19 - 25 July 2001
Issue No.543
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 19 - 25 July 2001 Issue No.543 |
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Homeless bound
Publishers of the "Cyprus press" reacted with dismay to new regulations issued by Nicosia threatening to revoke their licences. Rana Allam reportsThe Press and Information Office in Cyprus issued new regulations last week giving newspaper publishers who have Cypriot licences a 60-day grace period to adjust their operations in compliance with Cypriot law.
The new regulations stated that "all publications licensed from Cyprus should be printed in Cyprus," "publishers should apply for licences in person and not through a lawyer," "copies of publications should be submitted to the Cypriot Press and Information Office," and the publications are subject to the Cypriot Press Law and the regulations of the Central Bank of Cyprus.
The decision was met with great dismay by the publishers of Cypriot-licensed publications. But their dismay was directed more at Egyptian authorities, rather than the Cypriot government.
Hisham Kassem, publisher and editor of the weekly Cairo Times, says, "I feel homeless for having put in an effort for five years and proving a success in Egyptian journalism, and yet failing to get a licence from my own country." Kassem adds that the Egyptian government makes it "close to impossible to obtain a licence for a publication, and having a Cypriot licence gives the government the right to close us down anytime."
Concurring, Gasser Abdel-Razek, a human rights activist, says that "this is a manoeuvre by the government to keep them [publishers] under its control and shut them down on a whim." Abdel-Razek adds that licensing a publication in Egypt is a "political, not a legal, decision."
In a sequel to the crisis caused by Al-Nabaa newspaper, which drew attention to the chaotic conditions in sections of the press, criticism was directed at the Ministry of Information for allegedly attempting to exercise greater control over independent publications. "It is thus very possible that Information Minister Safwat El- Sherif discussed the matter with Cypriot authorities in order to rectify the situation," said Yehia Qallash, secretary-general of the Press Syndicate.
Al-Nabaa had a publishing licence from the Egyptian government, but the licence has been revoked by a court order.
Informed sources told Al-Ahram Weekly that the matter of the Cypriot licences was discussed by Amr Wahbi, the Egyptian chargé d'affaires in Nicosia and Maria Charalambidou, the official in charge of foreign publications in the Cypriot Press and Information Office (PIO). The meeting, which was requested by Wahbi, addressed the problems facing the two countries in dealing with Cypriot-licensed publications. Wahbi suggested that he should be personally informed about every new registration and that whoever applies for a licence must personally visit the PIO. He also suggested that permits for publications that are not printed in Cyprus be cancelled and that the PIO should not validate any more licences until the matter is resolved. Apparently, all Wahbi's suggestions were met with approval.
There are several hundred Egyptian publications licensed in Cyprus. The reason, obviously, is the failure of their publishers to gain Egyptian licences. "Unfortunately, Egypt has a problem in this area," said the Press Syndicate's Qallash. He argued that Egypt, although going through a process of economic liberalisation and witnessing the rise of new social and political forces, has some way to go in terms of political liberalisation. Suggesting that these new forces should have mouthpieces, Qallash says, "The restrictions on licensing publications are an obstruction to freedom of expression."
"It was painful for me to apply for a licence from a country other than my homeland, but what else could I do?" said Kassem. He added that, following the new Cypriot regulations, he is making arrangements to obtain a license from the United States.
But, in the view of Georghios Michaelidis, a Cypriot lawyer who brokered over 80 contracts for Egyptian publications licensed in Cyprus, "everything will remain the same," despite the new regulations. He explained that stipulations regarding printing in Cyprus under the country's law no 145 of 1989, are only applicable to publication licences granted to individuals, not licences given to companies. The new regulations issued by the Press and Information Office of Cyprus can only be enforced on individuals obtaining licences, not companies. "Most of the Egyptian publications licensed in Cyprus are companies," says Michaelidis. Their only obligation is to submit copies of each issue to the Cypriot Press and Information Office. "Any specialised lawyer can arrange this easily," he adds. Michaelidis renewed five licences two days after the new regulations were issued.
Although many people believe that the Cypriot- licensed publications fall into the category of the "yellow press," many intellectuals argue that this is not the case. "The content of most of these publications is far from being political or scandalous; some deal with fashion, others with computers and dozens of other interests," wrote Al-Ahram columnist Salama Ahmed Salama.
The press counsellor at the Cypriot Embassy in Cairo, Michalis Michael, said that the new regulations are aimed only at controlling and monitoring the situation. "It is an administrative, not a political, decision," he explained. Michael added that the situation had gotten out of hand. "Some people sell their licences, others have 100 publications on the authority of one licence, and this had to stop."
The "correction had to be made," as Kassem put it, "but our government should reconsider policies governing publication licences." Qallash agreed, saying that "if a certain degree of transparency is introduced, all negative aspects can be controlled."
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