Egypt’s successful referendum last week saw the birth of a new constitution. According to the latest statistics, the approval rate exceeded 90 per cent. Abdullah Al Otaibi, columnist in the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat, looks into the important implications of these statistics for the country’s future.
Apart from higlighting the longing of the Egyptian people to return to stability and security, far from fundamentalism and chaos, they also imply the people’s support for the future road map, which took its first steps forward with the referendum. Furthermore, they underline the people’s support for defence minister Gen Abdel Fattah El Sisi, with a majority of Egyptians wishing him to run for president. Above all, these figures stress the categorical rejection of the Muslim Brotherhood.
It is not Egypt’s first try at a constitution. But the bigger question remains: who shall be the next president of Egypt ?
This is a subject with considerable momentum that will increase with the approval of the constitution. The candidate most likely to win, should he give up his uniform and run for presidency is El Sisi. He has received the support of multiple political parties, religious figures and political elites as well as that of the majority of the Egyptian people. He is viewed as having saved the country from the clutches of the Muslim Brotherhood .
Amre Moussa, in an interview published on Friday in Asharq El Awsat, said he believed “Gen El Sisi is about to take this decision” to run, then voiced his support ofor this endeavour.
Abdul Rahman Al Rashed caused quite a stir when he wrote in an opinion piece in Asharq El Awsat that “Gen El Sisi’s candidacy would be a dangerous adventure. It would be a mistake to take on the role of president. El Sisi deserves better. His position and role evolve around setting the political situation as the guardian of the new constitution and the protector of public order”.
Despite the momentum witnessed internally, Gen El Sisi faces two options: retaining his uniform and title as minister of defence and refraining from running for president, or running for the office and entrusting the ministry to one of his faithful colleagues, which would be secure the support of the military.
“Both choices would be adventurous, though his candidacy will relaunch the debate about the military,” Al Otaibi wrote.
Gen El Sisi has come to be a symbol of salvation. Regionally, he has received strong support from a number of Arab countries, particularly in the Gulf. He is also capable of restoring relations with major countries in both the East and the West.
The complex task of building a new Egyptian state lies ahead of Gen El Sisi, should he opt to run. Al Otaibi wondered: “Will he succeed in facing all the challenges and obstacles ahead?”
Palestinians left in the dark over peace talks
While intensive talks are being held on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the Palestinian people are being kept in the dark, editorialised the pan-Arab newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi.
While officials in Tel Aviv, Ramallah, Washington, Amman and Riyadh have been involved in peace process talks, Palestinians have remained unaware of what is going on behind the curtains, amid signs of progress in peace negotiations.
The latest such sign was Jordan saying it seeks to secure its interests through negotiations and the surprise visit by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Amman on Thursday to meet with King Abdullah II to discuss peace process developments and security arrangements.
There is also the visit of US secretary of state John Kerry to Saudi Arabia and Jordan to secure Arab cover for any peace agreement. There are also reports of joint administration of part of Jerusalem by Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Palestine.
Palestinians, however, are aware only of what Palestinian officials say they reject or what the Israeli press publishes, whether facts or speculation.
Greater transparency is needed in the peace negotiations, with reports of contradictory interests involving Jordan and Palestine over the final settlement, including Jordan’s insistence on an Israeli presence in Jordan Valley, which Palestinians see as an acceptance of Israeli forces.
Scoreses’s film cuts were driven by profits
Many moviegoers who went to see Martin Scorsese’s latest film were disappointed to read a notice about scenes deleted from the film. Ali Al Amoudi wrote in the Abu Dhabi-based Al Ittihad, that this was meant to shun responsibility so that people would blame the National Media Council (NMC).
As it turned out, the NMC had nothing to do with the 45 minutes cut out of 180-minute The Wolf of Wall Street. Instead it was all to do with the distributors omitting the many profanities in order to manipulate the film’s rating to ensure it was suited for larger audiences so they could earn more profits, the writer contended.
Cinema administrators should have had the courage to clarify that matter from the beginning instead of posting disclaimers that they had no control over censorship.
In fact, the film should not have been screened at all because the censorship resulted in a distorted film. This reveals that the distributors were purely driven by profits and did not mind violating viewers’ rights.
This action has also brought embarrassment to the NMC, which plays a major role in ensuring that each film released in the UAE matches the appropriate age classification rating.
* Digest compiled by The Translation Desk
translation@thenational.ae
