<
https://theconversation.com/cop27-shines-light-on-civil-liberties-in-egypt-but-itll-take-work-to-achieve-real-freedom-194407>
"The ability to speak freely in Egypt is currently very constrained.
Individuals, groups and NGOs face significant barriers to participation in the
political process. And the same holds for the exchange of opinions in the
everyday public sphere.
But promising signs have emerged during the COP27 international climate change
talks in the country.
Egyptian Streets, a grassroots online media outlet, has
reported that the independent newspaper
Mada Masr has been de-censored, along
with
Medium and
Human Rights Watch, for the first time in five years.
Other outlets, however, such as
Al Jazeera and
Huffington Post, remain
censored and unavailable online.
Back in 2018, journalist Yasmine El Rashidi called attention to the “novel”
degree of censorship of political and social speech in Egypt. She labelled this
a “moment of crisis” and alleged that the divided, antagonistic state of civil
society in Egypt was part of the problem.
From graphic novels to Facebook rants and now TikTok dance videos, social
speech and expression have been subject to significant governmental
intervention. Young people have been imprisoned for multi-year terms for
holding up signs, making jokes, producing satirical songs, eating fruit
suggestively, or laying down dance moves. Professors have lost their jobs for
posting dance videos to their personal social media.
So do the decisions taken during COP27 in Egypt suggest a change of heart? That
the government is considering relinquishing the control of everyday space? And
that it’s decided to fulfil its post-revolutionary republican promise?
The jury is still out, but much depends on swift correction of deficits in the
judicial system, coupled with a broader and permanent opening of Egyptian
society."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
