The fallout from the protest of 6 April continues to dominate the headlines, but other no less pertinent issues cropped up, write Gamal Nkrumah and Mohamed El-Sayed Once again the thorny issue of succession surfaces to the fore. Who will succeed President Hosni Mubarak? This is the burning issue that persistently refuses to be dropped from the headlines, especially in the independent papers. The transfer of power is a hot topic that has preoccupied political commentators. Pundits are curious about the implications of the succession process and are careful to note how it might determine the pace of political reform. The daily independent Al-Dostour published a roundtable discussion about the current state of affairs in Egypt. "Where is Egypt heading?... to the unknown" ran the headline of the article. "Popular movements in Egypt are weak," opined Bahieddin Hassan. "I'm afraid that the change will be for the worse -- in other words, for a theocratic state -- without the Muslim Brotherhood or at their expense." Hassan added, "there are no indications that the regime is opening the door to democracy as the cost of the transfer of power... but the results will be catastrophic." He added that President Mubarak "is making no effort to pave the way for his son [Gamal to come to power], but he is creating conditions that will explode in the face of any coming president," he said. In much the same vein, Diaa Rashwan opined that the transfer of power reflects the long-held political traditions of the country. Palace coups have occurred and revolutions have taken place periodically. However, historically it was always common for a new leader to emerge from the political establishment. "It never happened in Egypt's history that the transfer of power came from outside the body of the state." Rashwan added, "the popular forces are too weak to provide a model for the transfer of power." He also pointed out that, "Egypt is one of the least countries in terms of political participation, and the [limited] memberships in political parties is clear evidence." He added that, "the National Democratic Party and the Interior Ministry will not determine the transfer of power... and I rule out the possibility that Mubarak will appoint his son to the presidency." Another hot topic is corruption. The pundits speculate not so much about its causes, but rather on how corruption can be contained. The commentators also examined the many facets of the subject. In his latest article about the story of corruption in Egypt published in the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Yom, Galal Amin attempts to answer the question of "what corruption has done to Egyptian intellectuals?" He argued that, "the transformation that happened during the reign of [former president Anwar] El-Sadat resulted in a significant increase in the number of intellectuals who are ready to do anything to make personal gains." Amin added that, "the absence of a renaissance was not the only factor that helped corrupt the cultural atmosphere in Egypt during the past 20 years. "In such [a corrupt atmosphere], some of the truly talented people who really seek to introduce reform withdraw... meanwhile a great number of half-talented or untalented people seize the opportunity to jump into the seats of editors-in- chief of government-owned newspapers in which they write meaningless articles which nobody reads and do not heed what people think about them since they in fact address those in power in order to ensure their loyalty to them." On an entirely different note, the question of religious freedoms came into play. Al-Masry Al-Yom reported that a conference on Egyptians against discrimination "has accused the government press, universities, and the security forces of persecuting Copts." The Coptic Christian minority of Egypt is increasingly vocal in demanding they have equal citizenship rights with the Muslim majority. The press has picked up on the vociferous Coptic demands. Other papers picked up on the theme. In an op-ed in the weekly issue of Al-Dostour, Shawqi Aql tried to understand how to combat religious discrimination in Egypt, pointing out that the real discrimination is between rich and poor, rather than Muslim and Christian. Aql also contended that the violence inflicted on the population at large tends to spread to all sectors of society and especially the weakest and most vulnerable members of society, including poor Copts. "Is it possible that a poor, slave people deprived of any [human] right or wealth, gives freedom and rights to one of its sects?" he wondered. "Isn't political violence and violence erupting between different classes, mainly inflicted on the poorer classes, begetting counter violence against minorities? "The reference made by American agencies, whether media or research centres or government, to the status of Copts and religious minorities and women in Egypt, is, in fact, true. But the disagreement arises when searching for the solution. The American solution lies in supporting groups of intellectuals who are activists in fighting religious discrimination. But there is a possibility that such groups may open the door to individuals coming from Washington and the Senate to interfere in the national front in Egypt, heralding salvation for the Copts." And, in no less intense fashion, the question of civil disobedience hit the headlines for the second week running. The fall-out from the controversial strike that took place on 6 April continued to perplex columnists. "The war of the Internet and mobile" ran the headline of the column of Mohamed Abul-Hadid in the daily official Al-Gomhuriya. "Only those who want to incite the people against the government and the National Democratic Party use the Internet and mobile phones, calling upon people to stage strikes or practise civil disobedience..." Abul-Hadid called upon the government and the NDP to use mobile phones and the Internet in "replying to rumours and foiling incitement by anybody". While the focus of the papers was on domestic concerns, regional questions also received some attention from the commentators. The official daily Rose El-Youssef ran a headline warning any Palestinian faction from breaching the Egyptian-Palestinian border. "Egypt will face any violation of the border strictly and seriously" read the headline. "The coincidence of the declaration made by Hamas [about breaking into Egyptian territories] with turbulence occurring in Egypt [last week] is dubious." In his column, Karam Gabr also warned against any breach of the border. "Egypt warns Hamas: the farce of 23 January will never be repeated," he argued. "Hamas must know that the Egyptian border is a red line, and it has to respect Egyptian sovereignty."
