Australian magazine distributors and retailers are unlikely to obtain copies of the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo – whose cover depicts a drawing of the prophet Muhammad shedding a tear – citing moral and security concerns.
On Wednesday the human rights commissioner, Tim Wilson, wrongly said that publishing some Charlie Hebdo cartoons in Australia would be illegal under the Racial Discrimination Act. But section 18D of the act clearly exempts anything said or done reasonably in the performance, exhibition or distribution of an artistic work.
But more pressing for the owner of Mag Nation in Melbourne, Vali Valibhoy, were ethical considerations. Valibhoy said despite receiving about 200 requests for Charlie Hebdo across his four Victorian stores since Monday, he would not be selling it.
“Given we’ve never stocked it before, it would feel like a bit of a money grab, like we would be profiting off a horrible situation,” he said.
“We are a business at the end of the day and there is substantial demand for the magazine currently. But in 10 years we’ve not had one request for it, and it seem crass to go and get it now.”
Valibhoy said it was a conclusion he came to after thinking hard about it because, as a Muslim, he did not want to be seen as being worried about offending his religion.
“I actually quite like the image on the front of the magazine,” he said.
The normal print run of 60,000 copies has been pushed to five million to meet demand in France, where Charlie Hebdo is published, as well as internationally.
The Sydney distributor, Speed Impex, is already a major distributor of French magazines and as a result the manager, Paula Pirazzi, said she had had hundreds of requests from newsagents and bookstores to import the publication.
Pirazzi said her overseas suppliers wanted to ensure Speed Impex would be able to distribute Charlie Hebdo copies in Australia, probably about 500.
Pirazzi said she was awaiting legal advice from the Australian company she used to physically distribute the magazines before making a decision. Guardian Australia contacted the manager at that distributor, who did not want himself or his company named, citing security concerns about being associated with the publication.
But he said it was “very unlikely” the company would give Speed Impex the go-ahead given security and moral concerns.
Pirazzi said she would not want a copy of the magazine herself. “I think a lot of people want a copy as a souvenir, but that doesn’t seem right to me,” she said.
“The thing is this magazine has been around for a long time, and they were printing 60,000 copies and selling 30,000. It wasn’t very well known, but now all of a sudden people will buy one, and only one, and it doesn’t feel right.”
One Sydney bookstore, Abbey’s Bookshop, has decided to cut out the middle man and obtain copies for customers through its French contacts.
A French bookstore in Perth, Le Forum, said on its website that it was trying to get hold of the issue released in France on 14 January.
“However, due to the situation, there is no guarantee that we will be able to do so,” a statement says.
For those customers really desperate for a copy, there is always eBay. There copies of Charlie Hebdo are selling for as much as A$18,000.
