Egyptian Journalists Deny US Official Access To Their Syndicate


About 300 Egyptian journalists demonstrated in front of the Press Syndicate, in central Cairo, to prevent the US embassy spokesman, John Berry, from attending a seminar in the syndicate about the US – Egyptian ties and Washington’s policy in the Middle East.


When the US embassy was informed of the demonstration that took place yesterday, it informed the syndicate officials that Berry won’t come, after it was made sure that the protesting journalists insist on preventing him from entering the syndicate and that they shut down its main gate.


Those who took part in the demonstration, which independent MP Mostafa Bakri called for, chanted slogans condemning governments of Washington and Tel Aviv, and others condemning the Egyptian attitude which they described as “procrastinating” towards the US support to the Israeli violations against the Palestinian people and the Islamic holy places in Occupied Jerusalem.


Bakri told Aljazeera.net that the demonstration aims at telling the Americans that the Egyptian people don’t want to meet any of their officials or that they don’t want them to enter “an edifice of freedom” in Egypt, criticizing strongly the journalists who invited Berry to deliver “lies and fabrications” inside the Press syndicate.


Syndicate Penetrated


Bakri considered allowing US officials to enter the syndicate as opening the door in front of operations of “penetration” into the Egyptian press arena, showing his suspicions towards the recent US-funded projects of training Egyptian journalists.



Bakri severely attacked the Egyptian government’s meager attitude towards Al-Aqsa digs and towards the recently revealed crime of killing 250 Egyptian soldiers by Israelis during 1967 war.


He rejected some other views of allowing the US officials to speak in the Egyptian cultural arenas and refuting their arguments with reason and logic; he said that they are “killers whose crimes defame them in each span in the Arab Region and all over the world and they will only tell lies that humiliate us and violate our legitimate rights”.


Know your enemy



For his part, Mohamed Abdul Qoddous, the secretary general of the freedoms committee reporter in the Press Syndicate confirmed to Aljazeera.net that the syndicate and the journalists do not show any enmity to the Americans; however, he said that the officials in Bush’s administration are “killers and criminals and it is useless to speak with them, and hosting them is an insult to all journalists”.


Mohamed Abdul Qoddous pointed out that the US official informed the syndicate of his apology for not coming after he was sure that he will face a very tough situation if he insisted on coming; Abdul Qoddous considered what happened as a message to Egyptian young journalists that they must know their enemy and realize that it is useless to hole any dialogue with him.


He added that the demonstration included journalists from various intellectual and political affiliations; he praised their determination on maintaining the demonstration until the US official declared that he won’t come.


Dialogue against dialogue



George Ishak, a political activist and founder of Kifaya Movement, he said that responding to ” the US crimes and lies that they propagate for in the world ” comes through debating and logic, and exchanging views.


Ishak added to Aljazeera.net that the journalists should have allowed the US official to deliver his speech in the syndicate; then, they can refute and expose his groundless claims, and show him, in a cultured way, that he is not welcomed anywhere in Egypt.