CAIRO: If anyone had any doubts over the role of the military in supporting justice and freedom were once again dashed on Saturday when Australian journalist Austin Mackell and his Egyptian translator Aliya Alwi were arrested in the Nile Delta town of Mahalla while covering the general strike called for by activists. The military detained them, then proceeded to belay any semblance of reason by fomenting charges, acquiring “witnesses” – including an 8-year-old – and charged them with “incitement” of violence. For me, it was yet another attack on media by the military junta, which hit home. In December, I was arrested, dragged and beaten by the military police. They threatened to charge me with similar acts of “incitement.” Luckily, after 13 hours, I was set free, bruised but safe. Now, my colleagues are being taken to a military prosecutor and could face an illegal military trial for doing their job. For attempting to show the world the truth. This is the face of SCAF. They have lost all credibility and their stalwart attempts to paint foreigners, and especially journalists, as the enemy of the revolution, must come to an end. The new Egypt post-Hosni Mubarak is looking more and more like the days of the Pharaoh, when NGOs, human rights advocates and media face abuse and jail. Egyptians fought for a new country, one of hope and change, but instead we are now revisiting the dark days of dictatorship at the hands of the SCAF. Over the past 12 months, since the military junta took power in Egypt, the media has risen to speak freely, only to be pushed back into its shell over the summer month's, when SCAF realized the media was becoming a threat. By “summoning” and interrogating bloggers, activists and media professionals, they have sent a message to journalists to keep their mouths – or pens – quiet. In 2004, Egypt had a mere 40-registered blogs. Today, that number has risen into the thousands, and was instrumental in creating a new medium for the diffusion of ideas that ultimately gave strength to the protest movement on January 25, 2011. Egyptian media remains scared and appears unready to have an in-depth examination into its own institutions and practices. Editors and publishers speak of freedom and a new way forward, but we have seen little to evidence any substantial change. Self-censorship is rampant, with the so-called opposition or independent publications refraining from running stories out of fear of their edition being pulled. Reporters in the country still aren't willing to speak publicly about their industry. No longer can local and international media pick and choose who, or what, is important. They should end the cronyism rampant in Egypt's media industry. The middle-class, those on the frontlines of the protests – the very people Mackell and Alwi were interviewing when were abducted by the military – deserve a voice. As media professionals, we can do only so much. We report what we see, experience and the sentiments on the street. The military has done a splendid job in silencing the media, turning what had been such a promising future for freedom of expression into a dungeon of fear. Local press is timid, unwilling to delineate from the status quo issued by the military leaders in the country, while the foreign press battles against foreign policies, mainly from Washington, where foreign leaders would rather have a dictatorial military in power to serve their interests – namely, maintain peace with Israel. It is time that members of the media come together and deliver a message to the world that the military rule of Egypt is destroying the revolution, destroying the people and making the truth as jumbled as it was under the Mubarak government. How many more people must die before the media speaking the truth is believed? We must continue to push forward, report the truth and tell the world, of the deaths brought down by the military here. Without their removal from power, journalism is dead; the revolution is dead; and Egypt will remain in a battle that could quickly turn even worse than it is now. This is why we must stand with Mackell, Alwi and others who face detention and jail for doing their job. Fear cannot stand in the way of the duty that journalists have for our audience. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/fAuHU Tags: Change, featured, Press, Press freedom Section: Editor's choice, Egypt, Media, Op-ed
