Political bloggers speak out
2005-08-29 11:30
Cairo - Baheyya is Egyptian, pillories President Hosni Mubarak and heaps scorn on his regime daily. But this fiery dissident who says aloud what others don't dare to think has no face: Baheyya is a blog.
In an Egyptian presidential campaign that has failed to generate much enthusiasm, one of the hottest debates is taking place in the country's burgeoning political blogosphere.
"In every normal election, people have their eyes trained on the result: who wins, who loses, and how things will change.
"In this election, however, we all know Hosni Mubarak is going to 'win' barring some miraculous deus ex machina," writes Baheyya (http://baheyya.blogspot.com/).
Identity a mystery
"Mubarak and his handlers' sordid efforts to negate 24 years of his well-known aloofness and indifference to ordinary Egyptians have surpassed all decency," she says.
Her identity is shrouded in mystery and the subject of much speculation among the blogging community but her diatribes have earned a cult, albeit restricted, following.
In a country where most major newspapers are state-owned or affiliated to a party, the internet is offering an unprecedented freedom and platform for an increasingly bold opposition to the regime.
Bloggers
On a blog calling itself "The wordmonger", 36-year-old artist and blogger Abdo indulges in a satirical ode to "Mubarak, Prince of the believers", a title which usually refers to the Prophet Mohammed.
Another Egyptian blogger explains he is posting his comments "so that future generations cannot accuse us of having remained silent when there was a need to speak out".
Accustomed to an autocratic regime that has severely restricted freedom of expression in the past, many Egyptians in the street are still keeping a lid on their exasperation, but bloggers are now letting off steam on the internet.
"Manal and Alaa" is a more militant blog written in both Arabic and English, which lashes out at the regime's repression of opposition demonstrations by what they brand the state's "terrorist karate units".
Reveal
Manal Hassan and Alaa Abdel Fattah, both aged 23, are among the few bloggers prepared to reveal their identity.
"This corrupt regime has reached its sell-by date and its stench has become unbearable," says Alaa, a young activist with a thick mane of long curly black hair and whose blog serves as a bulletin board for announcing rallies and protests.
The year 2005 has seen anti-Mubarak street protests, which were unimaginable even a year ago, but most of the country's 300-odd political bloggers are anonymous.
"They disguise their identities and it gives them a platform to say things they can't say in public," explains Joshua Stacker, a Cairo-based American political researcher.
"If the state wanted to go after them they could, but it's only the elite who reads them," he adds.