The People's Assembly this week debated three separate draft bills seeking to amend the press law, reports Gamal Essam El-Din The People's Assembly last week debated three draft laws aimed at reforming the penal code and abolish prison sentences for publication offences. The first, submitted by Muslim Brotherhood MP Mohsen Radi, seeks to abolish a total of 30 articles in the 1936 publications law, the 1937 penal code, the 1950 criminal law and 1996 press law. Radi argued that all of the above laws impose penalties that contradict President Hosni Mubarak's 2004 promise to scrap custodial sentences for press offences. Radi, who is also a journalist, denounced government officials for ignoring complaints voiced by human rights organisations, legal experts and journalists about the failure to implement Mubarak's promises. Radi's draft law also attempted to restrict fines imposed for publication sentences to a maximum of LE10,000." Talaat El-Sadat, an independent MP with liberal leanings and a cousin of late president Anwar El-Sadat, presented his own draft law aimed at amending the 1996 press law. It too seeks to abolish prison and custodial penalties and replace them by fines. El-Sadat pointed out that custodial sentences for publication offences had been abolished in most Arab countries and lamented that Egypt was dragging behind most of the world on the issue. The third draft law, submitted by journalist Mustafa Bakri, an independent MP with leftist leanings, aims to increase the retirement age for journalists from 65 to 68. Bakri's bill also seeks to amend Article 66 of the 1996 press law and strip board chairmen and editors of public press organisations of their arbitrary power to extend the retirement age of journalists. "The Supreme Press Council [SPC] should have exclusive authority to determine when journalists retire," argued Bakri. His bill provoked a furious reaction in press circles. Members of the Press Syndicate board complained that the bill comes at the expense of young journalists and will hamper their ability to be promoted to senior posts, pointing out that Bakri's amendments serves the interests of the chairmen of public press organisations, especially Al-Ahram 's Mursi Atallah who will turn 65 in February. Mohamed Guweili, chairman of the assembly's Complaints and Proposals Committee, decided to refer the three bills to the Shura Council, arguing that any changes to the press law must first be discussed by the consultative upper house. "The constitution stipulates that laws dealing with independent authorities like the press be first discussed and endorsed by the council before it goes to the assembly," said Guweili. Mohamed El-Omda, an independent MP, submitted an interpellation directed at Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif accusing him of turning a blind eye to corruption in state-owned press organisations. "Nazif has approved a decision not to collect millions of pounds worth of back taxes and pension payments from these organisations on the understanding they will defend his government's policies," charged El-Omda. While the assembly appeared to drag its feet in discussing the draft bills on Sunday, the following day it moved with unusual speed in stripping Abdel-Azim Gad Hamzawi, a deputy belonging to the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), of parliamentary immunity. The assembly voted with a two thirds majority in favour of expelling Hamzawi from parliament after a court had sentenced him to death in absentia. Hamzawi was found guilty of the murder of a businessman at the North Coast beach resort of Marina. According to the assembly's Legislative Committee report, 97 NDP MPs had submitted a written request asking that Hamzawi be expelled from parliament. "Not only has Hamzawi been convicted of murder but has also neglected his parliamentary duties, having failed to attend meetings since 9 May," said the report. Parliamentary speaker Fathi Sorour said Hamzawi had asked his lawyer, MP Talaat El-Sadat, to submit his resignation from the assembly. "I could not approve this request because it is illegal," said Sorour. El-Sadat criticised NDP MPs for acting too quickly in stripping Hamzawi of membership, insisting that being sentenced to death in absentia did not constitute a fair trial. On Tuesday the People's Assembly faced another embarrassing issue after Muslim brotherhood MPs accused the government of selling natural gas to Israel at a discount. They demanded that Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi come to the assembly to explain the government's policy on foreign sales of natural gas. They also questioned why the government had given businessman Hussein Salem a licence to sell Egyptian natural gas to Israel. Salem is the major shareholder in the East Mediterranean Gas (EMG) company which in 2004 was granted exclusive rights to export Egyptian natural gas to Israel. EMG intends to begin pumping Egyptian natural gas to Israel through a pipeline extending from Arish in Sinai to Ashkelon in Israel in March. Fahmi told the assembly's Industry and Energy Committee that the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty stipulates that the two countries step up economic cooperation and prioritised Israel as a customer for Egyptian oil and natural gas. Fahmi did, however, express dissatisfaction at the long term nature of the contracts with Israel, which run from between 15 to 20 years. "Natural gas sale contracts should be rather based on short term periods, giving Egypt the right to revise prices every now and then," he told the committee.
