Doaa El-Bey and Rasha Saad write on the wobbly steps to law Egypt is taking as a result of Mubarak's trial and the Arab apocalypse known as Syria Newspapers and writers continued to monitor the ongoing trial of the deposed president Hosni Mubarak, his two sons and the former minister of interior Habib El-Adli. Al-Ahram on Tuesday headlined 'Surprises in Mubarak's trial: judge stops live broadcast'. Al-Wafd had 'Mubarak back in dock', Al-Masry Al-Youm wrote 'Airplane and four armoured cars to take Mubarak and sons to court', and Al-Akhbar stated on Monday that Mubarak and his two sons would be seen behind bars again. Abdel-Moeti Ahmed described the trial as a miracle. "The trial indicates that Egypt has taken the first step towards establishing a state of law. It is a step towards freedom and justice," Ahmed wrote in the official daily Al-Ahram. Egypt, he added, is heading towards democracy after being ruled by three Pharaohs since the 1952 Revolution. It is not a trial of Mubarak, but for the period that started on 23 July 1952 and ended on 11 February 2011. Ahmed confirmed that the impact of the trial would be felt not only in Egypt but would reach other insurgent Arab capitals, especially Damascus, Tripoli and Sanaa. He wondered whether the Arab rulers in these three states would review their policies or stick to their positions and quell their peoples. Mohamed Barakat wrote that Egypt and the world were following Mubarak's trial since it is of extreme significance because of all that happened during the last 30 years during which Mubarak ruled Egypt. "Like all Egyptians," Barakat added, "we have great confidence in the justice of the tribunal trying Mubarak headed by Justice Ahmed Rifaat who deserves all respect." He was able, he added, "to run the sessions with great objectivity, patience and tolerance despite the tension that pervaded the case." While Barakat said he was not trying to pay a compliment to the tribunal panel, he wrote that the trial reflected the civilised picture of Egypt which believed in justice and the rule of law. "The message of the trial is clear: Egypt has genuine judicial authority," Barakat summed up in the official daily Al-Akhbar. Emad El-Ghazali regarded Mubarak's trial as a great step towards a nation of law after we lived in a mafia state for the last 30 years. Nevertheless, he noted that the attempts to challenge the military police or the ruling military council would never stop. El-Ghazali regarded what happened last Friday as proof for his argument. Although the right to protest in Tahrir Square was respected, he elaborated, some protesters insisted on entering the square's park although the military police cordoned it off to prevent another sit-in. The protesters did not need the park as the rest of the square was big enough for them. But they insisted on entering the park just to confront the military police. The same thing happened before, El-Ghazali added, in the Ministry of Defence, Balloon Theatre and others. "Although they chanted the slogan 'Peaceful, peaceful', the protesters' manner was not peaceful at all. It was provocative," El-Ghazali wrote in the independent daily Al-Shorouk . The latest events in Sinai including the attack on a police station in Arish prompted the Armed Forces to enter the peninsula for the first time since the signing of the Camp David accords with Israel. Mohamed Amin seized that opportunity to criticise the presidential candidates who have refrained from tackling this thorny issue of Sinai. He wrote that not a single candidate talked in his campaign about Sinai security, burning police stations and turning Sinai into a Salafi emirate with Arish as the capital. Not a single candidate chose to discuss amending the Camp David accords, let alone annulling it for fear of angering the US. However, Amin wrote in the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm that the army surprised us by starting Operation Eagle by deploying its forces inside Sinai at a time when everybody thought that they were not allowed to move into Sinai especially Area C according to the Camp David accords. "Sinai security does not recognise accords or banned areas. Sinai security is first and foremost Egypt's security. That does not mean annulling the Camp David accords, but we cannot leave Sinai in the hands of Salafis or any other party," Amin wrote. He noted that the accord did not stop the army from intervening at the right time. Thus Amin failed to understand why the presidential candidates insisted on repeating the saying that the Camp David accords prevented the army from taking action in Sinai in spite of the fact that both Israel and the US said they were willing to discuss the accord and amend it if needed. The differences among judges was described in the banner of Sunday's Al-Wafd as 'a dangerous rift'. Wagdi Zeineddin wrote that it is acceptable for all political and economic groups as well as institutions to have differences, but not acceptable to find differences or divisions among judges because it could lead to dangerous and catastrophic consequences. All judges should unite and stay away from any political, partisan, doctrinal or religious inclinations because that could reflect on justice. "Differences among judges reflect an unacceptable picture for them in the eyes of the people in all fields," Zeineddin wrote in the daily Al-Wafd, the mouthpiece of the opposition Wafd Party. Thus, he added, judges have the right to draw up a new law for the judicial authority and discuss it, and have the right to remove any defects in the old law, but they do not have the right to differ. Some writers followed the performance of the new government that was formed after last month's government reshuffle. Amani Sadiq wrote that its mission is impossible because it was given three months to reform and rebuild what was spoiled in decades and steer the train of development back on track. Sadiq took Sharaf's recent visit to the 10th of Ramadan city as proof of the difficulty of the mission of the government. Workers in that city met him with many complaints. Sharaf promised to resolve their problems and solve the problems of investors and give priority to local production, cancelling privatisation and providing job opportunities. Sadiq concluded in the official weekly Akhbar Al-Youm by asking whether the three- month period given to the government was enough to meet these promises.
