(EOHR/IFEX) – The following is a 10 July 2006 EOHR press release: Custody Over Artwork A Threat to Freedom of Creation The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) expresses its worries concerning the increasing trend of confiscating and restricting freedom of creativity by claiming that some artwork is contradicting with morals and values. These claims […]
(EOHR/IFEX) – The following is a 10 July 2006 EOHR press release:
Custody Over Artwork
A Threat to Freedom of Creation
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) expresses its worries concerning the increasing trend of confiscating and restricting freedom of creativity by claiming that some artwork is contradicting with morals and values. These claims are just a façade to political intentions to confiscate such works.
On 5th July 2006, 112 members of the Egyptian Parliament issued a statement demanding the censorship of some scenes from the motion picture “Yacoubian Building” (a film with political overtones) claiming that these scenes hurt Egypt’s reputation. The head of the Parliament transferred this statement to the Culture and Media Committee to take the suitable procedures and to form a committee to watch the film and to send its feedback to the Parliament, despite the fact that this film was permitted by the Egyptian Censorship body.
EOHR believes that this statement constitutes a drawback for freedom of expression and opinion, and contradicts Article 47 of the Egyptian Constitution, which permits freedom of expression, and Article 49, which permits freedom of art and literature. This statement also contradicts Egypt’s international obligations, which are binding according to Article 151 of the Constitution, such as the ICCPR which stipulated the freedoms of opinion, expression, thought and belief. This attitude makes the Parliament’s actions a censorship on art, which is not one of the Parliament’s jurisdictions.
The Peoples Assembly should be viewing other issues which fall under its jurisdiction rather than acting as a censorship office. The role of the Parliament is to question the government when it restricts freedom of creativity and art, instead of attacking these freedoms. It is worth mentioning that last June the Egyptian Parliament banned the American film “The Da Vinci Code”, and the Minister of Culture ordered the confiscation of the novel on which the film is based, which bears the same title and is written by Dan Brown.
EOHR reaffirms that putting artwork on trial from a political or a religious perspective is an omen for further political and religious restrictions on human thoughts, especially since politics and religion are always subjected to misinterpretation by those who enforce such restrictions.
