth be known and they said what they really felt, their would be parites all over Palestine and Iraq. But diplomacy and political pressures and correctness play a part....

Whatever about Iraq, there's little about Palestinian politics that would lead me to believe that they set their policies based on what the West wants them to do. Do you think Hamas would still be calling for the destruction of Israel if it wanted to court the support of the West?
Besides, a small group of extremists can organise a street party themselves, whatever their Government's line is. Remember the scenes after September 11th from some countries? Funny how that didn't happen when Johnston was kidnapped. I guess it shows just how much of a minority the kidnappers were in.