A long-awaited law aimed at regulating the press and other media was approved by parliament's Media, Culture and Antiquities Committee in a closed-door meeting on Monday. Head of the Committee Osama Heikal told reporters two draft laws were referred to parliament on 2 December. The first, on media regulatory bodies, was discussed on Sunday and Monday. "We were keen that a number of media experts, including board members of the Higher Press Council and the Press Syndicate, attended hearings so we might reach a consensus on the majority of articles," said Heikal. He added that he was surprised by the decision of the board members of the Higher Press Council and the Press Syndicate "not to attend the committee's hearings”. According to Heikal "the two draft laws were debated only after the State Council had revised them" and "during the debates the committee made sure the two laws were in line with the six articles concerning the media in Egypt's 2014 constitution". Heikal insists "the two new media laws are not government-drafted ones as some have claimed". "These texts were originally part of the unified media law prepared by a special commission composed of experts in media law from the Press Syndicate, the Higher Press Council and the Ministry of Justice," said Heikal. "It was the State Council that recommended the text be divided into two laws, one addressing the institutional framework of new media regulatory bodies, the second media conditions as a whole." "The council made its recommendation because the constitution stipulates a general media law can only be enacted after legislation establishing three regulatory bodies — the Higher Council for Media Regulation (HCMR), the National Press Organisation (NPO) and the National Media Organisation (NMO) — is passed and the members of the three boards are named." Heikal concluded by saying "once the legislation on the three media regulatory bodies is ratified by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and the members of the board of these bodies are named the committee will begin discussing the second law on media and press conditions". Mahmoud Fawzi, a legal advisor to parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal, says "the State Council's recommendation of two media laws instead of one is a logical step that will guarantee any new legislation does not contravene the constitution". In a statement on Sunday, Salah Eissa, spokesman of the Higher Press Council, said "board members of the council decided to boycott because the two media laws were not revised by the State Council and we had earlier agreed that a one unified law be discussed in parliament rather than two". The decision of the Higher Press Council and the Press Syndicate to boycott the committee's meetings left committee members divided. Leftist MP and high-profile film director Khaled Youssef and independent MP Osama Sharshar urged the committee's head Osama Heikal to “re-invite board members after sending them copies of the two draft laws so they can prepare their comments before they come to the meeting". Heikal, backed by MPs led by independent journalist Mustafa Bakri, refused to agree to the request. "I will not allow that the discussion of the two draft laws be delayed anymore," said Heikal. He then decided that the discussion be held behind closed-doors. Yehia Qallash, chairman of the Press Syndicate, told reporters on Monday that he did not boycott the meetings. "We simply asked Heikal to send us a copy of the draft law to prepare our remarks in advance," said Qallash. On Sunday representatives from some state-owned press organisations, including Ali Hassan, managing editor of the government-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA) and Abdel-Mohsen Salama and Mokhtar Shoeib, deputy editors of Al-Ahram newspaper, attended the meeting. Bakri and MENA's Hassan launched a scathing attack on the Higher Press Council, accusing its members of trying to delay the new media laws. "They just want to remain in position," said Hassan. He also argued the legal term of the current Higher Press Council had expired and a new board should be appointed. Al-Ahram's deputy editor Abdel-Mohsen Salama said there is a pressing need for new media laws. "Since 2011 there have been two higher press councils. The first was formed by the Muslim Brotherhood when it was in office in 2012 to serve its own interests and the second – the current one – was dominated by leftists who do not want to lose their grip on the press in Egypt," said Salama. Shoeib said the new media laws should be carefully debated and discussed in parliament. "The government and the executive authority should not have any hand in selecting the heads of the three media regulatory bodies," argued Shoeib. He proposed that "institutions, like the independent Press Syndicate and civil society organisations, have the greatest say in naming the heads of these bodies." The 85-article draft law on the Institutional Regulation of the Press and the Media lays the groundwork for forming the HCMR, NPO and NMO. While the second and third bodies will be in charge of regulating specific media sectors, the first will be mandated with overseeing the performance of all media outlets. The NPO, according to articles 27 and 84, will replace the current Higher Press Council, taking charge of supervising the state-owned — or national — press organisations. The NPO will be also responsible for selecting board chairmen of national press organisations and the editors of their affiliated publications. The final selection will be issued in the form of a presidential decree. "Each board will comprise 13 members – three selected by the president, three by parliament, two by the Press Syndicate, a media professor to be named by the Higher Council for Universities, a legal expert to be appointed by the State Council and a representative from the Ministry of Finance," says article 32. The NPO will be tasked with guaranteeing the independence of national press organisations. According to article 29, "the NPO will ensure national newspapers and magazines act in a professional way, reflecting all points of views in a neutral manner, because they are national media outlets not private or partisan mouthpieces". Article 33 states that members of the board of the NPO must have no less than 15 years professional press, administrative or financial experience, have no criminal record, no shares in any press organisation, no affiliation with any political party and be legally able to fully exercise their political rights. Article 37 limits their term to "four years, with a possible second, four year term”. "Once formed, the board of the NPO must meet within two weeks to elect two deputies and a secretary-general," according to article 43. The NPO will be entrusted with conducting periodic reviews of the financial and administrative performance of press organisations. Article 31 allows for the creation of a press development fund to mobilise financial resources to help national press organisations upgrade their performance. The NPO will also act as a watchdog, ensuring national press organisations generate profits, will set maximum and minimum limits for salaries and fix the price of newspapers. The National Media Organisation (NMO) will oversee state-owned audiovisual, radio and digital media institutions in a manner that guarantees their independence, professionalism and profitability. The NMO will face the difficult task of reforming the giant Radio and Television Union (RTU) and, according to article 83, turn it from a huge-loss institution into a profitable business. Scenarist and independent MP Lamis Gaber says "the RTU's debts have soared to LE20 billion and the salaries of employees have hit LE220 million a month". The Higher Council for Media Regulation (HCMR) will supervise all media outlets in Egypt. "The HCMR will regulate all forms of media outlets, audio, visual, digital and print in coordination with NPO and NMO," says article 1. The HCMR will also take charge of licensing media outlets and draw up a code of media ethics, respecting public morals and national security concerns, which all media organisations — public, private or partisan — will abide by.
