(WAN/IFEX) – In a 3 May 2000 letter to President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak, WAN and the World Editors Forum expressed their serious concern at the seizure of the most recent issue of the magazine “Al-Tadhamoun”. According to reports, 10,000 copies of the monthly “Al-Tadhamoun”, which is published in Cyprus for the Egyptian market, were seized […]
(WAN/IFEX) – In a 3 May 2000 letter to President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak, WAN and the World Editors Forum expressed their serious concern at the seizure of the most recent issue of the magazine “Al-Tadhamoun”.
According to reports, 10,000 copies of the monthly “Al-Tadhamoun”, which is published in Cyprus for the Egyptian market, were seized on their arrival in Egypt on the order of the information minister. An official from the ministry’s foreign publications section explained that the decision to
prohibit the magazine’s distribution was taken because it had an “Iraqi profile” and had published articles that supported the Iraqi regime.
The front page of last month’s issue of “Al-Tadhamoun” carried an article that described the United Nations oil embargo of Iraq as “American and Zionist domination” over the Arab world. “Al-Tadhamoun” was also censored in September 1999 for describing press freedom in Egypt as a “burlesque comedy”.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– stating that you are greatly concerned at the deteriorating condition of press freedom in Egypt
– respectfully reminding him that eight journalists have been sentenced to jail in the past month
– respectfully reminding him that the banning of “Al-Tadhamoun” is a clear breach of the right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous international agreements, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Egypt is a party
– noting that the covenant states: “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print”
– respectfully calling on him to lift the ban on “Al-Tadhamoun” and to ensure that in future his government does not prevent any publication from being distributed for reasons of content
– urging him to do everything in his power to ensure that his country fully complies with its international obligations to freedom of expression
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:His Excellency President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak
Presidential Palace
Cairo, Egypt
E-mail: webmaster@presidency.gov.egPlease copy appeals to WAN.
