The reactions to the attack suffered by Salman Rushdie at the Chautauqua Institution, in the state of New York, this Friday have not been long in coming.
“We are deeply affected by the news that former PEN America President Salman Rushdie has been attacked today just before giving a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. We condemn the attack and wish him a speedy recovery,” he said. the International PEN Writers Association.
Also from the literary orbit, the Indian author Amitav Ghosh He has been “horrified” by the event.
US senator Chuck Schumer has considered that the aggression is “an attack on freedom of expression and thought, two of the fundamental values of our country”.
journalist and writer Alvaro Vargas Llosahas also commented on his Twitter account in support of Rushdie: “All our thoughts are with Salman Rushdie today. He seems to have survived the despicable attempt on his life by a deranged fanatic who reminds us that freedom of expression is a very painful conquest in the long and tortuous course of civilized coexistence”.
“Today we have learned that it was not. No one who dares to write and speak publicly can take for granted that he is free from those who hate freedom,” he concluded.
meet him in various parts of the world over the years—ever since Guillermo Cabrera Infante introduced him to me in London. I published two conversations with him in connection with the release of the Spanish-language edition of “The Moor’s Last Sigh”, first, and then 2/4
– Álvaro Vargas Llosa (@AlvaroVargasLl) August 12, 2022
In a similar sense, the British Minister of Economy has expressed himself, Kwasi Kwarteng: “Freedom of expression – in speech and writing – is the foundation of a democratic society and must be cherished. As Rushdie said, we must protect both writers and writing. I sincerely hope it recovers.”
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British Prime Minister, Boris Johnsonhas been “shocked that Sir Salman Rushdie has been stabbed while exercising a right that we should never stop defending.”
The Governor of New York, Kathy Hochulhas stated for his part that his “thoughts are with Salman and his loved ones after this horrific event.”