Egypt Independent: Local press review

Thursday's papers: Ethiopia dam dominates headlines, judges protest

Heba Helmy — Thu, 30 May 2013 15:14:00 +0000

News about Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam and Cairo’s fears over its water supply continued to dominate Thursday’s headlines in Egypt. Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding the judicial authority law returned to the front pages as judges have planned a strike.

State-owned paper Al-Akhbar reports that Egypt would lose a quarter of its water supply every year during which the path of the Blue Nile, one of the Nile’s two major tributaries, remains altered.

The country depends on the Nile River for 85 percent of its water supply. The megaproject, however, is expected to deprive Egyptians of 12 billion cubic meters of water per year, according to a report published by a tripartite committee made up of experts from Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.

The privately-owned Al-Shorouk newspaper reports that Egypt may resort to a “diplomacy weapon” if it cannot reach common ground with Ethiopia. The paper quotes diplomatic sources who say that Egypt could seek assistance from the Arab League to resolve the crisis.

Privately owned Al-Tahrir paper writes that Pope Tawadros II, head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, refuted claims that the president’s office had asked him to pressure the Ethiopian government to back away from its decision.

Tawadros told the paper that the Ethiopian and Egyptian Churches share strong historical ties, but that this does not signify that he has the authority to interfere in the decisions of the Ethiopian authorities.

The paper also talks about the role of the Muslim Brotherhood’s leaders, and it concludes that they want a military intervention. It also criticizes the government’s diplomatic approach in trying to resolve the issue.

“Egypt is not weak and it is more than capable of handling the situation if military intervention is needed,” Osama Soliman, member of the Islamist-dominated Shura council, told Al-Tahrir.

Saber Aboul Fatouh, leader of the Freedom and Justice Party, echoed the same sentiment. He suggests that military planes bomb the dam to ensure the country does not suffer from an acute water shortage.

Al-Wafd, the liberal newspaper of the opposition Wafd Party, dedicates its front page headline to the planned open-ended sit-in organized by judges in protest of proposed amendments to the judicial authority law.

The paper says that judges have been gearing up their efforts to confront the challenges posed by the Shura Council, the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament and sole legislative body in the country.

The paper writes that the Supreme Judiciary Council decided to join members of the Judges Club in staging an open-ended sit-in starting on Friday in protest of the Shura Council’s insistence on deliberating on amendments to the judiciary law.

The club’s legal defense and youth committees have already started the sit-in on Monday at the High Constitutional Court.

The controversial bill would lower the retirement age for judges from 70 to 60, which, it is believed, would force out about one quarter of Egypt's 13,000 serving judges.

Additionally, judges issued a call for people to participate Monday in a popular march that will start at the High Constitutional Court and end at the Shura council, and which will serve to denounce the attacks on the independence of the judiciary.

Privately-owned daily Youm7 has an exclusive report which claims that Abdel Rahman Mohsen, a member of the 6 April Youth Movement who was arrested for belonging to the protest group Black Bloc, has been subjected to physical torture in jail.

Mohsen reportedly wrote a letter from prison to one of his friends asking him to expose police brutality and convey his message to the public.

The letter also says that he and eight other Tora prison detainees, accused of being members of the Black Bloc, have gone on an open-ended hunger strike.

Surprisingly, FJP, the mouthpiece of the Brotherhood’s political arm, diverges from its usual bias with one of today’s top headlines: “The return of gasoline queues.”

The partisan paper depicts the difficulties citizens have been facing in the last three days due to gasoline shortages across the country. The report goes on to blame the government for the disruption in the gasoline supply.

Wednesday’s papers: Tensions mount in Nile dispute

Heba Helmy — Wed, 29 May 2013 15:36:00 +0000

The news that Ethiopia is diverting the course of the Blue Nile in order to build a giant dam dominates Wednesday’s headlines in Egypt.

The Ethiopian government held a ceremony on Tuesday to mark the decision to alter the path of the Blue Nile, one of the Nile’s two major tributaries, in preparation of launching the Renaissance Dam project.

Despite Ethiopian officials’ insistence that the megaproject will not affect Egypt’s water supply, this recent development has triggered public ire in Egypt, which enjoys a lion's share of Nile water.

The front-page of state mouthpiece Al-Ahram attempts to calm public fears with the headline “officials downplay, experts exaggerate ramifications of the project.”

Responding to the news that the river will be diverted, presidential spokesperson Omar Amer tells the paper that the move is an ‘engineering procedure’ and that Egypt is waiting for the tripartite committee, made up of experts from Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, to issue its report on the Renaissance Dam project before making any judgments.

Independent papers Youm7 and Al-Watan both describe the move as “a declaration of war on Egypt.”

Youm7 writes that Kamal Hassan, the Sudanese ambassador in Cairo and a representative of the Arab League, opined that Ethiopia’s announcement is “shocking.” Hassan added that Egypt and Sudan would turn to the Arab League to resolve the matter.

Al-Watan appends to its Wednesday issue a four page supplement entitled “The Setback of Renaissance.” The extensive report discusses potential scenarios of war between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Nile dispute.

According to Al-Watan, one of these scenarios would involve a proxy war in which Cairo would support rebel groups in Ethiopia by giving them funds and weapons though a third party. Another scenario would entail a direct intervention in which military planes would bomb the dam. Still another scenario would be comprised of sending a special army unit to disrupt construction of the dam.

In another article, senior government sources tell Al-Watan that the Interior Ministry and the Egyptian General Intelligence Service had warned President Mohamed Morsy about this crisis several times and had recommended that he make gestures of goodwill lest the situation escalate. The government, however, did not listen and remained indifferent to the looming threat, the sources said.

The paper features politicians’ criticisms of Ethiopia’s move and describes the president’s botched attempt to contain the situation during his visit to Addis Abba last week.

The liberal Al-Wafd paper, published by the opposition Wafd Party, has a catchy headline: “Brotherhood coup on the constitutional (court).”

The ongoing fight between the judiciary and the Shura Council appears to have reached a deadlock.

The partisan paper writes that the Muslim Brotherhood’s call for the dissolution of the High Constitutional Court is an attempt to gain revenge for the latter’s attempts to fulfill its own interests in the political arena.

The controversial bill would lower the retirement age for judges from 70 to 60, which, it is believed, would force out about one quarter of Egypt's 13,000 serving judges.

The upper house of parliament, dominated by Islamists, intends to pass the judicial authority bill at all costs, says Sedky Khalosy, former head of the State Litigation Authority.

“The dissolution of the High Constitutional Court is unlawful and impossible,” reads another headline in Al-Wafd.

Professor Mohamed al-Zahby categorically denounced the Brotherhood’s call for holding a popular referendum on whether to disband the court. He explains that such a procedure violates a number of articles in the country’s constitution.

Youm7 sheds light on Minister of Culture Alaa Abdel Aziz’s decision to dismiss top officials for seemingly no reason.

According to the report, Salah al-Meleegy was dismissed from his post as head of the Department of Applied Arts after he refused to remove from the Applied Arts General Exhibition 30 works of art deemed by the minister to be in violation of the law.

Similarly, Enas Abdel Dayem, head of the Cairo Opera House, was reportedly sacked “for no obvious reason” and was replaced by Reda al-Wakil, a professor at the Cairo Academy of Arts.

Some critics believe that the minister’s recent moves are an attempt to imprint the Brotherhood’s ideology on the cultural landscape of the country. Abdel Aziz assumed his position following a Cabinet reshuffle in early May.

Tuesday’s papers: Documentary made about Morsy, ‘Tamarod’ gears up efforts

Heba Helmy — Tue, 28 May 2013 16:29:00 +0000

Independent daily Youm7 publishes exclusive news on President Mohamed Morsy.

The paper reports that state-owned Egyptian television has been “secretly” producing a documentary film entitled “A Year of Achievements,” which lays out the alleged achievements of Morsy since taking office.

The 45-minute film is scheduled for release on 30 June, the first anniversary of Morsy’s ascent to power, which will coincide with planned mass demonstrations to protest the president’s lackluster performance.

The film will recount Morsy’s grueling life journey to the presidency, which, the movie claims, has influenced who he is today.

The writer of the film’s script, Ashraf Mubarak, a journalist at the state-run Nile News TV channel, stressed that the film would present a credible perspective of Morsy’s first year in office.

This news is unsurprising as it follows the Muslim Brotherhood’s similar attempt to polish Morsy’s image with a 124-page book entitled “Months of achievements...President Morsy builds Egypt anew.”

The book was harshly criticized for presenting biased information while turning a blind eye to the president’s inevitable failures.

The liberal Al-Wafd paper indicates that members of the Tamarod campaign are rolling up their sleeves to convey their message to as many people as possible by stamping “Tamarod campaign and 30 June” on money bills.

The movement, which was launched less than a month ago, is distributing petitions across governorates that call for withdrawing confidence from Morsy.

The paper, published by the opposition Wafd Party, quotes Amr Attia, one of the campaigners, as saying, “Stamping paper currency is an easy way to reach all sectors of society, including members of the Brotherhood.”

Maybe one day the president will receive some of these paper bills and realize how frustrated people are feeling because of his policies, Attia added.

Reporting on the same issue, independent daily Al-Watan writes that the Tamarod campaign, which is gaining widespread popularity in Egypt, is now focusing on expanding its efforts abroad.

Members of the Egyptian expatriate community living in Germany added two hundred signatures to Tamarod’s petition during a demonstration in one of Berlin’s squares against the Islamist-dominated regime.

Protesters reportedly chanted anti-Brotherhood and anti-Morsy slogans, and held banners with pictures of martyrs of the revolution that said “Morsy is Egypt’s new pharaoh.”

On the back page of independent daily Al-Shorouk, vocal comedian Bassem Youssef raises questions about the credibility of so-called Islamic TV programs.

The cardiac surgeon and satirist believes that Islamic law is being crudely manipulated by the anchors of these types of TV programs.

Rather than instilling Islamic morals, they curse, use offensive language, and make sexual gestures, he says.

Youssef goes on to explain in his weekly opinion article that these men often accuse of defamation those who criticize them, in a bid to try to silence their detractors.

The front-page of the state-run flagship Al-Ahram features extensive coverage of efforts made by Hesham Qandil and the cabinet to alleviate citizens’ burdens.

The paper has an article in which the Ministry of Finance guarantees that “measures will be taken to resolve the power outage crisis.” They also have a short piece about the promotion of 400,000 employees and granting next June of permanent contracts to temporary workers in the administrative body of the state.

Both articles delve into tedious details, but evoke hope in the face of looming crises.

Another article represented a classic example of Al-Ahram’s biased editorial policy, which solely voices the government’s views.

Indeed, they reported that the Council of Ministers is considering providing comprehensive health care insurance to all, which, they say, would cover all the costs of medical treatment, operations, and hospital accommodation.

Monday’s papers: Tamarod gaining popularity, SCC ruling causes rift

Heba Helmy — Mon, 27 May 2013 15:17:00 +0000

Monday’s newspapers reveal that the political situation in Egypt is reaching a boiling point amid escalating tensions between the liberal-secular opposition, and President Mohamed Morsy and his Islamist allies.

Meanwhile, the Tamarod campaign is making every effort to gather additional signatures to withdraw confidence from Morsy.

Independent daily Youm7 writes that the movement, which was launched less than a month ago, has been gaining momentum by collecting more than five thousand signatures in the last two days.

In Shubra al-Kheima, members of the movement reportedly targeted the masses of football fans watching the final of the UEFA Champions League football match in coffee shops, trying to convince them to sign their petition which calls for early presidential elections.

Additionally, the campaign members urged the crowd to take part in a mass protest on 30 June that will mark the first anniversary of Morsi’s ascent to power.

Despite its resonance with Egyptian society, Morsy has shown apparent indifference to the “Rebellion” campaign launched against him.

During a meeting with the Egyptian expatriate community living in Addis Abba, Morsy said the movement is comprised of “faithful” politicians, independent daily Al-Tahrir states in its top headline.

Morsy stressed, however, that this did not change the fact that he “came to power with 52 percent of the vote and was elected president. Everyone must accept democratic mechanisms and stop wasting time with disputes.”

The liberal Al-Wafd paper, published by the opposition Wafd Party, has a blunt headline: “Shura (Council) safeguards the success of Morsy and the Brotherhood.”

The paper claims that the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament deliberately issued invalid provisions in order to delay the parliamentary elections.

On page two, an extensive report features an in-depth look into the Brotherhood’s ongoing use of tactical maneuvers to tighten its grip on the political arena.

It is reported that the Islamist group wants to extend the transitional period for fear that, due to its dwindling popularity, it will lose seats in the parliamentary election.

The partisan paper goes on to explain that the lack of a lower house of parliament likely reinforces the Shura Council’s legislative authority, allowing the Brotherhood to tailor laws and policies to meet its interests.

The ongoing feud between the judiciary and the Shura Council is still making headlines in most of Monday’s newspapers.

Privately-owned daily Al-Watan quotes Sobhy Saleh, an MP and senior member of the Freedom and Justice Party, who says “The council will give the judiciary a two week timeframe in which to present its revisions to the judicial authority law. If no response is received within that time, the council will pass the proposed amendment.”

The controversial bill would lower the retirement age for judges from 70 to 60, which, it is believed, would force out about one quarter of Egypt's 13,000 serving judges.

In response, Zakaria Shalash, head of Cairo's appeals court, strongly criticized Saleh, describing him as “ignorant of the specificities of the law.”

Shalash explained to Al-Watan that the constitution does not allow for a time limit to be imposed regarding the deliberation of pending bills.

State-run flagship Al-Ahram interviews six out of the seven released soldiers abducted by unknown assailants in North Sinai Last Thursday.

The soldiers described in detail how they were kidnapped and how an escape plan was botched.

The report also highlights the physical and psychological abuse they were subjected to.

Freedom and Justice, the mouthpiece of the Brotherhood’s political arm, launches a broadside against the High Constitutional Court’s ruling concerning officers’ right to vote in elections.

The paper quotes a number of politicians and judiciary and military officials who categorically denounce the move.

The law allowing police and army officers to take part in the electoral process was implemented in 1956, said General Adel Al-Morsi, former head of judiciary authority in the military.

It was cancelled soon thereafter to avoid army and police interference in the political arena, he says.

The story covers the critical comments the court’s ruling received while ignoring the positive responses from some members of the opposition.

Granting the army and police the right to vote fosters social equality between citizens, Al-Tahrir quotes Sarwat Abdel Aal, professor of constitutional law, as saying.

Sunday’s papers: A widening rift between Shura and judges

Heba Helmy — Sun, 26 May 2013 14:54:00 +0000

Sunday’s independent newspapers criticize the Shura Council’s decision to deliberate on a controversial proposal to amend the judicial authority law.

“Shura (Council) chooses escalation with judges,” reads the top headline of independent daily Al-Shorouk.

The paper states that the decision by the Islamist-led upper house of parliament to refer a proposal that would amend the judicial authority law to the Legislative Committee was met with open arms by Islamist MPs, but with much resistance from judges and opposition MPs.

It is reported that a number of parliamentarians from the opposition staged a sit-in in protest of Islamists’ ongoing ‘brotherhoodization’ of state institutions such as those of the judiciary, the media, and the ministry of interior.

The proposed amendment would lower the retirement age for judges from 70 to 60, which, it is believed, would force out about one quarter of Egypt's 13,000 serving judges.

The amendment, proposed by the moderate Islamist Wasat Party last April and strongly supported by the Freedom and Justice Party, seeks to purge Egypt’s judiciary of corrupt officials appointed by Mubarak.

The Salafi Nour Party will stand hand in hand with the opposition as long as both adopt the same stance, Amad al-Mahady, an MP from that party said.

The liberal Al-Wafd paper, distributed by the opposition Wafd Party, runs a catchy headline: “A dark day for the Shura Council.”

The report states that one hundred MPs wore black sashes that said “invalid procedure for invalid law” to condemn what they call “a massacre of judges.”

In another article, the partisan paper writes that if the council approved the amendment, the Judges Club would challenge its constitutionality.

Independent daily Al-Tahrir reports that Egypt’s High Constitutional Court declared four of the articles in the parliamentary elections law unconstitutional.

The court reasoned that the ratio of seats allocated to each governorate did not reflect population density, violating the constitution’s guarantee of fair representation.

The ruling overturned an article that would have given the president the power to determine the timing and duration of elections, the paper says.

Furthermore, the HCC reportedly ruled unconstitutional an article in the electoral law which would have allowed for the use of religious slogans during election campaigns.

The court also objected to police and army officers not being granted the right to vote.

Privately-owned daily Youm7 dedicates almost an entire page to an interview with Egypt's Coptic Pope, Tawadros II, in which the patriarch shares his opinion on the Muslim Brotherhood’s governance and discusses some of the more sensitive issues concerning the Coptic community.

Picking his words carefully, Pope Tawadros II denied that Copts are persecuted against, but rather “face the same difficulties as before, which continue to deteriorate.”

A critical issue raised during the interview concerned the status of Copts in post-revolution Egypt.

Everyone’s life has changed dramatically after the revolution, whether they are Muslim or Copt, the Pope told the paper.

Finally, Tawadros II advised the Brotherhood to “select those who are capable” when appointing state officials.

Independent Al-Tahrir publishes an exclusive, short interview with Ahmed Abdel Badiaa, one of the freed Egyptian soldiers abducted by unknown assailants in North Sinai last Thursday.

Abdel Badiaa did not give the paper any detailed information about the rescue operation, saying he was unable to see anything because the gunmen had blindfolded him.

He speculated that the Egyptian army had besieged the kidnappers, forcing them to abandon the hostages and flee.

State-run flagship Al-Ahram reports that there have been no power outages in the last few days.

Anonymous officials attributed the renewed stability of the electricity grid to increased power output, by up to 87 percent, and citizens’ positive response to a national plea to reduce energy consumption, the paper states.

Saturday’s papers: Egypt plunges into electricity crisis

Heba Helmy — Sat, 25 May 2013 12:50:00 +0000

Saturday’s newspapers cover the continuous power cuts with big headlines.

While independent dailies discuss the negative ramifications of the mounting crisis, state-owned papers opt for more optimistic language, expressing hope that the crisis will soon be resolved.

“A respite before the onset of ‘darkness revolution,’” screams the top headline of Al-Wafd, the liberal newspaper of the opposition Wafd Party, accompanied by a picture of one of Egypt’s gloomy, unlighted streets, which lately has become somewhat of a recurring scene across the country.

Al-Wafd’s report states that the country has been hit by a series of street protests, most of them in Alexandria, due to the long power outages of more than ten hours a day that have been taking place.

Independent daily Youm7 runs a heartbreaking headline: “The first martyr of electricity crisis.”

A six-year-old boy reportedly passed away in his father’s motorcycle repair shop due to a blackout in Minya governorate.

The paper recounts that the workshop caught fire after a candle fell out of the little boy’s hand. The flame then encountered gas seeping from the ground, burning the boy to death as a result.

Privately-owned daily Al-Shorouk sheds light on the numerous threats that the power cuts pose to all sectors of society.

The extensive report quotes common citizens explaining the daily hardships they face due to the electricity shortage, from robbery and sexual harassment to significant business losses and traffic jams.

In response, some angry consumers launched a campaign on social networks urging families not to pay electricity bills starting next month, independent daily Al-Watan states on its front-page.

The paper also dedicates an entire page to cover the mounting power outrages across all governorates.

Tens of workers staged a sit-in in Martyrs’ Square in Alexandria in protest of the blackouts, which reportedly affect the proper payment of their salaries, and which sometimes lead to layoffs. In addition, residents of Minya blocked off the agricultural highway for three hours for the same reason.

According to the report, the Freedom and Justice Party has formed a committee aiming to meet the demands of frustrated citizens, who want to be given ahead of time a detailed schedule of future electricity cuts, organized by governorate, and request that an investigation be launched into the purported high amount of voltage cable theft.

Despite all the criticism, state-run flagship daily Al-Ahram’s lead story portrays the opposite image, stating that the country has witnessed a noticeable drop in power cuts in the past few days.

Al-Ahram continues to paint a rosy picture in its report, praising the supposed “tremendous efforts” made by the government to contain the power outage crisis.

The paper writes that the Ministry of Electricity and Energy is planning to provide portable lighting equipment to cope with emergency situations and to conduct school examinations.

Freedom and Justice, the mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, claims that the crisis is about to be resolved.

The partisan paper says that Egypt will receive its first gas shipment from Qatar next Tuesday to ease the sharp escalation of the electricity plight.

Both state-run papers Al-Ahram and Al-Akhbar run a classic template of foreign relations coverage, stating that President Mohamed Morsy flew to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend the 21st African Union Summit commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the continental organization’s establishment.

Finally, independent daily Al-Tahrir runs a catchy headline: “Why didn’t the (released) soldiers return home until now?”

The paper says that the seven freed Egyptian soldiers, seized by unknown assailants in North Sinai last Thursday and released early Thursday, have not yet been sent home to their families.

The paper quotes the soldiers’ parents as saying that they only talked to their sons by phone, but that they have not been told of the reason for their delay.

A security source who preferred to remain anonymous told the paper that the soldiers were being questioned by the authorities in order to gather detailed information about their kidnapping and the identities of the kidnappers.

Thursday’s papers: Little known about Sinai rescue operation

Heba Helmy — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:10:00 +0000

All daily papers publish headlines, features, and articles pertaining to the release of the seven Egyptian soldiers who were seized by unknown assailants in North Sinai last Thursday.

The lack of details regarding the success of the rescue mission, however, was broached in different ways, highlighting the growing rift between state-owned and independent newspapers' editorial policies.

“The return of soldiers without bloodshed or a deal,” reads the headline of state-run flagship daily Al-Ahram.

In its report, the paper focuses on the details of the rescue operation in order to underscore the supposed might of the army, which it claims was able to corner the kidnappers and force them to escape out of fear of being arrested.

Predictably, both state-owned papers Al-Akhbar and Al-Gomhorriya follow in the steps of Al-Ahram.

Al-Akhbar publishes military spokesperson Colonel Ahmed Ali's statement, made during a press conference organized by the presidency, the cabinet, the military, and the police on Wednesday. Ali claimed that the Armed Forces adopted a deceptive plan that turned the table on the kidnappers and enabled the Army to besiege them.

Freedom and Justice, the mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, declares victory with the bold headline “And the state triumphs.”

The partisan paper writes that news of the kidnapped soldiers’ rescue was met with a great deal of happiness and enthusiasm.

“The operation to secure the release of the soldiers was conducted without any compromises, concessions, deals, or settlements,” the paper quotes presidential spokesperson Ehab Fahmy as saying.

Of course, FJP tends to make a mountain out of a molehill whenever there is news favorable to the president, whom the Muslim Brotherhood thrust into power after the disqualification of businessman Khairat al-Shater.

The paper includes an op-ed piece written by Rageb al-Bassel exclusively dedicated to highlighting the supposed distinctive traits and enormous capabilities of Mr. Morsy, which, the author claims, enable him to effectively handle important state crises.

The author repeats an oft-recited phrase used by government-backed media – that Morsy is the first civilian president of Egypt – even though this information is irrelevant to his argument.

Independent papers are skeptical of the strategy adopted by the army to secure the release of the kidnapped soldiers.

Independent daily Al-Shorouk has as its headline “Happy, yet vague, ending.” Independent paper Al-Tahrir raises questions about the vague nature of the rescue mission and the reasons for which the kidnappers’ stance suddenly changed: “Who kidnapped [the soldiers]? Why did [the kidnappers] give up their demands? And what was given them in return?”

Although authorities reportedly declared that information on the kidnappers was available yet would be kept confidential for security reasons, privately-owned Youm7 quotes anonymous sources saying that the “kidnappers belong to a Salafi militant group associated to al-Tawhid wal-Jihad Group, which was accused of involvement in the Taba and Sharm el-Sheikh bombings of 2004.”

Independent daily Al-Watan openly challenges the authorities with a red, bold headline: “The Deal.”

The paper claims military intelligence officers agreed to a deal with the kidnappers through a mediator from Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jammah group. It adds that the kidnappers listed two demands as conditions for the release of the kidnappers. “The kidnappers freed the soldiers after the security apparatus vowed not to go after them and pledged to release 18 detainees belonging to the Islamic Jihad Movement,” an anonymous source told the paper.

On the same front, Al-Watan explains that negotiations regarding the soldiers’ release were conducted with the help of Sinai tribal sheikhs and Salafi Jihadist groups, with the approval of the president.

Wednesday’s papers: Sinai kidnapping dominates headlines, power cuts provoke anger

Heba Helmy — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:33:00 +0000

Sinai kidnapping crisis continues to generate headlines in both Wednesday’s state-owned and independent dailies.

Papers highlight that the Egyptian army "is within reach of victory against the unknown assailants" who abducted seven Egyptian soldiers (four from the army and three from the Central Security Forces) in North Sinai last Thursday.

In their headlines, both state-owned papers Al-Akhbar and Al-Gomhorriya dub the army’s rescue mission “the dignity operation.”

State-run flagship daily Al-Ahram’s lead story states that the army has managed to seize the kidnappers after identifying where the hostages were being held.

An anonymous security source is quoted as saying that the military and police forces have increased their operations on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip by dispatching 40 armored vehicles in the areas of Sheikh Zuwayed and al-Jura as well as setting up additional roadblocks to seal off any escape routes.

On its front-page, independent daily Al-Shorouk echoes the details of the rescue operation.

However, there is a wide discrepancy between Al-Ahram and Al-Shorouk in terms of the reported number of kidnappers involved. While the former states that they total about 500 gunmen, the latter claims that they add up to only 50.

At the end of its report, Al-Shorouk adds substantial commentary indicating that some "Salafi jihadist" sources, who preferred to stay anonymous, denied any involvement in the hostage crisis, instead “placing the blame on the allies of Hamada Abu Shita, who was convicted of storming a police station in Al-Arish.”

Freedom and Justice, the mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, highlights in one of its front-page headlines that President Mohamed Morsy categorically refuses to come to the table to resolve the kidnapping issue.

Al-Wafd, the liberal newspaper of the opposition Wafd Party, interprets the president’s stance differently.

According to former Brotherhood leading figure Tharwet al-Kherbawy, negotiations have been conducted between the former leader of Nour Party and current presidential assistant Emad Abdel Ghafour on one side, and the kidnappers on the other, in a bid to reach common ground without the use of military interference.

Speaking to Al-Wafd, Kherbawy said that he believes Morsy’s stance is merely one of the Muslim Brotherhood's political tactics to increase the popularity of the president which, he says, has dramatically deteriorated in recent times.

Privately-owned daily Al-Dostour issues a hefty challenge to Morsy's policies by covering a New York Times article that sheds light on the security vacuum in Sinai since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February 2011.

Another story making the rounds in today’s local press is the power outages.

“Egypt drowns in the darkness of the ‘renaissance’,” screams the top headline of independent daily Youm7.

The paper provides information about the recent power shortages for each of the country’s governorates.

The extensive report states that the harebrained scheme to reduce electricity consumption has triggered public ire directed at Hesham Qandil's cabinet.

Alexandria residents reportedly blocked off the Corniche road on Tuesday in protest of long power cuts that have been taking place more than three times a day.

Independent paper Al-Watan dedicates almost an entire page to its exclusive interview with Gerhard Reissner, president of the International Association of Judges.

“The association will not allow any interference in the independence of Egypt’s judiciary,” the paper quotes Reissner as saying.

He also regards the dismissal of prosecutor-general Abdel Maguid Mahmoud as “a crime and a violation of law.”

“The association is considering presenting a report on the these issues to the United Nations…to find an instant solution for preserving the independence of the Judiciary in Egypt,” he concluded.

On Monday, Reissner was invited to participate in an international conference held by the Egyptian Judges Club and the International Association of Judges, the subject of which concerned the protection of the independence of the Egyptian Judiciary. He was expected to address Egypt’s looming judicial crisis and the alleged infringements against judges.

Egypt’s papers:

Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt

Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size

Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run

Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run

Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned

Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned

Al-Watan: Daily, privately owned

Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party

Youm7: Daily, privately owned

Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned

Al-Sabah: Daily, privately owned

Freedom and Justice: Daily, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party

Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned

Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Nasserist Party

Al-Nour: Official paper of the Salafi Nour Party

Wednesday's papers: Searching for answers in Boston and at home

Mai Shams El-Din — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:04:00 +0000

Egyptian papers are joining the flurry of international press reports, commentary and speculation on the unknown culprits of the marathon bombing that shocked Boston and the world Monday.

Twin blasts that went off just 12 seconds apart killed at least three and injured more than 180 people near the finish line of the famous race.

According to state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper, US authorities are searching for a suspect who was seen wearing a black T-Shirt and carrying a black backpack. The paper says police continue to inspect the streets of Boston and check the belongings of public transport users and residents.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy and other leaders have denounced the attack. The mouthpiece of the ruling Freedom and Justice Party says on its front page that the presidency described the bombings as a "criminal act" in a statement that also declared its support for victims' families.

Freedom and Justice newspaper also publishes the party's statement: "Islamic Sharia, which the Freedom and Justice Party undertakes as its source of reference, utterly rejects attacks against civilians and does not accept endangering the lives of civilians regardless of their religion, color, or gender."

Al-Watan's headline reads, "Boston blasts in the face of the world." The privately owned paper claims what many fear, that accusations are already chasing Islamists, and quotes Egyptian political analystswho speculate that such attacks could negatively affect the US administration's relationship with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood rulers.

Privately owned daily Al-Shorouk purports to quote the New York Times as saying that "Muslims are hiding themselves in fear of being accused in the events," while quoting the French Le Figaro as saying that terrorism has no religion. However no such statements could immediately be found on the New York Times website.

At home, Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's testimony in a case regarding destroyed state security documents is making waves.

Al-Akhbar publishes the minister's exact testimony before Giza Criminal Court at the Police Academy Tuesday, in which he primarily denies that the military council had any prior knowledge of the documents or of plans to destroy them.

Following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, pro-democracy activists declared a nationwide campaign to storm headquarters of the state security offices. Upon storming the Cairo headquarters, activists discovered many documents housed inside had been shredded. Former State Security Investigative Services leader Hassan Abdel Rahman and 40 senior intelligence officers are now on trial, accused of ordering the destruction of the important documents.

Sisi, who was the head of military intelligence at the time, told the court that military forces were ordered to secure the headquarters from outside and did not to enter the headquarters to avoid any possible violence with the activists.

"We have no reason why State Security shredded the documents, but I can say that every apparatus has to protect its secrets because many problems may occur if these secrets are leaked to the public," he said, refusing to give an opinion on whether the documents contained sensitive national security information.

"Every apparatus sets its own standards of secrecy," he added, according to Al-Akhbar.

Al-Watan reports that the minister, who was appointed by President Mohamed Morsy in August, confirmed that the Army had learned online about plans to storm the intelligence headquarters.

The newspaper also says the court rejected two requests from lawyers to question Sisi about any involvement former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq may have had in the incident, as well as how information from some of the intact documents was leaked to the public.

The newspaper quotes one of the lawyers describing Sisi's court appearance as the testimony of "a witness who has not witnessed anything."

The prosecution argued that the crime is not the document shredding, but the destruction of history and truth which amounts to treason, Al-Shorouk reports.

"The country was good to them, but they met this with corruption," the prosecution said of the defendants, according to Al-Shorouk.

Independent Al-Tahrir newspaper writes that Sisi said in this testimony that the military was not ordered to transfer the undestroyed documents from the headquarters after the attack.

"We have been discussing this issue for two years, and we were in the middle of a revolution. There was some information leaked on Facebook, but I have no power to conduct any investigations into the State Security," Sisi was reported as saying.

Egypt’s papers:

Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt

Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size

Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run

Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run

Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned

Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned

Al-Watan: Daily, privately owned

Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party

Youm7: Daily, privately owned

Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned

Al-Sabah: Daily, privately owned

Freedom and Justice: Daily, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party

Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned

Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Nasserist Party

Al-Nour: Official paper of the Salafi Nour Party

Tuesday's papers: The next chapter of the Mubarak trial

Amany Aly Shawky — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:08:00 +0000

Privately owned Al-Shorouk writes, “Mubarak imprisoned until further notice.” Cairo Criminal Court yesterday ordered the release of former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak over charges of regarding the killing of protesters during the uprising that led to his ouster. Mubarak will, however, remain in custody pending investigations over other corruption charges related to the misuse of funds. The court session started with the declaration of attendance of the former president, then the court listened to his lawyer, Farid al-Deeb, who argued that Mubarak’s provisional detention, which started in April 2011, has ended because two years have elapsed since the start of his trial.

According to Al-Shorouk, Mubarak entered the court accompanied by his two sons despite the fact that the appeal does not concern them. Mubarak appeared on a stretcher without the dark sunglasses he usually wears. The court house was filed with Mubarak supporters and there was zero presence of his opponents.

Yehia Galal, head of the Illicit Gains Authority, informed al-Shorouk that the authority had issued a 15-day detention over a case in which he is charged with financial corruption in May 2011, but the decision had been postponed, as Mubarak was imprisoned over another case. Galal told the paper that this detention order will be activated immediately.

Al-Akhbar’s headline on the Mubarak trial has a different emphasis, leading this morning with, “Mubarak released over charges of murdering protesters.” The paper cites the general prosecution's spokesperson, Mahmoud al-Hefnawy, who states that the former president remains in detention over charges in three other cases of corruption, misuse of funds allocated for the renovation of presidential palaces, in addition to receiving presents from newspapers.

Meanwhile, a number of Mubarak supporters gathered in front of Gate 8 of the Police Academy calling for the immediate release of the former president. A street vendor stood in the middle of the crowd selling pictures of Mubarak while others groups of people chanted and waved banners denouncing the humiliation of their leader. Most of the crowd wore white t-shirts with Mubarak pictures on it and a sentence reading, “We love you.”

The state-owned daily also reports on the explosions in Boston. Three were killed and more than 100 injured in a series of explosions in Boston yesterday at 2:30 pm Eastern Standard time near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The paper’s reporting describes how local TV channels broadcast pictures of the street covered in debris and ambulances carrying the injured and cites the New York Times coverage of a tent initially for the runners being used to treat the injured. Al-Akhbar reports that surveillance cameras spotted a man carrying two bags, according to the head of police, who says the explosives were placed inside garbage bins and that the bombs were manufactured locally.

The front page of the Freedom and Justice paper this morning overlooks both Mubarak and Boston news, and features instead the third installment of a profile on Mahdi Akef, the former supreme guide. According to the mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood, Akef unveiled for the first time secrets from the 1948 war and the role of the Brotherhood in fighting the British in the Suez Canal. A picture of Akef shows him reloading his rifle. The four-page profile discusses the bravery of the Brotherhood and their ability to drag the “Jews” into a fight in an open land.

Egypt’s papers:

Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt

Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size

Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run

Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run

Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned

Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned

Al-Watan: Daily, privately owned

Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party

Youm7: Daily, privately owned

Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned

Al-Sabah: Daily, privately owned

Freedom and Justice: Daily, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party

Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned

Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Nasserist Party

Al-Nour: Official paper of the Salafi Nour Party