The general assembly of the Journalists Syndicate announced several decisions, Wednesday, in response to the police's storming of the headquarters on Sunday to arrest journalists Amr Badr and Mahmoud al-Sakka.
The syndicate announced the following measures and demands:
1- The removal of the interior minister from office, the banning of his name, photo or news about him from newspapers, and the banning of Interior Ministry statements from publication.
2- An apology from the presidency over the violation of the law and Constitution when the syndicate's headquarters were stormed.
3- The release of journalists detained over publication charges.
4- The issuance of laws that prohibit assault on journalists and the syndicate.
5- The issuance of a law prohibiting the detention of journalists over publication charges.
6- A call on all newspapers to print a sign on their papers that reads, "No to gag orders, no to the restriction of press".
7- The issuance of a unified law to regulate press and media.
8- The refusal of foreign interference in the affairs of the Egyptian press, especially the interference of the US secretary of state and foreign rights organizations.
9- The prosecution of the policemen who stormed the syndicate's headquarters on Sunday.
10- The synchronized printing across all newspapers next Sunday of a call for the dismissal of the interior minister, and blackening of the front page.
11- The reiteration of trust in the syndicate's elected council.
12- The scheduling of a conference Tuesday at the syndicate to discuss a general strike by all journalists.
13- A call on opinion writers to introduce articles with a critique of the storming the syndicate.
14- A call to continue the sit-in staged at the Journalists Syndicate and a call for the expansion of the sit-in.
15- The proposal to form a committee of the syndicate's council, other writers and journalists to manage the crisis.
Thousands of reporters attended Wednesday's emergency meeting at the syndicate's headquarters while outside, Lawyers from the neighboring Lawyers Syndicate gathered in solidarity.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
