CARTOONISTS RIGHTS NETWORK INTERNATIONAL

Testimonies: Jake Thrasher

“… one of the biggest honors I’ve ever received. It made all the work I’ve put in and issues I’ve fought for feel validated. I felt extremely supported by CRNI during some really scary times in my life, and I truly appreciate that.”

CRNI Executive Director Terry Anderson interview with American cartoonist and medical researcher Jake Thrasher, recipient of a commendation at our annual Courage in Cartooning Award in 2017 and currently one of our Regional Representatives at Large with a special responsibility for LGBTQIA+ matters.
Jake describes the very distressing threats he received while working for the student paper at the University of Mississippi, how he uses cartoons in his current academic work and the absence of gay voices in editorial cartooning.
This interview was conducted in 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic; at that time CRNI expressed deep concerns about the future of cartooning. This forms part of a series of testimonies intended to help illustrate CRNI’s work in support of threatened cartoonists.

Jake, your cartoons about the KKK that ran in the college paper at the University of Mississippi led to threats against you. Tell us about your experience.

During my time at the University of Mississippi, there were a lot of movements to rid the campus of confederate iconography. One movement was to stop flying the state flag on campus because the MS state flag features the confederate flag. I drew a cartoon about how the MS state flag is associated with racism and white nationalism, and I got my first death threat in response to that cartoon. Basically, anytime I would draw a cartoon that was anti-racism, anti-confederacy, or anti-bigotry, I would get tons of death threats from people on social media. Death threats came from all sorts of people, but the ones I found most scary were the ones from people associated with white supremacy groups like the

KKK. Student organizations at my University such as Our State Flag Foundation would routinely doxx me and encourage people to harass me. The student organizations that helped others harass me never faced any repercussions for their actions. I moved often because sometimes the people who sent death threats would tell me they had my address. Although these threats were scary and caused me a lot of distress at times, I never let them stifle my voice or my cartoons.

Death threats to cartoonists are rarely followed though, thankfully, but in themselves they are a violation of human rights. And of course the American constitution enshrines freedom of expression, especially in print media. Has that been forgotten, do you think?

I think conservative Americans don’t actually care about free speech, but rather use it as a tool to protect bigotry and white supremacy. Often when white supremacy groups gather to intimidate minorities, I hear conservatives scream about how it is their right to free speech and expression to do so. These conservatives are misrepresenting freedom of speech though, because they invoke freedom of speech to silence those pushing back against these oppressive groups and ideas. Yet the conservatives screaming about freedom of speech for the KKK never advocate for the freedom of speech for marginalized groups which is a clear indicator of their true motives when it comes to freedom of speech.

So yes, I think freedom of expression has been forgotten in contemporary America because it is being hijacked by the right to protect white supremacy and is not being used at all to protect those who actually need free speech the most.

You were commended during CRNI’s Courage in Cartooning Award presentation in 2017; what did this recognition mean to you?

It was one of the biggest honors I’ve ever received. It made all the work I’ve put in and issues I’ve fought for feel validated. Besides being commended, I felt extremely supported by CRNI during some really scary times in my life, and I truly appreciate that. Being recognized alongside so many brave and impactful cartoonists from around the world was so incredibly inspiring.

Were there other ways in which CRNI supported you?

CRNI wrote about the death threats I was getting, and the publicity they brought to the issue caused the university administration a degree more concern about what was happening to me. CRNI also provided financial support which helped me attend my first ever AAEC convention.

Editorial and political cartooning in the Anglosphere is often characterized as “male, pale and stale”. We don’t have enough women in the ranks and we definitely don’t have enough people of color or LGBTQI representation. Are we doomed to lose touch with a more diverse audience or is there something proactive that can change this?

This is a particularly challenging issue because it is hard to recruit people into a field where we are seeing fewer and fewer jobs daily. Fewer newspapers have a staff cartoonist and we are seeing award-winning cartoonists being laid off. I think advocating for more staff editorial cartooning positions at papers could make the field easier to enter for minorities. Specifically, I think staff cartoonist positions created at queer publications and minority-focused publications like The Advocate, The Root, etcetera would make space for cartoonists to enter the field in an environment where they feel safer.

I’m intrigued by what you said about staff jobs in the queer and minority press. It surprised me a little, given the in-roads that have been made in comics, especially the small and independent press. Do you think there’s been a resistance to cartooning in such publications (the medium perceived as too old-fashioned, or a needless luxury maybe) or they just don’t hear from cartoonists they’d want to use?

That’s a hard question for me to answer because I’ve never worked for one of those outlets. It could just be something that’s not on their radar. Since editorial cartooning is dominated by straight white men, these outlets probably don’t think about editorial cartoons as something they would have in their outlets. It could just me that they don’t realize there are editorial cartoonists in their communities that they could hire. If their budgets are tight, then that could definitely play a role in them not having editorial cartoonists, but I feel like if these outlets do have the budget and knew cartoonists in their respective communities, then they would want to hire them because it would give representation in yet another form of media.

Like all students Jake is having to cope with the changes that the coronavirus pandemic has brought, but he continues to succeed, now researching cancer therapy at Yale.

As we speak, America is set to make a decision on its next president. My personal feeling is that Trump could exploit the coronavirus situation to secure a win; authoritarianism and nativism have the upper hand in many places and I don’t see the pendulum swinging back just yet. Is another four years of Trump good or bad news for cartoonists?

Four more years of Trump is bad news for everyone, and unfortunately, I think that’s what we are going to get. I think under four more years of Trump we are going to see a lot more violations to the free press, and I think cartoonists are going to be hit very hard.

Jake still produces artwork in his spare time.

Tell us about what you’re doing now; I understand you’re making use of cartoons in a classroom setting?

I’m currently working on my PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University and also doing illustrations and editorial cartoons on the side. This semester I was a TA for the intro biology course for non-STEM majors called “Biology, the World, and Us”. This course focused on scientific topics of particular public interest. I taught a section every Wednesday night where I assigned readings and we would discuss them for an hour. Each week along with readings, I assigned cartoons and comics that were relevant to whatever scientific topic we were discussing that day. I find that cartoons/comics are incredible tools for science communication but are often not used. I want to start creating science comics now, too, so I can make science more easily accessible for everyone! Now that I’ve passed my qualifying exams for my PhD program, I plan on creating cartoons more frequently. I’m hoping soon that I can start publishing consistently with a local media outlet rather than just freelancing.

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Nicholas Kristof in praise of cartoonists & “laughtivism”

Writing in Sunday’s edition of the New York Times, Pulitzer prize-winning columnist Nicholas Kristof bemoans the apparent lack of traction American satirists are gaining in the run up to the presidential election and name-checks three past winners of CRNI’s Courage in Cartooning Award among the world’s foremost “incisive social and political critics”.

Of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, the column says the work of Zunar helped “topple” his corrupt regime and the cartoonist “persevered despite prosecutions and physical attacks.”

Zapiro was sued for damage to reputation by South African president Jacob Zuma. Kristof reports the cartoonist’s response as “Would that be your reputation as a disgraced chauvinist demagogue who can’t control his sexual urges and who thinks a shower prevents AIDS?”

And he describes how “Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi is still nicknamed ‘Crocodile’ because of a cartoon” by Nik Kowsar, a valued member of CRNI’s board of directors and contending with fallout from the regime despite years in exile.

Kristof rightly points out that cartoonists are “an endangered species”. Earlier in the year we wrote about the most pressing issues facing the global community in an emergency statement with Cartooning For Peace and Cartoon Movement.

The winner of the Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award 2020 will be announced early in October.

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Testimonies: Eaten Fish

“The recognition from CRNI was a big hit on social media internationally. I do not think the world knew much about Australian immigration policies and what they do to refugees before this.”

CRNI Executive Director Terry Anderson interview with Iranian cartoonist and refugee Ali Dorani, aka Eaten Fish, winner of our annual Courage in Cartooning Award in 2016.
Ali describes his years as a detainee in Australia’s “regional processing centre” for ocean-borne migrants on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea and the new life he is building in Norway thanks to the ICORN network.
This interview was conducted in 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic; at that time CRNI expressed deep concerns about the future of cartooning. This forms part of a series of testimonies intended to help illustrate CRNI’s work in support of threatened cartoonists.

Ali, you came to our attention after you sent messages to cartoonist Andrew Marlton while detained in the Australian government’s regional processing centre for ocean-borne refugees on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Andrew helped publicise your circumstances to the public. Can you describe them? And what does the pen-name “Eaten Fish” mean?

Andrew was of the greatest help while I was in detention. The publication of my story in the newspapers basically started through Andrew and helped so much to spread my words and signal my needs. Without him I don’t think anything could have been achieved. He was the reason my name and art was spread throughout Australia. I chose Eaten Fish as my pen-name because I was caught from the sea like a fish, “eaten” (processed) at an Australian detention camp and then “thrown away” on Manus Island (the same way you throw fish bones into a rubbish bin).

You won CRNI’s Courage in Cartooning Award in 2016, while still on Manus; what did this recognition mean to you?

The recognition from CRNI was a big hit on social media internationally. I do not think the world knew much about Australian immigration policies and what they do to refugees before this. Suddenly the whole movement that Janet [Galbraith, poet and rights activist], Andrew and I started was known all around the world by cartoonists and artists who spread it out even more by talking about it or mentioning it on their social media.

Can you give me more information about the circumstances in which your cartoons were made while you were on Manus; what tools or devices were used to draw, where and when, how the pictures got out?

When I was in the camps in Australia, at one point, I tried to wash my dictionary in the shower because I was feeling that the dictionary was really dirty. I kept telling myself I was going crazy – I was shaking and getting so nervous. Doctors at the medical centre told me I had to take medication. I didn’t want to take medication because I was thinking the Australian government would call me crazy and blacklist me from entering. So I started drawing as a strategy to deal with my OCD. I didn’t have any equipment to draw with. I could request materials from immigration officers but they wouldn’t usually give me paper and pencils. So I had to steal paper – I’d go in language classes in the camps and steal pieces of paper from teachers and other workers when they were looking the other way.

Because I only had a limited supply of paper I was reluctant to make mistakes in my drawings – that also helped me improve my skills. While drawing didn’t actually help my OCD, which got worse by the day, I started showing my drawings to other detainees and some of the immigration officers and people got interested in my cartoons.

Since starting anew in Norway, Ali has continued to create cartoons about mental health issues as well as the sexual abuse of detained men.

We were most gravely concerned about your well being in the early months of 2017 when you resorted to hunger strike. This led the Professional Cartoonists Organisation in the UK starting their #AddAFish campaign online and our joint demonstration outside Australia House in London. Do you think Australia has acted criminally in its offshore detention of refugees?

No, I do not think that Australia acted criminally in the detention centres because everything was happening under Australia’s laws, but I do not think that keeping people in detention is a [morally] right thing to do. Australia could easily create a deportation law instead of detention; in my case, deporting refugees to were they came from would have meant Indonesia. But Australia decided to keep people and children in detention centres, ruin their lives there and make an international example of it. This led to one of the speeches President Trump made about the USA having to learn more from Australia when it comes to immigration policies.

Other nations did nothing to penalise Australia until today. New Zealand never took care of any refugees and it was even against New Zealand’s immigration policies, as Australia and New Zealand have complicated and shared rules. New Zealand’s offer was nothing but a commercial to protect the ugly looking sight of the immigration policies to say that they care… but that was nothing but a game.

There have been a few other high-profile figures to emerge from the Manus and Nauru camps but in the past twelve months the catastrophic bush fires have dominated the news emerging from Australia and now of course there are the lockdowns caused by coronavirus. With the federal elections over and no sign of policy change do you feel the plight of those still detained has been forgotten by the wider world?

The plight of those who still remain detained had been forgotten long before the bush fires and the coronavirus. Otherwise they would have been free by now! More crises only lead to more amnesia on refugees’ cases.

You’ve been living in Norway for over two years now, thanks to the ICORN network. Among many other achievements since coming to Europe your work was showcased at the 2019 Frankfurt Buchmesse. Can you tell us more about that?

One of the greatest achievements in my cartooning life was being introduced to the world as a Norwegian cartoonist among other and most famous Norwegian artists at the Frankfurt book fair 2019. And of course, part of my work as an activist always leads to more opportunities to talk about mistreated refugees and children in Australia, Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

The welcome Ali received in Norway and from members of the ICORN network was incredible and led to many great opportunities as he sought to launch his cartoon career.

I know you have a number of ideas for future campaigns and projects. What’s next for Eaten Fish?

I have always had two wishes since childhood: one was being a film-maker and the other was being a cartoonist. I have achieved the cartoonist wish and hope that soon, in the next couple of months or years, I may start a new career as a film-maker. I am also writing a biography book about my journey and the life I had in Australian immigration detention and it should be available soon. The process of the documentary films has taken more time than expected. I would like to stay in Norway and establish a life here, although I would love to travel or work in other countries as well. But I think my future life is gonna be here in Norway.

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Testimonies: Saba’aneh

“CRNI is my shelter. They stood with me while I was in prison [in Israel], when I was attacked by the Islamist movements [and] the PLO. And I am sure they will keep supporting me.”

CRNI Executive Director Terry Anderson interview with Palestinian cartoonist Mohammad Saba’aneh, currently one of our Regional Representatives with a responsibility for the Middle East.
Mohammad describes the difficulties he has encountered as a cartoonist seeking to speak truth to power in Gaza leading to jail time in Israel, accusations of antisemitism, calls for his dismissal by the PNA and threats from Hamas.
This interview was conducted in 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic; at that time CRNI expressed deep concerns about the future of cartooning. This forms part of a series of testimonies intended to help illustrate CRNI’s work in support of threatened cartoonists.

Mohammad, we first met in 2015 when CRNI was strategizing with global cartoonists following the Charlie Hebdo attack. Can you tell us what happened after you published a cartoon calling for peace in the immediate aftermath?

In 2015, after the Charlie Hebdo attack I had suggested to some Palestinian cartoonists to use the medium as a tool to explain the idea of religion, instead of using violence. I published several cartoons about Islam and called all cartoonists to respond, but use the same tool that had been used to criticize Islam and the prophet Mohammad. One of my cartoons about the prophet Mohammad was considered by certain religious people to be an offensive artwork and they attacked me and launched a big campaign, asking the Palestinian government to arrest me. President Mahmoud Abbas ordered my interrogation. I called [CRNI founder] Dr. Robert Russell, asking CRNI to help and they launched a big media campaign around the world. The campaign scared the authorities in Palestine since what they have done was against freedom of expression and that’s why Abbas stopped the interrogation order. It was very helpful.

You’ve been harassed by authorities on both sides but it’s safe to say that as a Palestinian activist you’re more often troubled by Israel. What is the most important aspect of your time as a prisoner there?

There’s no comparison. Yes, the Palestinian president called for my arrest and interrogation and I have had several problems with politicians in Palestine; I was suspended from my places of work more than one time because of my cartoons. But the Israeli authorities continually attack me. They detained me for five months in very bad conditions. I am always stopped and questioned when I travel through the border. In 2018 Israeli border forces confiscated my artwork on the return journey from a Belgian exhibition, just because my artwork was about Palestinian history. Three years ago the Israeli army interrogated me for more than three hours over the content of my sketchbook. Very recently my exhibition was stolen from the International Criminal Court at The Hague. I believe the Israeli delegation were behind that but ICC is doing an investigation to find out. To be honest with you, I never feel safe because of them.

Mohammad is unflinching in his depiction of brutalised Palestinians, especially children and displaced people.

Time and again cartoonists divide over the issue of antisemitism. There have been many high profile cases of late where cartoonists have been accused of over-stepping while satirising Netanyahu and his government. Does freedom of expression have limits?

In my opinion Israel uses antisemitism as a tool to prevent any criticism. I have Jewish ancestry myself, so I reject the suggestion that I am antisemitic. I have Jewish friends around the world and I have no problem with Jews. Israel and pro-Israelis use it as a red line and most of the government support that. It is strange that you can criticize any religion, government, president around the world but you cannot criticize Israel. And no-one seems to mentions that what’s going on is against freedom of expression. I think all the cartoonists around the world should stand against this violation against freedom of speech. In the last two years at least ten high-profile cartoonists from around the world were accused of antisemitism, one of them from Israel himself, because they criticized the Israeli government. All the organizations that work on freedom of expression should stand against that, or we will be attacked more and more. Cartoonists will lose their jobs.

Drawing a direct comparison between police violence against African-Americans and military tactics in occupied Palestinian territory has led to accusations of antisemitism.

How has CRNI supported you over the years?

CRNI is my shelter. They stood with me while I was in prison in 2013 and when I was attacked by the Islamist movements and when I was suspended through pressure from the PLO. And I am sure they will keep supporting me. But they need more resources and mechanisms to support cartoonists. Maybe they should establish an online platform to sell cartoons and products, the funds to be used to help cartoonists around the world.

You have an impressive dedication to education and the young people of Palestine. What is the importance of cartooning in a classroom setting?

I did several workshops to teach cartooning in Gaza and one of them was with CRNI support. The kids produced an exhibition about freedom of speech and it was great. I used cartoons as a methodology to encourage critical thinking. I do believe that cartoons are a very flexible tool to be used with kids. Also a means to promote freedom of speech, that’s why I did as many workshops as I could. In 2012 I did one for some deaf students to give them visual language since they cannot speak and that was great.

As we speak you are studying in the UK. Do you think freedom of expression is faring well in that country?

All the countries around the world claim that they respect freedom of expression, except when you criticize Israel.  In the UK it is the same. Several cartoonists have had problems because they criticized Israel. It is strange, any cartoonist can criticize whatever he needs to criticize but this opportunity stops short of Israel. We should ask Israel to define the meaning of antisemitism in order to avoid it to their satisfaction. [laughs] Would the cartoonists accept that challenge? Those who faced other taboos break that taboo, I wonder? The problem not just in the UK, it’s around the world.

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Testimonies: Kanika Mishra

“I realised that I am not alone in this fight and a whole fraternity is ready to fight my battle and stand with me always… Basically, it changed my life.”

CRNI Executive Director Terry Anderson interview with Indian cartoonist Kanika Mishra, aka Karnika Kahen, winner of our annual Courage in Cartooning Award in 2014 and currently one of our Regional Representatives at Large with special responsibility for women.
Kanika describes the gendered abuse that outspoken women receive in a highly patriarchal society, doubly so when using satire and how things have changed in recent years, not necessarily for the better.
This interview was conducted in 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic; at that time CRNI expressed deep concerns about the future of cartooning. This forms part of a series of testimonies intended to help illustrate CRNI’s work in support of threatened cartoonists.

Kanika, can you tell us about the origin of your alter ego Karnika Kahen?

Karnika Kahen means “Karnika speaks” and she speaks fearlessly. Karnika was always there inside of me in the form of anger and frustration caused by the incidents against women in our society but she came out in her cartoon avatar on 31st August 2013 when I heard the news that guru Asaram Sirumalani Harapalani raped a minor girl. I saw in the news that the police were searching for him and he was underground. His devotees were very upset, crying and helping him to hide. While watching all the drama on the news, I felt a surge of anger inside of me and I immediately drew a cartoon where a young girl (later naming her Karnika) was ridiculing the guru’s devotees.

I drew a few more cartoons where a policeman was heckling Asaram. I published these cartoons on my social media accounts. Some appreciated me and some criticised me. Then a big news channel picked my cartoons and published them on its portal. I then faced a huge backlash; rape and murder threats on the phone, which went on for three months. But I kept drawing the Karnika Kahen cartoons and sought help from the authorities.

Like many political cartoonists you seek to criticise the powers that be in India, but the matter is made more challenging by your gender and the patriarchal nature of both cartooning and politics. Tell us about your experiences.

Yes, this is true. People are in the business are very insecure and mean and I face it from time to time. They have some prejudiced points of view that women CANNOT speak their mind on politics or on other sensitive issues even though we had a lady Prime Minister many decades ago. Mrs Indira Gandhi was one of our more popular and successful Prime Ministers. But people still have these medieval mindsets.  I had many encounters with such people. But this discrimination is not practised only by male fraternity, it is spread in the whole society like a virus. So we can’t blame only one gender. I received an interview call from a feminist website from a reporter who wanted to write a story on why there are very few women cartoonists in India. I happily answered all the questions but when the article came out there was no mention of me at all and the irony was that the title of the article was  “Why We Need More Women in Editorial Cartooning”. I openly registered my dissatisfaction about this discouragement and the reporter then promised to write a separate article about me, but I lost interest after that and requested her not to do that. If after winning an international award, being recognised by magazines outside of the country and with many very popular cartoons on social media (shared by thousands) I am excluded on purpose, what’s the point of an addendum that comes only after I protested?

On that latter point, you won CRNI’s Courage in Cartooning Award in 2014; what did this recognition mean to you?

It was a great honour! I realised that I am not alone in this fight and a whole fraternity is ready to fight my battle and stand with me always. It gave me international recognition and, finally, in my own country. Local people started to recognise my work and efforts. Basically, it changed my life. But the most valuable thing was the long-lasting friends I gained in CRNI when I visited San Francisco to receive my award.

Were there other ways in which CRNI supported you?

Investigations had been underway in India for six months – I had already filed a complaint with a cybercrime unit and in the local police station – when I came in contact with [CRNI’s founder] Dr Robert Russell through Tjeerd Royaards of Cartoon Movement. CRNI invited me with my husband to the AAEC summit, it was a huge morale booster and so encouraging. We had a great time and founded some long-lasting friendships.

Authoritarianism is on the rise everywhere, India included. We know colleagues living elsewhere in the country were criticised for their opposition to the Citizen (Amendment) Act and of course those in Kashmir have had to contend with enormous pressure through 2019/20. Do you think satire has come to be seen as an act of dissent?

Things are definitely not the same. Today some blind foolish followers of political leaders label criticism of the government as an act against the nation, which was never the case before. We need to understand that in India we have people of different faiths, religions, castes and communities. I follow the simple rule to ruthlessly criticise the political party in power, speak the truth through my work and not deliberately mock or make fun of symbols of a particular religion, caste or community. I receive lots of criticism from followers of the ruling political party and I do not mind it because they too have their right to express displeasure, until or unless they threaten me or tell me to stop my work. Otherwise I am fine with any kind of criticism. In fact, I have become used to it and consider it part of my job. But thankfully I have never faced any official resistance from any political party, including the ruling party, despite making many ruthless cartoons.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears in Kanika’s most recent cartoons, often precipitating comment from loyalists.

To retrun to the topic of parity, despite the best efforts of many we’re still not seeing enough women in political cartooning. What more can be done to address this?

I think there is not much encouragement and on the other hand it is risky too. We all know lots of cartoonists including female cartoonists that have endured jail terms and other hurdles from their respective governments. So maybe there is some fear. I think we should encourage and highlight the work and achievements of female cartoonists to inspire more women. We also need to tell them that they are not alone and they must express their talent because you get only one life and fear is too small a prison to contain your true self, your self-expression.

We’ve just seen a rash of arrests in Bangladesh under their Digital Security Act, all pertaining to anti-government posts on Facebook. You’ve already said that criticism of government or political parties is being foolishly conflated with disdain for the state or its people. This is definitely what is occurring in Pakistan where a real cult of personality is forming around Imran Khan. Do you worry about the nature of politics and democracy changing permanently? And what do you plan to do next, as India faces the coronavirus crisis?

Oh, it is too exhausting. I feel that it is killing my creativity instead of enhancing it, contrary to many on social media. I am busy watching the news, telling my relatives and friends how to tackle it, arranging groceries, sanitizing items. On my social media accounts I am trying to raise awareness about the crisis, spreading the message of government to strictly adhere to the lockdown and maintain social distancing. Fighting blind religious beliefs, fighting the agenda to give it a communal colour. It is too much, so complex and exhausting, takes my whole energy for days on end.

I can say [the situation across Asia] is unfortunate. People saw some hope in Pakistan’s new leadership but [Imran Khan] turned out to be just another politician. To be frank, these days, I am not following the news much as it has become very depressing, especially when you are stuck at home for months. I hope to resume a normal routine once this virus nightmare is over.

Kanika’s attention has naturally turned to the coronavirus pandemic, which is set to have a disastrous effect in as populous a nation as India.

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Testimonies: Zunar

“I would like to thank CRNI for the continuous support given to me and other colleagues globally. When [CRNI founder] Dr Robert Russell contacted me and informed about the award, I felt so relieved by the much-needed show of support. It was a raison d’être for me to keep fighting.”

CRNI Executive Director Terry Anderson interview with Malaysian cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, aka Zunar, winner of our annual Courage in Cartooning Award in 2011 and currently one of our Regional Representatives with responsibility for South East Asia.
Zunar describes his long struggle for freedom of expression under the government of Najib Razak including multiple episodes of arrest, confiscation and intimidation, culminating in criminal charges of sedition.
This interview was conducted in 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic; at that time CRNI expressed deep concerns about the future of cartooning. This forms part of a series of testimonies intended to help illustrate CRNI’s work in support of threatened cartoonists.

Zunar, what does “why pinch when I can punch” mean?

The best approach that cartoonists should take when dealing with repressive regimes is by hitting hard on their target, and that our pen should aim toward the most powerful. Good cartoons should have that; the right aim, a powerful target hit with a punch! Just like playing darts, bulls-eyes gets the highest score.  

Zunar remains one of the most thoughtful and – despite adversity – optimistic cartoonists with whom CRNI has had the pleasure to work.

You won CRNI’s Courage in Cartooning Award in 2011; what led to that and what did this recognition mean to you?

That year I embarked upon a lonely cartooning battle, fighting the regime in Malaysia without much notice from the international community. My office was raided, my cartoon books were banned, the printing firm where my books were made was also raided and threatened with loss of their licence and court action if they continued printing for me. In September 2011 I was arrested and detained in the police lock-up under the Sedition Act for publishing a cartoon book called Cartoon-O-Phobia. The situation was so tense and my morale was at its lowest point. When [CRNI founder] Dr Robert Russell contacted me and informed about the award, I felt so relieved by the much-needed show of support. It was a raison d’être for me to keep fighting. It was huge news back then and the government was under increasing pressure. My supporters took it as a victory: Zunar 1 – Malaysian government 0. But this good became bad as I think the government became more focused on me later on. But speaking in terms of effect, CRNI’s Courage in Cartooning Award was very impactful indeed!

Were there other ways in which CRNI supported you?

I would like to thank CRNI for the continuous support given to me and other colleagues globally. As political cartoonists, the sword of Damocles is always hanging over our head, and the swords keep falling one by one. Speaking of that, the best support I expect from CRNI is to keep highlighting my battle on international levels in order to create more awareness, support and protection from wider communities. The same expectation goes for other cartoonists I am delighted to know these days; CRNI has more representatives covering issues across the globe.

When we first met in 2015 I asked about the heart of the matter, whether the prime minister and his allies genuinely thought your cartoons amounted to criminal acts or they just disliked your portrayal’s effect on the minds of those who see you work. Can you explain your opinion?

This is a tricky question, and I can’t speak on behalf of others, but from my point of view… Where I live it is considered a crime to make cartoons that question or mock government policies, the judiciary, public scandals and corruption. Since cartooning is a special and effective medium, the public’s interest and attraction to it are very dangerous for the government because it can change people’s perception. I think that is why it is considered a crime and seditious!

I love the way you’ve incorporated specific criticisms back into your cartoons; tells us about “Twit Twit” and how you ended up drawing Donald Duck.

The Chief of Police of Malaysia at the time loved to use Twitter. At one point he instructed his men to arrest me via a Tweet. That night eight policemen came to my house. They arrested and detained me for three days under the Sedition Act. Upon release, I made a statement that I will draw him every day in my cartoons, holding a phone and “Twitting”, which I did! I think that affected him. I was arrested again a year after that, during an exhibition. During a press conference the next day a journalist asked him why he arrested me and he replied because I drew bad cartoons about him and the Malaysian politicians.

“As a political cartoonist, what should Zunar draw?” asked the journalist again. He replied, “Zunar should draw Donald Duck.” That was how I produced the infamous cartoons that portrayed the Prime Minister as a Donald Duck and his wife as Minnie Mouse.

Sedition charges where eventually leveled against you carrying a sentence of forty+ years, your passport was seized and for a while you couldn’t hold a public event without a mob disrupting it. And yet to me you always looked cheerful. What was the lowest point?

They say laughter is the best medicine. That is my way of handling sadness or depression; I will try to find a small glittering marble in a big dark cave. However my lowest point was when I was alone in a detention cell. That was very demoralizing.

Najib Razak was recently convicted of of money laundering, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust; yet more criminal trials await.

The elections of 2018 changed everything. You lost your muse after Najib and Rosma were toppled. And in the concluding line of your memoir “Fight Through Cartoons” you say that your mission was accomplished. But earlier this year Malaysia was on tenterhooks over the future of its government. What’s your next book going to be about?

When I say “mission accomplished” it is referring to just one battle out of an entire war. As a cartoonist I will not stop performing my duties, to be a watchdog on the government of the day. I will still continue my “fight through cartoons” in my country. I am in the midst of coming out with a new book about all the recent political upheaval in Malaysia.

What’s been happening since the advent of the coronavirus crisis? Have there been issues for those scrutinising or even criticising the government in Malaysia, as we’ve seen elsewhere in South and South-East Asia? How has the situation impacted your own work?

Malaysia’s new government now finds itself in an insecure condition.  During the pandemic many have been arrested or charged for criticizing the government. Moreover the action taken against the news portal Malaysiakini is a very significant blow to freedom of expression in relation to the internet and social media and may yet have a bearing on me. The editor is now facing a charge and possible jail term because of the comments left by users in a comment column, which the government says is an insult to the judiciary. Should the verdict be guilty (and I personally think it will), it may spell danger for me because social media is my primary means of reaching an audience but what happens to my cartoons afterwards, who says or does what with them and where, is beyond my control.  I could see this new tactic having an effect on me soon.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

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