Egypt Media Roundup (August 20)

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Egypt and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Egypt Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to egypt@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.] 

“Rethinking 24 August”
Ziad Akl says the protest planned for 24 August can work towards the country’s interest if protesters distance themselves from public figures with specific interests calling for the demonstration.

“Movement plans patrols to counter sexual harassment during Eid”
Social activists to coordinate efforts to prevent mass sexual abuse during Eid festivities.

“Activist files murder charges against retired generals”
Activist Ahmed Douma files a lawsuit against Mohamed Tantawi and Sami Annan for killing protesters during popular demonstrations in Cairo.

“Brotherhood leader: Morsy’s Iran visit 'excellent' step, if completed”
The Muslim Brotherhood’s Sabry Khalaf says a visit of the President to Iran can be a positive step towards normalizing relations between the two countries.

“Egyptian rights groups denounce ‘inhumane’ tests on inmates”
Egyptian prisoners are forced to drink soap water in order to check their stomach contents for prohibited items.

“Critics blast Egyptian cleric's fatwa against anti-Morsi protesters”
Sheikh Hashem Islam’s fatwa making it permissible to attack the anti-Muslim Brotherhood protest scheduled for 24 August provokes heavy criticism from public figures.

“Police arrest 20 for blocking road to protest man's death”
Protesters block main road over death of a young man at the hands of the police.

“Profile: Egypt's first civilian VP Mahmoud Mekki”
Reformist judge involved in fight against vote-rigging during the Mubarak era takes the first Vice President post.

“Op-ed: Transparency first”
Reham Barakat insists on transparency in the political life of the country and clear information for its citizens on important matters.

“Meet General El-Sisi, Egypt's new defence minister”
The youngest member of SCAF becomes the first defense minister in Egypt with lower rank.

“Turning point in Egypt’s militarization”
The retirement of Egypt’s top two generals might signify the beginning of a decline in the political role of the army.

“Morsi's coup against SCAF: The hows and the whys”
Experts say the Presidents’ move against Egypt’s top army officers was a result of disgruntlement of younger officers who saw the leadership as too involved in politics.

“No Reason to Celebrate, It's Just Another Coup”
Wael Eskandar says the retirement of Sami Annan and Mohamed Tantawi is not a revolutionary move.

“Government earmarks LE1 bn for Sinai development”
After Sinai attacks, government allocates funds for a special development effort in the peninsula.

“Democracy, Backward March!”
Nagwa Emad argues against retaining the constitutional clause allocating 50% of seats in parliament to workers and farmers.

“VoxBox: Egypt Tantawi's Ouster”
Al-Monitor asks Egyptians in the street for their opinion on President Morsi’s recent move to retire the country’s top two generals.

“Egypt's New Leader Struggles To Fulfill Big Promises”
NPR peeks into a poor family’s home in Egypt to see just how challenging President Morsi’s task is.

“Morsi’s Next Steps”
Stephen Glain says President Morsi needs to leverage his advantage he gained after purging military leadership.

“Predictions on the age of incompetence”
Zeyad Mourad’s predictions on what happens next with SCAF and the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

In Arabic:

“بلاغ جديد من «الحرية والعدالة» يتهم 3 رؤساء تحرير بـ«إهانة الرئيس وإثارة الفتن»”
Freedom and Justice Party files a new complaint against editors of Egyptian publications accusing them of insulting the President.

“مرسي: منح طنطاوي قلادة النيل لن يمنع محاكمته”
Egyptian President says the awarding of honors to Field Marshall Tantawi does not absolve him of being liable to legal prosecution.

"بوابة الأهرام" ترصد جنرالات "العسكرى" الذين اختفوا من خريطة المجلس خلال عام ونصف”
With the recent retirements of two generals, the number of replaced SCAF officers reaches 7.

“فاطمة رمضان - ناشطة عمالية ويسارية وعضوة المكتب التنفيذي للاتحاد المصري للنقابات المستقلة - في حوار مفتوح مع القارئات والقراء حول: العمال والنقابات، والتحالف مع القوى الثورية في انتفاضات وثورات العالم العربي، مصر نموذجا.”
Fatma Ramadan, a labor activist and member of the executive office of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions, shares her thoughts on labor, trade unions, and the revolutionary forces.

“إسرائيل تطالب مصر بسحب أسلحتها الثقيلة التى أدخلتها سيناء خلافًا للملحق العسكرى لـ"كامب ديفيد"”
Israel asks Egypt to withdraw heavy weapons from the border, citing Camp David accords.

“فرحة صادقة ومخاوف مشروعة”
Alaa Al-Aswany criticizes the recent political moves of the Muslim Brotherhood aiming at consolidating their power and eliminating public criticism by clamping down on media.

“انقلاب مرسي الناعم جدا”
Abd El-Bari Atwan says President Morsi has performed a soft coup which has made him a stronger head of state.

 

Recent Jadaliyya articles on Egypt:

مرسي والانقلاب والثورة: قراءة بين الأسطر الحمراء
Hesham Sallam says the retirement of Mohamed Tantawi and Sami Anan is not a civilian coup against the military.

عن الحلم الاجتماعي والأمن والفساد
Aly El Raggal rereads Utopia by Ahmed Khaled Tawfiq in the current Egyptian socio-political and economic situation.

Morsy, the Coup and the Revolution: Reading between the Red Lines
The English version of Hesham Sallam’s article on the recent retirement of top military generals.

الرئيس مرسي وأخلاقيات النظافة
Khaled Fahmy comments on the current campaign for “Cleaning the nation” by examining old documents on public health in the Khedives’ era.