October 17th, 2008 by Jason

This morning POMED invited a group of DC-area bloggers and activists to meet with well known Egyptian blogger Nora Younis (http://norayounis.com/). In a wide-ranging discussion, Nora talked about the rise of new media in Egypt and the Mubarak regime’s reaction to it; the U.S. role in democracy promotion; the impending succession crisis; and the state of political opposition in Egypt.

Nora addressed the role that Egyptian bloggers and social networking sites have played in bringing issues like voter fraud, police brutality, sexual harassment, and journalist repression to the attention of the public and the mainstream media. She said the regime has realized that traditional methods of information control are not working, and it has begun kidnapping bloggers from the street, often torturing them and warning them to stop. Also,  the regime has begun restricting access to prepaid cell phones and to internet cafes. Nora noted that there is no free press in Egypt; merely freedom from prior restraint. Writers may challenge the regime, but must deal with the consequences afterwards. She said such government methods of control are working in the short term, but they cannot restrain the country at large. Nora noted the recent increase in the frequency of protests throughout the country relating to economic issues and lack of services. She also said that sectarian tensions between Muslims and Coptic Christians have increased and become more violent.

On the U.S. role, Nora said that the western portrayal of Mubarak as a secular moderate leader of the Middle East deeply undermines the work of local activists. She said the U.S. should apply pressure on the regime in public and with harsh language, as a more subtle approach will not work against such an entrenched autocracy. She recommends the U.S. first push to rewrite Egypt’s constitution, which will institutionalize civil rights and political and social freedoms in a way that no future leader could undermine.

On Egypt’s looming succession crisis, Nora said that Gamal Mubarak has already become a national joke, and is derided as uncharismatic, naïve, and disconnected. She lamented the vacuum in the leadership of the political opposition, and the lack of viable alternatives to the NDP.

She said that among the younger generation, there has been increasing coordination between secular and Islamist bloggers and activists, as they all share common cause against police brutality and government corruption. She noted that the older generation does not cooperate so readily across ideological lines, and the leadership on both sides tries to control and regulate the younger activists. However, most all now see new media as foremost an opportunity to spread their message to a wider audience.

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Human Rights, Middle Eastern Media, US foreign policy |