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American Morning
Search Continues for "Wall Street Journal" Reporter Daniel Pearl
Aired January 28, 2002 - 07:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The search continues this morning for "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl, who was apparently kidnapped in Afghanistan. The newspaper says it received a series of photographs by e-mail, including one that shows Pearl being held at gunpoint. Pearl was last seen Wednesday in Karachi.
It is still not clear who's responsible for his apparent abduction. The Committee To Protect Journalists is following this story closely, and Richard Murphy, the group's editorial and program director joins me now. Thanks for being with us this morning.
RICHARD MURPHY, EDITORIAL AND PROGRAM DIRECTOR, THE COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS: Thanks, Anderson.
COOPER: Daniel Pearl is a 10-year veteran of "The Wall Street Journal." Certainly, an experienced reporter even in that region.
MURPHY: Right.
COOPER: What is your understanding of what happened to him?
MURPHY: Well, the story seems to be had gone to Karachi to look into the Richard Reid case -- the guy who tried to blow up a plane with explosive sneakers. According to his wife, he had gotten a tip that -- that some sources with one of the Islamic militant groups studying Kashmir was willing to speak to him. He was picked up by a couple of people, taken off for an interview and hasn't been heard from since.
COOPER: Now the group that is allegedly holding him has -- in this e-mail they said that they think he is a spy.
MURPHY: Right.
COOPER: And that's quite common?
MURPHY: Yeah, I mean, I have spent a couple of years working as a journalist in Pakistan, and pretty much everybody I talked to was convinced that I was a spy. It's quite common in countries around the world.
COOPER: Because you're walking around with a... MURPHY: A notebook and a camera and I'm asking questions, which is -- which is not normal behavior for -- for a foreign tourist. So, you know, particularly -- I mean, Pakistan is a country with a free press, so they're used to journalists. But the presumption is always that a foreigner coming to the country asking questions is -- is somehow a spy.
COOPER: "The Wall Street Journal" has released parts of the e- mail that were received from the group. I'm going to put up some of it on the screen. They say, quote, "If the Americans keep our countrymen in better conditions in Guantanamo, then we will better the conditions of Mr. Pearl and all other Americans that we capture." What do you think this group hopes to achieve?
MURPHY: Well, the first -- the first thing to point out about the note is that it doesn't match the style of communication that normally comes from Pakistani militant groups. There's no reference to God, there's no reference to Islam or Mohammed. So I think that's why the Pakistani police at first dismissed it as a hoax.
Of course, the fact that photographs of Pearl were attached to it makes one think it's genuine. If indeed, as the Pakistani police have said, this group is fronting for the army of Mohammed or, you know, one of the other groups that President Musharraf has cracked down on recently in response to U.S. pressure, it would seem as though you've got a bunch of Islamic militants who are facing huge pressure from the Pakistani government. They're -- they understand that the Pakistani government is cracking down on them because of U.S. pressure, and so they're hoping to get leverage.
COOPER: All right. Mr. Murphy, thanks very much for being with us this morning. We will no doubt follow the stories I'm sure you and your organization will.
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