The domestic referendum and the Arab summit abroad were the highlights. Gamal Nkrumah and Mohamed El-Sayed tackle the two Domestic and regional politics were at the heart of press debates, as this week's ructions around the country showed only too well. Pundits were still tinkering with the ostensibly unsatisfactory results of the referendum on constitutional amendments. Pro-government papers had an understandable lack of nerve when it came to criticising the poll. Opposition and independent papers, on the other hand, took the opportunity to lash out against the government. The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) in particular came under acerbic criticism. The headline of the opposition daily Al-Wafd, the mouthpiece of the liberal Wafd Party, which boycotted the referendum, ran, "Voter turnout from two per cent to three per cent, so where is the majority party?" The paper continued with its acrimonious tirade. "The nation taught the rulers a lesson by boycotting the referendum." It continued to explain the perplexing and compromising position the government finds itself in. "The regime is in a dilemma and rigging [the referendum] was the solution." Indeed, independent dailies all concurred that the results of the referendum amounted to a public snub of the regime. The headline of the daily opposition Al-Ahrar ran, "Low turnout on referendum day". Long-standing critics of the regime lost no time in condemning the government and the state security apparatus. "Security apparatuses imposed a strict siege in the heart of Cairo during the two days preceding the referendum and on the referendum day and the day following, to prevent any gathering of citizens seeking to express their opposition to what they saw as a bad political farce," wrote Saadeddin Ibrahim in independent daily Al-Masry Al-Yom. Many pundits adopted a pessimistic tone. "The history of referendums in Egypt is gloomy," wrote Mohamed Abul-Ghar in Al-Masry Al-Yom. The government failed the people of Egypt on two counts -- the low turnout betrayed the peoples' lack of trust in their leaders, and rigging the referendum results was an outrageous crime. "It is crystal clear from the numbers of the referendum that rigging took place. The real results of the referendum are that the people rejected the constitutional amendments, and that the NDP was unable to persuade more than three per cent of Egyptians to take part." Parallels were drawn between the popular appeal of apolitical entertainers and the public apathy towards politics. Mohamed El-Shabba, writing in the daily liberal-leaning Nahdet Masr, commented on youth apathy towards the referendum and their choice to go instead in their tens of thousands to attend the famous Colombian pop singer Shakira's concert at the Pyramids: "Thousands of youths went to attend Shakira's concert, while they chose not to go and vote in the referendum. They believed in Shakira but didn't believe in the referendum." This was telling, El-Shabba noted. "Nobody in this country knows about the opinion of these majority of youths. Nobody knows what this majority of the population -- the youth of Egypt -- will do with the future of this country," he added. "This generation, which neither the government nor any other political force cannot influence or control, doesn't go to ballot boxes and doesn't care about the slogans of the NDP about the future... this generation lives in a world of their own, far removed from all that is happening in the country," El-Shabba concluded on an even more sombre note. Regional affairs also hit the headlines of Egyptian papers this week. Yahya El-Gamal, writing in Al-Masry Al-Yom on the Arab summit and the Arab peace initiative, was full of praise for the political acumen of the Arab leaders. "In my estimation this summit was one of the precious few that was well prepared and that dealt seriously with the issues. It was one of the few summits that witnessed quasi consensus," he declared. The Israelis came under fire for their uncompromising position. "The Arab peace initiative [discussed at the summit] does not encroach on [the Israeli] side's rights. Israel should have accepted it if it really wanted to achieve peace. But rejection is the usual, normal Israeli position towards any Arab or Palestinian offer. Israel wants to take everything and give nothing." Washington, too, was under attack for its double standards and its senseless bias towards Israel. "Did the Arab summit succeed in sending a message to Israel saying that by adopting [this stubborn] position it bets on a losing horse? I think that the position adopted by the Arab summit [refusing to amend the Arab peace initiative] helped to some extent in sending this message. But [the Arabs] need to make the United States understand that they will no longer remain powerless and ineffective towards the US's unconditional support for Israel. And I think it succeeded in making the US administration feel that its interests could be influenced because of Washington's biased position." Other commentators also welcomed the Arab position. Arab unity at the summit was, in particular, the subject of much praise. "The summit was considered one of the most important as it helped enhance Arab solidarity in the face of the dangers of fragmentation. It also helped the Arabs face mounting external pressure aiming at depriving them of a fair, comprehensive peace [with Israel]," explained Makram Mohamed Ahmed, writing in the daily Al-Ahram. "There were positions and incidents in the summit that proved that all [Arab leaders] feel the dangers looming over the Arab national security arising from changing international circumstances." The spread of disease featured prominently in the papers this week. Al-Wafd commented on the German measles pandemic that swept several schools in Greater Cairo and Giza. "German measles terrifies students of Cairo and Giza" ran the headline of Al-Wafd. "Talents School in Nasr City shut down, and the Ministry of Health announces that 20 students have been infected since January."
