This series was produced in a partnership with Dutch magazine Nieuwe Liefde. Eight of our cartoonists talk about cartoons that were controversial or that got them in trouble. The interviews run in the March issue of Nieuwe Liefde magazine, and will be published in English here on the blog. The interviews were conducted by Julia Ploum. Today's cartoonist: Jeremy Nell, aka Jerm, from South Africa
South African cartoonist Jeremy Nell (Jerm) was fired at the end of 2012 from national newspaper The New Age because his cartoons were ‘too political’.
What inspired you to make this cartoon and what were the consequences?
‘This cartoon is a reference to the painting The Spear by artist Brett Murray, that depicts Jacob Zuma as Lenin and is showing his penis. The African National Congress - and its supporters, mostly – took considerable exception to his work, besmeared it during an exhibition and attempted to have it censored. My cartoon satirises the outrage by censoring (and depicting) the president's penis. The cartoon was supposed to have been published in the Sunday national paper, City Press, but the editor pulled it at the last minute, worrying about further outrage.’
In which ways is freedom of press restricted in your country?
‘Freedom of the press isn't restricted to the point of legitimate concern (yet) because South Africa's media is still fairly free. Ideally, I would prefer the government to steer clear of media restrictions, but the reality is that the government has a desire to restrict our media more. A recent example is the ANC's attempt to legislate the "Protection Of State Information Bill" (known colloquially as the "Secrecy Bill") in which journalists would be criminalised for publishing information that the government (at its own discretion) deems confidential.’
How, in your opinion, can cartoons contribute to greater freedom?
‘By remaining vocal and critical of the government's use of force and intimidation. Cartoons appeal to all people, and have a tendency to convey messages in a very accessible way.'
This series was produced in a partnership with Dutch magazine Nieuwe Liefde. Eight of our cartoonists talk about cartoons that were controversial or that got them in trouble. The interviews run in the March issue of Nieuwe Liefde magazine, and will be published in English here on the blog. The interviews were conducted by Julia Ploum. Today's cartoonist: Amr Okasha from Egypt
Amr Okasha is a cartoonist and satiric writer for the Egyptian newspaper Al Wafd, published by the liberal-democratic Wafd-party.
What inspired you to make this cartoon and what were the consequences?
‘A cartoon like this is not easily published in an Arab newspaper, especially not in the Arab countries that witnessed the rise of political Islam, such as Egypt or Tunisia. This cartoon is considered to be a very provocative and controversial cartoon for many Arab audiences, particularly Islamists. It might encourage violent actions by those who wanted to express their anger. This might include an attack towards the newspaper or me.’
In which ways is freedom of press restricted in your country?
‘During the current Morsi regime our freedom became highly restricted. Whoever criticizes the ruling Freedom and Justice Party that claims to represent Islam, finds himself being accused of insulting Islam. The most dangerous thing is that such parties and religious trends are inciting people against those who criticize them. As a political cartoonist, I'm facing more tension and challenges than during Mubarak’s regime. I received incredibly insulting messages via Facebook account. The building of the Wafd-party headquarter and newspaper I work for has been attacked after accusation of being anti-Islamic by Salafists. We receive threats daily. Also, a number of journalists and cartoonists (such as Doaa Eladl) is sued for insulting the president and Islam.’
How, in your opinion, can cartoons contribute to greater freedom?
‘I am convinced they can; cartoons are faster in delivering the message than thousands of words. It takes a while to read an article and be convinced by the writer, but understanding a cartoon takes less than a minute. I believe that European support is needed for cartoons depicting abuse of power in Arab countries. European attention decreases the suppression by ‘religious’ parties claiming to represent Islam. Such parties fear external pressure and their main concern is not to upset international powers like the United States.’
This series was produced in a partnership with Dutch magazine Nieuwe Liefde. Eight of our cartoonists talk about cartoons that were controversial or that got them in trouble. The interviews run in the March issue of Nieuwe Liefde magazine, and will be published in English here on the blog. The interviews were conducted by Julia Ploum. Today's cartoonist: Crazy Crab from China
‘Crazy crab’ is a cartoonist originally from China, but nowadays he lives in Finland. The Chinese government censored his work by ordering websites to remove his cartoons and by deleting all references to him in Google-search results.
What inspired you to make this cartoon and what were the consequences?
‘The tank man and those Tibetans who set fire on themselves inspired me. When I drew this cartoon in January of 2012, there were seventeen self-immolation cases in Tibet already. At the end of that year that number was 102. No Chinese cartoonist wanted to touch this issue, so I thought maybe I could make a change. I drew a series of Tibetan issue cartoons, not only to record the events and respond to their voice, but also to raise awareness of freedom of speech and freedom of religion in Tibet. I don’t know what the consequences are. But what these Tibetan did, their protest, lighted up my heart.’
In which ways is freedom of press restricted in your country?
‘The Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party is working hard to delete anything they don’t want people to know. All media are being controlled. There are very strict censorship rules you must follow, otherwise you might get into trouble. The Great Fire Wall system blocks any website they don’t like. For example we can’t use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia and G+ in China. Most of young Chinese people don’t even know them. The ‘sensitive word’-list is updated daily and delete any word or article that might endanger the Party’s ruling. The list is updated every day. If I want to post a message about “self-immolation” in Tibet on a Chinese website, the system will check the message with the sensitive word list first. If the word “self-immolation” is on the list, the message cannot be published. The same method is also used for newspapers, books, music and movies. If someone keeps posting sensitive issues in China, the security police will find him and warn him and even his family. Some artists and authors including Mr. Liu Xiaobo, were arrested and put in jail.’
How, in your opinion, can cartoons contribute to greater freedom?
‘Cartoons are the nightmares of the censorship system because unlike words, the check can’t search through drawings. Therefore, it’s more difficult to trace drawn satire. A sharp political cartoon can spread widely before the internet police figures out its real meaning. I think the political cartoon is a “laugh bullet” that can penetrate through lies and fear. A good cartoon can say more than a thousand words. When people laugh, they will think too, in a new perspective.
About the cartoon: to celebrate the Lunar New Year, the Tibet Autonomous Regional government distributed more than 1 million flags and portraits throughout Tibet, to places including temples, schools and rural households. The portraits depict the four-generation central leadership, represented by Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. Padma Choling, chairman of the regional government, said that hanging the portrait expressed the heartfelt gratitude of Tibetans for the People's Republic of China (PRC) central government and the Communist Party of China (CPC).