CAIRO: One dozen Egyptian newspapers refused to publish on Tuesday as part of a protest against President Mohamed Morsi's decree that gives him power above judicial review and a draft constitution to go to public referendum on December 15. The decree issued by Morsi on November 22 expanded his power. This led to massive protests the next day and again on November 27, with activists demanding that the president withdraw the decree. Then, last Friday, a constituent assembly finished drafting a new constitution, passed it to Morsi and announced a December 15 referendum The moves have been widely denounced by opposition forces, including secular and liberal parties and prominent opposition figures. The newspapers that went on strike: Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al-Watan, Al-Tahrir, Al-Wafd, Al-Youm 7, Al-Dostour, Al-Shorouk, Al-Sabah, Al-Ahaly, Al-Ahrar, Al-Fagr and Al-Osbooa. TV channels also joined the strike, and will not broadcast on Wednesday, including ONTV channels, CBC and Modern channels, Al-Hayat Channels and Dream TV channels. On Tuesday, opposition activists called for a “Last Warning” protest march to the Presidential Palace to continue to put pressure on Morsi. The activist community against Morsi is concerned over the constitution and what it does not guarantee for citizens' rights. The Egyptian Association for the Assistance of Juveniles and Human Rights added that Article 70 also does not prohibit child trafficking and sexual exploitation. The NGO decried the assembly's failure to specify the age of children in the charter, particularly when Egypt was one of the first signatories of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which clearly declares anyone below the age of 18 as a minor. The minimum age for marriage set by the Personal Status Code in 2008 was 18, which is not the case under the new constitution. According to Amnesty International, Egypt's draft constitution does not shield minors from early marriage and permits child labor. Ultra-conservative Salafists – Islamic puritans – have been calling for the marriage age to be reduced, and under the new constitution, it could very well see the gross exploitation of the country's young girls. That is just one of the many clauses in the constitution, or not in the document, that activists have repeatedly told Bikyamasr.com that they are worried will push the country on a slippery slope toward Islamist rule.
