Al-Ahram Weekly Issue No. 250 7 - 13 December 1995
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

Priorities for the parliament

By Fathi Abdel-Fattah*

The electoral campaign that has absorbed public attention for months now is at last over, and as usual, in the aftermath of the campaign and its results, it is all too easy to get lost in a useless post mortem of events. Unfortunately, in dissecting the campaign commentators have a tendency to lose sight of the important issues. And what could be more important than the tasks which the new People's Assembly will face?

The results of the election will dictate the composition of Egypt's last parliament of this century. And certainly the questions that have arisen and cast their shadow over the recent campaign, concerning both procedural matters and issues of party organisation, will have to be addressed by the new parliament.

First among these issues must be a consideration of the most appropriate ways of facilitating the further evolution of social democracy. For democracy to thrive it is essential to create an atmosphere in which every citizen, through participation, feels that they have a vested interest in consolidating the security necessary for social and economic development.

Consolidating the principles of democracy through participation - what more effective weapon could we conceive in the battle to overcome terrorism and violence? Nor is the efficacy of such a policy altered one jot by the fact that terrorism may be shrouded in a religious ideology.

It seems to me self-evident that the defeat of terrorism can only be effected through democratic means. It is not, after all, enough simply to eliminate those elements intent on destroying the security of the nation. Far more important is to elevate the value of freedom, freedom to think, to innovate, to develop. Such freedoms will be essential if we are to successfully negotiate the obstacles which we will undoubtedly face as we move into the 21st century. The scientific and technological revolution that will shape the coming century - that is, indeed, already delineating its contours - cannot be allowed to pass us by.

In this age of technological advance, when we are all bystanders on the edge of the information highway, it is neither logical nor acceptable to legally restrict access to information or freedom of expression. As long as any individual is willing to abide by the principles of democratic debate, he or she should be allowed to debate anything and everything.

In a world where the operation of market forces is increasingly dictating future possibilities, development in Third World societies will be dependent on attention being paid to two dimensions.

First is the social dimension. We must work towards widening the social guarantees available to productive individuals in such vital fields as education, health and housing. We must work towards the provision of job opportunities since, in the final analysis, people are the most important capital with which we have to work. Development is dependent upon an infrastructure capable of utilising the potential of the individual.

Second is the national dimension. Egypt is located at intersection of several circles - with a foot in the Arab, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean worlds.

Egypt's development potential cannot be restricted exclusively to any one of these circles. Policies must be managed in such a way as to ensure the harmonious interplay of all three. Naturally, this involves the drawing up of a list of priorities. A first priority however, must be to avoid isolationism.

The battle to achieve greater Arab political and economic cooperation could constitute objective and safe ground from which to explore the expanding horizons offered by enhanced cooperation in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern spheres. And, of course, all of this is dependent on the success of the project to establish true peace in the region.

The new parliament, Egypt's last of this century, has rather a lot on its plate.

* The writer is a social scientist and a senior journalist with Al-Gomhouria.

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