gone and forgotten

Alan Johnston—remember him? Well he’s still missing somewhere among the gangsters of Gaza. The BBC, his employer, shows remarkable retraint in its reporting today, some six weeks after Johnston’s abduction by Palestinians:

Two Palestinians in Gaza have launched a website calling for the release of missing BBC reporter Alan Johnston.

The website free-alan.com includes a brief biography of Mr Johnston and messages in Arabic and English calling on his captors to let him go
Alan Johnston, 44, has not been seen since he was seized at gunpoint on his way home in Gaza City on 12 March.

On Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on a visit to Athens, insisted that Mr Johnston was alive.

“I have said he is alive and we are making efforts to get him released,” Mr Abbas said after meeting Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis.

On Friday, the media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders called on Mr Abbas to do more to secure Mr Johnston’s release.