The Shura Council has approved a three-year extension to the president's authority to conclude secret arms deals, Gamal Essam El-Din reports A decree allowing President Hosni Mubarak unlimited discretion to make financial allocations for military purposes for the next three fiscal years is scheduled to be approved by the People's Assembly early next week at the latest. The decree was ratified by the consultative upper house, the Shura Council, last Sunday. The People's Assembly approval means President Mubarak will be authorised to conclude military purchases from foreign countries without making them public or notifying parliament. It is a mandate that has been in force since 1972, since when it has been regularly renewed. Last Sunday's extension authorises the president to "issue decrees concerning armament and other allocations for the armed forces until the end of fiscal year 2008/2009". Opposing the extension Osama Shaltout, chairman of Al-Takaful Party, and independent MP Mohamed El-Shahawi, argued that further extending the 33-year-old mandate was a backward step that seriously compromised parliament's supervisory role. Speaking for the government Moufid Shehab, minister of parliamentary and legal affairs, argued that the extension remained necessary in order that the armed forces be kept strong in times of peace as well as war. He pointed out that the majority of states keep military procurement policies secret since not to do so compromises security. Mohamed Bassiouni, chairman of the Shura Council's Arab and Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee, insisted that secrecy is essential to Egypt's defence and national security. "It is particularly so at this sensitive time when the Arab world is riddled with military confrontations, in Palestine and in Iraq," said Bassiouni. Other potential flashpoints, he added, include Syria, Lebanon and Iran. Egypt, at the heart of the Arab world, plays an important stabilising role in the region and as a consequence requires a strong and effective military capable of responding to any threats with speed. Armament allocations, he concluded, require quick decisions, and "the mandate is a necessary tool within that decision- making process." In opposing the renewal Shaltout argued that the practice, necessary in the run up to the October 1973 War when military purchases had to be kept a closely guarded secret, was now obsolete. He also questioned just how feasible it was, in today's world, to keep arms procurement a secret. Most armament deals, said Shaltout, make their way into the public domain one way or another. "In the United States, the world's largest arms' supplier, Congress has full access to information about armament deals and in many cases objects to selling certain weapons to certain countries," Shaltout said. Parliament should not be kept in the dark about the country's military purchases, he argued. "It is okay that armament deals not to be made public, but details should be made available to members of parliament." Shaltout regretted that the mandate is being renewed at a time when a national consensus had emerged over the need to reinforce parliament's supervisory role to cover all ministries, including defence. "Parliament does not exercise any kind of supervision over the activities of this ministry," said Shaltout. "Why should MPs be kept in the dark when it comes to so many sectors, including defence, when their own secrets are regularly splashed across the pages of the newspapers." He concluded that it would be a more honourable course for the government to be more open about defence spending rather than allow its opponents to cast doubt on defence deals. His argument was echoed by Muslim Brotherhood deputies who believe that presidential law- decrees invariably come at the expense of parliament's supervisory powers. "Reform of parliament and creating a balance between the legislative and executive authorities require that the president cease issuing law-effect decrees," said Brotherhood MP Hamdi Hassan. "Such decrees represent, in effect, the rape of the legislative authority." Hassan recalled that Article 108 of the constitution states that the president is vested with this authority only in exceptional times. Moreover, he added, the article calls on the president to present the People's Assembly with periodic reports on all deals, decisions and agreements concluded. "As far as I know," said Hassan, "the president has refrained from submitting to parliament details of any deals concluded." For the time being Hassan proposed that a parliamentary committee be established to review all armament deals and inform parliament of the results. "Keeping the People's Assembly in the dark about these deals not only undermines parliamentary supervision, it runs counter to the requirements of transparency and integrity," concluded Hassan. Brotherhood MPs are readying themselves for an even tougher battle against the extension of the 25- year-old emergency law for another three years.
