58 publications kicked outThe government shoots itself in the foot with printing ban in Cairo's free zone"After referring to the Constitution, the Trade Law, Law 8 of 1997 on investment incentives, presidential decree 284 of 1997 creating the Investment Authority and free zones, presidential decree 285 of 1997, prime ministerial decree 2108 of 1997, decree 616 of 1997 on preventing Arabic publications from local circulation except those that specialize in technical, social, sports, economic or financial issues, and decree 55 of 1998 preventing all print projects in Arabic printed in the free zone from local distribution" -- after all that, the General Investment Authority decided on 31 March to ban the printing of any publication of any kind in any language in free trade zones in Egypt.The decision came without warning or explanation. Now two state-of-the-art printing houses, Sahara and the International Printing House, face ruin if the decision is not revoked. They began operating in the government's tax- free investment zone in Cairo's Nasser City three years ago and have invested some 20 million dollars so far. At least 58 publications are now faced with having to print abroad, including Egypt Today, Business Monthly, Egypt Insight, Satellite Guide and a host of cultural, sports and fashion magazines in Arabic. The decision is being depicted as a disaster for Egypt's desire to present itself as a safe place to invest. Although the government has made no public statement about the print ban (Information Minister Safwat Al Sherif told this publication it had nothing to do with him), there have been hints that it was aimed at advertising revenue the state doesn't collect from these publications. But in the absence of official explanations, analysts couldn't help noting the timing of the decision. It all started with Al Destour in late February. When it published a story about a Gamaa Islamiya threat to Coptic businessman Nagib Suweiris, the government was very annoyed. Al Destour was closed, and the word went out: it's time to retake control of the press. Since late February, Al Destour newspaper has been banned (via revoking its print licence), courts have sent three journalists to prison on libel charges for the first time ever, and the deputy editor of the phenomenally successful Rose Al Yousef Adel Hamouda was summarily removed from his post and "transferred" to Al Ahram, another state-owned publication. These moves have been accompanied by government hysteria, led from the very top, over the "yellow" or irresponsible press. What all this suggests isn't so much censorship as a paranoia in the upper echelons of the state that the press is slipping out of its control. That's not a surprise. The press laws -- maintained by the Higher Press Council -- are designed to maintain a simple two-sided system: state-owned press and opposition. But more and more publications have come on the scene via foreign licensing. Last October, 41 of those publications were banned. Word trickled down that the state wanted to reorganize the foreign-licenced press. But no one imagined that this government-so committed at the rhetorical level to privatization and economic reform-intended to attack the free zone. Since the government's lips are sealed, only time will tell what the ban is all about. |