Political and media manipulation in Egypt crosses all lines

Political and media manipulation in Egypt is reaching new heights, writes Taoufik Bouachrine. Other views: Geneva 2 cannot fix Syria's crisis (Abdullah Al Otaibi) and Yemen's national dialogue has been a success (Al Bayan newspaper)

Political and media manipulation has become limitless in Egypt, and the manufacture of lies and hatred has risen to unprecedented levels, wrote Taoufik Bouachrine in the Moroccan newspaper Akhbar Al Youm.

Some of the most recent farces came as Egypt was about to mark the third anniversary of its January 25 revolution. At a Davos World Economic Forum seminar, prime minister Hazem El Beblawi likened Gen El Sisi to France’s Gen Charles de Gaulle. He also said that Egyptian women were keener on pushing Gen El Sisi to run for the presidency because he is handsome.

De Gaulle, who helped free France from Nazism, later ascended to power via elections.

Attributing women’s support for Gen El Sisi to his handsomeness is insulting. Contempt for Egyptians’ feelings and intelligence have reached excessive levels, often in the most stupid ways, the writer said.

Mr El Beblawi’s remarks show that some sections of Egyptian society are at a loss. On Thursday, they suspended studies at Al Azhar University because students keep protesting against the coup.

On Friday, they halted railway services between Cairo and other cities to prevent protesters from gathering in squares. Gunshots on the streets have become common, not only at the Muslim Brotherhood’s supporters, but also at the revolutionary youth.

Those youth who initially supported the road map have found themselves facing repression from new authorities who are intolerant of any kind of criticism, even if it is a satire show from Bassem Yousuf on a pro-Mubarak broadcaster. For them, the constitution drafted by an elected committee was null while that of the appointed 50-member committee was valid.

In seven months, Egypt’s interim president, Adly Mansour, visited only Greece. Major countries avoided inviting him because they are cognisant that he is part of a “political crime”, a sign that the counter-revolution has not hitherto been able to lay the foundations of an “autocratic autumn”, albeit it has succeeded in halting the Arab Spring in Egypt.

Amnesty International recently said that Egypt was on a “road map to repression” and Human Rights Watch has also been critical of the state’s practices. Respectable newspapers in the West including Le Monde, The New York Times, The Guardian and the news magazine Der Spiegel say that Egypt has entered a dark tunnel since last June.

The issue is not who is with and who is against the Brotherhood; it is about who is with democracy and who is not.

The Brotherhood, like the rest of Arab political players, were not perfect once in power. But the balance must be redressed at the ballot box, not anywhere else, the writer concluded.

Too many conflicts are present in Syria crisis

Abdullah Al Otaibi, columnist in the pan-Arab daily Asharq El Awsat, has tackled the Geneva 2 conference, which brings the Syrian opposition and the Bashar Al Assad regime together with representatives of various countries involved in the Syrian crisis.

The question that arises is “whether this conference will succeed in ending the Syrian crisis, or not?” A final resolution of the conflict is not yet possible in the absence of necessary conditions and efficient international pressure to force the parties to take bold steps towards it.

Assuming that all parties to the conflict are equal in terms of power and in terms of responsibility for the heinous crimes committed in Syria would be essentially erroneous, the writer said.

The Syrian crisis is a complex matter, where international interests overlap with regional conflicts, internal complexities, history’s prejudices and terrorist forces. This makes it difficult to settle.

Negotiations may turn out fruitful in humanitarian matters, such as relief and the release of prisoners. But the talks will surely not bring about any important political breakthrough that will have significant impact in Syria or in the region.

Syria’s war reflects all conflicts: political, international, regional and internal, the columnist wrote. All these conflicts have to be overcome – a matter that is still unlikely at this time.

Dialogue puts Yemen politics on right track

Despite trials and tribulations, the National Dialogue in Yemen has sailed to safety, editorialised the Dubai-based newspaper Al Bayan.

The successful dialogue is a prelude to the “Happy Yemen” citizens yearn for after three years of turmoil during which the country’s economy has hit the bottom. No doubt, political stability is crucial to the get the economy off the ground.

The outcomes of the National Dialogue conference that have been agreed upon by the majority of Yemen’s factions could bring to an end a period of troubles and usher in a new era of stability and development, the paper added.

It is no surprise that some forces affected by the dialogue and its outcomes have tried to thwart efforts at establishing order and stability. In fact, they might even try to foment unrest in a bid to disrupt the dialogue.

Yemen has proven to be the most successful of the so-called Arab Spring nations. This is because it has relied on consensus rather than a coup, the newspaper argued.

Unlike Egypt’s experience, Yemen has not adopted a victor-or-vanquished approach. Over the course of the past three years, that approach has proven a fiasco, leading neither to the desired change nor to national consensus.

* Digest compiled by The Translation Desk