The optimism that the Arab Spring will provide democracy and free speech in their country seems to be a nightmare for the Egyptian people after a dangerous escalation in the security campaign targeting protesters and even journalists. Two days before World Press Freedom day on May 3, police raided Press Syndicate in Cairo and detained a number of journalists. Officials described the police action at the Syndicate the first in its 75-years of history and called for the sacking of Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar for his role in the incidents.
The crisis between journalists and the security forces escalated against the backdrop of mass demonstrations on April 25 protesting the maritime demarcation agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Handing over the control of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia has evoked widespread protest in the country and the Interior Ministry had ordered security forces to prevent scribes and photographers from covering the events. Even the state-run newspaper Al Ahram condemned the raid in an editorial warning that the ministry will not succeed in its pernicious goals of shutting up freedom of opinion and expression.
Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, an ex-army chief, who rose to power after dismissing the country’s first democratically-elected government led by Mohamed Mursi of Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of Muslim Brotherhood, was a ‘hero’ for thousands of Egyptians when he started crackdown against Islamists killing more than two thousands on the streets. But even the secularists who actively supported Al Sisi in his campaigns now accuse him of running an ultra-authoritarian regime that has violently suppressed all opposition since toppling Mursi in 2013. A military general can never tolerate dissident voices, the vital part of a vibrant democracy. That is what Egypt is experiencing now as Al Sisi has swiftly turned his guns towards secularists and journalists who criticise him.
This is not the first time scribes are being treated with iron fists by the Al Sisi government. Journalists from the Qatar-based Aljazeera channel, including the award-winning Australian Peter Greste, were imprisoned for more than 400-days alleging that they were working for the banned Muslim Brotherhood, a charge which was challenged by the channel. The new incidents clearly indicate that the ex-general, who also faces criticism from the public because of the struggling economy and various other issues, is trying to suppress the media with gag orders, like the one regarding the probe into the killing of an Italian student who was tortured before his death allegedly by the security forces. Hundreds of supporters of deposed president Mohamed Muris have been sentenced to death in mass trails, which drew widespread criticism from the UN and human rights group. The renewed crackdown on political opponents, activists and media will jeopardise the future of the nation which is struggling for stability.
The optimism that the Arab Spring will provide democracy and free speech in their country seems to be a nightmare for the Egyptian people after a dangerous escalation in the security campaign targeting protesters and even journalists. Two days before World Press Freedom day on May 3, police raided Press Syndicate in Cairo and detained a number of journalists. Officials described the police action at the Syndicate the first in its 75-years of history and called for the sacking of Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar for his role in the incidents.
The crisis between journalists and the security forces escalated against the backdrop of mass demonstrations on April 25 protesting the maritime demarcation agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Handing over the control of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia has evoked widespread protest in the country and the Interior Ministry had ordered security forces to prevent scribes and photographers from covering the events. Even the state-run newspaper Al Ahram condemned the raid in an editorial warning that the ministry will not succeed in its pernicious goals of shutting up freedom of opinion and expression.
Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, an ex-army chief, who rose to power after dismissing the country’s first democratically-elected government led by Mohamed Mursi of Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of Muslim Brotherhood, was a ‘hero’ for thousands of Egyptians when he started crackdown against Islamists killing more than two thousands on the streets. But even the secularists who actively supported Al Sisi in his campaigns now accuse him of running an ultra-authoritarian regime that has violently suppressed all opposition since toppling Mursi in 2013. A military general can never tolerate dissident voices, the vital part of a vibrant democracy. That is what Egypt is experiencing now as Al Sisi has swiftly turned his guns towards secularists and journalists who criticise him.
This is not the first time scribes are being treated with iron fists by the Al Sisi government. Journalists from the Qatar-based Aljazeera channel, including the award-winning Australian Peter Greste, were imprisoned for more than 400-days alleging that they were working for the banned Muslim Brotherhood, a charge which was challenged by the channel. The new incidents clearly indicate that the ex-general, who also faces criticism from the public because of the struggling economy and various other issues, is trying to suppress the media with gag orders, like the one regarding the probe into the killing of an Italian student who was tortured before his death allegedly by the security forces. Hundreds of supporters of deposed president Mohamed Muris have been sentenced to death in mass trails, which drew widespread criticism from the UN and human rights group. The renewed crackdown on political opponents, activists and media will jeopardise the future of the nation which is struggling for stability.
