Egypt Interior Ministry Accidentally Releases Memos on Silencing Media

Thousands of Reporters Demand Minister's Ouster

Egypt’s military junta doesn’t take dissent well, but the signs are that public anger at the Interior Ministry is simply out of control, with even figures from the junta’s own state-run media demanding Maj. Gen. Abdel-Ghaffar’s ouster as Minister of the Interior.

Violent crackdowns on the media, including police raids on press syndicates and arrests of opposition reports were already fueling growing criticism among journalists, calls which only grew when the Interior Ministry accidentally released several secret memos to the press.

The memos detailed the ministry’s planning to silence media unrest, including insisting that the ministry could never be seen to backtrack from any operation or admit any mistake, saying the goal of police is to undermine the credibility of the journalists.

Being so determined to be unwilling to admit its mistakes, it remains to be seen what the Interior Ministry will do about its own leaking of memos to the press. So far they’ve refused to comment on them, and blamed “technical malfunctions” for the leaks.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.