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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The right information
By Salama Ahmed Salama
One of the innovative ideas mooted by Atef Ebeid when he became prime minister a few months ago was the appointment of an official spokesman to liaise with the press, answer questions and explain matters to the public. Most societies have official spokesmen of some sort. They can be spokesmen for the entire government or specific ministries, or can act as go-betweens. Such posts are created to fill the gaps left by general briefings after cabinet meetings, which are often simple litanies of clichés.
No spokesman was appointed, however, and as a result, many crises broke out between the government and the press. Inadequate information on many issues of public concern had two equally negative results. On one hand, a number of journalists were tried and condemned to prison sentences or fines under obsolete laws. On the other, ministries and government organisations issued publications of their own to propagate their policies and deter criticism. Both results are signs of an imminent media crisis and a setback to the public's right to full and accurate information.
It is not necessary to go into the grave consequences of obsolete laws, which to this day restrict freedom by incarcerating journalists for what they publish. Still, we need to sensitise the public to the corruption that will ensue from the tendency evinced by ministries and government agencies to publish newspapers financed by the state budget. This trend is incompatible with the government's policy of encouraging the private sector to engage in cultural and social activities and of withdrawing from activities where it has no place. In many spheres, private citizens must take personal initiatives, drawing on their own intellectual and artistic resources without compulsion or interference of any kind.
While I am not referring to any specific ministry or newspaper, not even the Ministry of Culture's recent publication, I feel it necessary to express my opposition to the state's ownership of media. A newspaper owned by the state and financed from the national budget must be restricted and its editors shackled, even if the opposite seems to be the case at first glance. It is only logical that funds disbursed from the state budget are geared directly to promoting government ends. At the first hint of conflict, the editor-in-chief of a state-owned publication must invariably be changed. On the other hand, when ministries purchase newspaper pages for publicity, this indicates a desire to conceal the truth and falsify facts, which further stifles the freedom of the press. In the final analysis, a government-owned newspaper is a drain on public resources with no positive returns.
Recent events have emphatically demonstrated the failure of an information policy which depends on state-manipulated texts. The international report that pointed to corruption in the Egyptian administration has not proved nor disproved anything, but still seemed to be an imminent threat and caused the government to panic for two weeks. Some blamed the press for tarnishing Egypt's image. Finally, the prime minister revealed the facts. Liquidity shortages, economic and financial stagnation, fluctuating stock market prices, exports of natural gas to Israel, imports of hazardous waste, the role of businessmen in the upcoming elections, the entry of foreign mega-supermarkets and their role in setting the prices of basic goods: all these are issues that affect the lives of average citizens much more than controversies involving the minister of culture and the Islamic Museum, Aida, the burning of the Musaferkhana, or disputes between members of the Writers' Syndicate.
Without wanting to downplay the importance of culture or Egyptians' right to enjoy it, I feel that ministries with an immediate and daily impact on the standard of living and the economic conditions under which people live should take precedence in explaining matters to the public and allaying its fears regarding its immediate livelihood. A new outlook which allows for the free flow of and access to information is necessary. We certainly do not need another newspaper to disseminate information just because some ministry or minister feels like it.
