The opening of the Arab Economic summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, with the imposing cloud of the Tunisian situation hanging above, prominently features in today’s papers. Amid the marked absence of a Tunisian minister at the summit, most heads of state made sure to affirm their solidarity with Tunisia’s people.
“Our efforts in reform and development must take our communities’ situations into consideration,” President Hosni Mubarak is quoted as saying in state-run daily Al-Akhbar. The nation’s second-largest state-owned paper–which featured a barrage of sub-headings on the front page–also mentions the president’s affirmation that leaders “need to respect freedom, justice, and the desire of their populations and their right for a respectable life.”
Meanwhile on its front page, the same paper mocked a man who threatened to commit self-immolation yesterday and said “suicide has become a fad and used for blackmail.” The man reportedly threatened suicide after his request for public housing was repeatedly turned down.
Regarding the suicide attempts, Mohamed Heiba, secretary of the NDP Youth, told independent Al-Shorouk, “The government is doing all it can, and its ministers do not sleep.” Heiba attributed Egypt’s recent unrest to “(pressures) that happen all over the world.” He also said “no other suicide attempts will happen because a hallmark of Mubarak’s regime is social justice, and taking care of those with limited income.”
State-run daily Al-Ahram emphasized Mubarak’s focus on labor force issues. “We invite (everyone) to make use of the population’s energy and force to provide a better life,” it quoted Mubarak as saying.
The main issues brought to the fore on the opening day of the Arab Economic Summit were greater economic unity and freer movement of labor between Arab countries–it is often easier for American citizens to travel to a majority of Arab countries than it is for Egyptians. The day ended with participants affirming their countries’ dedication to human development and economic cooperation without offering anything concrete.
Private daily Al-Shorouk reported on the abrupt departure of the Tunisian foreign minister from the summit. With 11 heads of state on hand, Minister of Trade Rachid Mohamed Rachid said some were absent “due to special circumstances in their countries, not because they wished to deny the summit an important role.”
With Tunisia still at the forefront, Al-Ahram and Al-Akhbar reported the decision of Switzerland to freeze bank assets of the country’s former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. Amid general outrage at the inclusion of ministers from the Ben Ali era in the newly formed cabinet, the Tunisian government is reportedly considering amnesty for all political prisoners. Al-Shorouk reports that “Tunisians are determined to oust ‘Ben Ali’s ministers’” amid widespread demonstrations demanding a new constitution and the dissolution of the former ruling party.
Responding to whether Egypt could follow in Tunisia’s footsteps, a curious headline in Al-Akhbar quotes Minister of Finance Yousef Boutros Ghali: “Egypt is different, we have a substantial system protecting the poor.”
Independent Al-Dostour’s main story concerns attempts at self-immolation. “While Amr Moussa was speaking to Arab leaders that the Arab spirit is broken by poverty and unemployment, Moustafa, a manager… was reduced to being a local security person,” the story reads. Al-Dostour is the only paper to mention ties highlighted by Arab League Secretary General Moussa between the summit’s goals and the situation in Tunisia. The paper reported on incidents of widespread labor unrest in many areas of the country.
The same paper reported judges’ rejection of a new government initiative that limits their ability to preside over some cases. Also, as the Cairo Governorate continues its arbitrary reorganization of the city, Governor Abdel Azeem al-Wazeer decided to uproot 2000 families from the area of Khalifa in order to turn it into a tourist zone.
Despite the headline that “The stock market holds on,” Al-Ahram reported that foreigners continue to dump Egyptian stocks for the third day in a row. “The stock market was able to decrease today’s losses (at -0.7%) relative to the last three,” the paper reported. Government-owned paper Rose al-Youssef paints a different picture with a headline reading, “The stock market continues to collapse… and loses six billion pounds in one day.”
Al-Wafd, the paper of the liberal opposition Al-Wafd Party, reported on the self-immolation attempts and their social implications.
Egypt's papers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhorriya: Daily, state-run
Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run, close to the National Democratic Party's Policies Secretariat
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Arab Nasserist party
Youm7: Weekly, privately owned
Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
