In the hallowed halls of parliament and in street demonstrations, shoes are becoming the preferred weapon of choice. But Doaa El-Bey discovers that in neither situation did they serve their purpose Writers were dismayed at the behaviour of the government's security forces last month when they beat up judges and their supporters with shoes in order to quell peaceful protests. This week, they wished that more attention were given to the causes behind the threat rather than the threat itself. The alleged threat from an MP to hit a fellow MP with his shoes was supposedly used figuratively but nonetheless reflects the seriousness of the situation. Wa'el El-Ibrashi wrote of his surprise when Talaat El-Sadat was subjected to a ferocious attack after he threatened to assault Ahmed Ezz with his shoes when the latter publicly humiliated the former in the People's Assembly. "Ezz's supporters were annoyed by Sadat's threat. Beating the judges and their supporters with shoes and detaining and beating young activists in police stations did not annoy them in the least. They were not disturbed when the slogan of the country was changed from the eagle to the shoe," El-Ibrashi wrote in Sawt Al-Umma. He suggested that instead of investigating the incident, officials should look into the causes behind it, that is: where did Ezz get LE40 billion in six years from? "The effect of that huge figure is more striking than that of 40 billion shoes," Ibrashi added. Salem El-Mahrouqi regarded the incident as an indication of the state of tension between the members of the ruling National Democratic Party and the opposition within the People's Assembly. He wrote in Al-Osbou' that more than 200 NDP members had signed a petition calling for referring Sadat to a disciplinary committee. Meanwhile, more than 60 opposition members submitted a memorandum that denied that Sadat threatened to hit Ezz with his shoes, claiming the allegations were false on the part of the NDP. Mahmoud Mohamed seized the opportunity to criticise the behaviour of MPs who he said had turned the People's Assembly into a platform for exchanging allegations and insults. In the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm , El-Mahrouqi partly blamed this unacceptable behaviour to the reluctance of Fathi Sorour, the People's Assembly speaker, to punish MPs whenever they behave in such manner. In the MP's case, the threat to use his shoes proved to be a less effective way to deliver the message. Likewise, the government policy of beating judges and their supporters with shoes to intimidate them has proved ineffective, in fact making judges all the more adamant to fight back until the government responds to all their demands. Judge Mahmoud Mekki, who was quoted in Al-Masry Al-Youm, said judges insist on their right to freely elect the members of their Supreme Judicial Council because recent events proved that the council does not represent them. Instead, he said, it is an obstacle in the way of judges' independence. "The government repeatedly claims it does not interfere in the affairs of judges whereas in reality, it does interfere in minute details like controlling the judges' right to elect the members of the Judicial Council. It also claims that the People's Assembly has the last say in appointing the members of the council. But the assembly is controlled by the ruling party which in turn has adopted a stand similar to that of the government, refusing to give judges their basic rights," Mekki said. Judge Hisham El-Bastawisi, who was quoted in the same newspaper, called on the government to comply with the will of the people because the recent events had showed that popular will supports the judges' rightful demands to have an elected judicial council and an independent Judges' Club. "I call on press institutions and civil society organisations to organise a referendum on these two demands. The result of the referendum will show that most of the people support the judges in their fight for independence," El-Bastawisi, who along with Mekki, publicly questioned the integrity of last year's parliamentary elections, added. In the Nasserist weekly newspaper Al-Arabi Ahmed Abdel-Hafiz hailed the efforts of the Judges' Club to maintain its independence and the huge popular support that helped it in its dispute with the government. "All attempts to tarnish the image of the Judges' Club or portray the judges' saga as an internal affair among judges will not succeed in harming such an old and reputable institution," Abdel-Hafiz said. Amid this hostile atmosphere in which a parliamentary member does not hesitate to beat another with his shoes, it seems that only a miracle can resolve the impasse -- like the one witnessed this week. Bastawisi was admitted to hospital early this week after suffering further heart problems. Al-Masry Al-Youm wrote that to the surprise of his surgeons who were preparing him for an emergency operation, they discovered that El-Bastawisi's arteries had miraculously unclogged themselves to the extent that he did not need surgery. Given that miracles can happen nowadays, can we rely on them to resolve the country's pressing problems without anybody taking off his shoes?
