Flickering flame of culture

Other Voices

Da

By Ahmad Al-Sarraf

uring the next few months, the term of the president of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) Eng Ali Al-Youha will end if the current Minister of Information Mohammad Al-Jabri remains in office and if no higher power intervenes and overrides his authority and renews the term of Al-Youha for another four years.

It is expected, as it has happened in many institutions and organizations beneficial to the public that the role of the National Council will gradually disappear, the flame of culture will diminish, the status of literature will deteriorate, and the arts will disappear.

This will occur if we continue in the policy of handing over the resources of cultural and professional council to professional politicians who were ‘brought in’ by the street, who became MPs and ministers but the issue at hand is of arts, literature and culture. These politicians suffer from cultural shortcomings and are hostile to literature and arts.

There is no doubt that the role played by Ali Al-Youha in the service of culture and the arts has far exceeded the role of others, served by the circumstances and policies of the former conscious government, but it seems all the achievements will disappear with the end of his tenure, especially the successors who are likely to replace him, have been stripped off their powers or relieved of their positions at an early stage.

These likely successors were replaced by those who have a strong relationship with the Minister and are weak when it comes to the functioning of the

Al-Sarraf

‘Council of Culture, Arts and Letters’. Here we do not speak about professionalism and functional knowledge, but the psychological and intellectual aspects.

We believe the government (which is always wise) has done a big mistake by making the NCCAL an arena for solving political differences. The work of NCCAL is purely professional, technical and cultural, and has nothing to do with politics.

The programs of the Council and its activities are implemented within the supreme policies of the state, and therefore these policies should not be subjected to personal whims of a political figure who does not see the importance of art and minimizes its activities, and then there comes another who believes in art, but does not recognize culture, increasing the importance of the latter at the expense of the first, and so on.

The only solution to rescue the NCCAL from the whims of politicians is to make it follow the policy of the state.

This Council, which has a significant developmental and vital role is likely to fade in the near future and therefore it should be placed under the supervision of the Amiri Diwan as is the case with the Opera House at the (Jaber Center) or to the Council of Ministers, to stop the interventions of the Minister of Information and his Undersecretary when it comes to the long-term policies of the Council, and obstruct the march of culture, literature and arts.

The culture died when the Council was under the control of the Muslim Brotherhood in several ways, and it is a miracle that we got rid of this group and succeeded in preserving all these cultural edifices, theaters, exhibitions, libraries, cultural centers and theatrical performances, and therefore we do not want to return to square one after all that has been achieved.

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