All the newspapers lead today with coverage of the what is being called the “Nile river crisis.” The media frenzy comes in response to a water-sharing agreement signed by Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda on Friday, despite strong opposition from Egypt and Sudan.
Nearly all papers report on Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nasr Eddin Allam’s statement that a detailed report of the situation was sent to President Hosni Mubarak today. The minister is quoted saying that there are plans to invite all relevant ministers from the Nile Basin countries to Alexandria for a meeting that aims to re-open negotiations over the distribution of Nile water.
Al-Dostour leads with a quote from “experts” saying the four countries that signed the Nile Basin agreement in Uganda represent a danger to Egypt’s share of water.
Maghawry Adeeb, a water expert and former president of Monufiya University, is quoted saying that Tanzania and Uganda control 15 percent of the sources feeding into the Nile, while Ethiopia controls 85 percent of Egypt’s share. Adeeb points out that the countries that didn’t sign the disputed agreement–the Congo, Burundi and Kenya–do not impact on Egypt’s share.
The article goes on to say that the effect of the agreement is likely to show after 50 years, especially if Ethiopia continues to expand dam building.
Al-Shorouq leads with news that Ethiopia just announced its opening of its largest dam yet. The article is titled “Nile source countries begin escalations against Egypt and Sudan.” The article says that the Ethiopian Times announced that the dam, which will be used for electricity generation, will also help in the cultivation of 119,000 hectares of land. The dam is funded fully by the Ethiopian government at a cost of US$500 million.
In other news, state-owned papers all also lead with an announcement that President Mubarak will visit Rome later this week. The president’s trip will include talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and President Giorgio Napolitano. Al-Ahram and Al-Gomhurriya report that visit will take place on Tuesday, while Al-Akhbar insists on Wednesday.
Al-Gomhurriya continues its campaign against any suggestion of constitutional reform, this time with a red headline that reads, “The request for amending Article 76 … an invitation for chaos.”
The article quotes Gaber Nasaar, a professor of constitutional law at Cairo University, saying that any constitutional changes should be decided only by parliaments and presidents. The professor goes on to claim that the electing independent candidates is illogical in any political system and in democratic countries politics works through strong parties. England, France, and the Unite States, Nasaar said, don’t have any independents in their parliaments.
In an amusing caricature, Al-Dostour shows a sketch of two bandits caught stealing from a safe by an police officer. The officer is apologizing, saying, “I’m so sorry guys, I thought you were one of the criminals from 6 April. Take all the time you need.”
The independent daily also highlights that yesterday, 15 May, was the anniversary of President President Sadat’s 1971 corrective revolution, which introduced radical changes to the Egypt’s foreign and economic policies. The article goes on to claim that the day received little to no media attention, suggesting that Mubarak’s own “revolutions” will also be forgotten.
