Egyptian critic of military rule attacked after leaving Nileside state television HQ

On the 18th January, prominent Egyptian activist, blogger and newspaper columnist, Nawara Negm, was attacked as she left work at the Nileside state television HQ.  Nawara works for the Egyptian Nile Television Network (NTN) as a translator and news editor. The attack was caught on video and uploaded to social networking sites, and showed a small crowd both physically and verbally assailing her.  A key figure in the 2011 uprising and a vocal critic of the military government, Negm's attack appears to be the latest in a string of violence against protest participants, including the violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in December.  This trend is all the more worrying in light of a thinly veiled warning to anti-military activists by Egypt's milutary ruler, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.  In comments published on Wednesday, he said Egypt was facing "grave dangers" but assured the nation that the armed forces would protect it.  What this means for demonstrators will depend on what Tantawi's definition of 'protect'.  The attack on Negm is an indication that Egypt is certainly not through the woods, and the upcoming anniversary of the start of the uprising will prove to be telling.

Egypt Press Report

Here is a report prepared by Camille Hennion, a media research intern at the NCF.

Media Credibility Index: Egypt Section.

Preliminary research - Cairo, 2011

1. The Egyptian Media

Newspapers - Government-owned

§     Ahram /al Ahram weekly

§     Al Akhbar

§     Al Goumhurya

Party-owned newspapers

§     Al Ahrar

§     Al Wafd

§     Al Ghad

Independent newspapers:

Daily:

§     Al Masry al Youm

§     Al Shoruk

§     Nahdet Misr

§     Al Youm al sab'aa (Cairo; online)

Weekly:

§     Al Osboa

§     Al Dostour

§     Al Fajr

§     Sout al Umah

Television

§     ERTU (The Egyptian Radio and Television Union) controls state owned terrestrial television of which there are eight channels (two national and six local). ERTU operates the Nile TV network.

§     Satellite (Arabsat / NileSat) are major Egypt based satellite providers providing the satellite “bouquets” that give the Middle East 452 channels at the latest count. In an Egyptian context however, their channels include:

• The Egyptian National Channel
• The Nile Programmes (Nile sports, Nile variety, Nile News and so forth)
• Dream TV (private): Dream I and Dream II
• El Mehwer
• ON-TV
• Al Hayat (3 channels)

Remarks

·     The Egyptian audience is accustomed to official propaganda. It is characterized by a strong critical awareness regarding the quality of media coverage and by a great ability to read between the lines of the official and media discourses.

·     Before the Revolution, the newspapers with the largest audiences were the following:

1. Al Masry al Youm

2. Al Youm al sab'aa

3. al Ahram

·     The Revolution had a large impact on the media landscape as it entailed huge loss or gain of credibility to media sources according to their coverage of the movement (cf. section 2 below). The licensing process which had been highly painful and bureaucratic was also apparently significantly eased following the Revolution. This led to the creation of new media in Egypt. The most significant are the newspapers al-Tahrir and Tahrir TV created by Ibrahim Eissa. 

2. Coverage of the Revolution

The Egyptian Media had a crucial role to play in the revolutionary movement that broke out in Egypt in January 2011. Yet the veracity of the coverage varied widely.

·     Reliable Media:

Al Masry al Youm was praised by all as the most reliable Egyptian newspaper during the Revolution. The editorial board of al Masry al Youm apparently took the decision very early on to tell the truth about the movement. It must be noted that al Masry al Youm has long been considered one of the most reliable newspapers in Egypt, even before the Revolution. Al Shoruk also provided an accurate source of information during the movement. Among the TV channels, ONTV offered the most reliable information on the Revolution.

Finally it must be noted that the Qatari channel al Jazeera gained a wide audience in Egypt because of its highly insightful and critical coverage of the regime's behavior during the Revolution. It was considered more reliable than most of Egyptian sources. Yet, even if they praised al Jazeera's position during their Revolution, Egyptians were aware of the channel's own agenda and strong anti-Mubarak stance. They do not consider al Jazeera as entirely neutral and impartial in its coverage.

·     Unreliable Media

As a result of their poor coverage of the Revolution, many national media sources lost credibility.

Most notably al Ahram did not report on the Revolution until 8 February, when it finally published an editorial recognizing and supporting the Revolution on the front page. Prior to that al Ahram had been publishing inaccurate information on the movement and taking part in the regime propaganda campaign against foreigners and foreign media in Egypt. For example, al Ahram published numerous reports warning about the presence of spies and foreign infiltrators, suggesting that they aimed at dividing Egypt. Al Akhbar produced the same kind of regime propaganda during the Revolution and hardly changed its position after the fall of Mubarak. For example, as late as 13 June, when the US-Israeli student Ilan Grapel was arrested on the contested accusation of spying, al Akhbar's provoking headline was: 'a big blow for the Mossad'.

The coverage of the national TV channels was even more problematic. State owned Channel 1 and Channel 2 (part of the ERTU network) as well as Nile TV broadcast false reports on the movement. These media were at the forefront of the propaganda campaign against foreigners and foreign media. For example, on 7 February, Nile News reported on an unnamed source in the security services accusing foreign diplomats of bringing weapons to Egypt in their luggage. 

3. Media in transition

As a consequence of their biased coverage of the Revolution, the national media lost a large part of their credibility and, more importantly, of their audience. As such the national media were forced to launch significant changes in editorial direction in order to survive economically and re-gain viewers.

Al Ahram is a striking example of this dynamic. On 8 February it suddenly changed its position, adopting an anti-regime approach and reporting accurately on the Revolution. New people were brought in and the editorial content was changed significantly. For example the pro-Mubarak editor-in-chief Osama Saraya was replaced by Abdel-Azim Hamad.

Along the same line, the national TV channels had to adapt quickly. The ERTU and Nile TV channels had been widely criticized for their coverage before and during the Revolution. Consequently they undertook a difficult process of transition. Nadia Halim was replaced by Nihal Kamal as head of the TV department, Abdel-Latif El-Manawi by Ibrahim Kamel El-Sayed as head of the news department and Entesar Shalabi by Ismail El-Sheshtawi as head of the radio department. Finally Tariq el-Mahdi replaced Sami al Sherif as the head of the ERTU. Yet the transition of Egyptian national media is a difficult process. Some have already highlighted the resilience of old practices despite the appointment of new people, with the change to a anti-Mubarack stance not representing a more objective culture of reporting but rather a mere switch of alliance to the new ruling group. The appointment of Tariq al-Mahdi as General Supervisor of ERTU soon after the ousting of Mubarack is cited as proof: al-Mahdi is a former member of SCAF and his appointment shows the prevailing influence of the military government over the media and their determination to maintain that control during their rule.  Further evidence for this persistant dominance of the media rather than reform comes from the continued questioning and arresting of journalists and the resignation of some state media figures such as Hafez El-Mirazi.

4. The figure of Ibrahim Eissa

Ibrahim Eissa deserves special attention in this report as he appears as a major figure of the Egyptian media landscape. He has been a dissident voice since long before the Revolution. He was one of the rare journalists openly criticizing Mubarak before his fall. He was the embodiment of Egyptian independent media, particularly through the publication of al Dostour from 1995 onwards. Most of his writings and talk shows leveled direct criticisms at the former president and regime. In retaliation, in 2008 Eissa was sentenced to two months in prison on charges of publishing false rumors about Mubarak’s health. Later, Mubarak pardoned him in an attempt to tame Eissa. But the journalist maintained the same tone and continued to face harassment. In October 2010, Eissa was fired from his position as editor-in-chief of al Dostour after the paper was sold to Wafd Party chairman Al-Sayyed al-Badawi. Rumors circulated that Badawi kicked Eissa out in a good-will gesture to Mubarak. Eissa told the press he was dismissed a few hours after he was told not to run an article by the then leading opposition figure Mohamed el Baradei. Eissa made a stunning comeback on the media stage with a new publication - al Tahrir - launched at the beginning of July 2011. Al Tahrir newspaper is co-owned by the publisher of al Shoruk independent newspaper, Ibrahim al Moalem. The executive editor of al Tahrir Ibrahim Mansour also comes from the team of al Dostour as well.

5. A net improvement in the press freedom

The current state of the press in Egypt is quite messy given the context of political transition. There is real improvement in terms of press freedom and the availability of independent and free information sources. Yet the relationship between the media and the military council is complex and might deteriorate as the military remains extremely sensitive to criticisms. The following are a few examples of breaches of the press freedom that occurred after the Revolution:

·     On 30 May the activist Hossam el Hamalawy and the ON-TV presenter Reem Maged were summoned for questioning by the military council after an interview broadcast on ON-TV where they accused the military leadership of abuses against civilians.

·     On 19 June Adel Hammuda, the editor of the newspaper Al-Fajr, and Rasha Azab, one of his reporters, were questioned by a military prosecutor in connection with an article about torture that quoted an army officer. They are to be tried before a military court on a date that has not yet been set. Azab is facing a possible jail sentence on a charge of publishing “false information liable to disturb public security” in the article she wrote for Al-Fajr’s 12 June issue. Hammuda is facing a possible fine for alleged negligence in his role as editor.

·     Dream TV presenter, Dina Abdel Rahman, appears to have been sacked after an on-air sharp discussion about the military leadership on 24 July. 

6. Problematic absence of regulatory framework for media in Egypt

An important issue in this transitional phase for Egyptian media is the absence of any reliable regulatory framework to both protect the press freedom and regulate its practices. It will be a crucial issue in the coming months as, at the moment, there is nothing ensuring a fair treatment of the electoral campaign.

Eygpt state TV comes under criticism

The Egyptian State TV has been generally criticised in a BBC article, ‘Egypt state TV building an ugly reminder of the past’, 22 July 2011

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14222908

In January, the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party were burnt down but the army sent its tanks a few hundred meters away to protect the Maspero (Egyptian state TV headquarters).

This clearly demonstrates the importance of the TV station to the government.

State TV has been notorious throughout the years, for broadcasting cookery programmes during times of crisis.

Despite revolution, there has been little change at Egypt TV. The head may have changed but the editors, heads of channel and presenters remain the same as they were and employees continue to lack skills, leaving production standards low.

Phone in shows are usually faked, with office staff calling in and putting on different voices.

News and information remain tightly controlled by the government and opposition groups accuse them of impoverishing Egyptian culture.

Moataz Nasreldin says that state television is designed to make people as idiotic and stupid as possible and calls for drastic change as protestors continue to demonstrate outside the TV station’s headquarters.

Egypt's 25 January 2011 Revolution -- An Intellectual guerrilla's Mémoirs

by Dr. Nadia E. El-Shazly (dedicated to the 400 martyrs)

The 25 January 2011 white revolution triumphed against tyranny in Egypt by a combination of the youth's vision and their technology expertise, good luck, in addition to the armed forces' tacit endorsement of their fundamental legitimate demands for democracy, a respect for human rights and social justice.


Their good luck lay primarily in the government's slow-motion response to few of their demands, coupled to Husny Mubarak's much-delayed arrogant speeches. This led to their realization that the whole regime had to be abolished.

When we all worried that the demonstrators would suffer from exhaustion, or that the protests could fizzle out, a number of tragic events outraged public opinion greatly, namely, what we now call the "battle of the camels", which left many young bright promising protesters dead ... and the public break-down in tears, on a TV channel, of Wael Ghoneim, a Google manager in Dubai and online activist. He had just been released, after being arrested and kept blind-folded for 12 days, shortly after the protests began. So, the crowds kept streaming to Tahrir Square over the following days, but they never lost their courtesy, grace and humour.

For eighteen long days, those who remained at home like me, held their breath. But then, I've never been good at protest rallies. A few years ago, as I was stepping out of the Royal United Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London (RUSI), having attended a meeting there, someone berated me for not having demonstrated for one cause or another ... I can't remember which. Before I could answer, my good friend Dr Afif Safieh, the former Palestinian ambassador to London, Washington and Moscow, retorted, saying, "she's an intellectual guerrilla". Well, I'm still doing what I do best ... for the Palestinian cause, for the plight of the Iraqis and the Kurds under Saddam Hussein, for my beloved Egypt always.

Right after the parliamentary "elections", I had absolute proof that the powers-to-be were watching internet traffic, but I continued doing what I could to support and garner support for the legitimate fundamental rights that we were demanding.

Now that our youth have freed my country, memories, emotions, facts keep coming back to me. For the sake of my grandchildren and their generation, I'll try to write my impressions about that wondrous event, how it developed, its highlights, and its climax.

26.01.2011

The internet is not available at times. Nevertheless, the government denied tampering with it, nor with Facebook, Twitter, and websites of local opposition papers, as well as foreign papers and satellite TV stations. Today, the authorities said they will do so tomorrow. My God, I thought, we've become so dependent on the internet. Also, mobile phones weren't operating.

I decided to stop buying Al-Ahram newspaper, as did many of my friends.
30.01.2011

A TV crew discovered 23 bodies in the Alexandria mortuary, shot by the police. Several had ghastly mutilated faces. Their families, assembled there, screamed for retaliation against the police.
03.02.2011

For the past few days, I could hardly sleep ... three hours at the most, and I'm unable to do anything except watch quickly developing events ... statements ... interviews, both in Egypt and abroad, on TV stations. The internet is back thanks to the new Prime Minister's orders. Ahmad Shafik has taken over at a difficult time. He seems to be trustworthy, but I'm in a wait and see mode to judge his performance, despite his excellent career history, whether military or civilian. He is reputed as being competent ... an achiever, and his character is a mix of flexibility in methodology, ie, ready to listen to others' opinions and adopt them if they're good, while decisive in firing under-performing people. I met him officially once last July, when we were seated next to each other over lunch, and found him extremely polished, diplomatic and courteous, with a low key sense of humour. One of my 31 first cousins (on my mother's side), a retired airforce general, was his assistant for many years.
04.02.2011

Thank God for blessing me with many friends, even among my daughters' friends, and the younger generation of family members, who phone me daily, sometimes more than once, to make sure I'm alright, safe, in need of nothing, offering their services, and also to pick my brain about developments, analysis and predictions ... though in this extremely fluid situation, internally and internationally, when events are moving so quickly, no one can claim to foresee what is in the cards. Today is decisive. May God Almighty save Egypt from any mischievous forces, local or foreign, at this grave historical juncture.

As for provisions and petrol for the car, I had to drive outside of Alexandria about 60km to refuel and refill. Most petrol stations are shut, while others had long, long queues. Shelves in supermarkets in town are emptying, while crowds are of a number unseen before. Apart from that, I had to remain at home since the 25th.
05.02.2011

A New Yorker article on the newly-appointed Vice-President Omar Suleiman made for chilling reading. I received it from sources outside Egypt. Mubarak's going away "present" to us, Suleiman, the perverse head of the feared Mukhabarat, would have thrown Egyptians under the yoke of a sadistic leader, one worse than his master. He is said to have enjoyed personally supervising the torture of the people "renditioned" by the US, and even devised new ways of abuse. He is very popular with the Israeli government, and had a direct hot phone line to Israel. "Bibi" was overjoyed by news of his appointment. I suggest he be "exported" to the US or to Israel, once the regime is toppled, hopefully. I'm sure he'll be highly appreciated there. Ha! Ha!
07.02.2011

Very few of the "mafia" oligarchy, who amassed fortunes illegally, were named, and will be prosecuted. Many more, from the lists I have, should also be brought to justice, and, if found guilty, have their fortunes, in the Swiss banks, or elsewhere, returned to their rightful owner -- Egypt. These funds could pay back Egypt's foreign debt; establish labour intensive infra-structural projects, and industrial and agricultural enterprises, that would absorb the hundreds of thousands of unemployed, or under employed and under-paid youths; to also substantially increase wages; to create a fund for the unemployed; and improve health and education, and other services.
10.02.2011

I'm infuriated, nauseated, and much more, after Mubarak's speech. He has no shame, no pride. Benjamin Netanyahu must have been cheering that his buddy is still here, and must have popped more than one champagne bottle.
11.02.2011

FINALLY!!!! At hearing the news of Mubarak's capitulation, in a terse 50-word communiqué by Omar Suleiman, I could not help myself jumping up and down, screaming, laughing, crying.

I can once again be proud - very proud - of being an Egyptian. I'm unbelievably happy to feel that my country, hijacked long ago, has been returned to me by these valiant youngsters, who kept to their promise to march peacefully, despite attacks by criminal NDP thugs, the only time they had to be violent in self defence. They proved that they could be stronger than one of the worst tyrannies.

Thank God for ridding Egypt of Mubarak's going-away "present". Finally, young Egyptians have given us an "ex president". We never had one, except for Mohammad Naguib, who remained under house arrest until his death.

12.02.2011

The channels I watched during the past 17 days, by order of priority, because of their objectivity and credibility in my view, were France 24 in French and English (Arabic was canceled), and BBC World (English and Arabic). Sometimes, I used to turn to Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera International (Arabic was canceled, then restored later), though the latter often aired news that it was forced to deny later. Al Arabiya seemed to side with Mubarak, or at least, was wary about the democracy movement gaining ground. Statements by American very senior officials on CNN were often contradictory, mirroring policies that seemed vacillating, which I saw as the dilemma/conundrum they were faced with, namely, side with the ideals of the revolutionaries, who demanded democracy, and on the other hand, the pressures by Netanyahu, who was markedly frantic, during a press conference with Angela Merkel. Israel even allowed the Egyptian army to deploy some units to Sharm El Sheikh. Did Bibi know that his buddy would eventually move there? I never watched Egyptian TV, but will start now that the regime fell, and that consequently, the Minister of Information, Anas El Feqi was removed. He reminded me of Saddam Hussein's El Sahhaf, at the time of the US led occupation of Iraq. I strongly feel that this post should be scrapped, and Egyptian TV and radio turned into a corporation, independent of government influence.
13.02.2011

One of the guests on the Andrew Marr show this morning on BBC TV, was the Egyptian ambassador to London, H Seif el Nasr. Although he made a very good impression, both in replying to probing questions and fielding others, I was infuriated. Asked whether Mubarak should be put on trial, because of the billions he had amassed, he said that that was not the Egyptian's way that we retained a certain deference for our leaders.

"Deference" for a corrupt and corrupting "leader"?!!! How can Mr Ambassador or anyone else for that matter have "deference" for a swindler in chief, who not only sucked Egypt's resources dry, but also allowed his sons and their cohorts to embezzle in a grand manner, to terrorize the population, and to kill and maim with impunity.

I won't apologize for my outburst, as there's too much on my chest.

I find it revolting that a clique - quite a large one as a matter of fact - have skimmed off Egypt's resources, then claimed that our country's economy has grown in the past five years, under their stewardship, while ignoring the fact that half the population lives in abject extreme poverty ... that the education system and health "services" couldn't be worse (which forced the poor to go to private doctors, and pay for their medication, and hire private tutors for their children, [private tuition fees in Egypt totalled approximately LE5 billion last year]) ... that university graduates' monthly wages were LE300, while some ministers' was LE2 million a month, such as the former Minister of Interior, Habib El Adly ... and some senior police officers' pay was five and six digits, while policemen's were a mere couple of hundreds, sometimes less, which led the latter to terrorize small merchants and the poor to pay them "mafia type protection" or a bribe to do the job they were supposed to do ... and more and more.

******

As for Tahrir square, based on TV, the internet, reports I received from others and my own observations:

1. The demonstrations were peaceful at all times, except when they had to defend themselves against the NDP thugs, who used rocks, Molotov cocktails, and even stormed in on camel and horse back, one night. They were even targeted by snipers on roof tops, and those killed had bullet wounds to their heads and chests.

2. Neither American nor Israeli nor any other flags were burnt.

3. While thugs man-handled and arrested foreigners, protesters were friendly towards them, and never attacked any of the hotels.

4. When the Muslim Brotherhood attempted to shout Islamic slogans, they were silenced, once and for all, by the other participants, and modern attired young women were seen having serious friendly discussions with bearded Islamists.

5. Egypt's streets were notorious for sexual harassment ... not one case was reported;

6. In the beginning, the participants were the educated middle-class and upper middle class computer savvy male and female youth, followed later on, as their movement seemed to gain popularity by their sheer resilience, by families from all walks of life, members of professional syndicates and labour unions, artists (singers, actors, painters, musicians, etc), authors, poets, opposition politicians ... thousands waved the Egyptian flag, and either sang patriotic songs, or newly created ones ... evenings, they listened to poets and singers, cracked jokes about Mubarak and the regime, and, more seriously, planned for their next steps.

7. They regularly swept the square and even hired mini trucks to take the garbage to the dumps.

8. Families, individuals and the troops distributed food, some cooked in homes, and some from delivery shops, as well as water bottles.

9. Doctors and surgeons, elderly and young, assisted by their nurses, left their private hospitals, provided sophisticated medical equipment, medicines, bandages, etc, and set up field hospitals across the square, the biggest in the well known Omar Makram mosque (where my mother's funerary service took place, one year ago).

10. Homes surrounding the square provided the girls with the opportunity to rest a little and use their bathrooms, while shops, cafes and other establishments allowed boys to use their toilets.

11. Later on, public toilets in the square, shut by the government previously, were opened and refurbished by the participants ... the sign on it read Maqar al Hizb al Wati, a play on words by removing the noun (meaning the headquarters of the NDP).

12. Apart from those that demanded that Mubarak must leave, for the regime to fall, for the NDP to be banned, some placards, used by the demonstrators, affirmed the Egyptians' sense of humour, such as, "Mubarak, leave, my wife is in labour and the baby doesn't want to see you" ... "Mubarak, leave, I miss my wife (I've been married for 16 days)", "Mubarak, I'm a carpenter, tell me what glue you use" ... "Suzanne, if you love him, take him away" ... "Mubarak, I've been holding this sign for too long, leave, my arm is hurting" ... "America has batman and spiderman, Egypt has Soleiman"...

13. To show the regime their resilience ... their decision to remain in the square until their demands were met, and that life would go on regardless, two young fiancés had their marriage ceremony performed by a sheikh in the square ... the bride wore her wedding dress, while the crowds cheered and offered their congratulations, along with sweets and sherbet;

14. They showed their inventiveness in many ways, from setting up tents, mainly for the female participants to sleep under more comfortably, as well as to shelter under when it rained; to connecting to the street lights to charge their mobiles, or to boil water for hot drinks; to establishing a supervised nursery, with kids given toys, colour pencils and papers; water and food distribution, as well as garbage collection points (the latter also with a humorous sign saying "NDP MPs"); and more; in fact, Tahrir Square became a well-organized mini-state.

15. The male demonstrators formed a circle, holding hands, and guarded a "lost and found" display in the middle, where many, many IDs, mobile phones, even cash and other objects were exhibited;

15. Most importantly, despite Pope Shenouda's call to the Coptic community to stay away from the demonstrations, thousands of his parishioners joined, as a show of solidarity with Muslims. On 6 January, the Coptic Christmas eve, Muslims, from all walks of life, held a vigil as human shields, at churches across Egypt, following the New Year eve's massacre at a church in Alexandria (now documents have proven that it has been the work of the police, under the supervision of the former Minister of the Interior). I was deeply touched when I saw the Copts holding hands and encircling the Muslims at prayer times, to guard them, while the police, assisted by their hired thugs, used water cannons, bludgeons, machetes and swords, live and rubber-coated bullets and tear-gas canisters against them all. They also helped their Muslim brethren in the pre prayer ablutions, by pouring water for them ... and because the youngsters didn't have enough mikes for all those in the square to hear the word "Allahu Akbar" which is repeated during prayers to sync their movements when they bend and prostrate, the young Copts relayed the words to those far from the mikes, and could be seen and heard shouting "Allahu Akbar". I still get goose pimples, even while I'm writing.

16. As a final act, the demonstrators decided to clean up the square, one more time, before going home, and even gave a "bath and scrub" to the two lions at the entrance of Kasr El Nil bridge, and painted the walls and the pavement stones that had been damaged.

******

Across Egypt, when the police forces vanished, the youngsters were stationed at street intersections. Never was traffic as regulated as when they were in charge, and drivers cooperated beautifully. No driver tried to "burn" a red traffic light, something unheard of for many years.

At the same time, when garbage collectors also disappeared, housewives and twenty-somethings and teenagers swept the streets, gathered the garbage in sacks and stacked them at street corners, painted tramway stations and walls that had been damaged by anti-Mubarak graffiti. I saw one of them, Safiyah, the daughter of the late prime minister of Egypt under the monarchy, Nuqrashi Pasha, killed by the Muslim Brotherhood. In some neighbourhoods, including mine, mini trucks were hired to take the garbage to the dumps. This is continuing until now, and the streets in some areas have never been cleaner.

When the police opened the prisons, freed thieves, burglars and other criminals, abandoning their weapons before disappearing, neighborhood watches were established right away. In the evenings, fathers kept watch in front of the buildings, armed with iron pipes, wooden sticks, kitchen knives, and, in rare cases, licensed pistols or shotguns. From midnight on, the sons took over that responsibility.

In tandem, the army deployed tanks to sensitive areas. For instance, because I live about two hundred meters from the residence of the Alexandria governor and the Jewelry Museum on one side, and two presidential residences on the other, several tanks have kept my building safe. Nevertheless, male residents also spent the night guarding us.

The Swiss Federation of Banks have frozen the Mubarak assets half an hour after he resigned. Bravo. I hope that Egypt will recalibrate its relations with other countries, based on their willingness to do the same. Some of the countries named in that respect are the US, the UK, France and Brazil, and probably many others. Calls have already moved to follow the Swiss example and freeze assets, but I wonder whether it makes a difference that Mubarak's wife and son are said to be British.

As for Tahrir Square, it has been vacated by most. A score have remained. Those are the families of those assassinated in the square, asking for the perpetrators of violence and assassinations to be found, arrested and brought to justice, in addition to the families of the "disappeared" during the protests, demanding that their whereabouts be revealed and released.

Strikes are nation wide. In the past six years there were 2,500 strikes, and last year, 56 workers committed suicide.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is facing an extremely challenging task, nevertheless, their communiqués are focussed, wisely and matter of factly worded, and their actions up to now have been applauded by the people (suspension of the Constitution, dissolution of the two Chambers, prosecution of a number of senior officials and the freezing of their assets, orders to the border police to prevent former officials from travel abroad).
15.02.2011

My inbox is swollen, what with more and more people becoming keen to exchange information about the revolution (articles, YouTube new patriotic songs and poems composed in the square, slogans, photos of people in the square and elsewhere across Egypt - from Asswan to Alexandria and from Marsa Matrouh to Suez and the Sinai, etc) -- so much so that I'm swamped and overwhelmed.
16.02.2011

TV satellite programmes, with graphic photographs of some of the torture chambers in police stations, including one in Alexandria, have shown the instruments used against the population. The death under torture of a young man last Spring in my city of Alexandria actually was one of the sparks that led to the revolution. A new opposition movement was formed at the time, and became part of the core of the protest organizers. In addition, families now speak openly about what their sons suffered at the hands of the Mukhabarat, after having been muzzled by the perpetrators of those crimes, with threats of retribution. One of them is my husband's grand nephew. The young man had absolutely no political activities, but was picked up while on his way home, one night. For ten days, his mother didn't know his whereabouts, until she contacted her cousin, a close friend of Suzanne Mubarak. He was released, on condition he and his family don't ever reveal what happened to him during his detention, but the boy seemed psychologically broken.

For more on that, you could read Robert Tait's article in the Guardian on 9 February, although he only experienced a "mild" detention, much less than the more sinister crimes many of us already knew about or suspected.

*************************************************

Of course, everyone is speculating about what the future might hold. Let's hope for more of what we all had dreamt for. May God Almighty save Egypt, and may its courageous young women and men be graced with health, happiness and prosperity.

Racist children's TV

We received a complaint from Felix about this item in which children memorize and recite antisemitic messages on an Egyptian Islamist channel Al-Rahma TV (Egypt) - January 30 and February 13, 2009 http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2066.htm Felix wanted this on the blog so that "some of our readers can learn at first hand what is being taught". This item is sadly not unique and is an idictment of Egyptian television.

Egyptian Cleric's outburst

Felix sends us this sad item from Memri.

December 31, 2008, in which the sheikh said: "Being killed... is what we desire and hope for. It is martyrdom, by Allah... I wish I could stand among the youth of the Al-Qassam Brigades, passing them one of their missiles, wiping from their faces the dust of a missile that was launched, or crying 'Allah Akbar' along with them... Dispatch those sons of apes and pigs to the Hellfire, on the wings of the Qassam rockets... Jihad is our path... The [Jews]... deserve to be killed. They deserve to die. Destroy... everything over there" (to view this clip, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1972.htm).

Later he responded to a Memri response saying "Yes I am antisemitic" More pathetic than sinister really. But very depressing.

Egypt's minister of religion rejects the veil

William writes: This interesting article on the continuing veil conroversy is - I am proud to say - written by my daughter:

Egypt's minister of religion rejects the veil - By Loveday Morris, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 11:44pm GMT 27/01/2007
The Egyptian government is embroiled in an angry dispute with conservative Muslims after trying to clamp down on women who cover their faces with a veil.
The controversy comes after the minister of religious endowments, Hamdi Zaqzuq, expelled an official from a meeting after she refused to remove her niqab, a veil that leaves only the eyes exposed.

TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE

Blogger jailed for insulting Islam

Blogger jailed for insulting Islam and president by Hugh Miles

An Egyptian who enraged his government with outspoken views on Islam and politics expressed in his internet diary was jailed amid an international outcry.

TO VIEW STORY CLICK HERE

Al Ahram racism

Peter sends this item. Sadly it is not atypical for Al Ahram under its present editor:

The Mufti of Egypt: The True Face of the Blood-Sucking Hebrew Entity has Been Exposed

In an article in the Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram dated August 7, 2006, Egyptian Mufti Sheikh Dr. 'Ali Gum'a expressed his support of the resistance in Lebanon and stated that the lies of the "Hebrew entity" expose "the true and hideous face of the blood-suckers... who prepare [Passover] matzos from human blood."

The following are excerpts from the article:

"Greetings to the Lebanese people, to the Lebanese government, and to the Lebanese resistance - to the small and beautiful country that has proved to the world that the ideals of determination, bravery and self-dignity still exist in this era that has been taken over by the blood-sucking murderers.

"Anyone who follows the news will discover that the Hebrew entity has turned into a [source] of [empty] talk, while the Arab discourse, which was characterized in the sixties [as empty talk], has developed significantly. [The Arabs] have learned a lesson and have moved from talk to action, and from the fostering of illusions to honesty, transparency, realistic goal-setting and ability to change. The Israeli discourse, [on the other hand], has turned to false declarations based on illusions, with wishful thinking taking precedence over facts.

For the full text of the article follow this link:

http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD125506#_edn1

Racism on Egyptian TV

Felix forwarded this very disturbing item from Al-Nas TV:

Egyptian Cleric Sheik Muhammad Sharaf Al-Din on a Children Show: The Jews Are the People of Treachery, Betrayal, and Vileness
Al-Nas TV (Egypt) - 6/21/2006 - 00:02:24

A perilous dance with the Arab press

Mona Eltahawy - a young yet highly regarded recipient of an award from NCF's International Media Council - has written this strong piece for the Herald Tribune. The issues raised in this article are of great concern, and we wish to encourage our own members to protest over this matter:

Mona Eltahawy International Herald Tribune
MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2006
NEW YORK Writing for an Arab newspaper is like playing hopscotch in a minefield.

From January 2004 until early this year I played my game of hopscotch in a weekly column on the opinion pages of Asharq al-Awsat, the London-based, Saudi-owned newspaper that is read across the Arab world.

And then I stepped on a mine. Without warning or notice, fewer and fewer of my columns made it into print. Then my articles stopped appearing altogether. I had been banned.

Nobody tells you that you're banned from an Arab paper - especially a paper that is supposedly the liberal home of writers banned from other papers, which is how Asharq al-Awsat portrays itself.

Sadly, my experience is not unique. When I told a veteran Egyptian journalist that I had not been officially notified of my ban, he reminded me that he found out about his removal as editor of a newspaper in Egypt when he read about it in another newspaper.

Another Egyptian journalist told me he'd been "lucky": The editor of a newspaper he used to write for actually confessed to him that the Egyptian regime had called the Saudi prince who publishes the paper and requested that my friend be banned.

That is probably what happened in my case. Since Egypt's parliamentary elections last year, which left President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party in firm control of the legislature, the Egyptian regime has been settling scores with opponents, particularly those who support a small but vocal reform movement that has organized unprecedented street protests in Cairo.

I had moved back to Cairo from New York last year for four months to document and to take part in that reform movement, and devoted many of my weekly Asharq al-Awsat columns to it.

At the end of my stay, just before I left Egypt to return to New York, I was summoned to State Security because of an article I wrote criticizing the fraud and violence in the parliamentary elections. The summons was intended as a "we are watching you" warning.

Over the past two months, the Egyptian regime has brutally cracked down against democracy activists and journalists, beating and imprisoning many of the men and women I wrote about. Several of the detainees have accused security forces of torturing them in jail.

The trouble with Asharq al- Awsat, beyond its disturbing acquiescence to Arab regimes, is that it claimed a liberalism that was patently false.

Before my ban, Asharq al-Awsat launched a Web site in English. Designed to show Western readers how liberal it was, the site suffered from Yasser Arafat syndrome. Just as the late Palestinian leader's statements in Arabic and in English were sometimes contradictory, the newspaper in Arabic would abide by the red lines that govern criticism of Arab leaders while in English it ran roughshod over those very same lines.

A column I wrote tearing into the Egyptian regime for allowing its security forces to beat peaceful protesters and to sexually assault female journalists and demonstrators was spiked from the Arabic newspaper and Web site but appeared in its entirety on the English Web site.

Few newspapers in the Arab world are truly independent. Most are state- controlled or state-owned, or owned by persons very close to the state; Asharq al-Awsat is published by a nephew of the Saudi king.

The major red lines at Asharq al- Awsat could be quite simple - in descending order they were the Saudi royal family, Saudi Arabia's allies in the Gulf (Qatar, a rival, was considered fair game) and then Saudi Arabia's other Arab allies.

Within such a hierarchy of red lines, the Egyptian regime can indeed pull rank and demand that Asharq al-Awsat silence a critic.

So why did I even bother writing for Asharq al-Awsat? After I left news reporting and switched to opinion writing after the attacks of September 11, 2001, I didn't want to address just a Western audience. When it comes to reform and the fight against religious militancy, the primary conversation must be among us Arabs and Muslims - hence the need to wade into the minefield that is the Arab press.

It is gratifying to know that Arab regimes and compliant newspapers consider some of us annoying enough to ban, but equally sad to consider the many gatekeepers that stand between us and our fellow Arabs.

(Mona Eltahawy is a New York-based commentator.)
www.monaeltahawy.com