TV show bans prompt fears of pre-election crackdown on private media

Originally published in al-Masry al-Youm English edition
September 27, 2010

Every evening, millions of Egyptians are plastered to their television screens, surfing through dozens of privately-owned satellite channels that broadcast a plethora of news talk shows. But in an abrupt move last week, one show was banned and the other lost its prime host shocking journalists and human rights
advocates who fear that the margins of freedom of speech may be scaled back ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for November.

Amr Adeeb’s popular talk show, "Al-Qahira al-Youm" ("Cairo Today"), was barred from broadcasting from state-owned studios in 6 October City. According to government spokesmen, the show was halted because the production company, Orbit, had not paid its dues.

However, the show’s co-host, Ahmed Moussa, said in a subsequent televised interview that Orbit was willing to pay all its back dues. He went on to attribute the ban to "malice" on the part of the government.

“Someone wants to crush freedom of expression and opinion,” Moussa declared when the ban was announced.

Meanwhile, it was also announced that Ibrahim Eissa, an outspoken critic of the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, had departed from the privately-owned ON TV, on which he had co-hosted the popular talk show “Baladna Belmasri." According to a press release issued by the channel, the 45-year-old journalist had quit the show voluntarily in order to give his full attention to independent daily Al-Dustour, of which he has been the editor-in-chief since 2005.

For his part, program producer Omar Shoeb denied that Eissa had been subject to any pressure to resign by the management. He also asserted that the show would maintain the same editorial policy.
"There will be no editorial changes whatsoever. We will continue as strong as we started," said Shoeb, reiterating the channels' earlier account of Eissa's departure.

Eissa, however, has neither confirmed nor denied the channel's claims and has refrained from providing further details. As of press time, Al-Masry Al-Youm was unable to reach the journalist for comment.

According to Gamal Eid, executive director of the Cairo-based Arab Network for Human Rights Information, the incident is hardly unprecedented.

“This is not a new practice by the state,” he said. ”The only difference this time around is that it has involved two very well-known people, and at the same time.”

The moves, Eid went on to assert, were meant to “pave the way for upcoming parliamentary elections in order that they can be rigged without having anyone talk about it.”

The elections will be held amid calls by opposition groups to boycott the voting, which will not be subject to any oversight by the judiciary. Independent presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei, for his part, has consistently warned that this year’s poll would likely be marred by vote rigging and violence so as to maintain the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP)'s overwhelming majority in the national assembly.

The former head of the UN atomic watchdog has argued that whoever participated in the poll--either as voter or candidate--would be effectively challenging the will of public. Major opposition parties and the Muslim Brotherhood opposition group, however, have rejected ElBaradei's calls for a boycott.
NDP officials, meanwhile, have made repeated promises of a fair election--promises that many observers dismiss as empty.

“How can anyone believe talk about electoral integrity when such television shows are being banned?” asked prominent newspaper columnist Soliman Gouda, who hosts his own political talk show on the privately-owned Dream satellite network. “Everything that's being said about the integrity of elections is just words. Nothing will be seen on the ground.”

Within the last five years, private media has proven itself a force to be reckoned with, frequently exposing government corruption and human rights violations and discussing highly sensitive issues such as the question of presidential succession.

According to Gouda, the plethora of TV talk shows now emanating from privately-owned stations have served to “raise the level of people’s awareness regarding their rights and public issues."
Unlike government-owned media, such channels are not subject to the whims of the state--at least not officially. Most, however, are owned by high-profile Egyptian businessmen, many of whom are either NDP members or rely on financing from state-run banks.

Some of these private media barons admit that they still remain subject to government diktats.
In an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm earlier this summer, Dream TV owner Ahmed Bahgat--whose news channel attracts millions of Egyptian viewers--said that he would "shut Dream down" if asked to do so by the state.

“What else could we do?  Would we challenge the state?” asked Bahgat, who is currently saddled with an LE3 billion debt to the National Bank of Egypt.

In another interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, Hassan Rateb, owner of the Al-Mehwar television channel, said that he never hired anyone without receiving "clearance" from the state security apparatus.

According to Eid, such businessmen are driven by “a commercial mentality that cares more about money than principles.” He went on to cite past incidents in which the management of privately-owned channels had given in to state pressure to have certain shows banned.

“No businessman has dared to disobey the state, because this might not only cause him to lose money but could also lead to him being driven out of the country,” said Eid.

The targeting of Adeeb’s show in particular has raised eyebrows, since the latter is commonly perceived as being relatively soft on the state. This leniency was most explicitly illustrated in the show’s recent decision to hire Moussa, who had been managing editor of state-run daily Al-Ahram, to co-host the show.

For Eid, the targeting of even relatively soft-spoken critics reveals the regime's “despotic” nature.

“The fact that there are no clear and fixed red lines in the media can turn state friends into enemies at any moment,” he said. “This is typical of despotic regimes that have weak institutions and a blurred vision.”

Gouda, however, said that Al-Qahira Al-Youm does not necessarily toe the government line.

“Adeeb, with his cynical style, could be more provocative to the state more than other talk show presenters,” he said. “Therefore, it was only natural that he was targeted."

In any event, the ban comes at a critical juncture in Egypian politics. Given Mubarak’s shaky health condition, there is a growing sense of anticipation about who will succeed the 82-year-old president. In the meantime, opposition groups have sought to build momentum against the re-election of Mubarak and the possible nomination of his son for a presidential poll slated for 2011.

The opposition’s staunch views are closely monitored by the independent local press and widely diffused by private television stations.

“I believe the ceiling for freedom of expression will be lowered,” said Gouda. “The state will not want to fight on several fronts at once. It is already facing the opposition, young Facebook activists, ElBaradei, and foreign pressures."

"The least it can do is silence the talk-show front, which has become more outspoken in recent years," he added.

Trial of Khaled Saeed's alleged murderers resumes

Originally published in Al-Masry Al-Youm

September 25, 2010

The trial of the two policemen who allegedly beat a young man to death earlier this year resumed on Saturday amidst a resurgence of street demonstrations against human rights violations by the security forces.

Lawyers speaking on behalf of the victim demanded that the case be postponed again until all witnesses were present. In particular they insisted that the chief forensic officer who completed the autopsy report on Saeed should be present to give evidence.

“We insist that he comes to court to be questioned about the report,” said lawyer Raafat Nawwar.  “He is the backbone of this case. His report is flawed and I cannot reveal the flaws until the next hearings. Our statements will be quite shocking.”

The court decided to adjourn the hearings until 23 October.

In June, news of the death of Khaled Saeed in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria made headlines. According to witnesses, the 28-year-old man was dragged out of an internet cafe before having his head repeatedly smashed against the ground.  Allegedly Saeed’s family have said that he was killed after posting a video on the internet showing the involvement of policemen in drug deals.

However, the forensic report released in late June denied that Saeed was beaten to death confirming an earlier statement made by the minister of the interior that the victim died after choking on a bag of drugs.

“The case is 400 pages long and there is no evidence that could support the conviction of the defendants,” Refaat Abdel Hamid, lawyer for the defense, told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

In today’s hearings, Abdel Hamid claimed that Saeed’s family may have tampered with the victim’s body before the funeral. He also alleged that Saeed’s brother had bribed the guard at the mortuary, removed his brother’s body from cold storage and poured blood on his face before photographing him and circulating the pictures.

“This was meant to falsify evidence and mislead the court,” said Abdel Hamid.

However, the pictures circulated both in cyberspace and in the media show more than blood. Photos showing Saeed’s deformed face, crushed head and twisted jaw have stirred outrage in thousands of Egyptians who took to the street demanding the prosecution of the policemen involved. The case also drew harsh criticism from western governments and international human rights organizations.

On July 27, two undercover policemen Mahmoud Salah Mahmoud and Awad Ismail Suliman first took the stand in the Alexandria criminal court on charges that included illegal arrest and use of excessive force.

On Friday, Saeed’s supporters used Facebook to urge people to gather outside the Alexandria Court of First Instance to express their full support of the case and their condemnation of police human rights abuses.

“We are going there to tell the Egyptian judiciary and the world that Saeed’s case is a matter of public concern that will never die,” read the Facebook page called “We are All Khaled Saeed”.

In the wake of Saeed’s death,  the page of the  social networking site was created anonymously to serve as a platform to promote case. So far, the page has attracted nearly 280,000 people. 

Nearly a hundred of pro-Saeed demonstrators were confronted by hundreds of riot police who encircled the court building, and people believed to be plainclothes policemen raised banners in support of the two detectives and shouted, “They are drug addicts,” pointing at their adversaries.

Some took off their shirts and stood in their underwear brandishing wooden sticks to intimidate Saeed’s sympathizers, according to witnesses. 

“This is a group of secret police and thugs,” said Khaled al-Sayed, a 26-year-old engineer who traveled from Cairo to Alexandria with another 23 activists to participate in the pro-Saeed protest. “The police are harassing all those who sympathize with the case and keeping the trial on hold so that people will get bored and give up.”

The fading red lines in Egypt's political literature

Originally published in Al-Masry Al-Youm 
September 22, 2010




In recent years, book vending booths and bookstore shelves have become crowded with cynical titles that carry the president’s name and cartoonish covers that mock his persona--a development that attests to the erosion of a decades-old taboo.

“Criticizing the president and his son is no longer a red line,” says Gamal Eid, executive director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information.

Titles condemning President Hosni Mubarak, anticipating the demise of his regime and attacking his family have been landing safely on the shelves of bookstores in Egypt for the last five years. In these explicit releases, words are not the only means of expression; graphics have risen as a new tool to convey rising disenchantment with Mubarak’s long reign.

Some covers depict the 82-year-old president as a cartoonish figure with a flabby, wrinkled face, as a king sitting on a throne covered by spider webs, as an amputatee military general, or as a fissured Roman statue.

“These books did not emerge because the government is more inclined to respect freedom of expression,” adds Eid. “It is because now we have brave writers who are more willing to defend freedom of speech.”
Abdel Halim Qandil is one of those writers who spearheaded the phenomenon of anti-Mubarak content.

“I began the campaign against the president in June 2000 right after I became the editor-in-chief of al-Arabi,” recounts the 54-year-old journalist.“The main motivation was what happened in Syria after the death of and the rise of his son as president. The paper came out with the headline ‘We are against turning republics into legacies’.”

Since then, the defiant journalist has written extensive articles against Mubarak and his son in the Nasserist party mouthpiece, seeking to mobilize a wider opposition that would resist alleged attempts to groom the 46-year-old former banker.

And in 2004, Qandil moved from rhetoric to action. With tens of activists, he co-founded the famous “Kefaya” movement which took to the streets shouting: “No to an extension of Mubarak’s mandate! No to hereditary succession!”

For the first time, the president’s persona was openly attacked in the public space.

In the midst of this unprecedented street mobility, Qandil was kidnapped, beaten and left naked in a remote area. Back then Qandil accused the government of using violence to intimidate him.

“I decided to publish the first book against Mubarak after this incident,” says Qandil. “I realized that if my articles remained in newspaper archives, they would eventually go with the wind.  I decided to [compile them] in books to record this unique campaign that will be remembered as a landmark in the history of the Egyptian press.”

Eventually, his first book came out in 2005, under the title Against the President.
In the same year, his colleague Mohamed Taima from al-Arabi paper hit the public with his book Mubarak’s Dynastic Republarchy.

“The title is clear,” says Taima. “It combines republicanism that was instated by the [1952] revolution, and the monarchism that Gamal is trying to bring back.”

For three years as a journalist, Taima had scrutinized the ascendancy of Gamal within the ranks of the ruling National Democractic Party until he realized that his reporting would provide enough content for a fully-fledged book. Yet, finding a publisher was not an easy endeavor.

“I had a hard time finding a print house,” says Taima, who eventually settled for a small print shop in the poor neighborhood of Imbaba, but the mission had to be accomplished in full secrecy.

“I sponsored the first edition out of my own pocket. The print house owner used to turn off the lights at the front yard of his shop and work at the back,” remembers Taima, whose book is expected to go into its fifth printing soon.

While Qandil’s and Taima’s books adopt a sensational journalistic style based on anecdotes and highly opinionated assumptions, Ahmed al-Naggar, an economist with Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, has chosen a strictly academic approach in dissecting Mubarak’s economic performance throughout his 29 years in office.

His book, titled The Economic Deterioration in Mubarak’s Times, examines multiple layers of Mubarak’s economic policies, dismissing them as amenable to a slow growth rate, corruption, a flawed taxation system and skyrocketing poverty rates.

Substantiated with figures, tables and charts, the first printing of al-Naggar’s book, which came out shortly ahead of the 2005 presidential poll, made an explicit plea against the re-election of Mubarak.

“We should not remain under the same regime and ruled by the same president. The extension of his rule would only lead to more social injustice, poverty and unemployment,” says al-Naggar.

According to Eid, these writings began to flourish in the wake of the fall of Baghdad to the Americans in 2003. The quick demise of Saddam Hussein’s regime emboldened the Egyptian opposition to challenge their presidents.

“The fall of a dictator within very few days proved that he was not as strong as he claimed and made people feel that they could push for democracy themselves rather than wait for [foreign] tanks to bring it,” adds the human rights advocate.

This development coincided with the boom in independent papers and satellite channels and the exploration of new cyber venues such as blogs and Facebook, which all served as platforms to channel political and social discontent, explains Eid.

Nevertheless, this abundance in outlets did not guarantee the erosion of all taboos. Tackling the military remains a red line, contends Eid.

Qandil has tried to test this ceiling in many of his writings, though.  In his book The Last days, Qandil raises the question as to what would happen if a military general succeeds Mubarak. This chapter did not go unnoticed, according to Qandil. He claims the military summoned him and suspended the book, demanding it be revised. The publishing house sent copies for examination but defied orders to stop printing and released the book in 2008, adds Qandil.

“The military could have acted outside the law and referred me to a military tribunal, but this did not happen,” he says.

“The military seemed as if it was not concerned with the matter, or liked my criticism of the Gamal Mubarak scenario,”adds Qandil, who has just released a new book titled The Alternative President, in which he tackles the role of the military in the post-Mubarak scenario.

Strangely enough, none of these books have been banned and none of the authors have been arrested--in a country with a poor human rights record.

For Taima, this attitude attests to the fragmentation of Mubarak’s regime. “The regime is not capable of extending its control anymore to tighten this margin of freedom,” says Taima.

On the contrary: Tolerating such incendiary content is a well-calculated decision, contends Eid.
“Egypt is very smart. It does not ban or suspend books, unlike Syria and Tunisia,” says Eid. “Such moves would make these products more popular. It lets these things appear, but continues to chase and harass their creators.”

Ahl Cairo: Egypt's high society under the microscope

Originally published in al-Masry al-Youm English edition 

September 8, 2010

At a seven-star hotel, thousands of guests gather to attend the wedding of celebrity Safi Selim and prominent Egyptian-American doctor Sherif Rasekh. For hours, the cream of society indulges in dancing and drinking in an exceptionally opulent and jovial environment. But the occasion ends shockingly: The bride is stabbed in the neck in her suite a few hours after the ceremony. And the killer's identity is unknown.

With this thrilling plot, “Ahl Cairo” or “The Cairenes” television serial has attracted millions of Arab viewers during Ramadan, and stands out as one of the best among at least thirty drama shows this season. It is not just the suspense that distinguishes the show, but its ugly portrayal of Cairo’s upper class--a community the director represents as plagued by promiscuity and the notorious marriage between power and money.

The show, which broadcasts on at least five satellite channels, exposes the grave social chasm that has opened up in Egypt in recent years leaving nearly 40 percent of the population trapped in poverty. “Ahl Cairo” offers a controversial account of social mobility in this highly fragmented society though the character of “Safi Selim,” or Amina.

Amina is a lascivious girl who grew up in a poor family in Cairo’s al-Qalaa neighborhood. As soon as she began studying mass communication she mingled with classmates from a far higher social stratum, who eventually helped her become an advertising model and then a movie star.

Her sex appeal allowed her to seduce politicians as well as businessmen who became entwined in secret affairs with the irresistible young lady. Thanks to this social network, Selim accumulated tons of money and conquered the ranks of Cairo’s westernized elite. Eventually, she married rich. But the marriage was short-lived, as the husband found out about his wife’s promiscuity through watching a DVD of her in bed with a business tycoon. The husband left, and shortly after Amina was found murdered in her room.

This curious crime brings in the series' protagonist, Hassan Mahfouz. Mahfouz is an honest, dedicated and risk-taking policeman who remains speechless when an audacious suspect accuses him of belonging to an institution implicated in human rights violations. He is assigned to investigate the murder of this controversial actress.

“This is the famous theme known as ‘crime at a party,’” says drama critic Rami Abdel Razek. “It is about a crime that happens at a party and there is multiple evidence that suggests that each and every character could be the criminal, yet the perpetrator is just one person. Nevertheless, all characters are portrayed as guilty toward society.”

The show’s plot revolves around Hassan’s journey to find the murderer. He finds an abundance of evidence pointing to the prominent businessman Nadim Kamal, who enjoys political leverage and who had an affair with the victim in the past. To defend himself, Nadim proves that he was at a business meeting with an Israeli delegation while the crime was committed.

With such a defense, the investigation becomes more complex. Mahfouz continues to come across more evidence that suggests the involvement of more players.

According to Abdel Razek, the show seems inspired by many recent scandals that made headlines in local and international press in connection with the promiscuity of businessmen. The most notable of these incidents was the murder of the Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim whose throat was slit in her house in Dubai in summer 2008. The murder turned out to be instigated by parliamentarian and real estate tycoon Hesham Talaat Mostafa. In 2009, he was handed down a death sentence. He appealed, and the final verdict is still to be handed down.

“The writer’s reading of the relationship between actresses and businessmen and ambitions of social mobility in some classes is good, but it does not say anything new,” says Abdel Razek. “Drama should offer something that goes beyond what is being said in talk shows and the press.”

Yet, Abdel Razek acknowledges that Belal Fadl (the screenwriter)'s reading of the in-and-outs of the privately-owned media is an innovative portrayal of a zone that has never been examined so closely until now.

“As a veteran journalist, Belal Fadl is capable of portraying the backstage of the press well,” he says.

In the show, Fadl dissects the local press by examining the plight of Dalia, a young, talented and conscientious reporter at a privately-owned daily. She outscooped her competitors with her coverage of the killing of Safi Selim thanks to Mahfouz, who entrusted her with confidential information.

Yet, her scoops usually run the risk of being manipulated by her opportunist and hypocritical editor. Through daily feuds between Dalia and her boss, “Ahl Cairo” seems to convey the writer’s disillusionment with the rising so-called independent press.

Unfortunately, Fadl, who is out of the country, could not comment.

His work is one of a few television serials that have manifested a high level of political drama this year. While “Ahl Cairo” zooms in on Egypt’s elite, "Al-Hara" or "The Alley" dissects the plight of Egypt’s slum population which languishes in poverty and ignorance.

Unlike previous shows, the content of this year’s TV dramas no longer relies on political undertones or insinuations. Instead, writers convey explicit political criticisms of the government. For example, anti-government protests are common scenes in some of this year’s shows.

For Abdel Razek, this is a flaw that attests to the weakness of scriptwriters.

“This politicization is not new," he says. "What is new is that the politicized drama has become more direct than what we had in the 1980s and 1990s.”

“Unfortunately, today’s drama is rhetorical and direct...rhetoric is the disease of any drama show no matter who the writer is,” Abdel Razek adds.

For many critics, redundancy is another evil of “Ahl Cairo”.

“This beautiful work is missing condensation. Many scenes that do not serve the main events should have been omitted,” wrote Lilas Souidan in Kuwati paper Al-Qabas this week.

But such redundancy has not dissuaded viewers from following the show anxiously, hoping to know who the murderer is in the next couple of days as Ramadan nears its end.

ElBaradei threatens civil disobedience if reform demands ignored

Originally published in al-Masry al-Youm English edition
September 7, 2010

Surrounded by nearly 200 young followers at an iftar gathering in Sayeda Zeinab Monday, opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei repeated a warning that civil disobedience could be resorted to if the regime continues to ignore demands for reform.


“Civil disobedience is our last card in the peaceful process for change,” ElBaradei told members of the Popular Campaign to Support ElBaradei. “We do not want to resort to that, but we will not refrain from resorting to it if the regime doesn't respond to [our demands].”

The former head of the UN nuclear watchdog has emerged as a rallying figure for political reform in recent months. Thousands of young Egyptians and dozens of prominent opposition figures have thrown their full support behind his seven reform demands that include ending the state of emergency, amending the Constitution to allow for real multi-party presidential elections, ensuring judicial supervision of the vote, and putting an end to election fraud. Earlier, his campaigners threatened to strike if these demands go unheeded.

“We want to retrieve our freedom,” ElBaradei told his supporters at the iftar. “We want the people to rule themselves. We want the regime to be the people’s representative rather than custodian.”

ElBaradei’s supporters have been collecting signatures in favor of his petition in different Egyptian governorates through door-to-door canvassing and over the internet. So far the petition has attracted nearly 800,000 signatures.

Like most regime opponents, ElBaradei’s campaign is seeking to build a momentum for change ahead of the presidential elections slated for 2011. Although the leadership of the ruling National Democratic Party has confirmed that President Hosni Mubarak will be the party’s nominee, the incumbent’s ill-health raises doubts over his ability to run for a sixth term.

“The upcoming year and upcoming months will be decisive,” said ElBaradei. “A regime change may happen within months or a year.”

His defiant tone was met with fervent applause and whistles. His audience shouted: “Go ahead, Baradei, we are behind you to bring about change!” and “Oh, unjust regime, change is coming!”

“Today, ElBaradei’s speech was bolder than his previous ones,” 21-year-old Tanta University graduate Ahmed Abd Rabboh told Al-Masry Al-Youm on the sidelines of the iftar.

“This courage stems from the signatures that were collected and the popular support that he garnered over six months,” added Abd Rabboh.

Yet the signatures are not enough to convince ElBaradei to send his followers into the streets to further pressure the regime. The former diplomat warned the enthusiastic crowd against rushing and urged them to wait for “the right timing.”

“We should not take to the street until we know that such a move will mark the beginning of the end of this regime,” said ElBaradei.

Many of his supporters hailed ElBaradei’s warning as a wise approach. “Taking to the street is not a good option now. A confrontation with the regime may provoke a brutal reaction,” said 32-year old radiologist Dina Amin.

“We want him to take to the street with 50 or 60 thousand people to prove his strength to the regime. Up until now, not enough people would take to the street,” said Abd Rabboh.

ElBaradei also renewed a call for boycotting the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for November. He expects the poll to be marred by fraud since the government refuses to ensure full judicial inspection of balloting stations. ElBaradei said whoever participates in the poll, whether as a voter or a candidate, would be violating “the national will.”

Yet the Nobel Prize laureate’s call seems to have fallen on deaf ears, as most opposition parties, as well as ElBaradei’s Muslim Brotherhood allies, are all likely to field candidates for parliament.
“People have different views,” said ElBaradei. “I cannot impose my views on them. All I can do is [use] the power of persuasion.”

Facebook activists maintain support for ElBaradei despite photos

Originally published in al-Masry al-Youm English edition
September 5, 2010

The Facebook page that featured private pictures of Mohamed ElBaradei’s daugther in swimsuits and claimed she was agnostic has provoked a storm of cyber outrage among the former diplomat’s supporters who posted hundreds of messages dismissing the photos as an attempt by the ruling regime to discredit a potential condenter.

“How much money did you get from the state security apparatus to publish this?” wrote Ashraf Abddo, who denounced the page’s creator as “a whore”.

Last week, the page titled “The secrets of ElBaradei’s family” was created by an anonymous facebook user who claimed to be a close friend of ElBaradei’s daughter. “I have been friends with Laila ElBaradei for a long time. I was surprised when I learned that Dr. ElBaradei wants to become president. I was shocked when he visited mosques and prayed given that he and his family have no religion. This is what drove me to speak out and tell the truth,” wrote the page’s creator on the social networking site Facebook.

The page displayed at least thirty photos of ElBaradei’s family showing his daughter in swimsuits at the beach and at events where glasses of alcohol appear to be present.

The page’s architect has also posted a screen shot of Laila’s alleged Facebook profile page showing that she identifies herself as agnostic.

“Even if ElBaradei turned out to be an extra-terrestrial alien, I will back him,” wrote Ahmed Maher Rashad in response to the pictures on Facebook. Many of the nearly 1600 users who added the Facebook page to their profile are now calling upon each other to quit the page as the best strategy to downplay the campaign.

“All respectful people who dislike this charade that seeks to destroy the reputation of a respectful person should leave this page right away,” wrote Maha Ezzelarab. “Otherwise they would be giving it more fame for nothing.”

In an interview with a local paper published Saturday, ElBaradei accused President Hosni Mubarak’s regime of waging a campaign of “sheer lies” against him with these photos.

"This is typical and the only way the regime responds to those calling for democracy, political reforms, social justice and preserving people's human rights," he was quoted as saying.

Earlier this year, ElBaradei made headlines after he announced that he would run for president if genuine reforms were introduced to allow independents to run in the presidential poll slated for 2011. Hundreds of young activists and renowned opposition figures rallied around the former diplomat who find in ElBaradei a credible alternative to Mubarak. Since then, ElBaradei has become the de facto leader of a reform campaign that seeks to convince millions of Egyptians to sign a petition with a set of reform demands.

“You should be NDP agents," wrote a facebook user who identified himself as a Mostafa Pentagram as he addressed the Facebook page's sponsors."Is Mubarak a saint who has never tasted wine? Is Gamal [Mubarak] an Imam? I am telling you; you will lose..the end is very close.“

This Facebook page stands as the latest episode of a media campaign that has targeted ElBaradei since he entered the political limelight in February. The state-owned media has dismissed the former head of the UN atomic agency as an outsider who has lived most of his life in the west and knows very little about Egyptian social and political realities.

In April, Abdallah Kamal, editor in chief of Rose al-Youssef daily and an outspoken supporter of Mubarak’s regime, questioned ElBaradei’s faith and wondered if he observed the five Muslim prayers in the wake of a rally that he held at a mosque in a Delta province. In the article titled “ElBaradei and religious hypocrisy”, there was an early mention of ElBaradei’s daughter as Abdullah wondered about her religious leanings.

According to Mostafa Kamel al-Sayed, professor of political science with the American University in Cairo, these photos might be used by the government to further discredit ElBaradei in a highly conservative society.

“The photos of his daughter whether they are genuine or not would serve the [government’s] purpose of discrediting him as a good Muslim,” said Mostafa. However, he downplayed the impact that these pictures could have on ElBaradei’s popularity.

“Supporters of ElBaradei will not take this seriously. The sources of photos are not very credible and Facebook is not a very reliable source of information. It is quite possible to fake pictures,” al-Sayed added.

Many of ElBaradei’s facebook supporters voiced the same doubts over the integrity of the pictures and contended that they must be fabricated.  “Photoshop can do everything. I am telling you...this is orchestrated by the state security,” wrote Hossam Mohamed.

But a few viewers expressed their disillusionment with the reform figure after watching the pictures. “I am shocked by the pictures. I used to support ElBaradei but after seeing these pictures and knowing this information, I say no to Elbaradei,” wrote Ahmed Said.

Elbaradei is expected to hold two meetings this week--one with his young campaigners and another with workers.

Baradei to return amid doubts over his future

Originally published in al-Masry al-Youm
August 31, 2010

As Mohamed ElBaradei gets ready to board his flight from Vienna to Cairo Wednesday, questions linger regarding future moves for his nascent opposition movement vis-à-vis a regime that shows no willingness to make reform concessions.


For several months, followers of the former head of the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) have been collecting signatures in favor of his reform petition, in which ElBaradei provides seven demands ahead of the parliamentary poll slated for late November. His plea includes ending the state of emergency, amending the constitution to allow for real multi-party presidential elections, ensuring judicial supervision of the vote, and putting an end to election fraud.

While the number of signatures keeps rising, there is no indication that the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) will heed any of these demands. Earlier this month, spokesman of the outgoing parliament Fathi Sorour ruled out introducing changes to the constitution.

“All other ways are blocked. Freedom has a cost and people should be ready to pay that cost,” said Hassan Nafae, coordinator of the National Association for Change (NAC), the group formed under ElBaradei’s auspices in April.

“We tell people frankly that the state will not necessarily heed our demands because the NDP does not respect the people’s will. So we may ask  [people] to demonstrate on the street and things may escalate to civil disobedience,” added Nafae.

However, the NAC has not decided when this escalation may occur, according to prominent NAC leader George Ishaq.

“Civil disobedience is a big issue and it needs preparation. We are working on that,” said Ishaq.
So far, the NAC has collected nearly 800,000 signatures.

But convincing signatories of engaging in open protests remains beyond the group’s capabilities, according to Amr Elshobaki, an expert with al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

“Civil disobedience is a very difficult challenge. There is no indication that 80,000 out of the 800,000 signatories would take to the street,” said Elshobaki.

“It is hard to do that under the current regime and given the nature of the signatories. They are ready to sign but they are not ready to take to the street,” he added.

At least 600,000 out of the group’s 800,000 sympathizers belong to Egypt's largest and most organized opposition faction, the Muslim Brotherhood, which started to collect signatures in support of ElBaradei's reform demands through its website in July. But the Nobel Prize laureate should not rely too much on the Brotherhood's ability to mobilize in large numbers, said Elshobaki.

“The Muslim Brotherhood have their own calculations and they won’t take to the streets according to ElBaradei’s calculations,” explained Elshobaki.

Although Brotherhood officials consistently claim full endorsement of pro-democratic demands, the group has been criticized for not calling upon its large support base to take to the street.

According to experts on the nation’s oldest Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood remains reluctant to mobilize the masses for fear of antagonizing the regime and provoking a brutal crackdown like that of the 1950s and 1960s.

ElBaradei’s visit comes in the midst of preparations for November's parliamentary poll. Last week through his twitter account, ElBaradei renewed his call for opposition parties to boycott elections. The 68-year-old former diplomat says the opposition should not engage in elections that are not fully monitored by the judiciary.

“The boycott is a feasible and viable option provided that all opposition groups agree on that,” said Amr Hamzawy, an expert with Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Otherwise, parties will be granting the regime legitimacy.”

In 2005, the parliamentary poll was reportedly marred by fraud and violence that claimed 13 lives. There were also reports of police intimidation toward supporters of NDP contenders. All these accounts drew significant international attention and elicited criticism from the US administration.

“This time is different from 2005. The international community is not concerned with democracy anymore. Even if the election is marred by violence and vote rigging, the international community will not pay attention. So boycotting may draw more attention than participating,” added Hamzawy.

So far, there is no consensus among the opposition to give up the poll. The nation’s two largest opposition parties Wafd and Tagammu are expected to participate. The Muslim Brotherhood is not yet decided on whether to boycott.

“We should not look down upon those who will participate and accuse them of being acquiescent,” said al-Ahram's Elshobaki.  “They believe that things are changing and they should get engaged with new realities and change the system from within.”

This is ElBaradei’s first visit since June. He is expected to hold two events in Cairo--an iftarwith his young followers on September 6 and possibly a supper with labor unionists on September 7, according to his brother Ali ElBaradei.

While NAC sources say the former IAEA head will leave in ten days and come back for a longer stay in October, his brother says he has not specified his departure date yet. Many of ElBaradei’s supporters have criticized him for not settling in Egypt and accused him of being reluctant to dedicate his full time and attention to the reform call.

“His presence would have been better because he would have gone out to people, discussed problems with them," said Nafae. "If people could see him and talk with him directly, they would feel that he is the true leader of change and this will serve the project for change better.”

Earlier this year, ElBaradei drew local and international attention when he said he would vie for the presidency in 2011 if fair and free elections were guaranteed. Upon this announcement, dozens of opposition figures and hundreds of youths anxious to find a credible alternative to the existing regime, rallied around him.

“The mobilization that ElBaradei engendered in the beginning is over,” said Hamzawy.

“Now, it is a one-man show. ElBaradei does not coordinate with other opposition players including opposition parties and movements,” contended Hamzawy.

Elshobaki is not on the same wavelength as Hamzaway. “The fact that ElBaradei is not involved in the details of the involvement game is positive,” he said.

“The political game in Egypt has no rules and it drains people and makes them get consumed in internal conflicts and exchanges of accusations,” said Elshobaki.