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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434
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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 Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Scramble over press council
By Shaden Shehab
Ibrahim Nafie
Other than being immersed in filling newspaper pages, many journalists are preoccupied at present with preparations for Press Syndicate elections scheduled for 28 June. The elections are to fill the post of chairman and 12 council seats. If not campaigning for themselves, many journalists are busy supporting their favourite candidates by trying to persuade colleagues to vote for them. Their task is difficult because of the large number of journalists who have nominated themselves for the council seats.
As soon as nominations were accepted on Saturday, candidates and their supporters crowded the syndicate's provisional headquarters. At the end of the day, the number of candidates competing for the council's seats reached 44, jumping to 56 on the last day of nominations yesterday. As for the post of chairman, five journalists are running: Ibrahim Nafie, chairman of Al-Ahram Organisation's board of directors and chief editor of the daily Al-Ahram; Galal Aref, deputy chief editor of the daily Al-Akhbar and contributor for the weekly Al-Arabi, mouthpiece of the Nasserist Party; Mahmoud El-Sheikh, a journalist with Al-Mussawar weekly magazine; Mustafa El-Said, a journalist with the Al-Ahali weekly newspaper, mouthpiece of the leftist Tagammu Party, and Mohamed Sayed Abdel-Alim, a journalist with Al-Siyassi Al-Masri.
Nafie was chairman for two consecutive terms, from 1993 until 1997. His tenure is especially remembered for his success in leading the journalists' opposition for Law 93 of 1995, which stiffened penalties for publication offences, until it was repealed in 1996 and replaced by a new press law.
Makram Mohamed Ahmed, chairman of the Dar Al-Hilal publishing house and chief editor of the weekly magazine, Al-Mussawar, is the syndicate's outgoing chairman. He could have run for a second term, but announced that he would not nominate himself for personal reasons.
Elections will be conducted according to two laws: Press Syndicate Law 76 of 1976 and Law 100 of 1993. Law 100, which provides "democratic guarantees for trade and professional unions", stipulates that the council of a professional union, without specifying the chairman, is elected to a four-year term. The Press Syndicate Law stipulates that the chairman is elected every two years for a maximum of two consecutive terms.
Prior to the last elections in 1995, a number of journalists delayed the ballot by filing a lawsuit with an administrative court in order to obtain a ruling specifying which law should be enforced. The court ruled that Law 100 concerns the council only, while the Press Syndicate Law should be followed for the election of the chairman.
In an exclusive interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Nafie said that he is running for the post of chairman because "it was the wish of a great number of journalists and that there are still many dreams that have not come true. And if they remain elusive, many of the achievements I made will face the threat of being lost."
He said some of the dreams are "material", while the others are "moral". The material dreams include "the construction of a new building for the Press Syndicate". The old building on Abdel-Khaleq Sarwat Street in downtown Cairo was demolished more than two years ago and the construction of a new building is underway. Nafie said that he dreams that "the new syndicate headquarters will house contemporary technology and information services. It is not just a building, but there is a philosophy behind it. It aims to upgrade the quality of journalists and provide them with a distinguished place where they can meet with prominent officials."
He added that, "It is important for me to protect journalists against financial and moral oppression and to secure better working and living conditions for them, so that they retain their integrity."
As for the "moral" concerns, Nafie said, he dreams of "regaining the pioneer status of the Egyptian press in the Arab world and internationally. This will require a faster pace of modernising technology."
Moreover, he said, "we [journalists] must continue our struggle to gain more freedoms and have a press without restrictions or legislation that are fragile or far from the spirit of the age." He added that "we should not take anything as final. On issues such as the imprisonment of journalists for publication offences, the penalty should be reduced to a financial fine paid by the journalist or his organisation. A dialogue [with the government] should be maintained and our viewpoint should be projected rationally."
But, he continued, "at the same time, we must remember our duties and follow the code of ethics. After all, a story in a newspaper could ruin a family or somebody's future. To gain our rights we must fulfil our duties."
He said that the syndicate's many achievements were possible only due to the unity of journalists and that this unity should prevail. "I stand with all my strength for democracy and against violence and syndicate divisions," he said. "It was not because of me that for the first time in Egypt a law was repealed [Law 93]; it was due to the unity of journalists and rational dialogue," he added.
As for normalising relations with Israel, Nafie recalled that when he was chairman he took part in drafting a statement that opposed normalisation with Israel, which was later approved by the General Assembly. He said that he "will not visit Israel until a final and just settlement of the Palestinian question is achieved."
Nafie said that "a strong chairman, without a solid harmonious council, will not achieve anything for the syndicate."
As for the great number of candidates running for the council, Nafie said, "It is the right of all journalists to run in the elections, but the large number of candidates will divide the vote, resulting in a small number of ballots going for each candidate." He said that having "different trends on the council is a healthy phenomenon, provided all act rationally and to the syndicate's benefit."
The large number of candidates running for the 12 council seats include pro-government, Nasserist, pro-Islamist and moderate journalists. Most candidates work for Al-Ahram and Al-Akhbar.
Out of 3,500 syndicate members, 980 work for Al-Ahram and 500 for Al-Akhbar.
Nine members of the outgoing council have re-nominated themselves.
