Soapbox: Pressing matters
Assessments of the Egyptian government's seriousness in pursuing radical political and constitutional reform are as yet premature. There are, however, signs for optimism, however cautious. One indication that the government is moving in the right direction occurred this week when President Mubarak approved one of the reformists' main demands -- to abolish custodial sentences in publication trials. In a recent address to journalists the president expressed a growing openness to criticism of government policies, confirming the government's belief in the importance of maintaining the independence of the press.
The slow progress of political and constitutional reform and its lack of direction results, unfortunately, not only in the accumulation of problems that become increasingly difficult to resolve but in frustration with the possibility of reform through democratic means, and even with democracy itself. One eventual consequence of this is the emergence of two poles, one of which -- within the government -- works to counter democratic developments, while the other acts to spread undemocratic ideas, aiming to replace one form of oppression with another.
This is why healthy interaction between reformists inside the administration and their counterparts in civil society is necessary in order to integrate efforts towards a single goal -- modernising the Egyptian political system, and introducing ideas, mechanisms and orientations suited to the second millennium.
This week's Soapbox speaker is the editor-in-chief of the Ministry of Culture weekly Al-Qahira.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 678 (Issue No. 26 February - 3 March)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/679/op7.htm