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In Gaza, colleagues boycott for missing BBC journalist
They're refusing to report on all official bodies of the Palestinian Authority in an attempt to force leaders to secure Alan Johnston's release.
By Ilene R. Prusher | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the April 3, 2007 edition
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JERUSALEM - International and local journalists stepped up efforts Monday to win the release of Alan Johnston, a BBC reporter who was kidnapped from his car at gunpoint in the Gaza Strip three weeks ago.
Palestinian journalists began a three-day boycott on Monday against reporting on all official bodies of the Palestinian Authority in an attempt to force Palestinian leaders to secure Mr. Johnston's release.
Johnston was about to end his three-year-long posting in the coastal Palestinian territory, where he was the only remaining Western reporter and was well-respected among his colleagues for his dedication.
Although 11 other foreign journalists have been abducted in Gaza, none has been held this long. Particularly troubling is the lack of direct contact with the kidnappers or conditions for his release.
Palestinians say that this points toward a kidnapping ring that is largely criminal in nature. Palestinian and Western political sources say that the kidnapping was perpetrated by members of the Dogmoush family, an armed clan that vacillates between loyalty to Fatah and Hamas and is connected to a militant network called the PRC, or Popular Resistance Committee. The clan was widely thought to be responsible for the abduction last summer of two Western reporters from Fox TV, though no arrests were made.
With weak security in the territories, there is no disincentive against the potentially lucrative kidnapping of foreigners. Different militias and clans also see such radical actions as a way to gain "sponsorship" from the national unity government in the form of police and security-forces jobs. Arms and cash accompany such positions.
Some say that it's not accurate to dismiss the activity as solely criminal. Mumtaz Dogmoush was the head of the Islamic Army, which is believed to be behind the abduction of Cpl. Gilad Shalit from Israel last June. The Dogmoush family controls the heavily armed Sabre section of Gaza.
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