‘What is going on in Sinai?' was the headline of Ahmed el-Sawi's column yesterday in Al-Shorouq. He had fears that the state is losing control over Sinai, evidenced by official confusion in dealing with the peninsula in terms of security, politics and development. He believes that violence seems to have slipped through loopholes resulting from such perplexity. He was of the opinion that failing to close the file involving the killing of l6 Egyptian soldiers in Rafah last July while they were arresting perpetrators despite presidential promises has opened the door for speculations about their identity and alleged conspiracies involved. “The abduction of seven soldiers in north Sinai last week has given soldiers on the borders the impression that they are like a ‘lost herd' away from state protection." The columnist highlighted a claimed difference between the vision of the presidency on the one hand and the army on the other in dealing with the security file in Sinai and the recent abduction incident in particular. “While sources in the army say that the identity and hideout of the abductors are quite know, the presidency speaks of ongoing negotiations with the Jihadists, believed to be behind the incident." El-Sawi underlined what is being propagated about the attempt of the army to compensate for the absence of state security in Sinai for which reasons the army and its men are being targeted. But the citizens have no idea what is going on given the lack of transparency. Violating state sovereignty: Makram Mohamed Ahmed of Al-Ahram was also of the opinion that keeping confidential investigations about last yearís Rafah killing was a big temptation for Jihadist outlaws to commit the recent crime. He argued that the country is reaping the harvest of incorrect policies that brushed aside state sovereignty. He cited the examples of illegal tunnels between Egypt and Gaza that have been left open for all sorts of illegal activities; the unjustified release, by virtue of a presidential pardon, of Jihadi terror activists; and entering into negotiations with abductors without relying on a deterring factor. Speak up: In Al-Watan, Mahmoud Musallam republished a column he wrote six months ago in which he addressed the Defence Minister Abdel Fatah el-Sisi, asking him for a clear statement clarifying the situation in Sinai. He bluntly put it that if Egypt were to lose Sinai, history would not forgive him, reminding him that when Sinai slipped from Egyptian hands back in l976 to Israel, the blame and the grace were shared by late president Naser and the then defence minister Abdul Hakim Amer. “The Egyptian forces are not expected to leave the border tunnels open at a time when the official crossings are actually open." Mussallam was also worried over an alleged extravagant habit of granting a growing number of Gazans with Egyptian citizenship. All things considered, the columnist found it so strange that el-Sisi remained silent regarding the critical situation in Sinai. Musallam contended that the situation is getting worse after the abduction incident and yet the army is remaining silent. Uncertainty reigns: Meanwhile, Fahmi Howeidi regretted that just as national consensus is absent regarding vital issues, certainty is also missing. Elaborating, he wrote that polarisation may be comprehensible in terms of a difference of opinion, but when it comes to information and facts, a state of absurdity reigns supreme, blocking the way for discussion or analysis. “In light of this no one is certain about the details of the incidents that took place back in the early days of the Revolution like who opened the prisons facilitating the escape of criminals and political detainees and who killed the protesters. Moreover, facts are also elusive about whether this year's wheat production was abundant according to official figures or not as claimed by some politicians and experts. He attributed this ‘sorrowful scene' to the absence of the culture of democracy where each faction is keen on excluding the other from the picture. The Islamist writer did admit that president Morsi's practices in the past ten months did not manage to contain the other. Movement on the street: In Al-Masry Al-Youm, Amr el-Shobaki attempted to analyse why the protest of last Friday against the regime was limited in number and effect. He said that taking a revolutionary course as the only way for change lacks an understanding of the simplest political rules for change. He pointed out that frequent political protests in the post revolution period against military rule, the Ganzuri government, the Islamist-dominated parliament, sectarian discrimination and so on, reflected the stand of a certain faction or factions, but is not the same consensus of January 25. The fact is that there is a wide sector of Egyptians who feel disappointed by the Brotherhood's rule. But another sector sees that those who revolted against the old regime helped hand rule to the MB because they were sufficed with protesting without building a substitute actually capable of taking the helm. El-Shobaki hoped that the opposition would link its demands to tangible issues so that the call for early presidential elections would be a product of a real movement on the street", he wrote in conclusion. Child's play: In the meanwhile, Osama Aggag of Al-Akhbar finds it disgraceful that while revolutionary forces failed to rally a few thousand protesters in Tahrir Square on Friday, talk is going on about the ability of the ‘Rebel' campaign that has collected about three million signatures so far, pressuring for early presidential elections. He described the campaign as “mere child's play," believing that calls for early presidential elections lack causality and is neither legal, nor constitutional. He remarked that the Rebel initiative raises many questions and much sarcasm. He wondered if the opposition is capable of collecting millions of signatures why don't they call for early parliamentary elections to form the cabinet and call for early presidential elections. He asked what is the legal value of these signatures and what guarantees that these signatures are not fake. President Morsi will not to be in the least affected by this child's play. Useless summer time: In Al-Ahram, Salah Montasser opted to review a reader's viewpoint about why daylight saving time, also known as ‘summer time' should not be restored, against calls for reapplying it. The reader Zaher Ahmed, a professor of biochemistry says the summer time is fit for countries where the closure time for shops are the same whether in winter or summer. “In Egypt shops keep open after midnight in summer, which makes attempts for power saving useless." He also contended that the long summer vacation for school children which lasts from mid May to the end of September makes young people not committed to early sleeping hours. The summer heat and the nature of local architecture whereby buildings absorb day heat to emit it at night obliges the extensive use of fans and air conditioning units, which again does not help fulfil the purpose of summer time. Zaher remarked that the habits of Egyptians should be changed first before switching to summer time.
