On the 1st anniversary of the “Battle of the Camel,” Thursday’s newspapers carried reports of the bloody events that took place in Port Said on Wednesday night. While headlines on the sudden attack from Port Said fans on Ahly fans and players after Port Said’s Masry team beat Ahly 3-1 covered state run Al-Akhbar newspaper and privately owned Al-Tahrir, Al-Wafd and The Freedom and Justice Party newspaper as well as independent daily Al-Masryoon ran special features on the Battle of the Camel. The Muslim Brotherhood and Parliament also made headlines in Thursday’s newspapers.
“Disaster in Port Said’s stadiums” read Al-Akhbar’s top headline, followed by four pages of coverage of the events and what followed. On page 4 Samir Zaher, head of the Egyptian Football Federation, says, “I saw soldiers anchored, who do not move, do not interfere, do not see and do not hear anything…then why are they there, and where were the armed forces who are usually there in these events?”
On page 5 of Al-Akhbar an article reads, “By order of Field Marshall Tantawi: Two military airplanes transported the victims among Ahly fans and team members."
Al-Tahrir reports that clashes were expected for a week, and although security forces were aware of potential problems and the media tried to calm fans from both sides down, “The referee’s final whistle was more of a starting whistle for a battle.”
Al-Wafd reports on the Battle of the Camel with the headline “The camel brought Mubarak under the people’s feet.” The Freedom and Justice Party had a special feature on last year’s events with profiles on “heroes” of the day as well as martyrs.
The Freedom and Justice Party-owned newspaper’s top headline was “Parliament opens up the file on martyrs from Mubarak’s era.” MP’s cited the events of 6 April 2008 as being the true spark of the revolution.
Another story carried the headline, “The Brotherhood call for SCAF to protect the house of Parliament.” The article calls on the Interior Ministry and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to take responsibility for securing the Parliament and other important government buildings.
The Freedom Justice Party newspaper also reports that Mohamed al-Katatny, Parliament speaker, is now studying a request by MP Ali Katamesh, representative of the Salafi Nour Party, to cancel the live broadcast of Parliament sessions.
Recent robberies and acts of vandalism were cited as schemes to enable the SCAF to continue implementing the Emergency Law, Al-Masryoon independent paper reports.
The new law pertaining to Al Azhar’s independence was also in the news. Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb said in press conference that people from inside Al Azhar who have called for its independence are now opposing it, reports Al-Tahrir.
Al-Masryoon reports on its front page that Tayyeb is preparing a committee to choose the Senior Scholars Authority, according under the new law concerning Al-Azhar’s hierarchy and its relationship to the government.
Egypt's papers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run
Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Youm7: Daily, privately owned
Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned
Freedom and Justice: Daily, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party
Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Nasserist Party
Al-Nour: Official paper of the Salafi Nour Party
