CAIRO: Tens of protesters gathered Wednesday in front of the Journalists’ Syndicate, demonstrating against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces’ "violation of freedom of speech."
"We are here to ask for the complete freedom of Egyptian journalists," explained Aboul Maati El-Sayed, a freelance journalist.
"I am a normal citizen who is here to support the journalists," explain Madiha Al-Mahalawani, a pharmacist. "The censorship imposed today is actually stronger than before. That is not what the revolution called for," she added.
The protest was organized after a letter signed by General Ismail Atman, member of SCAF, was sent to the editors in chief of various Egyptian newspapers, banning the publication of "any news, information, declaration, pictures, or complains concerning the Supreme Council of the Armed Force or its members."
After government officials raided twice the office of Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr in less than one month, many newspapers have been complaining about military interference in their editorial choices, while some journalists suffer from pressure wielded by the military rulers.
Last week’s issue of Rose Al-Youssef was withdrawn for including an article on an Israeli spy in Egypt during ousted president Mubarak’s rule.
Al-Fagr newspaper was also prevented from running an opinion poll that showed that most Egyptians did not want to see Field Marshal Hussein Tantawy become Egypt’s next president.
Also, last week, the printing of a Sout El-Umma issue was halted until an article about the Egyptian intelligence was replaced.
Authorities have also been cracking down on satellite channels, as On TV and Dream channels received warning letters from SCAF, claiming that there was an issue with their licenses.
"In reality, it is because Wael El-Ebrashy, from Dream, criticized the Ministry of Social Solidarity while Yousri Fouda [from On TV] keeps criticizing the military council," explained Al-Hussaini Abou Deif, a journalist at Al-Fagr newspaper.
To protest against the SCAF’s crackdown on the media, many columnists like Belal Fadl decided to leave a blank space instead of their usual column, while others, like El-Youm El-Sabe’s senior editor Khaled Salah used their columns to denounce the military’s censorship.
Abou Deif argued that journalists are aware that they can’t reveal some of the army’s defense and strategic information, and that they don’t need censorship. "But there is a huge difference between criticizing the SCAF, which is currently playing a leading political role in the country’s democratic transition, and revealing the army’s secrets," he said.
