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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495
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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 Syndicate syndrome
By Amir Salem *
The crisis facing the Lawyers' Syndicate has come about as a result of state intervention, the hegemonic ambitions of the various political forces, the monopolising of the democratic process by so-called election experts, and the apathy in which the lawyers have themselves sunk because of the above.
The government continues to protect its interests by meddling in the selection of the syndicate's leadership. The involvement of political groupings, on the other hand, invariably occurs in the underhanded way that sadly has become the norm of political endeavour in Egypt, lumping lawyers with an imposed and unrepresentative leadership that does not seek to secure their interests. During elections we always see the same faces. Slipping in and out of leadership, they continue to lie about the syndicate's national role and the lawyers' interests -- a desultory situation that is compounded by the lawyers' own weakness, their lack of faith in the role the syndicate plays in defending democracy and human rights, as well as its participation in the major national issues.
These problems underline the necessity of recovering independence if the syndicate is to overcome the current crisis and achieve some form of renaissance. The state and other political forces must, with the Ministry of Justice, remove themselves from the workings of the syndicate while the lawyers must regain their sense of independence before they are able to adopt a more forceful attitude towards the issues at stake.
* This week's Soapbox speaker is a lawyer and human rights activist.
