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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 June 2000 Issue No. 486 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 June 2000 Issue No. 486
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters 
Tribute to the press
By Shaden ShehabHundreds of journalists attended celebrations on Saturday night marking Journalist Day at the temporary headquarters of the Press Syndicate in downtown Cairo. The occasion also marked the fifth anniversary of an extraordinary syndicate general assembly that vowed to oppose Law 93 of 1995 which provided tough penalties for journalists accused of publication offences. Following stiff opposition from the Press Syndicate, led by chairman Ibrahim Nafie, the law was repealed and another press law was passed in 1996. However, it, too, provided for the imprisonment of journalists for publication offences, albeit for shorter durations.
At Saturday's celebration, there were not enough seats and the overcrowding made the air-conditioning all but unfelt. Journalists sat or stood, wiping sweat from their brows until the very end of the two-hour ceremony. But their discomfort did not get in the way of the festivities.
Two of the syndicate's oldest members, Kamal Naguib and Mosaad Sadeq, were honoured at the ceremony and the families of 52 journalists who passed away last year were given certificates of honour. But the celebration assumed added interest when Nafie handed renowned journalist and political writer Mohamed Hassanein Heikal the first award of merit ever given by the syndicate.
At the start, journalists were invited to observe a minute of silence in tribute to the late Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad.
Addressing the ceremony, Nafie recalled that five years before, journalists had stood together against Law 93 of 1995, which represented "a real disaster for the Egyptian press," and that thanks to solid unity, the law was repealed.
photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid
"We meet today in our syndicate, which has roots in history and which carried, and will continue to carry, the banner of defending freedom of expression and opinion, to celebrate this cherished occasion," Nafie said.
Speaking of the imbroglio surrounding Haydar Haydar's controversial novel A Banquet for Seaweed, Nafie noted that a "cloud of sadness" hung over the press, in view of the latest events that have hit Al-Shaab newspaper "and our dear colleagues" working there. "We are now standing at a crossroads, going through a real crisis with multi-faceted aspects," he added.
The Political Parties Committee last month suspended the publication of the bi-weekly Al-Shaab, the newspaper of the Islamist-oriented Labour Party, and clamped a freeze on the party's activities. The committee, chaired by Mustafa Kamal Helmi, speaker of the Shura Council, is a government-controlled body which licenses parties and oversees their activities.
The committee's decision was based on a split in Labour ranks after two senior party members, Hamdi Ahmed and Ahmed Idris, were chosen by two different congresses to replace chairman Ibrahim Shukri. But it was Al-Shaab's campaign against A Banquet for Seaweed that was viewed by many as the main reason behind the committee's decision. The campaign had triggered violent protests against the allegedly blasphemous novel by hundreds of Al-Azhar University students.
But the syndicate's victory over Law 93 was the focus of attention, with Nafie hailing the achievements that followed in its wake, most notably a greater margin of freedom of expression and opinion. Nafie applauded the appearance of various new newspapers and the calibre of in-depth coverage being undertaken by the Egyptian press.
With a new generation of journalists taking on leading positions in the field, a considerable upgrade in services can be felt, including the use of modern technology, new syndicate social services and a new syndicate headquarters, whose construction is under way.
"In this context, we have to affirm that we have many guarantees for upholding the traditions of the journalistic profession, but we also have to admit that we did not succeed in solving some basic contradictions that have plagued the journalistic profession and its relationship to society," Nafie said.
Nafie praised journalists' great margin of freedom of expression and opinion, but conceded that it has not been balanced with responsibility, self-discipline and compliance with the law. The discordance lies at the heart of many complaints from various circles in society and the dozens of lawsuits filed against journalists.
On the number of problems involving journalistic circles, Nafie pointed to the "assumption that journalistic competition requires a more sensationalist approach," and, perhaps more significantly, "the assumption that political struggle inevitably leads to deviation from the ethics of the profession."
With regard to the Al-Shaab newspaper crisis, Nafie argued that journalists were being asked to remodel the relationship between journalistic freedom and responsibility, "This is the impasse we are now facing."
Nafie called on his colleagues to stop violating the spirit of the law and the ethics of the profession and called for the implementation of the journalistic code of ethics: "We are facing a real crisis. From one perspective, we found incitement to violence against public personalities and intellectuals that runs counter to the spirit of democracy. On the other hand, we reject the freeze of the Labour Party and its mouthpiece, Al-Shaab, and will make a strong effort to defend its journalists' rights."
Urging the continuation of a dialogue with the nation's institutions to work out a solution for Al-Shaab 's problem, Nafie also considered how these problems can be averted in the future. Suggesting that a committee be set up to receive and investigate complaints and mete out necessary penalties, he also stressed the need for passing a new press law.
After delivering his address, Nafie handed Heikal the syndicate's award of merit amid loud applause and the flashing of cameras.
"I was brought into this historic day for a profession that has continued to maintain its identity by ensuring its freedom," Heikal reverently addressed the audience. "I came here to meet friends I was happy to work with and colleagues I was glad to know. I was brought here to hear what I just heard [Nafie's speech], about his hopes and concerns... I was brought here to meet with new generations of this great profession who now have the rights, duties and responsibility to advance and lead."
"You," Heikal told Nafie, "know from long experience that I highly appreciate your professional role, and yet you surprised me with your performance at the syndicate, which greatly served the profession. It is only fair to admit that the circumstances were difficult at various times."
Heikal insisted that lofty ideals and national objectives like freedom and knowledge must have the backing of the press. "All these are holy missions," he said, "and yet they are also dangerous, because the vestiges of past ages are hard to shake and because the complications of development are hard to resolve."
Describing the Arab world as faced with external forces "that seek to take over homelands, ideas, markets and tastes," Heikal warned against a world that grows smaller with each passing day, but whose problems remain unresolved -- a world "whose sky has been extended without limits."
Heikal claimed that domestically, some forces have sought to "give precedence to religion over the world, or vice versa," and to "mix politics with the theatre, reducing people to mere spectators. All these factors create a situation in which the psychological, practical and human cost is worrisome."
Worrisome need not mean bleak. In the same celebration, a fresh batch of journalists took their oath as syndicate members.
