SCZONE showcases investment opportunities to eight Japanese companies    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    Egypt's PM meets Tokyo governor, witnesses signing of education agreements    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Egypt's Sisi, France's Macron discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts in phone call    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Indian tourist arrivals to Egypt jump 18.8% in H1-2025: ministry data    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Sunday''s Papers: Tunisia in Egypt
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 16 - 01 - 2011

Tunisia dominates the front pages of Egyptian newspapers today. News updates and critical analyses of the collapse of Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali's regime takes the lion's share of local press. Yet various dailies interpret the events in different ways. While the opposition and the privately-owned press rejoice at the ousting of the Tunisian president, government-owned papers offer flat news coverage that does not highlight the historical significance of the event, which may indeed put Tunisia on a democratic track after decades of authoritarian rule.
Al-Wafd leads with the compelling headline “The Tunisian people have won,” accompanied by a picture showing the thousands of protesters who took to the streets last week raising Tunisian flags and banners reading “Game Over.” The photo caption carries the same tone: “People's outrage succeeded in toppling the Tunisian President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali… Tunisia has been freed by the hands of its children.” The mouthpiece of the Wafd opposition liberal party dedicates a full page to answers from intellectuals and activists to the question “Can the Tunisian uprising be reproduced in other Arab countries?” The highlighted responses prove that the same scenario is likely to shake other dictatorships in the Arab world.
“If Arab rulers do not learn from this lesson, they will face the same fate as Ben Ali,” Judge Zakaria Abdel Aziz, one of the former regime's most prominent critics, tells Al-Wafd. Ahmed Mekki seconds him: “Tunisian events will encourage other Arab peoples.” For his part, Ali Al-Salmi, assistant-chairman of the Wafd party, is quoted as saying that the Tunisian uprising serves as “a warning message” to Arab regimes.
In contrast, the state-owned Al-Ahram highlights the chaos that followed the collapse of Ben Ali's rule. Two pictures on its front page show incidents of looting and arson. One cannot help but suspect that this portrayal is intended to serve the interests of Egypt's ruling regime, which would be expected to emphasize the ongoing violence in Tunisia as a warning to its own citizens against engaging in similar protests.
In the meantime, the semi-official press exerts maximum effort to argue against the likelihood of the Tunisian scenario recurring in other Arab countries. In his opinion column, Abdullah Kamal, editor-in-chief of Rose Al-Youssef daily, rules out the possibility that a similar uprising could topple other Arab presidents. He argues that there are no similarities between Ben Ali and other Arab regimes, contending that the exiled Tunisian president is only comparable to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. While many analysts hold that the Tunisian revolt could encourage the Egyptian opposition to oust President Hosni Mubarak, Kamal completely denies the validity of this argument. He holds that Ben Ali's “idiocy” and his “police state” were the main reasons behind the collapse of his regime.
Meanwhile Amr Hamazawy discusses in the privately-owned Al-Shorouk the lessons that Arab rulers and publics should derive from the Tunisian experience. The uprising “reminds us that we should not undermine the ability of people crumbling under the might of authoritarian regimes to impose change through revolt and popular uprisings.”


Clic here to read the story from its source.