EGYPT: News Update...

Past can't shape the future

Hassanein Heikal, the Arab world's most renowned journalist, says what's ahead counts for more than what happened, Dina Ezzat reports

The nation's uncontested top political commentator Mohamed Hassanein Heikal offered a much awaited reading and analysis of the state of affairs in the country on the 100-day anniversary of the 25 January Revolution.

Speaking to the Chairman of the Board of Al-Ahram Labib El-Sebaai, Heikal offered a detailed vision of his reading of the political developments in Egypt and offered a specific set of measures on how to move forward.

"I don't think that you should be putting the future on hold while you are getting too engrossed in getting a balance sheet of how the past was conducted," said the prominent political commentator whose insides in the decision-making circles remain unequalled.

Rade more: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1048/eg3.htm

No reprieve for the Mubaraks

 

The ruling military was forced to dispel media reports suggesting that the army might forgive ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his family in exchange for a public apology and giving up their wealth. But many remain wary, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

Allegations that ousted president Hosni Mubarak and members of his family offered to give up their wealth in return for settling corruption charges levelled against them were received with widescale anger from several political forces, led by the youth movements of the 25 January Revolution. This, in spite of the fact that the ruling Higher Council of the Armed Forces (HCAF) yesterday strongly denied that it might accept an apology from the Mubaraks in return for granting them freedom.

The 54th communiqué on the council's official Facebook page said, "What has been published by the media concerning granting a pardon for former president Hosni Mubarak and his family is completely untrue." The HCAF statement stressed that "the Higher Council does not interfere in any way in the legal procedures against the symbols of the former regime, as this is solely the responsibility of the great Egyptian judiciary."

Read more: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1048/fr1.htm

In the name of justice

 

Jailan Halawi surveys local opinion on the trials of the Mubarak family

Ever since the downfall of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime, his family's arrest, detention, interrogation and possible trial left the public opinion divided on what he really deserves.

The 83-year-old Mubarak is currently under arrest in hospital on charges of corruption, abuse of state funds and ordering the killing of nearly 800 protesters during the 25 January Revolution. If found guilty, Mubarak could face the death penalty.

His whole family is in distress with almost all its members either in jail or almost there. Mubarak's sons, Alaa and Gamal, the once superstars of social, business and political life, are currently detained in Tora prison along with other businessmen and government officials.

The latest blow dealt to the family came last Friday, 13 May, when the once first lady, Suzanne Mubarak, wife of Hosni Mubarak, was remanded in custody for 15 days pending interrogation. On hearing the news, Suzanne Mubarak reportedly suffered a heart attack. She was found not guilty on Tuesday on charges of illicit profiteering.

Read more: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1048/eg4.htm

Copts' cause is a cross

Coptic Christians are divided over the relationship between the Church and laypersons, but are united in that they are Egyptian citizens and deserve full citizenship rights, writes Gamal Nkrumah

The primary threat to Egypt's post-25 January Revolution political stability appears to be the frayed relationship between Coptic Christians and secular Muslims on the one hand and Salafis on the other. The Coptic Christians of Egypt are in a funk. The reason behind the low spirits of Christians in Egypt is the sudden appearance on the political stage of the Salafis.

The Coptic Orthodox Church has had significant privileges and a wide unofficial remit which is a legacy of a sweetheart deal between the Coptic Church and the regime of ex- president Hosni Mubarak since the latter released Coptic Pope Shenouda III from incarceration in 1982. Pundits, Coptic Christians and Muslims alike are of the opinion that Pope Shenouda has been eternally grateful to Mubarak ever since.

Pope Shenouda has urged Copts to halt their current protests in front of the Maspero state Television Building immediately. Earlier, he even urged Copts to refrain from congregating in Tahrir Square during the heady days of the 25 January Revolution. And pleaded with them not to dabble in politics.

Read more: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1048/eg6.htm

Palestinians reassert right of return

Spurred by the Arab revolutions, Palestinians marked Nakba Day this year with unprecedented scenes of protest, within and without occupied Palestine, writes Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah

There was a special aura characterising this year's Nakba anniversary on Sunday, 15 May. Unlike previous years, when the Nakba was commemorated with rhetoric but very little else, this year witnessed a determined reassertion of the centrality to the Palestinian cause of the right of return.

"In the past, we were relating to the right of return with a sort of abstract determination. But this year, many people feel that invoking the right of return is acquiring a realistic tone. We are no longer talking about chimerical goals, at least as far as we are concerned," said Mohamed Jawabrah, a middle-aged teacher from the Arroub Refugee Camp.

"We feel the right of return is being extricated from the realm of uncertainty and symbolism into the realm of relevance. At the very least, there is now a greater realisation among all those concerned, including the Israelis, the Americans, and especially the refugees themselves, that there can be no real and lasting peace in this region without the repatriation of all or most of the refugees back to their homes."

Read more: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1048/re1.htm

Exposing dangerous myths

Anayat Durrani interviews jazz musician extraordinaire Gilad Atzmon, discovering a secret weapon that Palestinians have in their struggle for freedom

World-renowned Israeli-born jazz saxophonist Gilad Atzmon brought his ensemble to the United States on his third annual North America Jazz tour 4-15 May, crisscrossing the country from New York, to Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco, finishing up in Colorado. The concerts' theme was "Music for Palestinians' Resistance", and the tour was used to raise awareness and fundraise for various humanitarian causes concerning Palestine.

Atzmon described his multi-city tour as giving him an opportunity to "talk about Israel, Palestine and the power of beauty". His tour included a stop in Oakland to attend a benefit for the Bay Area's flotilla passengers set to embark on the US-flagged Audacity of Hope in June to break Israel's illegal naval blockade of Gaza. The novelist, political activist and writer, who now makes his home in England, said he began visiting the US four years ago and comes once a year for two weeks. He said he has a lot of fans in the US and believes the exchange of ideas is crucial.

"I visit as many cities as I can, I meet a lot of people, I give interviews. I believe that true spiritual and intellectual exchange can lead towards a shift of consciousness. It is crucial for me to unveil the spirit and ideology that drives the Jewish state and Zionists around the world," Atzmon told Al-Ahram Weekly. "I believe that we are dealing with a unique ideology and practice and I am also aware that due to self censorship, not many people can discuss openly some of the topics I touch on, such as the fact that Zionism is a continuation of Jewish ideology."

Atzmon, who was born in Tel Aviv and served as a paramedic in the Israeli Defence Forces, is known for his no holds barred criticism of Israeli policies. He has a master's degree in philosophy and is a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, and speaker on Israel and Palestine. He is particularly outspoken on human rights denied the occupied Palestinian people.

"For me the support of the Palestinian cause was a lesson in humanity. Through Palestinian suffering I grasped the supremacy that was inherent in my culture," said Atzmon. "I confronted the tribal and 'chosen' in me. I searched for a new meaning of universalism, humanism and empathy."

Read more: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1048/re6.htm

'Revolutions do not guarantee freedom'

British media expert Gareth Price talked to Mourad Teyeb recently on the freedom of the media in post-revolutionary Tunisia and Egypt, comparing it to Eastern Europe after 1989

You have compared what has happened in Egypt and Tunisia to what happened in Eastern European countries in the early 1990s. So far as the media is concerned, in what ways is the situation similar?

As I was watching the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt unfolding on TV, I heard echoes of the revolutions in Eastern Europe 21 years ago and the words of Romanian student friends who joined the street protests that resulted in the demise of the Ceausescu regime on Christmas Day 1989. The Communist system in Eastern Europe imploded dramatically in 1989, first with the fall of the Berlin Wall and then as part of a domino effect as economic collapse added to the lack of freedom of speech and travel in the minds of a highly educated younger population.

However, the Romanians lived under the illusion that a free and prosperous society could come about immediately. This illusion lasted just days for those who faced reality, though it took most people months for the bitter truth to set in. Many of the old guard stayed in control because they were the only ones who understood how to operate the levers of power. Living standards even went down for a couple of years. It was not freedom but chaos. Meanwhile, the media interpreted freedom literally, meaning that they said what they liked when they liked. Nobody understood that freedom requires a sense of responsibility. However, such was the euphoria of the time that it made everybody irresponsible.

Read more here: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1048/re13.htm

The aftermath of Bin Laden

It is not the killing of one man that counts, but the extent to which his dream will live on after his death, and that might be harder to quash, writes Abdel-Moneim Said

The cover of Time magazine's 5 May edition features a picture of Osama bin Laden covered with a large red X, signifying that the Bin Laden file has been terminated. The last time that American magazine used this imagery was at the end of World War II. Then, the red X covered the face of Hitler, who had committed suicide in his underground bunker beneath Berlin. There is a major irony in the use of this symbolism in a way that effectively equates two different types of war: the war against Nazism and the war against terrorism.

The first was essentially a conventional war between rival national entities competing over economic benefits and spheres of influence. There was nothing in World War II that had not happened before. Yes, there was more slaughter and genocide, but that was because the technology of killing had grown so much more sophisticated over the ages. There may also have been a greater element of ideological determination, which made genocide a virtue. The US had no moral qualms when it came to dropping the atom bomb on Japan after having defeated Hitler.

The war on terrorism is qualitatively different. This is not a conflict between rival states and nations. True, there may have been some collusion between Pakistani intelligence agencies and the Taliban and some terrorists groups, whose most notorious leader was Bin Laden who was living right beneath the nose of Pakistani authorities. However, by no stretch of the imagination was the war against Bin Laden a war between the US and Pakistan. In fact, it is common knowledge that the US and Pakistan regard each other as strategic allies. Another crucial difference is that this war is not so much defined by geographical location as it is by its driving motive. For the past 20 years, and especially since 11 September 2001, the fight against Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organisations was a global war against terrorism, which was abbreviated into the war against Bin Laden.

Read more: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1048/op5.htm

Obama must not sideline Israeli-Palestinian peace

Obama waxing lyrical about Bin Laden and the Arab Spring while ignoring Palestine would be a mistake, writes James Zogby

A few days back, The New York Times reported that President Barack Obama was planning to deliver a major speech designed to "reset" US relations with the Arab world. I found the article troubling.

According to "unnamed US officials" cited in the story, "Mr Obama was casting about for ways to tie together events in the Middle East" (ie, the Arab Spring and the killing of Bin Laden) and that "the current plan is for the president to keep his focus on the broader changes in the Arab world, rather than to present a specific new plan for reviving the [Israeli-Palestinian] peace talks."

All I can say is I sure hope the New York Times got the story wrong.

I believe that most Arabs are not looking to the United States to "sprinkle holy water" on their Arab Spring (with Libyans being the singular exception). Nor do they need help in understanding the significance of -- or the consequences of -- this moment in their history.

Arabs are not looking to the US president for an analysis of their circumstances. While what they want from America may differ in some details from country to country, a core concern shared by most Arabs is that America demonstrates leadership in resolving the Palestinian issue.

Read more: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1048/op9.htm