An end to prison sentences for publishing offences? Journalists want more, writes Shaden Shehab For years, journalists have been loudly, and unsuccessfully, campaigning for the cancellation of custodial sentences for publication offences. This week their wish came true -- and without much ado. "President [Hosni] Mubarak informed me a couple of hours ago that custodial sentences for publication offences have been abolished," Press Syndicate Chairman Galal Aref announced to scores of journalists attending Monday's opening session of the fourth General Congress of Journalists. "That means nobody in Egypt will ever be imprisoned again for their opinions." Shouts rang through the crowd, and the applause lasted for several minutes. Mubarak's decision was the culmination of decades of struggle to scrap prison sentences contained in several laws. Aref told Al-Ahram Weekly that "the cancellation of prison sentences is not a privilege, but a step towards democracy and political reform" aspired to by the press. The list of required reforms is long, he said. Al-Ahram columnist Salama Ahmed Salama agreed. "Although it is a positive step it is not enough. There are several other crucial steps that need to be taken." Salama cited the right to establish newspapers, and the lifting of bans imposed on newspapers like the Labour Party mouthpiece, El-Sha'ab, and the independent El-Destour. Salama also attributed the annulment of prison sentences more to the current political climate -- heavy with talk of democratisation and political reform -- than efforts made by the syndicate. "Not to minimise Aref's efforts," he said, "but the decision is more a result of that process." The decision follows several other initiatives by Mubarak over the past few months in the realm of political reform. The president has abolished military courts and hard labour prison sentences, and ordered the formation of the National Council for Human Rights. The US, meanwhile, has also stepped up its calls for a more "democratic" Middle East, the most recent manifestation of that dynamic being the US master plan dubbed the Greater Middle East initiative, expected to be launched at the G8 summit in June. Mubarak's opening speech to the journalists' conference -- read out by Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif -- rejected "any interference that could affect the independence of the Egyptian press or restrict the freedom of expression and opinion". The president said that while many Arab countries are starting to introduce their own political reform programmes -- on their own -- foreign powers were simultaneously working to impose particular types of reform, and indicating that the lacklustre pace of Arab reform efforts made the Middle East "a dangerous region". Mubarak also said "our cooperation with the outside world in implementing our reform plans should preserve our Arab identity". Prominent columnist Fahmy Howeidy argued that, without more vital forms of political reform, any other changes were trivial. Howeidy said there had to be a change in the basic relationship between the government and the press. "Journalists should not work for the government," he said. "They should act as government watchdogs. No newspaper should be a mouthpiece for the government or even for businessmen." In his view the lack of independence vis-a-vis ownership and administration of newspapers was the real problem. Aref agreed, but said that journalists needed to seize the opportunities now that there was a genuine will for reform. "Via negotiations," he said, "we are establishing a respectful relationship between the government and the press. We are not in confrontation with the government." According to Aref, "political reform is bound to occur, and only then will the journalistic profession's ailments be cured. If there is political reform then ultimately there should be press reforms. The president's decision is an achievement along [that path]." Journalists elected Aref as syndicate chairman last July, the first time in nearly two decades a non-government- allied candidate has secured the post. Aref said that the elections clearly signalled the desire for change, not only among journalists but also throughout society as a whole. The same message had been delivered to the government at the Bar Association (where Nasserist Sameh Ashour beat a government candidate in 2001) and at the Judges' Club (where the government candidate lost to independent Zakariya Abdel-Aziz in 2003). While the rise of a non-government candidate to the Press Syndicate's top job may not have come as too great a surprise to journalists anxious for change, the speed with which the new chairman managed to facilitate what previous government candidates were unable to do for so long (repealing prison sentences for publication offences) was unexpected. Prime Minister Atef Ebeid's decision to grant the syndicate several million pounds for its pension fund, as well as a salary increase for journalists amounting to LE40 per month, also came as a surprise. The government had waved both carrots prior to last July's elections, promising them as perks if their candidate won. The three-day General Congress of Journalists also discussed a number of other critical problems crippling the profession, including press freedom, ethical conduct, journalists' wages and pensions, the ownership, administration and financing of newspapers, and the problems faced by national, opposition and independent newspapers. The conference's resolutions were announced after the Weekly went to press.
