Dozens of film directors, anchorpersons and actors continued their sit-in in front of the television building for the second consecutive day. Yesterday afternoon, they staged a protest to express their objection to their being kept out of the development plan of the official television. The workers demanded that TV chairwoman Suzanne Hassan be dismissed along with all those who got rid of them, resorted to media pundits (whom they described as protégés) from outside the Egyptian television, and did not listen to the staff's requests. The demonstrators expressed their demands through boards reading "They take it for millions, not just for few cents like us" and "LE 3,000 per edition for a director from abroad and LE 100 for Egyptians". The demonstrators also protested against the decisions taken by Major General Asaad Hamdy, Maspero head of security, as a representative of Ahmed Anis, head of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU). General Hamdy decided, among other things, to form a program committee chaired by Shouikar Khalifa and including Farida Makawi and Maged Asem. The committee will resort to whom it believes appropriate to carry out its activities. It is also the one which will define the domains and specializations to be dealt with in TV programs in order to enrich the set of programs on the first and second channels and the Egyptian satellite TV. The committee will also receive the projects submitted by directors, producers and anchorpersons. The committee is due to work from March 2 to the end of the month. The demonstrators refused these decisions and described them as painkillers, saying those in charge dealt with development as if it were their own fiefs. Major General Asaad Hamdy said Information Minister Anas El-Fekki had shown his sympathy for all the demands and had invited representatives of the demonstrators to his office on Sunday to listen to their requests. Hamdy called on the staff to give Maspero leadership 15 days in order to let everyone get over this problem.
