Julie Bishop Presents Autographed Cartoon To Charlie Hebdo, Calls Satire ‘Integral Part’ Of French Society

Julie Bishop presented an autographed copy of a cartoon to Charlie Hebdo on Monday. The Australian Foreign Minister visited the Paris office of the satirical French magazine which lost 12 staff members in a terror attack in January 2015.

Australian cartoonist David Pope made the cartoon after the terror attack at Charlie Hebdo office. The social media in the country and abroad circulated the sketch widely as a means of protest of the attack. The sketch shows a masked gunman killing an artist. The caption says “He Drew First.” The sketch dated Jan. 8, 2015, is signed by Pope.

Extremists have been critical of the French magazine for publishing anti-Islam cartoons. The terror attack on Charlie Hebdo staff was viewed as retaliation by extremist forces who had found the cartoons offensive.

While presenting the cartoon, Bishop said that the Australian artist drew the cartoon while watching the live coverage of the terror attack. "It is a simple yet powerful and poignant reflection of the utterly and absolutely disproportionate response to the work of this magazine and encapsulates the brutality of the terrorists," she said, "I hope that I can convey to you the depth of feeling people in Australia have as a result of what you all went through.”

Bishop added that she greatly admired the fact that Charlie Hebdo was still functional and the staff members were still upholding the values of freedom of the press and the safety of journalists. She said that the attack had reflected the perverted hatred of the terrorists. However, the incident also reflected the stoicism and the courage of the people who worked there and the horrendous experience they had at that time, Bishop said.

According to Bishop, satire is an integral part of the French society even though it is controversial and provocative. However, since it offended political parties and religions alike sparing no one, she said that it was a counter-balance against power.

The magazine has built a top floor with a stunning view over the rooftops of Paris to the Eiffel Tower. Its old offices have gone through a security upgrade which includes bullet-proofing.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au