Over and over and moreover
Exasperation over domestic issues and continued pessimism on Iraq and Palestine were in excess in this week's Egyptian press, writes Aziza Sami
With the economy still the talk of the town, the national daily Al-Akhbar on 4 February published the government announcement that "half of the new state budget will go to lower income groups ... out of consideration for the social dimension which is a basic pillar of the regime." "Social dimension" here denotes, as always, the containment or appeasement of the majority of Egyptians who can barely cope with rising prices.
After the furore caused by rising steel prices and talk of monopolies, Prime Minister Atef Ebeid was quoted in the opposition daily Al-Wafd issued by the Wafd Party on 3 February as saying for the umpteenth time that the "final touches on the competition and anti- dumping law are being put in place". The promises did not deter the newspaper from exasperatedly asking, "Why doesn't the prime minister resign?" as if the problem was one of personalities, not how matters are run.
The independent weekly newspaper Al-Osbou' on 9 February asked the same question, "When will Ebeid leave?" And as if to give credibility to its charges of incompetence directed at the government, the newspaper extensively cited reports on the Egyptian economy issued by "institutes which are involved with the US State Department and the British Foreign Office".
Foreign reports might make for an interesting read but they are at times lengthy, so for wisdom in a nutshell, none is as concise as that master of brevity, satirist Ahmed Ragab. On 3 February Ragab wrote in Al-Akhbar, in the style of an age-old Egyptian proverb, of investors who put their money into the economy.
"What brought you here, o' investor, to put your money?"
"My black luck, and mother's dua'." (dua' means prayers directed by a mother at her offspring -- negative, in this context).
Al-Wafd on 6 February published news of what it called an "embarrassment" for the Egyptian government which endorsed a candidate to head a certain UN organisation, oblivious of the fact that its own Egyptian Mervat El-Tellawi currently heads the organisation and is eligible to be appointed for a second term.
"The strange story began last September when an Arab country put forth a candidate for the Economic and Social Commission for Western Africa (ESCWA). All other Arab foreign ministers, including Egypt, endorsed the new candidate. When Tellawi, a former diplomat and government minister, was informed, she flew to Cairo and contacted high-ranking officials, informing them that she currently heads ESCWA and is eligible for a second term. Egypt consequently withdrew its support for the Arab candidate."
The faux pas did not stop there, according to Al-Wafd. "As the Arab countries garnered their efforts to enlist international support for their candidates, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan intervened to remind everyone that 'this position is by selection and not election.' Tellawi's presidency was subsequently renewed." As ludicrous as this story might sound, Al-Wafd gave it front page coverage on 6 February.
Regional news appeared to bring no fresh outlook on events, and how could they, with no breakthroughs occurring on the ground in either the Iraqi or Palestine-Israel fronts. Referring to "More complications in Iraq," the national daily Al-Ahram's editorial on 3 February once again voiced the position consistently held by the Egyptian government ever since the US-led occupation of Iraq began. "The final solution to the current spiral of violence in Iraq, where domestic, regional and international factors have all become intertwined, is to give the Iraqis full sovereignty under the UN umbrella and for all foreign military forces to withdraw from the country." On 4 February the daily underscored what it termed a significant shift in the US stance versus Iraq in opening the door to the UN to participate in overseeing elections to select a national government in July.
However, the daily also published an opinion piece on 7 February entitled "Legitimacy of the Iraqi resistance." The article, written by Ahmed Naguib Rushdi, a lawyer, appeared to be an indirect reply to the US administration's continuing claims that current opposition to the US occupation of the country is fuelled by Ba'athists, Saddam loyalists and Al-Qa'eda. Capturing once again an often-reiterated view in the Egyptian press, Rushdi writes, "The lessons of history are habitually lost upon US administrations when they 'intervene' in other countries. In Vietnam, they simplistically reduced Vietnamese resistance to one instigated by 'communism'. Ignorant of Vietnamese culture and its deeply nationalistic strain, the US embroiled itself in a war which left 58,000 dead and many more wounded. It is not Ba'athists, Saddam loyalists or Al-Qa'eda members who are fuelling current resistance to the American occupation of Iraq but, simply put, Iraqi nationalism."
As news was published of an impending meeting between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators there was, nevertheless, obvious scepticism in the manner in which the press reported on the impending dismantling of settlements by the Sharon government. Al- Akhbar on 4 February extensively wrote of the inner dissension between the Israeli prime minister and government officials over his announced plans to dismantle settlements in Gaza and portions of the West Bank. The daily's editorial comment on 5 February stated that "in view of the massacres committed by Israel in Palestinian cities, the Israeli prime minister's statements on settlements can only be viewed as propaganda or a ploy to deflect attention from current charges of bribery directed against him. What is needed is steps to lift the current restrictions on the Palestinians' mobility, a stopping of the massacres which are crimes against humanity and a resumption of negotiations in the framework of international legitimacy."
The heating up of the campaign in the US presidential primaries appeared to have little impact on the news in the Egyptian press. It did, however, highlight news of the formation of a presidential bipartisan committee to look into the question of US intelligence on the existence of WMDs in Iraq. On 5 February Al-Ahram's editorial underscored the rapidly dwindling credibility of the US administration and subsequent rationalisation by its secretary of state that "intentions were enough" in reference to Iraq's culpability in relation to WMDs. The editorial pointedly brought up the continuously sore point voiced in the Egyptian press, that of America always turning a blind eye to Israel's substantial nuclear capabilities.
