Hundreds of foreign correspondents freely operating in Egypt: SIS

CAIRO- 26 September 2019: Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS (released a statement, Thrusday, addressing the upcoming coverage of international media representatives, and specifically accredited correspondents of Friday the 27th of September.

The statement revealed some information regarding this coverage which includes the following:

• 41 accredited Media and Press establishments submitted to SIS requests for televised and photographic coverage for 195 journalists and photographers. All requests were accepted and the applicants have been granted permits for completely free coverage and photo taking in all the squares and main streets of the governorates of Cairo, Giza, Qalubiya, Alexandria and Suez in accordance with international customs.
• There are 900 accredited representatives of foreign media outlets registered with SIS in Egypt and that includes technicians and administrative staff and they all carry the accreditation ID issued by SIS. This ID allows them to move freely across the entire republic unhindered to undertake none photographic coverage.
• 30 visiting unaccredited foreign correspondents representing 15 foreign press and media establishments have applied for press permits to cover Friday the 27th; Press IDs were granted to 15 of them and the requests of the others are still pending as they applied as late as Thursday, September 26th.

SIS’s statement reiterated its previous calls on all foreign media outlets to strictly abide by globally accepted professional codes of conduct of the press and the media while covering Egyptian affairs. SIS pointed to these codes in a previous statement released on the 21st of September, and came their forefront:
• Correspondents should only publish what that they observe themselves from their known, credible sources that must be confirmed by two other credible sources that have also observed the same incidents with their own eyes in accordance with the codes of conduct.
• In the case of publishing analysis or conclusions or interpretations or expectations, neutrality between all parties should be taken into account and space should be provided for all viewpoints to be presented in an equal manner and that includes the viewpoint of the State or who represents it.
• Social media outlets should not be considered as sources of news or reporting as these sources have an uncontrollable and chaotic nature with the presence of many fake accounts and fabrications; furthermore, in developed nations such sources are not allowed to be used unless under strict regulations and after undergoing many stages of verification.
• All media outlets and correspondents should continue with the policy of using the expressions and vocabulary that reflect the actual truth of the situation in Egypt whether in the present or in the developments that the country has witnessed over the past few years. SIS reiterates that the aforementioned should not override the truth or use terms created by some to be promoted for their own aims and goals.
• Any situation should be put in its actual context and should not be exaggerated, taking into account that Egypt is a large nation inhabited by 100 million citizens. Situations should also be placed in their regional and global contexts as many world capitals witness daily incidents without anyone jumping to conclusions or exaggerations that are usually not even remotely close to the truth.

In conclusion, SIS announced that it has created a working group at its Foreign Correspondents Press Center, to attend to their work and facilitate their journalistic and media coverage of tomorrow, Friday the 27th around the clock. SIS concluded its statement by reaffirming that it is cooperating with all correspondents and international media outlets, and that it is ready to offer all means of facilitation to find the truth in all fields as long as professionalism and integrity are observed.