With journalists fighting over which red lines can be crossed, a wider picture emerges of increasing state intolerance for the independent press, writes Shaden Shehab Is criticism of the president "slander", or "a constitutional right"? That is at the crux of the hot debate currently taking place between the nation's top newspaper editors. Those at the helms of state-affiliated papers say some independent papers have gone too far with their criticisms, equating these jabs at President Hosni Mubarak with profanity or libel. The other camp argues that no one should be immune; that if criticising the president is unacceptable, so should criticism of any other public figure, whether from the government or the opposition. Matters are set to come to a head this Saturday, when chief editors from both camps sit down to discuss possible mechanisms to diffuse the crisis. State-affiliated editors are getting together today to prepare for Saturday's meeting. The Press Syndicate has also been playing a part in the crisis; its secretary, Yehia Qallash, said there would be "no compromises on freedom of expression; at the same time, the [syndicate] council will suggest the formation of a watchdog committee, composed of prominent journalists, to monitor any violations of the profession's code of ethics." Offenders will be warned at first; but if their slanderous writings continue, they could end up being thrown out of the syndicate, Qallash said. He was confident that "if all the parties meeting on Saturday are keen on journalists' interests, we will definitely reach an agreement." In an unprecedented move, this year's annual report from the Shura Council-affiliated Higher Press Council actually called on the syndicate to intervene to end "improper journalistic practices insulting the president of the republic". In assessing the performance of newspapers between 15 June and 15 August, the report cited an increasing number of incidents in which the president had been slandered or libelled "in a manner that undermines the values and ethics of society". The report said the council plans to set up a committee to "work towards putting an end to these transgressions", and also urged the syndicate to intervene. Many a journalistic temper has been riled up in the meantime. On the popular late night Orbit TV show Al-Qahira Al-Yom, the animosity between state-affiliated and independent editors exploded on the screen last week, as a debate between state- affiliated Rose El-Youssef Chairman Karam Gabr and independent weekly Al-Karama Chief Editor Abdel-Halim Qandil rapidly descended into an insult fest. Gabr said he thought Qandil's constant criticism of President Mubarak was "shameful". Qandil "wakes up every morning obsessed [with slandering] the president," Gabr said. Furious, Qandil retorted: "I don't work for state security like you do; that's what's shameful." "The state would [never associate itself] with someone like you, who enjoys selling their loyalty to any country," Gabr said. "You say the president makes you sick, but it is you who makes people sick because you are a disgrace to this country; because you are an agent for other countries, like Iraq and Libya." Now missing a beat, Qandil responded with an angry, "I hear an insect talking." Gabr's onslaught continued; he accused Qandil of practicing "dirty journalism", and said the right place for him was either in a zoo or a mental asylum. Qandil, accused Gabr of being an "agent of the police". The next day, a statement from the Press Syndicate council denounced the row, blaming both Qandil and Gabr for behaviour that was "inappropriate". But Gabr and one of his papers -- Rose El-Youssef daily -- were nowhere near through. The paper's banner headline soon read, "a gang of debased morality in her majesty's court." Below that was "a call for the establishment of a professional association to replace the weak [press] syndicate." Rose El-Youssef' s chief-editor, Abdallah Kamal, told the Weekly that the Press Syndicate needed to be replaced because "some of its council members are a bunch of Nasserists serving their own purposes, unconcerned about the integrity of the profession." Nevertheless, he was willing to "wait and see what happens in the Saturday meeting." A week ago, at the headquarters of state- affiliated press giant Akhbar Al-Yom, the chief editors of the state-affiliated Al-Ahram, Al-Akhbar, the Middle East News Agency [MENA], Dar Al-Tahrir, Hilal, Rose El-Youssef, October and Al-Taawoun sat down to hammer out a statement announcing their "insistence on press freedom, as well as society's right to a decent press devoid of vulgarity and degeneracy. If we are committed to that, so should all journalists. We adamantly refuse personal insults of the president, national symbols and all citizens... we demand that the Press Syndicate bear its responsibilities, give up its partisan politics, and implement the profession's code of ethics, and penalise all deviators, or those who defame the profession." The statement also blamed the syndicate for standing by while independent papers viciously distorted the state-affiliated press's image in the public eye. "It is quite amusing," said prominent journalist Fahmy Howeidy, "that the state- affiliated editors are the ones complaining of slander by independent papers, because they have been the ones who constantly attempt to distort the image of, and defame, many respectable figures, including myself." Former NDP policies committee member Osama Ghazali Harb has also suffered the wrath of being lambasted by the state- affiliated press. In fact, he recently submitted a complaint to the Press Syndicate against Rose El-Youssef, on the pages of which he was exposed to a harsh campaign after resigning from the NDP and forming his own yet-to-be-licensed party, the Democratic Front. "With breaching professional ethics, everyone should be held to account. It is illogical to judge only the journalists who are accused of insulting the president," Harb said. He was also critical of the divisive tone in the state-affiliated editors' statement. "The state-affiliated papers are the primary violators of the code of ethics," said prominent columnist Salama Ahmed Salama. "But it's only a concern for them now, because of the criticism of the president. After all, some state-affiliated newspapers have defamed many a public figure, and yet no one stirred. Their statement is just a show of defending the regime." Salama, who has seen himself roasted on the pages of a state-affiliated paper, said that even renowned veteran journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal's image has been tarnished by the state-aligned press. Rose El-Youssef took the veteran analyst to task after Heikal -- in an interview with the independent weekly Al-Dostour -- suggested that the president's son, Gamal Mubarak, is being groomed for succession. The magazine's chief editor, Kamal, called Heikal a "trickster" who was "playing with words to keep himself in the limelight". Kamal told Al-Ahram Weekly that even though his paper was just as intense as independent papers, "we don't defame. Our plan for Rose El-Youssef involved being different, more open, than other [state- affiliated] papers. And we are harsh with our criticism of people who change their political affiliations for personal gain." The current campaign against the independent press, suggested Harb, was an "exaggerated fuss", a reaction on the state's part to the independent press's continuing "attempts to expose corruption and ballot rigging, as well as its constant talk of [presidential] succession." Howeidy agreed that "the real reason for the furore is simply that the state can no longer tolerate the harsh criticism of the president, and is looking for tools to hush these voices, without directly interfering itself; making it appear, instead, like it was a crisis between journalists. The fact that the chief editors of the [state-affiliated] press are appointed by the state is evidence enough of where their loyalty lies." The harsh tones in independent and opposition newspapers are a reflection of the "present climate of political oppression," Howeidy said. "What is the press supposed to write after the beating of judges, extrajudicial detentions, and widespread corruption?" Salama said the government itself was partly to blame, for treating independent papers like "bastards -- they have been forced to resort to other means to be effective, because neither the president, nor other officials, will speak to them." Salama said criticising presidents is not "a strange phenomenon; Bush and Blair are harshly criticised the world over." According to MP and chief editor of Al-Osbou Mustafa Bakri -- the man who orchestrated Saturday's Press Syndicate meeting -- the president himself is the one person keenest on freedom of the press. That's the feeling Bakri got after a recent meeting with Mubarak. Both sides have transgressed, Bakri said, but the real danger was that some newspapers have been "infiltrated, and are working for the benefit of foreign countries".
