(Others) – Fistfights broke out at an extraordinary general assembly meeting of Egypt's Journalist Syndicate on Sunday, convened to declare the syndicate's position on Egypt's draft constitution, which many syndicate members see as limiting press freedoms. Several attendees chanted against syndicate head Mamdouh El-Wali, demanding his resignation. Others rushed to his defense. El-Wali and his supporters from the syndicate board stood up on a table and chanted "one hand" in an effort to calm the situation. "The people demand the resignation of the syndicate head," El-Wali's opponents shouted in response. Syndicate board member Alaa El-Attar, who opposes El-Wali, criticized the syndicate head for failing to issue a clear stance on the draft constitution, which, he asserted, included several articles limiting press freedoms. Last week, the syndicate's higher council announced its withdrawal from Egypt's Constituent Assembly, tasked with drafting a new national charter, citing the assembly's refusal to heed the syndicate's recommendations. "This came too late and only under much pressure," El-Attar said. "People expect more from the journalists syndicate and, of course, syndicate members expect more from the syndicate's head and elected board." Many journalists consider El-Wali, who was elected months after the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak in early 2011, to be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, or to at least have close ties with the group.
