Words and Oppressions in Egypt - Essay Example

Egypt: Words and Oppressions A look into the manhandling of the Egyptian press Geographically, Egypt covers an area of about 386,560 square miles or1,001,450 square kilometers. The country shares its borders with Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and Israel and the Gaza Strip to the northeast; on the north and the east are the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, respectively. The only arable agricultural land is along the banks of river Nile which covers about 40,000 km or 15,450 sq. miles. (Halawi, 1) This is the reason the major part of the population of about 78.8 million people resides there as per the latest census report of 2006. (Census report, 231) Egypt is the fifteenth most populous country in the world. Major part of the country has been engulfed by Sahara desert making those parts inhabitable. Cairo, the capital of Egypt where half of the country's population resides, is the largest city in Middle East and Africa. Other major city is Alexandria. Egypt is governed by a multi-party semi-presidential system, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the Prime Minister, in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. The present president is Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has been the President of the Republic since October 14, 1981. Egypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism. "Upper Egypt comprises the country's eight southernmost governorates. ... the region's history is one of isolated removal from the center of national life. The local relationships resulting from this centuries-old condition gave Upper Egypt an identity of its own within the modern Egyptian state. Alongside the even more ancient presence of Copts, tribal groupings dating from the Arab conquest combined to form a hierarchical order that placed two [minority] groups, the Ashraf and the Arab, in dominating positions." (Tschirgi, 3-34) The first daily newspaper of Egypt was published in 1828. In 1953, Egypt was a pioneer in radio broadcasting in the Arab world, and in the early 1960s Egyptian television became important for news and entertainment. The 1970s, however, saw a lessening in influence, as the new mass media, such as the Internet and cable television, drew viewers away from the traditional Egyptian media. (Urschel, 2) Islam being the dominant religion of Egypt most of the significant newspapers are published in Arabic. Major newspapers of Egypt are Akhbar El Yom, Al-Ahali, Al-Ahram, Al-Alam Al-Youm, Al-Ayam Al-Gadida, Al-Gomhuria, Al-Manar Al-Jaheed, Al-Messa, Al-Osboa, Al-Shaab, Al-Wafd and Cairo Press Review. Apart from Arabic newspapers there few noted English newspapers too. Middle East Times and Al-Ahram Weekly are two such newspapers. Noted magazines in English are Cairo Times and Egypt Today. Apart from print media the audio media also holds a significant part of the Egyptian press. The government controlled Egypt State Information Service (SIS) radio broadcasts in both Arabic and English. The Middle East News Agency (MENA) on the other hand operates with three languages viz. Arabic, English and French. As for the soft version of the press Egypt can readily boast about its prominent website in relation to media coverage. The Naseej News is a very successful Arabic website. (Monotimes) As per the Cairo times online there are more than 500 dailies and weeklies in Egypt. Television also plays a significant role as media in Egypt. This because there are about 4.9 million homes that enjoys television connection as per 1993 report. This is the highest in Middle East and North Africa. The domestic state broadcaster ERTU offers two national terrestrial channels, ERTU 1 and ERTU 2. It also provides news and current affairs output for the Egyptian Satellite Channel, ESC 1, and Nile TV International. Nile Thematic TV was established in 1998 in an attempt to modernize the image of state television and win back audiences lost to the pan-Arab channels. The company has its own management, independent of Channel 1 and 2, but remains under the control of ERTU. Its 12 channels focus on arts and culture, news and current affairs, music, sports and children's programming. The most popular private TV channels are Dream 1 and Dream 2, 90% of which are owned by an Egyptian businessman and 10% by ERTU. Entertainment programmers form much of the output on Dream 1, which targets 16- to 26-year-olds, while Dream 2 attracts older viewers with live talk shows airing controversial issues not covered on state-run TV. These shows have received warnings in the past from the authorities, and some presenters have been sacked or suspended. Being pressed by a pseudo-dictator state and a fundamentalist religious outline Egyptian media can hardly escape the scissors of censor. However, there are 30 titles in that are not subject to censorship. Without doubt, they are owned either by the state or political parties and only under very rare circumstances does the Supreme Press Council allow independent publications to register inside Egypt. Most Egyptian publications are registered abroad, most commonly in Cyprus. The other 220 are subject to a censor, the Foreign Publications Censor, who answers directly to the Minister of Information. And if this system of control doesn't work, there are always the libel laws -- vaguely phrased, and they carry harsh sentences. As per Amnesty International Report 1998 the current state of press freedom is largely at stake. Officially censorship was banned in 1980. In spite of this it still governs the editorial policies of the state media. Journalists from the opposition press, who are suspected of sympathizing with fundamentalist Islamic groups, are frequently questioned by police. The authorities aim is to abolish or at least weaken the fundamentalist press, which is hostile to the government it regards as corrupt. Egypt's publications fall into roughly four groups: 1. State-owned publications like Al Ahram (http://www.ahram.org.eg), Al Akhbar, and Al Gomhuriya, are not censored. However, their editors are government appointees. Reporters and columnists are given a fair amount of latitude in what they write, as long as they stay away from certain taboos. 2. Publications owned by political parties like Al Shaab, Al Wafd or Al Watan Al Arabi aren't censored either. The party leadership exercises varying degrees of control over editorial policies, which range from hard-line ideology to total chaos. All of them are vulnerable to various forms of government pressure if they step beyond certain limits. 3. Very rarely, the Supreme Press Council allows an independent publication to register inside of Egypt, like Al Osboa and Al Naba. To get such a license, you have to be informally cleared by all of Egypt's major security and intelligence agencies. 4. Most Egyptian publications are legally registered abroad because of the difficulties involved in getting registered in Egypt. The country where they are most commonly registered is Cyprus because of its proximity to Egypt and the relative ease with which a license to publish can be obtained. Thus independent Egyptian publications are often collectively referred to as the Cyprus Press. These publications are subject to a censor, the Foreign Publications Censor, who answers directly to the Minister of Information. The Egyptian Organization of Human Rights (EOHR) is concerned about a new draft law covering non-governmental organizations. The law, which has not been passed in parliament, would make funding or membership of NGOs subject to the approval of the government. The activities of militant Muslim groups continue to be a major issue in Egypt. Attacks are concentrated in Upper Egypt and the Cairo area. The government has reacted vigorously to the armed campaign, often too vigorously. Thousands of suspected members or sympathizers of banned Islamic groups have been held without charge or trial. Torture and ill-treatment of detainees also continues. Corruption is also a hot topic. Some stories about the subject are only available online because they have been banned by the censors in the print editions of papers. The status of women in Egyptian society and the fact that they have suffered discrimination before the law for several decades is also a prominent issue. A new personal status law is being drafted, which promises hope, but there are still many laws that experts agree are unconstitutional. (Hick, 259) Egypt has a population of nearly 75 million and likes to portray itself as the leader of the Arab world in all aspects of modern life, including and especially the media. In April 2005, a Cairo criminal court sentenced three journalists with the Cairo daily Al Masry al-Youm to one year in prison following an article reporting that authorities had searched the housing minister's office and that he had been suspended. The newspaper, founded in 2004, stood by the story and appealed the verdict. The case against Abdel Nasser al-Zuheiry, Alaa al-Ghatrifi, and Youssef al-Oumi for "defamation of a public employee" was pending in late 2005. The sentences were imposed a year after Mubarak's call to eliminate criminal penalties in cases of defamation and other press infractions. But Parliament did not amend the 1996 Press Law, nor other laws-such as the penal code, the 1971 Law on the Protection of National Unity, the 1977 Law on the Security of the Nation and the Citizen, and the Emergency Law, in force since Mubarak assumed power in 1981-under which journalists may be jailed. The 1996 Press Law prescribes prison sentences of up to two years for defamation. The penal code can be used to imprison journalists for "violating public morality" and "damaging national interest." There is a huge list of oppression by the government and backed by the fundamentalist religious leaders against the press but the fight for freedom of press is on at a never ending process and all these sacrifices are sure to come good at some point of time. References: Halawi, Jailan. 2000. Limits to expression. Al-Ahram Weekly, 21-27 December Census report of Egypt. 2005-2006. National Press Trust. Tschirgi, Dan (1999). Marginalized Violent Internal Conflict In The Age Of Globalization: Mexico And Egypt. Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ) 21 (3). Urschel, Donna. May, 2000. Egypt: Yesterday and Tomorrow-Library Symposium Examines Egypt's Globalization. The Library of Congress Information Bulletin http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/eg http://www.cairotimesonline.com Amnesty International Report 1998 Hick, J. 2005. Darkness Beyond Darkness. National Press Trust Read More