"Transparency"

One more article about our scandal appeared in today’s news...

AUC in defense of transparency
by: Magdi el Gallad

Many are mistaken when they think that serious journalism has hidden agenda or targets campaigns against individuals.

I believe that our conspiratorial explanation for everything didn’t come from nothing, because for the past half century or more we have been under political and intellectual pressure for us to believe that behind any crisis, disaster or lapse there is a grand or foreign conspiracy by forces allied against Egypt or an internal conspiracy by some lost souls targeting the countries.

The result is that the ruling regime succeeded in making us prisoners of the theory of conspiracy, and accordingly, we are distracted from asking the most normal question “who is responsible for the incident and how did it happen, and how to avoid its repetition?

Regretfully, we thought this quality is purely Egyptian, but we thought wrong. The past few days revealed that others hide behind that “theory of conspiracy” when events get disclosed. The American University in Cairo (AUC) did that when “El Masry El Yom” exclusively uncovered AUC contract with “NAMRU-3” which is affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense “US Navy”, to participate in studies and research in Egypt. In the beginning, the university’s response was absolute denial and then they disclosed the contract and its details without admitting that the contract with the Pentagon was an error and moreover, its non-disclosure in 2006 was a bigger error.

In spite of the AUC admittance to the contract, voices from AUC and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo expound that “El Masry El Yom” is leading a campaign to shut down or restrain AUC. Since we are not defending ourselves here, our response was to publish the entire facts, including AUC and Embassy responses, and the contract terms. But AUC and the Embassy committed a media “sin”, whether deliberately or just a mere misjudgment. The Egyptian Government has been repeatedly pressured by the American Government for the likes of such a sin.

It is not possible nor acceptable that Washington fills the world with talk about the right of information circulation, press freedom, transparency rules and disclosure, then blames an independent newspaper for publishing news about an unannounced contract signed by a civilian body “AUC” and a military body “Pentagon”, even if this didn’t breach the Egyptian national security.

“El Masry El Yom” published, publishes and will publish all available documented facts and information, because the reader has the right to know, and in defense of the Egyptian national security. AUC, the Embassy, the White House, and the Pentagon have the right to defend their stands on the newspaper pages without confiscating our right to publish and the reader’s right to know what’s going on in the country.

Definitely, we don’t need to confirm our faith in the significant scientific and civic role played by AUC for decades in Egypt and we always demand opening more science and technology windows in our country to benefit from the western evolution and scientific revolution which was much delayed for Egypt.

Today, by publishing the details of a new contract signed by the AUC and the Pentagon, the US Army, and not the US Navy, we are providing the reader with information and give him the right to adopt the point of view that he believes in.

AUC students are another issue since they are our Egyptian brothers and children, standing on our side, as they stood before against the admittance of Israeli academics into their campus. They represent the most competent and the best patriotic intellects and they participate in all incidents, therefore, we are not bidding on them or setting doubts on their university, but this is the mere truth that we and you always have to respect.