News Coverage prepared for: The European Union delegation to Egypt

Transcription

1 News Coverage prepared for: The European Union delegation to Egypt Disclaimer: This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of authors of articles and under no circumstances are regarded as reflecting the position of IPSOS or the European Union. 1

2 Thematic Headlines Domestic Scene Elections updates Unusual Xmas Celebrations This Year Russia and France Reject Death Penalty against Mubarak EGP 18mn of NGO Funds Sequestrated Sources Mubarak Will Not Be Executed, Says Senior Judge NGOs Demand Probe into Wealth of Political Leaders Egypt Ex-FM Complains About 2 NGOs, Says US Paper Political Powers Brace for 1 st Revolution Anniversary Celebration 2

3 Newspapers (8/1/2012) Page: 1 and 5 Author: Alaaeddin Salem Unusual Xmas Celebrations This Year The Egyptian church celebrates its first post revolution Christmas. It is also the first time for the church to invite Islamists to join the celebration. Copts attending the celebration at the Coptic Church were angered by Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria after giving a sermon praising SCAF. Attending the celebration at the Cathedral were Deputy of the Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mahmoud Ezzat, leader of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) Mohamed Morsi and FJP Secretary General Saad el-katatani. Also among the attendees was Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sami Anan, who was leading a delegation made up of top ranked military officials. Repeated in Al-Masry Al-Yom (page 5), Al-Dostour (page 1), Al-Yom7 (page 2), Al-Shorouk (page 4), Al-Akhbar (page 5), Al-Gomhoria (page 3) and Al-Tahrir (pages 2 and 3) 3

4 Page: 4 Author: Osama el-hawari, Mohamed Enz, Mowafaq Abull-Nile, Hosni Kamal and Sameh Lasheen Election Updates The railway movement in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena was brought to an almost complete standstill for the second day running after hundreds of residents staged a sit-in on the rail tracks. The protesters also erected barricades and set fire to tires at the rail tracks to express their dissatisfaction with the results of the parliamentary elections. The protesters are said to be supporters of parliamentary candidates, who failed in the race. Fifteen candidates have filed complaints with police stations against the sorting of ballots and sealing of ballot boxes in Qena. Meanwhile, Salafist Al-Nour Party continued to make gains in the third and final round of the polls. With the conclusion of the third round, Al-Nour Party garnered an overall of 110 seats. The Egyptian Bloc, meantime, said it succeeded in occupying 10 seats in the third round of the elections to become the fourth in terms of seat numbers. After securing nearly 80% of parliamentary seats, the Freedom and Justice Party, the political offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, has been celebrating across the governorates. Similar news was reported in Al-Dostour (page 3) 4

5 Page: 6 Author: Wael Ali and Yomna Mokhtar NGOs Demand Probe into Wealth of Political Leaders Bokra for Media Productions, Media Studios and Human Rights, one of the 30 NGOs investigated over foreign funding, condemned the veracious campaigns led by Prime Minister Kamal el-ganzouri against civil society and human rights organizations. Bokra called for disclosing the channels under which the US aid is being distributed. It also demanded a probe be launched into the wealth of 19 political leaders and International Cooperation Minister Fayza Abul-Naga. 5

6 Page: 6 Author: Wael Ali and Yomna Mokhtar Egypt Ex-FM Complains About 2 NGOs, Says US Paper Egypt s former Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit has complained about the operations of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Egypt, reported US newspaper, the Christian Science Monitor reported that The paper expressed surprise over a press release from NDI on January 2 that sought to clear up "numerous false or misleading allegations related to NDI's status in Egypt." The statement said that the NDI was at no time asked to stop its work or close its office in Egypt between the time it submitted an application in 2005 and late December of last year. The group also complained that "it is regrettable and ironic that the money taken from NDI s Cairo office was to be used to support an international election delegation that was accredited by the Government of Egypt to witness the third stage of the People s Assembly elections," the paper said. 6

7 Page: 6 Author: Mahmoud Gaweesh, Mahmoud Ramzi and Ebtesam Taalab Political Powers Brace for 1 st Revolution Anniversary Celebration Political powers and youth movements have been intensifying their campaigns calling on the people to take to the streets on January 20 to continue the revolution. The Revolution Youth Union is poised to celebrate the first anniversary of the January revolution at Cairo s iconic Tahrir Square, said union executive board member Mohamed el- Saeed. The union s members refuse to collide with Army forces or the police and has to this end launched several pages on Facebook, Saeed said. The planned rallies are aimed at reiterating the need to write a constitution, establish a civilian state and form a consensus constituent assembly to draft the constitution, he said. Meanwhile, the Kefaya Movement, the Revolution Youth Coalition and Egyptian Revolution Party also confirmed their participation in the upcoming protests. 7

8 Page: 1 Author: Emad Hamdi Russia and France Reject Death Penalty against Mubarak France will always be against the death penalty in any place in the world with Egypt not being an exception, said French Deputy Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Romain Nadal. Nadal made the remark during a press conference in response to Egypt s prosecutors demands to execute the former president Hosni Mubarak. Russia also expressed concern over calls for handing down the death sentence against Mubarak. We consider it possible to take into account humanitarian considerations in the case of Hosni Mubarak. After all we are talking about a very elderly person, who is 83, and who according to available information is seriously ill, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Repeated in Al-Akhabr (page 3), Al-Gomhoria (page 10) 8

9 Page: 1 Author: Tarek Roshdi Mubarak Will Not Be Executed, Says Senior Judge Ahmed Refaat, the judge presiding over the trial of former president Hosni Mubarak, will hand down a prison sentence to Mubarak, former interior minister Habib el-adli and his top aides, but it does not have to be a death sentence, said Deputy Chairman of the Court of Cassation Ahmed Mekki. The evidence is mainly based on manslaughter, Mekki said. 9

10 Page: 3 Author: Ibrahim el-gamil EGP 18mn of NGO Funds Sequestrated Sources The judicial commission, entrusted with probing the case of NGOs receiving foreign funds, has completed the examination of documents related to the National Democratic Institute (NDI). The NDI was recently stormed by Egyptian authorities, among other 10 NGOs, over claims of receiving unlicensed funding from abroad. During the inspections, EGP 18 million were seized, a judicial source said. 10

11 Page: 7 Author: Mohamed Salem Election Updates The three rounds of the parliamentary elections have determined the fate of 427 seats out of 498, or 80% of the seats, as the runoff of the third phase of the polls is yet to come. The Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, has won the lion s share of the seats. It garnered so far 44.7% or 191 seats. Salafist Al-Nour Party came second with a total of 106 seats or 24.8%. With the seats secured by the FJP and Al-Nour, Islamists will be dominating 69.5% of the People s Assembly, the lower house of parliament, without counting the runoff. Coming third is Al-Wafd Party with 42 seats or 9.8%. The Egyptian Bloc, meanwhile, gained 29 seats or 6.7% only. The Reform and Development Party landed fifth with the 11 seats it garnered, making up 2.5% of the seats. Al-Wasat Party: 9 seats. The Revolution Continues Coalition: 8 seats. The Freedom Party: 4 seats. The Egyptian Citizen Party: 4 seats. The Egypt National Party: 3 seats. 11

12 Page: 8 and 9 Author: Khaled Merry Election Updates The High Elections Commission (HEC) announced the results of the third and final round of the parliamentary elections. The fate of 101 seats was determined in this round. The results of this stage for party-based seats are as follow: The Freedom and Justice Party: 35%. Al-Nour Party: 27.5%. Al-Wafd Party: 9%. The Egyptian Bloc: 15%. The Freedom Party: 3.6%. The Revolution Continues Coalition: 3.6%. 25 other parties: 16.3%. 12

13 As for individual-based seats, only five seats were determined, while the remaining will be concluded in the runoffs. The results of this stage for the individual seats are as follow: The Freedom and Justice Party: 4 seats. Al-Nour Party: 1 seat. The runoff elections will be held for 43 individual seats, for which 86 candidates will be competing. HEC Chairman Abdel-Moez Ibrahim said the voter turnout in the third phase hit 63.2% with 8.8 million voters showing up. 13

14 TV Coverage (7/1/2012) Program: Al-Hayat Al-An (News) Channel: Al-Hayat Host: Maha Bahnasy The results of the third phase of the elections will be announced tonight. Demonstrations, in Qena and South Sinai, protesting the results of the third phase of the elections. Expatriate Egyptians start voting in the constituencies delayed due to the contestations. Program: Al-Hayat Al-Yom (Talk Show) Channel: Al-Hayat Host: Sherief Amer Guests: FJP got 41% Amr Hisham Rabea, Expert in Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies Hamed Abdol-Hafiz, Constitutional Expert and Lawyer Al-Nour got 20% Wafd got 9% FJP won a total of 191 seats Wafd won 42 seats Egyptian Bloc won 29 seats Al-Nour got 106 seats. 14

15 Program: Masr Tantakheb Channel: CBC Host: Lamis Al-Hadidy HEC Head said: It is important to issue the law on exercising the political rights. 62% of the citizens voted in the elections, and the results will be announced after the elections end. News Brief and News All Day Channel 1 National TV HEC urges Qena and South Sinai protestors to resort to the Court to contest the results they re protesting. HEC receives complaints regarding the vote count in South Sinai and Qena. 15

16 Internet Coverage (8/1/2012) Twitter Asmaa Mahfouz It is vital that people make the People s Assembly program their priority as well as supervising the PMs execution of this program. Did they carry out investigations with the forces responsible for the Ministerial cabinet and People s Assembly during the Ministerial Cabinet Street clashes? Did they conduct investigations with those who hurled fireballs and rocks at protestors? January 25th will not take place without the power of laborers. Call all workers to start a civil disobedience on that day. Say whatever you want about us we will not rest until justice and humanity rule this country. The mother of Mohamed Ramadan, a martyr, on Akher El-Nahar TV program: If there were no retribution, I would wear an explosives belt, go to Tora prison and take it in my own hands. Gsquare86 People tend to focus too much on January 25th as a turning point but events are the ones that create change not dates. I will not enter a debate about who should take over power. This is not the main issue, have the demands of the revolution been met?, that is the main question. Who is still delusional enough to believe that the People s Assembly under the rule of the military can meet any revolutionary demands? Even discussing this is a waste of time. January 25th will not be the last day. We are not against SCAF only, we are standing against those who support it, and those will not relinquish power easily. Arranging and organizing for a public strike is the only solution in my opinion but unfortunately this is not easy. AalamWassef 16

17 Arabist I love this: #kazeboon #cartoon Suzanne Mubarak: Egypt's Mean Queen - The Daily Beast: This story has errors, a simplistic approach and a stupid hea... Hamas: Muslim Brotherhood s Egyptian Elections Victory Puts Israel s Security In Peril: Waelabbas Mahmoud Ghezlan, you can go ahead and arrest me. Why is not the MB trying to act better than those before them? How come they want to arrest journalist and they used to be banned! Imprisonment can turn you into a hero or a slave. The MB chose to be slaves who do not respect freedom. The cathedral s security have beeaten those who chanted against the military in the mass. The entire Salafi current works for State Security; this is a confirmed piece of information. Iyad_elbaghdadi #Egypt: Women beat up "morality police"! bit.ly/y2qa1x Public advice is part of our religion. But it does not involve harassing people or beating them with sticks. #Egypt once government has pulled back? Making a social institution responsible for more than it can handle, ends up being unfair to both the institution itself & society at large. Monasosh Tomorrow, in front of the High Court of Justice, there is a stand for Tarek Shams. Any one of us could have easily been in his place. 17

18 There is a difference between believing that the initiative calling for handing over power to the People s Assembly will assist the military evade being held accountable, and lying to say that the initiative calls for a safe exit for them. Tomorrow at 6 in Tahrir, a march in solidarity with Amr El-Beheiry whose trial is on Tuesday. Amr has been in Jail since February. 18

19 Publication overview Al-Ahram: Egyptian state-run official daily newspaper Founded in 1875, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second oldest after al-waqa'i`al-masriya (English: The Egyptian Events, founded 1828). It is majority owned by the Egyptian government. Al-Akhbar: Egyptian state-owned semi-official daily newspaper It was founded in May 1952 as a part of Akhbar El Yom. Al-Gomhoria: Egyptian state-owned daily newspaper An influential state-owned Egyptian Arabic language daily newspaper. It was established in Al-Shorouk: Egyptian daily independent newspaper Is a prominent Arabic newspaper published in Egypt [1] and several other Arabic nations It is a daily independent newspaper, covering mainly politics, militant affairs and sport. Al-Masry al-yom: Independent daily newspaper On 7 June 2004, it published its first edition. The paper initially circulated primarily amongst Cairo s intellectual elite, providing objective news coverage in the belief that good news would beat sensationalist reporting found in other Egyptian print media. After 3 years, it was challenging Al-Ahram for the status of being the national paper of record. Though Tahrir: Daily independent newspaper Dostor: Daily independent newspaper Yom 7: Daily independent newspaper 19

20 Table of Content: Newspapers Al Ahram Newspaper Unusual Xmas Celebrations This Year..3 Elections updates 4 Al Masry Al Youm Newspaper NGOs Demand Probe into Wealth of Political Leaders....5 Egypt Ex-FM Complains About 2 NGOs, Says US Paper....6 Political Powers Brace for 1st Revolution Anniversary Celebration...7 Al Dostour Newspaper Russia and France Reject Death Penalty against Mubarak..8 Mubarak Will Not Be Executed, Says Senior Judge.9 EGP 18mn of NGO Funds Sequestrated Sources...10 Al Sherouk Newspaper Shorouk Elections Updates 11 Al Akhbar Newspaper Akhbar Elections Updates TV Coverage Al Hayah TV Channel CBC Channel. 15 Channel Internet coverage Twitter