Local papers Wednesday mirror various reactions to the revolution anniversary; there are those that are celebrating, those that reject the celebrations because the revolution is ongoing, and others that are mixing celebration with protest.
The state-run flagship Al-Ahram falls in the first category with a front-page headline that reads, “Today … is the people’s word: Millions crawl to the squares to celebrate freedom and dignity.” It is also the only newspaper that leads with Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi’s speech from the night before, publishing the entire text.
“He urged everyone who underestimated the role of the armed forces to revisit his patriotism,” the paper writes. “Tantawi also stressed that the armed forces will devote themselves to protecting the nation immediately with the end of the transition period.”
Al-Ahram focuses an editorial on the differences between Wednesday and last 25 January, citing democratic elections and saying the revolution “put Egypt on the path of total change.”
“In the time that the revolution brought down the head of the regime, it also brought down many other things; it’s no longer the case that a certain party, person, position or group enjoys that same sacredness as before. No matter how disturbed the situation is, and even worrying about the revolution, whose goals have not been completely fulfilled, we can still say that Egypt is approaching democracy,” the editorial reads.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, privately owned Al-Tahrir asserts unmet revolutionary demands. “God … the nation … the revolution: The people want to bring down the regime … and its associates,” reads the front-page headline, borrowing a chant that earlier referred to former President Hosni Mubarak and is now applied to Egypt’s military rulers.
“The revolution hasn’t succeeded, but it hasn’t ended yet either,” Editor-in-Chief Ibrahim Eissa writes in his editorial. “The revolution fails when the revolutionaries announce its failure. The 25 January revolution hasn’t ended, but it hasn’t been completed, therefore it hasn’t succeeded yet.”
The private newspaper reports that activists rejected calls for celebrations Wednesday “and insisted on taking to the streets in angry marches and protests that don’t differ in their chants and demands from last year.”
Al-Tahrir also runs a story quoting Local Development and Parliament Affairs Minister Mohamed Ahmed Attiya denying earlier statements by Assistant Defense Minister Major General Mohsen al-Fangary that presidential nominations will open on 15 April. Attiya said no date has been set, according to the paper.
Leftist party paper Al-Wafd’s main headline reads, “The revolution’s morning: Revolutionaries are returning to the squares … and the people demand retribution for martyrs.”
Al-Wafd runs a full-page story about the rift between the military and citizens, who went from chanting “The army and people are one hand” to “Down with military rule.” The story goes over events of the past year, including the military crackdown on Christian protesters in Maspero in October as well as clashes outside the cabinet.
Surprisingly, state-owned Al-Gomhurriya adopts more balanced coverage than its sister paper Al-Ahram.
“The revolution youth return to the square to assert that the revolution is continuing and that the demands, some of which have been achieved, require a bigger dose of determination, perseverance, enthusiasm and effort,” writes Al-Gomhurriya.
Privately owned Al-Shorouk leads with the second session of Parliament, which took place Tuesday, reporting that the People’s Assembly decided to form a fact-finding committee to investigate protester deaths.
“Parliament also decided to invite Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri and the ministers of interior, justice, and health to answer MPs’ questions about the killing of protesters during the revolution and the compensations that were issued to the martyrs’ families, as well as reasons for the slow trials,” Al-Shorouk quotes People’s Assembly Speaker Saad al-Katatny as saying.
In addition, MP Mohamed Abu Hamed of the Free Egyptians Party called for investigating the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces for allegedly killing protesters last year in Maspero and during clashes outside the cabinet and on Mohamed Mahmoud Street.
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-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Youm7: Daily, privately owned
Al-Tahrir: 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
