CAIRO: Al-Wafd party conflicts are back in the news with the general assembly meeting due today. The official newspaper of the party announced that Al-Wafd has entered "a new historical phase. Al-Wafd editor Abbas El Tarabeily said that Friday will be the "Wafdists' date with history. El Tarabeily wrote that this is the first elected general assembly that will elect the members of the party's higher board, calling for all Al-Wafd members to attend. Noting former party head Noaman Gomaa's use of violence in earlier clashes, the paper directly declared its stance of rejecting Gomaa, who insists he is still the legitimate party leader. "Does Gomaa expect to enter the party headquarters on a tank, read an article on the paper's front page. The paper also mocked Gomaa's statement that a party head is like the Pope, where resignation and death are the only ways for him to leave his post. Instead of pursuing his former title, the paper continued, Gomaa should focus on the criminal charges he is facing. El Tarabeily said there are reasons why Gomaa is desperately seeking his former position, claiming that Gomaa benefited from his post. As a lawyer, Gomaa was on the defense side in many corrupt cases during his time as Al-Wafd party head, he explained. He also announced he is writing a "black book about Gomaa's term. Meanwhile, other newspapers were concerned with numerous issues, mainly pertaining to the government's relationship with the United States, parliamentary mishaps and the judges' crisis. Throughout the week there were contradictions between state-run newspapers in their stance toward the U.S. Throughout past weeks, state-run newspapers have expressed dismay over U.S. criticism of the way Egypt has handled demonstrators. They described it as unacceptable intervention in Egypt s sovereignty and internal affairs, especially with debates that American aid to Egypt could be used to exert pressure over the government. On Monday, Al-Gomhuria s editorial criticized war crimes committed by U.S. soldiers in Iraq. On Tuesday, the same paper criticized the United States' violent reaction to Afghani demonstrators and the inaction of the international community in the face of U.S. violations of human rights. But throughout the week, the U.S. ambassador to Egypt was repeatedly quoted stressing the strength of U.S.-Egyptian ties. On Tuesday, Al Ahram s editorial reflected the same opinion. The article said the relationship between the two countries is built on mutual respect without intervention in each other s internal affairs. Differences in opinion are always minor and contained, added the article. Al Ahram also said that U.S. aid to Egypt is part of their strategic relations. Even if some American figures have suggested using it to pressure the Egyptian government, this only represents individual opinion and not American policy. The recent clash between parliament members Talaat El Sadat and Ahmed Ezz became the center of attention by the end of the week. El Sadat ended a heated argument with Ezz by threatening to hit him with his shoes, a considerable cultural offence. No one believes that shoes have become one of the tools used by the parliament members as a way of proving their point of views or expressing their opinions, wrote Mohamed Barakat in Al-Akhbar, expressing his shock when he first heard the news. Barakat s stance reflects the general attitude adopted by different writers regarding the events. Many, whether directly or indirectly and regardless of affiliation, saw the incident as the fault of the independent MP El Sadat. In Al-Masry Al-Youm, Soliman Gouda expressed dismay but also acknowledged that El Sadat, like Ezz, has a record of defending the general interests of the population. Noting that parliamentary conflicts are common throughout the world, Gouda said he was surprised to hear that someone like El Sadat would do something that would diminish people s respect for their MPs. In regard to the judges' crisis, Al-Wafd reported an escalation, saying judges are not pleased by the way the new law concerning judicial authorities was passed without consulting them. Under the title of The government deceived the judges, the paper reported that members of the Higher Council for Judicial Authorities voted on the law, passing it to the parliament. On the other hand, state-run Al-Akhbar hailed the move in its Monday editorial. The article also stressed that previous events were minor differences between the Judges Club and the Higher Council for Judiciary over details.
