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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 - 30 June 1999 Issue No. 435 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 - 30 June 1999 Issue No. 435
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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 Interview Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters The heat is on
By Shaden Shehab
at the Press Syndicate"Who are you going to vote for?.. He keeps his promises, vote for him!.. I will support you in the elections." These statements have been journalists' daily fare throughout the week, as Press Syndicate elections for the post of chairman and 12 council seats will be held on Monday.
For the post of chairman, six 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 newspaper 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; Mohamed Sayed Abdel-Alim, a journalist with Al-Siyassi Al-Misri, a weekly newspaper; and Mohamed Gaber El-Sayed, with Radio magazine. Fifty-nine candidates are competing for the council's 12 seats. The candidates include pro-government, Nasserist, leftist, pro-Islamist and independent journalists.
Campaigning is underway at the temporary downtown syndicate headquarters, with banners and posters bedecking the walls and candidates making promises that range from fighting for greater political freedoms to providing services for journalists at reduced prices. In their effort to lure voters to their side, one set of candidates are focusing on services which would raise journalists' living standards, such as cheap housing and raising salaries and pensions. Others are focusing on political gains, promising greater press freedoms and upgrading journalists' professional standards.
Ibrahim Nafie
If all the promises are fulfilled, a journalist might well end up with an apartment, a summer resort chalet, a computer, a mobile telephone and a fax machine. He may also obtain easy loans, get a salary hike, travel for training programmes abroad, obtain low-priced airplane and bus tickets, get reduced tuition fees for schools and universities, be a member of a sports club, attend soccer games and amusement parks for free, get reduced fees for marriage ceremonies and even buy some food products at half price.
If the promises of political gains come true, journalists will not be imprisoned for publication offences, will have the right to establish newspapers at will, will have the right to access information and the opportunity to improve their professional qualifications.
Harb
Hegazi
Abdel-Khaleq
Rashwan
Rizk
With a formidable record of achievements, Nafie appears to stand on solid ground. 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.
Nafie's programme balances material and political gains. The political gains he wishes to achieve include the continuation of the struggle to gain greater freedoms and less restrictions by reforming legislation to make publication offences punishable by a fine only, and not imprisonment. He also believes that it is important to regain the pioneering status of the Egyptian press in the Arab world and internationally. Nafie believes this can be achieved by modernising technology at a faster pace and upgrading the qualification of journalists.
The material gains Nafie wishes to achieve include the construction of a new building for the Press Syndicate that will house contemporary technology and information services. The old building downtown was demolished more than two years ago and the construction of a new building is underway. He also finds it important to protect journalists against financial and moral oppression and to secure better working and living conditions for them.
Galal Aref told Al-Ahram Weekly that the role of the Press Syndicate has been shrinking in the last few years after the union "became a tool for settling personal accounts and obtaining personal gains." He said that the "syndicate must regain its role in fulfilling journalists' material and professional demands." He warned that "ahead of us are dangerous duties such as acting to win the cancellation of provisions that restrict press freedoms, such as the imprisonment of journalists, and also the right to establish newspapers freely." He added that the "syndicate needs new blood to offer new ideas and needs to have the will for a positive change, without worrying about pleasing the government."
Running for the council, Osama El-Ghazali Harb, editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram's Al-Siyassa Al-Dawlia (International Politics), said that "nothing is more important than freedom and the struggle to gain more freedoms is essential in the coming period. We [journalists] cannot ignore the importance of material demands, but more essential is having a respectful and serious syndicate that may serve as a model for other professional unions."
Another council candidate, Diaa Rashwan, a researcher with the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, underlined the importance of strengthening the General Assembly. He explained that "a strong council without an active General Assembly will not achieve anything. The new council must find ways to mobilise journalists and make them interested and active in their syndicate. The assembly will act as a council watchdog and council members must feel that their actions are monitored."
Also running for the council, Abdel-Aal El-Baqouri, former editor-in-chief of Al-Ahali, expressed similar concerns. "We should maintain the unity of journalists by activating the General Assembly and encouraging journalists to take part in syndicate activities," El-Baqouri said. "Egyptian journalism is in a crisis and the most important concern now is how to get out of the crisis. Retaining the pioneering role of the Egyptian press, increasing the small number of newspapers for a population of nearly 60 million and calling for greater press freedoms are paramount."
Said Abdel-Khaleq, co-editor-in-chief of the Wafd daily newspaper, mouthpiece of the Liberal Wafd Party, told the Weekly that "candidates should not try to persuade journalists to vote for them by offering them commodities or services; this can be done through the syndicate and not by individuals." He added that there are more important things to consider such as "showing respect for the journalistic profession."
Sameh Abdallah, a journalist with Al-Ahram and one of the younger generation of candidates, said that "providing consumer products through an easy installment system or reducing the prices of trips, apartments and land is welcome, but the council should be concerned in the next phase with upgrading the qualifications of Egyptian journalists to meet international standards, because the gap is widening." Abdallah said he will organise programmes -- with the support of the European Union -- through which journalists will be able to travel abroad and gain exposure to the international media and take part in training programmes. "We have to save Egyptian journalism," he said.
Another candidate representing the youth, Yasser Rizk, a journalist with Al-Akhbar newspaper, said, "I can get training programmes for journalists and summer resorts at low prices, but this is not the main issue." He said his agenda includes fighting to cancel all the freedom-restricting penalties for publication offences, gaining the freedom of establishing newspapers, ensuring the right of journalists to access information, completing the new Press Syndicate building, opposing all attempts to include non-journalists in the syndicate and improving journalists' living and professional standards."
Magdi Hussein, chief editor of Al-Shaab bi-weekly newspaper, mouthpiece of the Islamist-oriented Labour Party, who is now on trial for libel, said that "we do not want a syndicate that is in opposition with the government, because this is not the job of a syndicate. It is not what we call for."
He said that "Egyptian journalism is in danger because all journalists or writers, whether professionals or not, are threatened by imprisonment for expressing their views. This is why the main concern of the next council should be to lift all the provisions of the law that specify imprisonment for publication offences."
