Luxor4u

Sinai and Other Issues Still Seething,

A meticulous report from Madr Masr indicating that Sinai is still a mess with militants behaving little worse than a military that kills civilians. The ‘events’ reported are not the end of the world but the real story id the limited time span over which these events occur.

Reporting on Sinai without Sisi’s permission is a criminal offence but its good that Madr Masr ignores this and has contacts within Sinai who feed it stories.

One effect of the government suppression of the news is the survival of the Sinai tourist business – although based on an illusion of no terrorists and proper security regarding planes.

Its now 8 years into the campaign to pacify Sinai and no end is in sight for the world’s 5th largest Army. https://madamasr.com/en/2019/10/31/feat ... -abu-araj/

Their coverage of the emerging chaos in Lebanon is also good whilst the western financial press talks of a complete insolvency.

A good story on how poor people aren’t getting food subsides. https://madamasr.com/en/2019/10/03/feat ... subsidies/ and how the military is becoming the biggest cement company in Egypt. https://madamasr.com/en/2019/09/18/feat ... et-player/

Their story on poverty:
‘The long-delayed (government) report notes that the poverty rate doubled (as a percentage of the population) during the period between 1999/2000 and 2017/2018 reports, increasing continuously without any drops. Yet the most recent 4.7% increase in the poverty rate (TO 33% of the total population) is the largest since 2000.’ https://madamasr.com/en/2019/07/30/feat ... ince-2000/ and https://madamasr.com/en/2019/09/04/feat ... isor-says/

‘The extreme poverty rate rose to 6.2% of the population in 2017/2018, up from 5.3% in from 2015. The extreme poverty rate represents those who can’t even cover their food consumption, which has a threshold set by the government at LE490.8 ($30) a month per person, according to the most recent survey.’

‘….the consequences of the overall austerity measures include a cumulative increase of around 60% in the inflation rate between 2015 and 2018. At the same time, “there is no indication in the survey that any of the sample strata were able to raise their income during the same period, with few exceptions,” she says.’

‘…The austerity measures imposed since 2014/2015 could have had less detrimental effects on poverty rates had there been greater compensatory measures. “…savings from subsidy cuts were not used in spending on health and education for example. …Compensatory policies, which are meant to balance out fiscal changes in general, were limited to cash subsidies from Takaful and Karama, financial aid programs introduced by the government in March 2015. According to Laithy: “It is not enough and only covers a small percentage of the poor. The real problem is that the larger portion of the fiscal savings from subsidy cuts was used to lower the budget deficit while at least 50% should have been allocated to compensate the people.”

"Takaful and Karama cash subsidies were directed to people who cannot work, specifically the elderly and persons with disabilities.’ Whereas the poor are a much larger group in a period of high unemployment/under employment.

So the previous military junta is no better than the current one who will be elected right through to 2032 when he will be pushing 80 years. Neither can create jobs or maintain order and those who work for one hour a week are not counted as unemployed according to the definition of unemployment. The negative poverty and employment statistics were suppressed until Sisi had got his constitutional amendment through to give him a job well into senility.

Madr with a fiftieth of al Pravda’s resources is a careful and truthful news outlet.

The continued existence of Madr Masr is, on one level, miraculous.

Born of disaffected journalists from Egypt Independent in 2013, it continues to publish articles far from complimentary to the Regime.

Make no mistake....it is heavily censored, and its online activities are occasionally shut down.

So - ask yourself - why is it allowed to exist at all? The Regime are not unaware - or stupid.

There is a clue in Madr Masr’s recent - and lengthy - article covering the spat between Mohamed Ali ( the Regime critic residing in Spain) and Sisi. It’s both fascinating...and surreal.

https://madamasr.com/en/2019/09/24/feat ... inst-sisi/

The Regime is a master in techniques which portray the indefensible as part and parcel of the march towards economic revival and social stability.

Allowing a modicum of dissent - which it could obliterate in an instant should it get out of hand - is all part of the image the State seeks to maintain....largely for the benefit of gullible foreign governments.

Another way of putting it is that a degree of skepticism might be appropriate in reading any of Madr Masr’s output. If they report the military as having killed one civilian....ask yourself whether that figure might have been understated considerably. And by cultivating a reputation of honesty and reliability, it can lead its audience to accept - as fact - positive news which, if printed in Al Ahram, would be met with derision.

Fair evaluation. There is another option. Maybe the Junta isn't fully unified and maybe there are factions within it. Another option is that Madr is aimed for an upper middle western audience - its sophisticated English and lengthy articles - and these pose no threat to the Junta. The latter fits in with your view. Of course it could just be a stuff up rather that a Junta conspiracy/plan. I usually back the stuff interpretation up on most matters concerning Big Brother.

It looks as if the regime may finally have lost patience with Madr Masa

“Egyptian security forces arrested a senior editor of the country’s last significant independent news outlet on Saturday, in a new peak to a six-year-old crackdown on press freedom under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/23/worl ... utlet.html

The final straw may have been a recent article suggesting that the president’s son Mahmoud was being sidetracked amidst fears of a public perception of his position...akin to that of the unlamented Gamal Mubarak.

Mada Masr
November 20, 2019

“Mahmoud al-Sisi, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s son and a senior official in the powerful General Intelligence Service (GIS), is being reassigned to a long-term position at Egypt’s diplomatic delegation in Moscow, according to multiple sources, including two GIS officials who spoke to Mada Masr separately.

The move is based on the perception within the president’s inner circle that Mahmoud al-Sisi has failed to properly handle a number of his responsibilities and that his increasingly visible influence in the upper decision-making levels of government is having a negative impact on his father’s image, the GIS sources said.”

https://madamasr.com/en/2019/11/20/feat ... in-russia/

Then again, it could be that a recent article critical of governance generally, and the all- embracing role of the state...particularly in media control.....was a step too far.

“Media policy over the last six years has been akin to the policy of a totalitarian media in a time of war. It is based on a relentless onslaught, a systematic spreading of terror and despair, and a fomenting of distrust among citizens. This policy does not seek to win hearts and minds, but to produce submission through terror and compulsion. It is a policy that does not care about truth; it does not want people to believe its proclamations, but rather to be incapable of denying them. It wants them to surrender to a never-ending stream of senseless news and information that leaves them feeling helpless in the face of a gigantic security apparatus — one that has waged a vicious propaganda war against what is left of the Muslim Brotherhood’s media.”

https://madamasr.com/en/2019/11/13/opin ... thing-has/

Egyptian Streets might be the next news outlet to go if it doesn’t watch its step. It recently published an article bemoaning the absence of critical journalism and, whilst it bends over backwards to avoid direct criticism of the regime, its message is clear.


“Since 2011, Egypt has gone through a roller-coaster of events that have touched every single aspect of Egyptian life. One such aspect that is currently on its deathbed is Egypt’s fourth estate: the media.

The last standing state-owned and privately-controlled news media organisations have largely resorted to self-censorship, banning all material which “may incite” or otherwise undermine state institutions directly or indirectly – it is a “nationalistic duty” to tow the line.”

“However, that path should not also result in the death of journalism – one that sees media organisations placing rose-coloured glasses on the eyes of its readers and audience. In fact, the destruction of the fourth estate threatens the very stability Egypt seeks to achieve.

For example, the lack of transparency and the growing self-censorship and press restrictions have resulted in a lack of confidence in which news outlets to trust, due to a fear of political bias, and an influx of informal information sources being relied on. Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram are the new community noticeboards: readers flock to them first for information about what’s happening in their communities. Then, readers try to piece news together through word of mouth, ‘official’ statements and, if possible, foreign coverage of local news.”

“Recently, a number of Egyptian newspapers reported on prison conditions at the infamous Tora Prison in Cairo following a visit by officials. The coverage by Egyptian newspapers was unanimously and overwhelmingly positive, lacking any any critical (or simply unbiased) reporting: “Prisoners have barbecues, great access to facilities and have no complaints at all!”

“As such, distrust in the Egyptian government and the ‘singular-voiced’ media flourishes and the image of Egypt and its government both locally and abroad is tarnished. Egyptian media is regarded as window dressing – and not even the pretty kind. When an important story does come around – one that would benefit Egypt – people, especially foreigners, are hesitant to trust the media: “Is Egypt’s economy really improving or is this just another embellishment by Egyptian newspapers? Are tourists really returning in troves? Is Egypt really safe? Or is Egypt so keen on improving its current state that it repeats the same positive mantra over and over again until it hopefully becomes a reality?”

“There is little flow of information from Egyptian government departments – particularly from the security apparatus. In some cases, Egyptian government departments ignore stories and information that have been widely reported on social media for days, and sometimes even weeks, before a statement is released. For particularly ‘sensitive’ and ‘politicised’ stories, local media doesn’t dare publish a single report until the Egyptian government has spoken.”

“In a new media framework, journalists should not be punished for simply reporting on news that is difficult to swallow. Journalism with integrity should never be silenced, even more so in states that are in dire need of change

A strong media framework that protects the media’s core role as the fourth estate will strengthen the groundwork for real, effective and inspirational change. The first step is by recognizing the power of journalism to be a positive driver of change, to address the harsh realities the media has remained silent towards and to give Egypt back its voice.”

Extracts from :

https://egyptianstreets.com/2019/11/25/ ... to-change/