CAIRO - The WikiLeaks documents have had an explosive effect worldwide, with consequences for many diplomats and politicians. The 39-year-old founder of the website, Julian Assange, has received a lot of attention, with everyone wondering about his unidentified sources. However, in Egypt, a country with its own problems, the documents have had little impact. “Is this a religion-related issue?” wonders a 33-year-old tour operator called Yasser Wadie, when asked whether he knows anything about the WikiLeaks documents. “WikiLeaks seems to be something foreign, so I haven't been paying any attention,” says Mary Iskander, a 62-year-old housewife. The WikiLeaks documents highlight the Egyptian role in Palestine, Lebanon and Sudan, as well as its warnings about the Iranian nuclear programme. In addition to Egypt's foreign policy, the leaked documents also tackle, ahead of next year's presidential elections, Egypt's future leadership. According to these documents, the President's 45-year-old son, Gamal Mubarak, has priority for candidacy. Both Mubarak have repeatedly denied such claims. Despite tackling Egypt's internal and external policies, the WikiLeaks documents are still, for many Egyptians, irrelevant. “I have logged onto the site once since the media got hold of this story,” says Sara Hassan. “It was exciting but our domestic problems are of greater concern to us,” she told The Egyptian Gazette. By “domestic problems”, Sara, a 23-year-old economist, means “parliamentary elections, shark attacks (in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh) and price rises”. Egypt's parliamentary elections, which were held on November 28, were rigged, according to the opposition parties. On December 6, the coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh witnessed its first shark attack, which left a 70-year-old female German tourist dead. In the meantime, the price of a kilo of sugar in Egypt has skyrocketed to LE7. Several US government officials have criticised WikiLeaks for leaking documents that have exposed state secrets, harming national security and compromising international diplomacy. Last May, New York City's Daily News put WikiLeaks first in a list of "websites that could totally change the news". Many Egyptians are totally ignorant of the issue and its importance. “WikiLeaks deals with international issues, so it's of interest to international figures,” says Ahmed Abdel-Moneim, a 42-year-old computer programmer. “We are so concerned about our own problems that we haven't got time for anything else.”
