Like so many things the media shapes our impression of people and events. For instance, some organisations or groups get a back press no matter what they do or say. Hamas is but one such good example.
With kudos to Forward [a Jewish newspaper published out of NY] for publishing what must be seem as an unlikely quarter for such a piece to appear, Essam El Erian, chief of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political bureau, writes about the upcoming 8 April election in Egypt and why the Muslim Brotherhood ought to be allowed on the ballot paper:
"On April 8 municipal elections are scheduled to be held nationwide across Egypt, but they will hardly be a vote for the kind of democracy that America proclaims it supports here and elsewhere in the Arab world. Since a brief democratic opening in 2006, the Egyptian regime has become more hostile toward political opposition, showing less and less tolerance toward the increasingly loud voices of reform led by the Muslim Brotherhood, civil society organizations and a handful of active political parties.
In its relentless effort to silence voices of political dissent, the Egyptian government often resorts to arbitrary arrests and prolonged detentions without trial. I myself have been detained several times, and have spent seven out of the past 12 years of my life behind bars.
Today four independent newspaper editors are facing time in prison for allegedly libeling government officials, most prominent among them editor Ibrahim Eissa, who just a few days ago was sentenced to six months for publishing information about President Hosni Mubarak’s health. The editor of the Muslim Brotherhood’s English Web site, Khaled Hamza, was detained last month, and the editor of our Arabic Web site, Abdel Gelil al Sharnoubi, has had his house raided twice in the past two weeks."
With kudos to Forward [a Jewish newspaper published out of NY] for publishing what must be seem as an unlikely quarter for such a piece to appear, Essam El Erian, chief of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political bureau, writes about the upcoming 8 April election in Egypt and why the Muslim Brotherhood ought to be allowed on the ballot paper:
"On April 8 municipal elections are scheduled to be held nationwide across Egypt, but they will hardly be a vote for the kind of democracy that America proclaims it supports here and elsewhere in the Arab world. Since a brief democratic opening in 2006, the Egyptian regime has become more hostile toward political opposition, showing less and less tolerance toward the increasingly loud voices of reform led by the Muslim Brotherhood, civil society organizations and a handful of active political parties.
In its relentless effort to silence voices of political dissent, the Egyptian government often resorts to arbitrary arrests and prolonged detentions without trial. I myself have been detained several times, and have spent seven out of the past 12 years of my life behind bars.
Today four independent newspaper editors are facing time in prison for allegedly libeling government officials, most prominent among them editor Ibrahim Eissa, who just a few days ago was sentenced to six months for publishing information about President Hosni Mubarak’s health. The editor of the Muslim Brotherhood’s English Web site, Khaled Hamza, was detained last month, and the editor of our Arabic Web site, Abdel Gelil al Sharnoubi, has had his house raided twice in the past two weeks."
Comments