The 26 June clashes at Tahrir Square between security forces and families of protesters killed during the 25 January revolution continue to cast a shadow on ongoing events. Calls for purging the Interior Ministry and accelerating the trials of former regime officials are coming back to the forefront. Organizers of the 8 July protests changed the main slogan of their planned sit-in from “Constitution First” to “Revolution First,” writes the state-owned Al-Ahram. The Free Frontier for Peaceful Change backed out of its campaign to collect 15 million signatures in support of drafting the constitution before September's parliamentary elections, and the April 6 Youth Movement has excluded “Constitution First” from its list of demands in its call for protest. The change in some organizers' positions can be traced to the recent violence as well as the slowness of ongoing trials. On Monday, the Suez Criminal Court released 14 police officers on bail. The officers were on trial for killing protesters, and the court postponed their case to 14 September, writes the privately owned Al-Shorouk. Violence erupted in the courthouse between victims' families and suspects; police forces enforced a security cordon around police stations in Suez Governorate. Several of the martyrs' families also blocked the Cairo-Suez highway to protest the court's decision, writes Al-Ahram. In relation to the clashes with security forces last week, Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam al-Erian writes in the state-run Al-Akhbar about the pressing need to reform the police apparatus. The contentious role of police dates back to its establishment under British occupation, when it was deployed as a tool to face people's opposition to occupation, argues Erian. After Egypt gained its independence, the police's main function became protecting the ruling regime. Erian proposes holding roundtable discussions to renegotiate the role of security forces and draft legislation on how the security apparatus must deal with civilians, particularly protesters. Its role would be to manage people's right to peaceful protest rather than suppressing protests altogether. Developing legislation to govern the security apparatus' work isn't enough, argues Tamim al-Barghouti, a visiting political science professor at Georgetown University, in an opinion piece in Al-Shorouk. The Interior Ministry needs to be dismantled and rebuilt because much of the problem is related to the mentality of its staff, he says. “All security and police officers ever involved in torturing civilians need to be dismissed,” he writes, adding that the 8 July protests should focus on restoring security through real change rather than drafting a new constitution prior to parliamentary elections. “For years, Egyptians have been scared of the police more than thieves." Others remain focused on the problem of having the constitution or the elections first. In an opinion piece in Al-Ahram entitled “The dialectic of the constitution and the election: An attempt to understand,” controversial Brotherhood leader Sobhi Saleh writes that the ongoing tension comes down to who gets to draft the new constitution. Saleh builds his case on the idea that the 1971 Constitution was only suspended, and despite the opposition of some groups, the Egyptian people have made their decision, reflected in the constitutional referendum last March. Counselor Adel Farghaly, ex-president of the Administrative Courts, also warns against postponing parliamentary elections and prolonging military rule, in an exclusive interview with Al-Shorouk. “The military council currently has both legislative and executive powers, and I fear that it might usurp power, like what happened under former President Gamal Abdel Nasser," Farghaly said. Farghaly added that if the revolutionary youth form strong parties and engage with the public, they would win over the Islamists, especially since people still remember Salafis' opposition to the revolution during its initial few days. Most newspapers run a short report on the third blast at the pipeline exporting gas to Israel. The new privately owned Al-Tahrir features the story differently under the headline: “Egyptians love bombers of gas export pipelines to Israel.” Al-Tahrir argues that the repeated bombings reflect Egyptians disapproval of exporting gas to Israel at lower than international market prices. The daily Al-Wafd publishes a synthesis of reactions from Israeli newspapers, suggesting rising tensions with the Israeli state in the aftermath of the bombing. Al-Wafd quotes a report by Haaretz on the Israeli government's decision to raise the price of electricity by 20 percent after the second bombing. The report says the government is now under increasing pressure because Egypt provides up to 43 percent of Israel's gas supply. Egypt's papers: Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Arab Nasserist party Youm7: Weekly, privately owned Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned
