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5 - 11 September 2002 Issue No. 602 Home news |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Standing up to intimidation
Al-Ahram's Ibrahim Nafie, in a televised interview, said that criticism by Zionist lobbies of the Egyptian press will not silence its condemnation of Israeli policies, writes Jailan Halawi
In a televised interview this week, the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram newspaper and Al-Ahram Chairman Ibrahim Nafie, said that the charges of anti-Semitism he is facing in a French court were merely a "political ploy". He said the lawsuit filed by the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) aimed to intimidate Egyptian writers into silence about Israel's atrocities against the Palestinians.
Ibrahim Nafie
A lawsuit was filed against Nafie, in his capacity as editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram, by the Paris-based Jewish group LICRA charging him with inciting hatred against Jews for publishing an article in the Arabic daily Al-Ahram entitled "A Jewish pie from Arab blood" on 10 October 2001 by writer Adel Hammouda. Nafie was summoned to appear before a French court which later accepted Nafie's defence team's request to be interrogated by Egyptian prosecutors on behalf of the French court.
Nafie, who is also the chairman of the Egyptian and Arab press syndicates, told the Egyptian privately-owned Dream TV satellite channel that "Zionist organisations" around the world aim to terrorise those who "attack Israel's practices against the Palestinian people". Nafie predicted that the case against him will be the first of many aiming to intimidate the Arabs to desist from exposing Israeli plots, not only against the Palestinians, but also in other parts in the region.
Nafie added that it has become routine among pro-Israel organisations in the United States and Europe to issue reports alleging that the Egyptian press is anti-Semitic. These reports, he continued, are presented to President Hosni Mubarak during his visits to these countries. "But the president has always firmly denied these claims... and repeatedly insists that the press is free in Egypt, and that he cannot infringe on its freedom," Nafie said. "Even during his latest visit to the US, Mubarak was asked by Congress, the US administration and Zionist organisations to impose censorship on the Egyptian press because of what they described as anti- Semitic [sentiments]."
Nafie argued that the issue was not protesting alleged anti-Semitism in an article, but rather "an attempt to terrorise and silence Egyptian journalists and intellectuals so they desist from criticising Israel. As you know, Egyptian writers and intellectuals are the most involved in exposing Israel's terrorism against the Palestinians."
Moving on to other issues in the lengthy interview conducted by co-editor-in-chief of the leading opposition newspaper Al- Wafd, Magdi Mehanna, Nafie rejected opposition parties' call to refuse US aid. "I am opposed to impulsive reactions and decisions which do not take critical factors into consideration," he said, adding that Egypt's leadership takes many factors into account when taking a decision. "Topping these factors is the nation's welfare," he said.
Nafie believes that while it is important for Egypt and the US to maintain "special" relations, each country has its own duties and influence due to their respective political weights."Despite our close relations with the US, we still have our differences on several issues, especially those on the Middle East," said Nafie. He cited the issue of Iraq as an example, noting that there are many who oppose US strikes against the country: Egypt, the other Arab states, the Europeans and even some Republicans in the US.
On the peace process, Nafie continued, "the current US administration is heavily influenced by the Zionist lobby in the US and extreme right-wing hawks in the US administration itself; in Egypt, we are opposed to all of Israel's policies towards the Palestinians."
Nafie also highlighted that there is a distinct difference between the United States before and after 11 September. "Now the extremist right-wing elements in the US administration are taking positions such as 'You are either with us, or against us'. This [attitude] could damage Egypt's relations with the US and harm American interests in this region," he warned.
Nafie also believes that the influence of extreme right-wing elements was behind US President George W Bush's decision to oppose new aid to Egypt, in protest against the recent seven-year sentence against Egyptian-American sociologist Saadeddin Ibrahim. On 15 August, the White House announced that Bush will block Egypt from receiving an extra $130 million in aid, which Cairo was seeking alongside the $200 million earmarked for Israel to fight terrorism. This, however, does not affect Egypt's nearly $2 billion in annual military and economic aid as part of the Camp David peace package.
Washington's announcement that it would block extra aid was condemned by Egyptian political parties and other groups, who described it as "an assault on Egypt's sovereignty".
Some quarters called on the Egyptian government to adopt immediate measures to achieve independent development, freeing Egypt from the potential for foreign pressure. "To those in the US who described Ibrahim's conviction as politically motivated, I say we are a nation that has a profound respect for the process of the law," Nafie said. He added that Egypt's judiciary is above reproach, and "any interference in our judicial system is not only unacceptable for the Egyptian people, but also for their leadership."
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