Parliamentary Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal received a delegation from the Egyptian Press Syndicate this week to discuss issues ranging from the issuing of new media laws to the problems facing parliamentary reporters. The delegation was led by Press Syndicate Chairman Yehia Qalash and included seven members of the syndicate's board and two journalist MPs, Mohamed Badawi of Al-Ahram and Radwan Al-Zayati from Al-Gomhouria. Qalash told reporters that while the delegation's visit was to congratulate Abdel-Aal on his election as speaker of the House of Representatives, they would also bring up media laws that need to be amended to fall into line with the new constitution. “We congratulated Professor Abdel-Aal on his election but also used the meeting to discuss draft laws that have been prepared by the Press Syndicate and other media experts,” said Qalash. “We stressed that the drafts we presented reflected the wishes of a majority of journalists and warned that any alternative government-drafted laws would be a step in the wrong direction.” Qalash said Abdel-Aal told the delegation that parliament has not received any legislation on the media from the government and promised that no media laws will be passed without first consulting with the syndicate. Seven constitutional articles deal directly with media affairs, granting greater freedoms and independence to journalists and banning custodial sentences for publication offences. Qalash said a 230-article Law on Regulating the Press and the Media and a four-article Law on Amending Articles Related to Publication Crimes in the Penal Code had been drafted by the Press Syndicate in coordination with a government-appointed legislative reform committee. “Speaker Abdel-Aal was a member of the committee that played a positive role in drafting the two laws,” said Qalash. In an interview with Al-Ahram published on 23 January, Minister of Justice Ahmed Al-Zend said three draft laws covering the media and press were being prepared. “The cabinet has finalised drafting a law on the formation of a Higher Council for Media Regulation and details will be announced in ten days,” said Al-Zend. “The law was prioritised because Article 211 of the constitution stipulates such a council take charge of regulating all forms of audio, visual, print and digital media.” Article 211 also requires the council to guarantee the freedom, independence, neutrality and diversity of media outlets in Egypt, prevent monopolies, review the sources of funding of media and press organisations, and ensure that press and media outlets behave ethically and do not endanger national security. Draft laws that conform to constitutional articles 212 and 213, which call for a National Council of Press Affairs and a National Council of Media Affairs to be established, are being prepared, said Al-Zend. Qalash says it is unclear whether the drafts cited by Al-Zend differ from those prepared by the Press Syndicate. “Our drafts were prepared in coordination with a technical committee formed by then-prime minister, Ibrahim Mahlab, which included Minister of Planning Ashraf Al-Arabi and constitutional law professor — now speaker of the House of Representatives — Ali Abdel-Aal,” said Qalash. He added that the draft on media regulation was the result of a year's work. “Fifty experts from the Press Syndicate and the government were involved in drafting this comprehensive law on the media. It includes seven sections covering press and media freedoms and the duties of journalists, rules governing the ownership of newspapers, the formation and ownership of media outlets, state-owned press organisations, public media and the formation of media and press councils in accordance with articles 211, 212 and 213 of the constitution.” In a symposium held by Al-Ahram on 20 January, journalist Makram Mohamed Ahmed, who interviewed Al-Zend for Al-Ahram, said the minister had not given him a copy of the government's proposed law on the Higher Council for Media Regulation. “While there can be different drafts of media laws, what articles 211, 212 and 213 of the constitution clearly stipulate is that three entities, the Higher Council for Media Regulation, the National Council of Press Affairs and the National Council of Media Affairs, must be formed so that their views can be incorporated in any legislation,” said Ahmed. Qalash said he had also raised with Abdel-Aal concerns about the conditions in which detained journalists are being held and the problems faced by parliamentary reporters. “We know that parliamentary reporters lack adequate facilities to perform the difficult task of covering parliament, a job that will become even harder when parliamentary committees increase from 19 to 30,” said Qalash. Parliamentary reporters complain about poor Internet access and the inadequate space they are allocated to cover plenary sessions. “While the number of accredited parliamentary reporters has increased to 140, just 12 seats on the balcony of the House of Representatives have been allocated to them during plenary sessions,” Mahmoud Nafadi, head of the syndicate's division of parliamentary reporters, told Qalash. Qalash said a committee comprising the House of Representatives' secretary-general, Ahmed Saadeddin, MP journalists and the deputy chairman of the Press Syndicate will be formed to look into the problems facing parliamentary reporters.
