The possibly disastrous effects of an American war against Iraq dominated parliamentary debate this week. Gamal Essam El-Din reports Ever since delivering his annual policy statement to parliament on 29 December, Prime Minister Atef Ebeid has felt the brunt of the assembly's wrath. First it was corruption in the banking sector, then accusations of heavy- handed government intervention in elections. When Ebeid announced -- on 29 January -- that the pound would be floated, the criticism reached unprecedent levels. But all of these issues were drowned out this week by a 182-page report -- prepared by a special parliamentary committee -- detailing the possible ramifications of a US attack on Iraq. The fact that Ebeid's 29 December statement made no mention of the war's potentially disastrous consequences for Egypt's economy may have been the basis for the report's harsh bent. According to the report, the war will result in a loss of between $6 and $8 billion in national revenue. Tourism, exports, and revenues from the Suez Canal will be the first sectors to feel the pinch. The report also predicted a major drop in remittances resulting from some 200,000 Egyptians working in the Gulf being forced out of their jobs. According to independent MP Kamal Ahmed, the only thing Ebeid's government seems to have done in preparation for the war was to float the pound. Nonetheless, said Ahmed, the decision itself was a shock, mainly because just a year ago, Ebeid told the Federation of Egyptian Industries that he was determined not to devalue Egypt's currency. How the float will pan out for the pound in the eventuality of war is anybody's guess, but what the report made clear was that the political consequences of war for the region were potentially very grave. Sharp in its criticism of the United States for employing double standards regarding the issue of eliminating weapons of mass destruction, the report highlighted the fact that Iraq is being targeted while Israel and North Korea were being left alone. At the same time, as parliament's foreign affairs committee head Mustafa El- Feki told Al-Ahram Weekly, being critical of the US does not mean that Egypt sides with Iraq. According to El-Feki, disagreements over the US's policies on Iraq and Israel had to be seen within the context of a three-decades-old Egyptian- American friendship. For opposition MPs, however, the matter may not have been so simple. Independent MP Adel Eid, a veteran civil rights lawyer, said the Arab world's reaction to America's war plans against Iraq was a flagrant example of defeatism. Arab governments, Eid said, would rather side with the Americans than with the sentiments of their own people. This was reflected in the government's constant efforts to crush anti- American demonstrations. The parliamentary report was also critical of the government's attitude towards Egyptian citizens political participation. Citizens must be allowed a greater say in decision-making and the formulation of policies that have a profound effect on their daily lives, the report urged. Wafd Party MP Mounir Fakhri Abdel-Nour said his party believes that laws regulating people's political rights and the legislature's performance must be amended. Only then will the electoral system be reformed, the rigging of parliamentary elections curtailed, and ordinary citizens encouraged to actively participate in political life. According to Abdel-Nour, these amendments should also be complemented by a modification of the constitution that would liberate political parties from existing restrictions and guarantee total freedom of the press. Leftist Tagammu Party leader Khaled Mohieddin also called for such amendments. The existing constitution, Mohieddin said, does not allow Egyptians the freedoms and rights of a real democracy. While Ebeid -- for now -- has declined to respond to such demands, other cabinet ministers from the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) seemed more ready to comment. One of these was Information Minister Safwat El- Sherif, the NDP secretary-general, who argued that the constitution (in place since September 1971) has proved itself flexible enough over the years to adapt to changing political and economic circumstances.
