CAIRO: The World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East held in Sharm El-Sheikh and entitled “The Promise of a New Generation is putting Egypt into the limelight as the event draws extensive local and international coverage.
National newspapers published round-ups of the conference’s key speeches and highlighted its high-profile attendees, while independent and international media chose a more focused approach.
The Christian Science Monitor set the event in the context of the recent violence against pro-democracy and pro-reform activists, saying that the forum comes only days after many were detained for supporting the then-prosecuted judges who had pointed to fraud in last year’s presidential electoral process.
“Nevertheless, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak s opening speech Saturday at the forum defended his government s actions and its reluctance to reform, said the newspaper. “Mr. Mubarak emphasized the regime s long-held policy that political change must be ‘based on a gradual prudent approach that ensures its sustainability’ adding that rushing reform would just lead to ‘chaos.’
The media also highlighted Mubarak’s criticism of the United States as the forum’s events first unfolded.
According to Knight Ridder news service, “Mubarak told hundreds of analysts, academics and politicians . that nations should avoid double standards and selectivity when it comes to nuclear development, a reference to the United States intense concern over Iran s nuclear ambitions and silence over the atomic arsenal Israel is believed to possess.
The winds of change in the Middle East will not bear fruit in the absence of addressing its conflicts and tensions: the stalemate in the peace process, the situation in Iraq, the controversy surrounding Iran s nuclear program, the situation in Darfur, the tension between Syria and Lebanon, Mubarak was quoted as saying. The president added that the world “steers away from unilateral action, a statement that many interpreted as direct criticism of the United States’ foreign policy toward some countries in the region and its invasion of Iraq.
Despite Mubarak’s statements, the forum gained praise as Chinese Ambassador to Egypt, Wu Sike, said that the Egyptian government “is doing a good job in hosting such a conference on the Middle East, adding that the conference is not only advantageous to the economy of Egypt but to that of the whole region.
Some opposition and independent papers made softer news their priority, following up on those detained at recent protests, the condition of the acquitted judge and the Muslim Brotherhood’s parliamentary controversy on their front pages.
The independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm reported on Deputy to the Cassation Court Hisham Al-Bastawisy, who suffered a heart attack only a day before his trial. The newspaper’s front page features a picture of Minister of Justice Mahmoud Abu Leil kissing Al-Bastawisy’s head as he visited him in his hospital room, an act that was deemed a form of “apology after Abu Leil referred the judge to a disciplinary hearing. Al-Bastawisy was acquitted, while his colleague Mahmoud Mekki, who initially shared the blame, was reprimanded.
Meanwhile, the United State has condemned Egypt’s attitude toward protestors supporting jailed leader Ayman Nour and the two judges. Police dispersed demonstrations last week using truncheons and beating people with batons, punching and kicking them. Hundreds were arrested, with many remaining in Tora Mazraa prison, near Cairo.
These [actions] strike me as not only wrong actions but mistakes, like beating people up and the heavy-handed security reaction to these things, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick told the press. The reason I say that is [because] I think that they conflict with the government s own desires and interests and where they [the government] want Egypt to go.
“It [beating protestors] is certainly not a pretty sight, but it is also in a way encouraging that you now have the people of Egypt trying to step forward and say: ‘Look now that there is a more open process we want to take part in it and we are going to insist on our political rights .’ It is the direction we would obviously encourage things to go.
