In his speech on Monday at the opening of the Global Media Forum in the German capital Berlin, organized by Deutsche Welle, Bassem Youssef relayed his concerns for the future of Egypt under the military-led regime of newly-elected President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
“Fear is a most powerful tool. It could push people to give up their best; their being human,” he said. “Fear can take you away, but it cannot prevail. And nations cannot be built on fear.”
Speaking of his program, he said sarcasm was the weapon he used to refute lies and expose propaganda. “Laughter is the best means to confront fear,” he said. “When you laugh you are no longer scared.”
“The current generation in the Arab world broke the fear barrier,” he said. “And you cannot turn the clock back.”
The speech comes over a month after Youssef's show Al-Bernameg was taken off air by MBC, after having moved several times from one channel to another.
On government attempts to disrupt his endeavor, Youssef said he was told by officials that they like him but that it is not the right time for him. “Tell me when my right time comes,” he told them.
“You cannot run a country with means that dates back 30 or 40 years like in North Korea,” he said. “I hope we don’t end up like North Korea.”
Al-Bernameg gained popularity under the rule of the ousted president Mohamed Morsy with scathing criticisms of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist factions. After Morsy’s overthrow, Youssef shifted to satirical criticisms of former defense minister Sisi’s supporters for presidency. Neither regime was tolerant of Youssef's criticisms.
MBC had temporarily suspended the show until 30 May “so as not to influence voters during the presidential elections,” according to a statement by the network in April.
The show had been faced with trials under Morsy over charges of blasphemy and libel, while it was prevented from CBC satellite channel after Morsy’s ouster over material satirical of the transitional authorities.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
