DSE: Gomaa sets up rival newspaper

Gomaa sets up rival newspaper
Overthrown leader claims that paper breached neutrality agreement

By Pakinam Amer
First Published: March 13, 2006

CAIRO: Following its reissue, the Al-Wafd newspaper faces new trouble as overthrown Al-Wafd chairman Noaman Gomaa attempts to seize the newspaper by publishing a rival edition from new headquarters in downtown.
“Gomaa’s so-called newspaper is not and will not be issued,” says Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour, former parliamentarian and one of Gomaa’s principal party opponents. “It is not his right to even do so … [Gomaa] only wants to make a fuss.”
Reportedly, Gomaa had supplied the new headquarters with writing and printing equipment for the new paper but was denied a license by the High Council of Journalism. The rival edition of Al-Wafd was due out Sunday and was to bear the same name, though be run by a different team of editors and writing staff, and bear Gomaa’s name as the managing director and party chairman.
Although unsuccessful, the move has caused turmoil and triggered different reactions in the press arena. Gomaa, who claims that some veteran Al-Wafd reporters have already joined him at the new headquarters, said he is doing so because the newspapers “took sides” in Al-Wafd’s inner conflict, and thus violated vows of objectivity and fairness. In Sunday’s press reports, news circulated that both Al-Wafd’s cultural editor and a veteran reporter have officially joined Gomaa.
“Not a single Al-Wafd reporter joined Noaman Gomaa,” says Sayyed Abdel-Atti, one of Al-Wafd’s editors-in-chief. According to Abdel-Atti, the senior editor who joined Gomaa left Al-Wafd over 10 years ago, while the reporter was only a freelancer who had occasionally contributed to the newspaper.
Gomaa, meanwhile, has been denied access to the Dokki headquarters where the paper is officially printed.
The issue began when Gomaa was overthrown by a group of in-party “reformists,” a shift of power led by Mahmoud Abaza, Abdel-Nour and many of the party’s younger generation. Gomaa and his supporters deemed the move “unconstitutional” and fiercely protested it, starting a new wave of in-party conflicts. With the rivals alternately taking over the Dokki headquarters, they issued conflicting statements, with Gomaa insisting that he was the one and only chairman of Al-Wafd, with his rivals claiming otherwise.
In a bold move, Gomaa also fired the top newspaper editors and terminated its publication to ensure its neutrality during the in-fighting. As Al-Wafd journalists protested, the High Council of Journalism intervened and initiated reconciliation. Gomaa was ordered to release the paper in return for guarantees that it would be neutral and objective until conflicts between the two groups were settled in court. The council chose two editors to hold the post of editor-in-chief.
Approximately two months after the overthrow, a new party leader, Mustapha Al-Taweel, was elected. Gomaa insisted that by publishing news of the new president and board, the newspaper had “violated the agreement” that was earlier supervised by the High Council of Journalism. Gomaa filed complaints, before attempting to go solo with a new publication.
Safwat Al-Sharif, Shura Council head and chairman of the High Council of Journalism, discouraged Gomaa’s move. Nevertheless, Al-Sharif sent a letter of warning to the newspaper, asking them to maintain their neutrality. The letter reportedly cautioned that no news of inner conflicts was to be published.
“I support the letter sent by Safwat Al-Sharif, although I believe we never offended Gomaa,” says Abdel-Atti, Al-Wafd’s editor. “When I first held the post, I announced that we will be neutral as long as the conflicts remain … I threatened to submit my resignation if any breaching was to happen.”
Meanwhile, Gomaa’s rivals are standing firm on their claim that Gomaa was only “making an upheaval” and that the newspaper had always been objective. Al-Taweel, the new Al-Wafd leader, sent complaints on Saturday to the prosecutor general saying that Gomaa was falsely claiming to be chairman and that he should be stopped. According to Abdel-Nour, Gomaa is no longer the elected leader of Al-Wafd and “this is a fact.”
“We did not attack Gomaa. We publish news and we only say facts,” says Abdel-Nour. “We will not wait until other newspapers publish our own news and updates just to satisfy Gomaa.”
“Gomaa is acting like a child,” adds Abdel-Nour.

Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=898