Ads called xenophobic
Egypt’s government draws criticism for TV spots warning about foreign spies.
CAIRO — Egypt’s military-led government is facing criticism from activists and human rights advocates over a series of new television ads that suggested that foreigners are spies out to destroy the country.
Activists say the ads were calculated to deter journalists and human rights groups from investigating abuses by the state, specifically the interim ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF, which protesters have repeatedly accused of civil rights violations. About 12,000 Egyptians have been tried in military tribunals in the last year.
In one of the public service announcements, sinister music plays in the background as an English-speaking young man walks into a cafe and strikes up a conversation with Egyptians, who proceed to complain about the nation’s problems.
In the ad, one of the Egyptians mentions a conspiracy against the army, and the foreigner taps out a text message to an unknown third party. The announcer warns viewers in an ominous voice not to offer information that could be used by spies to undermine the country’s stability.
Egypt’s Ministry of Information, housed in a fortresslike building guarded by soldiers and tanks, controls state radio and television, which are popular among poor and working-class Egyptians.
“Nothing like this ever airs without the approval from the office of the minister,” said Shahira Amin, a prominent Egyptian journalist and former state television employee. “This ad can raise the level of xenophobia in Egypt.”
Americans were put on trial this year with other employees of nongovernmental organizations after being accused of illegally acquiring foreign funds to spark unrest in the country. The organizations included the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, which have been operating in Egypt for years.
“They are trying to kill two birds with one stone,” Amin said of the interim government. “The security forces have previously arrested foreign journalists covering [protests in] Tahrir Square; now they are saying, ‘Let the people deal with them so we don’t have to.’ ”
Since the military assumed power last year after a popular uprising toppled President Hosni Mubarak, it has publicly blamed “foreign hands and skewed” news coverage of Egypt’s unrest in an effort to divert criticism from persistent discontent and economic turmoil.
The Egyptian blogger and activist known as Zeinobia compared the ads, which also appear on private television, to World War II propaganda.
“I fear that this ad is an introduction for a campaign against human rights activists and journalists from abroad,” wrote Zeinobia.
Amid the strong criticism, the Agence FrancePresse news agency reported late Saturday that the ads would be pulled.
During Egypt’s transition to democracy, numerous attacks on journalists, as well as foreigners, have been reported across the country, which relies heavily on tourism. Abdellatif is a news assistant in The Times’ Cairo bureau.