Sorour takes a stand
Parliament's unwillingness to debate embarrassing questions directed at Prime Minister Atef Ebeid and Interior Minister Habib El-Adli has left the opposition in an uproar. Gamal Essam El-Din reports
Three weeks ago, the government seemed ready to respond to intense parliamentary interpellations (questions that must be answered by cabinet ministers) about its performance. That willingness was absent, however, on 25 January, the date the government was scheduled to respond to five interpellations on a host of thorny issues ranging from the alleged rigging of the 8 January Damanhour by-election to the marked increase in the number of mentally disturbed persons, presumably as a result of economic decline and political oppression.
In fact, People's Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour tried to drum up support amongst deputies from the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) for a motion calling for some of these new interpellations to never be discussed by parliament. This move inspired opposition MPs to charge Sorour with doing everything possible to show his loyalty to the NDP and the government, at the expense of maintaining the assembly's supervisory role.
Ayman Nour, an independent MP, lashed out at Sorour, saying that "what [you did today] represents a horrible massacre of interpellations and a blatant expropriation of parliament's rights to exercise supervision over the government. Please tell us," Nour asked Sorour, "what kind of supervision you want us to do?"
The coincidence of 25 January -- the day the five interpellations were scheduled to be discussed -- also being the 51st annual Police Day did not help matters much. After paying tribute to the policemen who were killed by British occupation forces on 25 January 1952, Sorour said two interpellations directed at Interior Minister Habib El-Adli could not be discussed at that moment.
According to Sorour, the assembly's steering office (which is comprised of Sorour, his two deputies and assembly secretary-general, Sami Mahran) decided that the interpellation submitted by independent MP Adel Eid on the alleged rigging of the 8 January Damanhour by-election, could not be discussed because the Court of Cassation is currently debating an appeal of the by- election. "Eid is a lawyer who knows quite well that as a rule the assembly can never discuss a subject being investigated by judicial authorities," Sorour said. Eid did have the option, Sorour said, of tabling an interpellation about the rigging of elections as a general phenomenon.
Clearly irritated by pro-government press criticism accusing him of enabling opposition MPs to intimidate the government and cabinet ministers, Sorour took Eid to task for tabling an interpellation that Sorour said was not supported by reliable documents -- "just a press clipping and photocopies". Eid argued that he had a videotape of television coverage provided by Qatari- based Al-Jazeera channel to support his interpellation.
Actually, Eid told Al-Ahram Weekly, he was not as shocked by Sorour's aggressive reaction to his interpellation, than he was by the Wafd Party newspaper's claim that "Sorour taught Eid a lesson in law".
Eid said it was "a shame for the so- called liberal-oriented Wafd Party, which used to regularly attack Sorour with its satirical cartoons, to now sing his praises as he strips MPs of their supervisory rights. Al-Wafd knows quite well that the Damanhour by-election was manipulated by security forces to ensure the Wafd Party candidate's victory over his Muslim Brotherhood rival. According to Eid, the government is currently trying to promote the Wafd Party as a rival force in order to give the outside world the impression that Egypt has a real multi-party democracy. "This was quite clear in both the Damanhour by-election and the extraordinary media coverage surrounding the inauguration of late Wafdist leader Saad Zaghloul's historic house," Eid said.
When it came to Eid's second interpellation -- regarding torture and ill- treatment in police stations -- Sorour opted to give the floor to NDP whip Kamal El-Shazli, who is also the minister of state for parliamentary affairs. El- Shazli said the government had no problem discussing Eid's interpellation, but "at a time of its own choosing", meaning the final decision would be left to the assembly's steering office and its NDP majority. Eid said El-Shazli's response was clear evidence of the government's double standards. He told the Weekly that the interpellation is supported by various reports prepared by local and international human rights organisations, as well as verdicts handed down by courts that found police officers guilty of torturing citizens in police stations. "I swear this interpellation will never be discussed," Eid said.
The most heated confrontation of the day, however, was related to an interpellation submitted by Nour about the mental stability of the populace. Sorour described Nour's interpellation on the marked increase of mental disorders as based more on "farcical ideas and thoughts" than on serious and convincing foundations. "In fact, this interpellation is a major insult to the Egyptian people and aims at tainting Egypt's image in world opinion for no justifiable reason," Sorour said. The speaker said it was a "shame for this interpellation to claim that mental disorders and psychological troubles have become rampant as a result of the severity of economic recession and poverty."
Sorour's comments triggered a verbal clash with Nour, who accused the speaker of changing his mind about the interpellation in less than 24 hours. Nour argued that the interpellation is based on World Health Organisation (WHO) figures claiming that at least 25 per cent of the Egyptian population suffers from psychological oppression.
Sorour's final 25 January battle was against independent MP Mohamed Farid Hassanein, who presented an urgent statement about what he called "the aggressive bullying of the Interior Ministry in dealing with the peaceful anti- American demonstrations staged on 18 January." According to Hassanein, his car and loudspeaker were confiscated by security forces during an 18 January demonstration protesting against America's threats of war against Iraq. Early on 23 January, Hassanein added, two other cars he owns "were deliberately broken into by security forces". Hassanein also brandished a list of demonstrators who had been detained and harshly beaten by security forces. "It is very unfortunate that on Police Day, and at a time when people around the world, including in the United States, are staging demonstrations against war in Iraq," that this be the situation in Egypt, Hassanein said. Although Sorour threatened to invoke punitive measures against Hassanein for the manner in which he brought up his case, the speaker eventually allowed the deputy's statement to be passed on to the assembly's defence and national security committee, where it will be discussed further.
