Nearly 200 Egyptian journalists today dismissed a recent declaration by editors of major newspapers, vowing near-blind support to the state and banning any criticism of the army and police in their publications as through the "voluntary surrender" of the freedom of expression.
Describing the declaration against the freedom of the press, the journalists said it is "intentionally killing the profession of journalism, as well as wasting the dignity of all Egyptian journalists".
In a statement, they said that such a declaration is a victory for terrorism.
"Facing terrorism with a bounded media and stifled mouths means giving our homeland as an easy prey for extremism," it added.
Fighting terrorism has nothing to do with "voluntary renunciation of freedom of opinion", they said.
Published last week, the declaration by editors came after President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called on Egyptians to support him in his fight against terrorism following the recent militants attack in Sinai that left 31 soldiers dead.
The editors declaration affirmed their will to support all security measures taken by the Egyptian state to confront terrorism and to promote homeland security.
They affirmed their commitment to securing freedom of speech, which the 25 January and 30 June revolutions guaranteed.
However, they also declared their rejection of any attempt to undermine the role and the performance of the army and the police.
It also pledged to stop publishing any statements that may incite violence, support terrorism, or exaggerate the size of the Muslim Brotherhood protests inside and outside universities, according to their declaration.
The editors' declaration has caused an uproar among pro-democracy activists and appeared to signal a throwback to former dictator Hosni Mubarak's days or the rule of the charismatic but authoritarian Gamal Abdel-Nasser in the 1950s and 1960s.
