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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 May - 2 June 1999 Issue No. 431 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 May - 2 June 1999 Issue No. 431
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Living Features Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Parliament approves NGO bill
By Gamal Essam El-Din
Although it came under fire from opposition and independent legislators, a bill designed to regulate the activities of some 14,000 registered NGOs was approved in principle on Tuesday by the People's Assembly. One week earlier, the bill was received with general satisfaction when it came up for debate at the assembly's Religious and Social Affairs Committee, which endorsed it in two hours.
Social Affairs Minister Mervat Tellawi addresses parliament, saying the new law represents a democratic leap forward
But in Tuesday's plenary assembly session, the bill faced severe criticism, with independent and opposition deputies giving the debate a blatantly political dimension. They argued that the bill was at the expense of civil rights and political freedoms because it obstructs the formation of certain NGOs, especially human rights organisations. For their part, members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and government officials launched a counter-attack, emphasising that NGOs that go against the nation's interests should be banned altogether.
Addressing the assembly, Minister of Social Affairs Mervat Tellawi, insisted that the bill represents a democratic leap forward because it opens up new kinds of activities for NGOs to tap. "In terms of human rights, it should be noted that during the Cold War, the Soviet Union focused on socio-economic rights, while the United States gave priority to civil and political rights. As a result, many international human rights organisations were formed, but this was at the expense of social rights. No sooner did the Cold War era come to an end than these organisations began to expand their activities. They acted to give priority not only to the rights of certain groups, such as political detainees, but also to the daily life and interests of ordinary citizens. In Egypt, we are not against human rights. The number of human rights agreements signed by Egypt is higher than that signed by the United States. In drafting this law, we were careful that political and syndicate activities should not be mixed with voluntary action. We insisted that NGOs should be kept away from partisan action. Political parties are the legal channel for all those who seek to exercise political activities," said Tellawi.
Within this context, Tellawi added, the new bill, which is designed to replace a highly restrictive 35-year-old legislation, is primarily aimed at giving NGOs a greater role in national development efforts. "We want these organisations to be the government's partner in achieving comprehensive development. This is why we eliminated to a large extent the administrative authority's control over NGOs and gave them judicial protection against dissolution," said Tellawi.
Khaled Mohieddin, leader of the leftist Tagammu Party, rejected the bill, arguing that it places new obstacles before political action. "Any public act is considered by its very nature a political action. This is why the bill should have stated that the formation of NGOs which exercise partisan, and not political, activities should be banned. I do not know why the government, while liberalising the nation economically, insists on restricting it politically by submitting this type of bill," said Mohieddin.
Joining forces with Mohieddin, Fouad Badrawi, speaking for the liberal Wafd Party, also argued that no distinction can be made between political and voluntary action. "Both are interrelated activities. It is absurd that the bill makes such a distinction. Moreover, in an age of liberalisation, NGOs should be free to exercise all types of activities," said Badrawi. Very specifically, Badrawi criticised a provision in the bill, providing for the appointment of two government officials on the committee entrusted with deciding on any request for the establishment of an NGO. "This means that the administrative authority will continue to have the upper hand and tighten control on all NGOs which it does not want to see established," said Badrawi.
According to Sameh Ashour, the sole representative of the Nasserist Party in the assembly, the mere fact that a committee will be formed to decide on application requests for establishing NGOs is in itself an administrative obstacle. "This bill comes clearly at the expense of political freedoms and constitutional rights. The committee mentioned in this bill will be similar to the Political Parties Committee, which denied the right of many people to form political parties. It is also something like the Higher Press Council, which is actively involved every now and then in curtailing press freedom. It is extremely regrettable that this highly restrictive bill comes at a time when many developing countries are taking great democratisation strides," Ashour said.
The Wafd's Ayman Nour said he is not happy with the bill. "This bill is nothing but part of a relentless campaign aimed at destroying civil society organisations and crippling public freedoms," Nour said. He added that not only was the bill submitted to the assembly with surprising speed, but it also greatly differed from the text that was agreed upon in previous consultations between the Ministry of Social Affairs and NGOs.
For Ragab Hemeida, the sole representative of the Liberal Party, the bill was rammed through the assembly because it reflects a clear government wish to disband those NGOs which receive foreign funding for preparing untrue reports which negatively affect national security. "Although this is a noble objective, it was an excuse for the administrative authority to give itself arbitrary powers in controlling this field of civil voluntary action," Hemeida, who abstained from voting, said.
Rejecting Hemeida's argument, Tellawi insisted that the bill is not aimed at settling accounts with anyone. "This draft law did not come out of the blue. It is the fruit of a long series of meetings and conferences with NGO representatives over one and a half years. It is the right, however, of the State Council and the cabinet to introduce certain modifications, but this does not mean that this is not the text that was agreed upon with NGOs," said Tellawi.
Zakaria Azmi, chief of the presidential staff, said freedom given to NGOs should not come at the expense of the nation's freedom and security. "Why should some get angry when the state moves to tighten its control on illegal foreign funding? The bill does allow NGOs to receive foreign funding, but they have to give notice. Some organisations have managed to bypass the existing law by registering themselves with the Public Notary. They are required by the bill to re-adjust their position and take on a legal form. If their application is rejected, they can resort to the judiciary. Why should some see this as a restrictive action?" said Azmi.
Joining forces with Azmi, Ahmed Abu-Zeid, speaker for the NDP majority, said the bill was a good step because it protects society against organisations which exercise secret activities going against the nation's interests and which violate the law and the constitution.
