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Al-Ahram Weekly 10 - 16 June 1999 Issue No. 433 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 10 - 16 June 1999 Issue No. 433
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Books Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Parliamentary reporters lauded
By Gamal Essam El-DinAhmed Fathi Sorour and Mustafa Kamal Helmi, respectively the speakers of the People's Assembly and the Shura Council, highly praised, on Monday, the "significant and indispensable" role of parliamentary reporters in providing the public with accurate and honest coverage of parliamentary news. They emphasised that the press, especially parliamentary reporters, managed during the past years to play an effective supervisory role over parliament's performance, conveying to the public a true picture of its proceedings.
Sorour, addressing a special ceremony marking the 90th anniversary of Parliamentary Reporters' Day, recalled that 90 years ago a law was enacted giving journalists the right to attend parliamentary sessions. "This was a big triumph, not only for journalists, but also for parliament itself because, without openness and publicity, parliament automatically loses credibility and fails to gain the people's confidence," Sorour said. "If reporters were to be banned for any reason from attending parliamentary sessions, this would have meant that something was being cooked up in secret, thus forfeiting parliament's credibility. Covering parliamentary news enhances democracy and press freedoms."
At a special ceremony marking the 90th aniversary of Parliamentary Reporter's Day, Sorour handed certificates of esteem to Ibrahim Nafie, Sami Metwalli, and Fouad Saad
Sorour, however, noted that from time to time some inaccurate reporting is published. "We should not be angered by this, because it should be expected in a democratic climate," he said.
For his part, Helmi affirmed that the Egyptian press has been a mirror, reflecting the remarkable roles of the People's Assembly and Shura Council, in legislative and supervisory terms. "Parliamentary reporters have proved to be excellent in providing the public with accurate and analytical coverage of parliament's performance. In fact, the press and parliament convey the same message, reflecting the people's aspirations for a better life, emphasising the ideals of freedom and democracy and defending the values of society," Helmi said.
The ceremony, in which a number of veteran parliamentary journalists were honoured, was also attended by Kamal El-Shazli, minister of state for parliamentary affairs, and Ibrahim Nafie, board chairman and chief editor of Al-Ahram and chairman of the Arab Journalists Federation.
El-Shazli said that parliamentary reporters should not be viewed as mere "witnesses of parliamentary action, but rather as partners". He asked Nafie to devote greater space to parliamentary news "because of its importance to the daily life of all Egyptians".
The ceremony provided parliamentary reporters with the opportunity to declare support for the nomination of President Hosni Mubarak for a fourth term. According to Galal El-Sayed, chairman of the parliamentary reporters' chapter, "this support is based on profound esteem for President Mubarak's great achievements, both internally and externally."
At the end of the ceremony, Sorour handed certificates of esteem to Nafie, Sami Metwalli, managing editor of Al-Ahram, and Fouad Saad, Al-Ahram's parliamentary reporter.
Helmi handed a certificate of esteem to renowned historian Yunan Labib Rizk, thanks to whom the celebration of Parliamentary Reporters' Day has been revived.
