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Egyptian Media Rights
Egypt has had an interesting history of tightening and relaxing of media rights throughout its tumultuous times. Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1789, introduced the Arabic printing press into the country. At the time, he used it to print government leaflets and publish the first newspaper in Egypt, Al-Hawadeth el- Yawmiyah. Even after his expulsion from the country in 1801, the newspaper remained in circulation. As the land came once again under another foreign country's rule, Britain, Egypt's control of the press shifted numerously.
It was not until 1956, that a new constitution came into existence and Gamal Abdul Nasser was proclaimed president. Article 45 granted freedom of press and stated that the copyright was safeguarded in the interest of public welfare and within the limits prescribed by the law. Nasser quickly became unhappy with press performance on the grounds that they were devoting too much time to crime, divorce, and sex, while disregarding the attempts by the government at development. Four years after his proclamation as head of the country, he issued a presidential decree nationalizing the press. This Press Organization Law forced the surrender of the five major publishing houses to the Arab Socialist Union. Surprisingly, attitudes toward this nationalization were primarily favorable. Editors and columnists were forced to abide by the new guidelines. Their mission was to promote Arab socialism, Arab unity, and revolutionary spirit, while attacking imperialism, Zionism, and reactionary groups. Criticism of the regime remained a taboo. Journalists practiced self censorship because they feared government action. They did however have more leeway in commenting on foreign affairs, yet they still remained cautious not to criticize any of the nation's allies.
When Sadat succeeded Nasser in 1970, he had new plans for the press. He realized the significance of the institution and stressed the role he wanted it to play in the new era. By mid 1972, he began to relax press controls by opening up news sources to reporters. He asked his cabinet members to facilitate the flow of information from the government agencies to the public. People anxiously awaited the lifting of censorship and the end seemed near.
In the October war of 1973, Sadat's thanking with regard to the press began to change. In the first days of the war, Egyptian forces were successful in permeating the Israeli line by crossing the Suez Canal and storming the Barlev Line. Feeling good about his victory, Sadat asked the Egyptian mass media to follow an open information policy. This meant that they were urged to cover official statements, making information policies more realistic.
Sadat's request opened him up to criticism, and Mohammed Heikal, a well known Egyptian journalist, wasted no time attacking the president's foreign policies. He opposed Sadat's dependence on the United States to find a solution to the conflict. He also criticized Arab oil policies as too moderate and timid. He accused the Gulf nations for using their oil incomes for political purposes rather than economic ones. When he made the mistake of criticizing King Feisal of Saudi Arabia, Heikal lost his job and Egypt lost its best journalist.
Since then, Egypt has enjoyed the least government control of its broadcasting than any other Arab nation. This is not to say, however, that censorship is non-existent. In fact, Voice of the Arab is a propaganda station of the government. The laws that do restrict the media are as harsh as those in dictatorial and monarchical nations. Even though the constitution appears to forbid censorship, the government reserves the right of prior restraint and/or post dissemination punishment. The president has absolute power over all of the media.