Journalists and activists complain freedom of speech is being curtailed, reports Mohamed Abdel-Baky Over the last five months media freedom in Egypt has been facing a setback, say observers. Both the interim government and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Egypt's de facto ruler, have been criticised by journalists, activists and political groups who accuse them of placing pressure on state- and privately-owned media. Last week Yosri Fouda suspended his popular talk show to protest against taking "orders". "It would be a betrayal of the Egyptian people and of my profession to accept interference in my work," he said. Fouda's show, "The Last Word", broadcast on ONTV, was due to host a live debate on the 19 October interview aired on Dream TV in which SCAF Major Generals Mahmoud Hegazi and Mohamed El-Assar had defended the army's role in the Maspero clashes that left up to 27 people dead, the vast majority of them Copts. The participants were to include author Alaa El-Aswani, a vociferous critic of the military's role, Yasser Rizk, editor-in-chief of the state owned Al-Akhbar, Ibrahim Eissa, editor of Tahrir newspaper, who conducted the 19 October interview, and Eissa's colleague Mona El-Shazli. In a press release, Fouda said that he had suspended his show to protest against "increasing efforts to maintain the core of a regime which people went out into the streets to bring down". The release, posted on Fouda's Facebook page, did not make it clear whether it was the SCAF or the channel's administration that had asked him to cancel Thursday's episode of the show. El-Aswani said Fouda had phoned him to inform him of the cancellation of the episode without citing any reasons. "There is a clampdown on media being led by the Mubarak era functionaries who are still in position and with whom the military council seems happy to deal. I would say that is why Fouda's episode was cancelled," El-Aswani told private channel Al-Nahar TV. "I don't think of the SCAF as an opponent, but I do feel that the revolution is failing because of its policies," he added. SCAF member Major General Ismail Etman denied on ONTV that the SCAF was censoring the media or pressing for the broadcast of its views. He did, however, say that the military council had urged the media to ensure that news showed "respect for the national interest". Etman urged Fouda to resume his talk show. On his Twitter account Fouda said that while he respects the major general as a person he had left many questions unanswered. Although the SCAF and interim government have repeatedly denied any form of censorship, their actions in recent months have raised more than a few eyebrows. During the clashes in front of the state TV building the military police raided the offices of Al-Jazeera, Al-Hurra, and 25 January satellite channels. The SCAF gave no explanation for their actions beyond saying they were looking for thugs thought to be hiding in the Al-Hurra office. In September, the SCAF banned an issue of the weekly Sawt Al-Umma which contained an article criticising Egyptian Intelligence and its former chief Omar Suleiman. In the same week an issue of the state-owned newspaper Rose El-Youssef was also banned after it tried to publish an article claiming Mubarak had ordered state security not to arrest an Israeli spy. In June blogger Hossam El-Hamalawi and TV presenter Reem Maged were called in for questioning by military prosecutor for "publishing false information about the military establishment". Maged had hosted El-Hamalawi on her talk show to discuss the way the military police had forcibly dispersed protesters from Tahrir Square on 9 April. Also in June Al-Wafd 's weekly editor Sayed Abdel-Ati and journalist Hossam El-Suwaifi were questioned by military interrogators after publishing an article alleging the SCAF had concluded a deal with the Muslim Brotherhood ahead of parliamentary elections. Activist and media expert Yasser Abdel-Aziz believes that the authorities are making a concerted effort to revive the Mubarak regime's tactics for silencing its opponents. Last month the SCAF issued an order suspending the issuing of licences to new TV channels and newspapers. The military council also revived the Ministry of Information months after it was abolished in March. The whole atmosphere, says Abdel-Aziz, has been "poisoned" from the very beginning, a result of the longstanding absence of independence, access to information and professionalism, which makes it extremely difficult to know how the media can be reformed. "The independence of the Egyptian media is practically zero. Egyptian state TV coverage of the Maspero massacre was criminal. It is partly responsible for the killing of innocent people," he said. Abdel-Aziz has proposed a new body -- a National Council for Media -- that should undertake the necessary reforms over the next five years. Ahmed Ezzat, a member of the Egyptian Association for Freedom of Thought and Speech, points out that the laws regulating the media were designed to protect the regime, not encourage freedom of speech. "It is still almost impossible to get a licence for TV or radio station or newspaper unless you are very close to the government or well connected," he says. In August the host of Dream TV's flagship morning show resigned after the channel's owner repeatedly demanded any criticism of the military council be toned down. In an attempt to circumvent problems with proprietors a group of journalists, activists and writers, including Fouda, plan to launch a self-funded TV channel, The People Demand.
