Outspoken opposition writer Abdel-Halim Qandil has, at last, been silenced, reports Mohamed El-Sayed Perhaps opposition writer Abdel-Halim Qandil was the first journalist to launch harsh criticism against President Hosni Mubarak and his family. Four years ago, no writer, be he opposition or independent, dared to break the taboo of directly criticising the president in strongly-worded articles. Therefore, many observers believe that Qandil's weekly column in an opposition newspaper opened the door to more criticism than the government could handle. The back- page op-ed "For the sake of the nation", published in the weekly Al-Arabi, mouthpiece of the Nasserist Party, has been a trendsetter for other writers and newspapers who raised the ceiling of criticism to unprecedented levels. Last week, however, Qandil was forced to resign as co-editor-in-chief of Al-Karama newspaper, the mouthpiece of the yet unlicenced Nasserist-oriented party of Al-Karama. "There has been mounting pressure on Hamdein Sabbahi, the chairman of Al-Karama Party, from the State Security Apparatus to dismiss me since my first day at the newspaper," Qandil told Al-Ahram Weekly. "Advertisements were banned in the newspaper, a matter which negatively affected its financial status," he added. Having spent 18 months as editor-in- chief, Qandil said that he didn't want to be the cause of distress for other people working in the newspaper. "I preferred to resign so as not to make other people in the newspaper bear the brunt of my strong opposition to the regime," he explained. "I have to bear it by myself." Qandil claimed that Sabbahi had received repeated oral threats from key figures in the government who apparently told him several times that the regime was angry with Qandil's articles and fed up with his editorial policy. According to Qandil, one minister told Sabbahi that Qandil should be removed from his post in order that the newspaper receive ads. Qandil gave Al-Karama owners two options: either he continues as chief editor without lowering the ceiling of criticism, or his resignation to ward off government ire. The board of the newspaper opted for the second. Sabbahi denied he was under any kind of pressure to remove Qandil from his post. "Some figures in the regime criticised what Qandil wrote, but none of them pressured me to dismiss him," he told the Weekly. Sabbahi added that Qandil demanded several times to leave the paper "because he believed his anti-regime editorial policy was behind advertisers being afraid to publish their advertisements in the paper. Qandil enjoys very good political sense and courage, and that's why he decided to leave." Qandil has always been one of the staunchest critics of the regime. With Qandil at its helm, Al-Arabi newspaper stepped up a campaign in 2003 objecting to a possible fifth term for President Mubarak. It also actively lobbied against Mubarak's son, Gamal, "inheriting" the presidency. In addition, Qandil has been a frequent guest on Arab satellite TV channels, often bluntly expressing these views. In 2004, he formed the first-of-its-kind anti-Mubarak movement -- the Egyptian Movement for Change (Kifaya) -- along with a number of intellectuals and writers. Having served as its spokesman for almost two years, Kifaya was the first political force to stage a public protest against Mubarak in September 2004. Two months later, he was abducted, beaten and dumped by four men on a desert road for pioneering the movement and incessantly criticising the regime. "This is a lesson so you stop talking about your betters," his abductors are reported to have told him. But the problem with teaching lessons is that one is not always sure what the recipient is learning. If anything, Qandil escalated his censure of Mubarak and the security apparatus when he became the executive editor-in-chief of the Al-Karama in March, 2006. The headlines and stories of Al-Karama were so harsh that the Higher Press Council -- a body affiliated with the Shura Council -- published a report for the first time ever, singling out the newspaper for committing "improper journalistic practices slandering the president of the republic." Qandil believes that certain powers are persecuting him because they see his writings as encouraging other writers to follow suit, a matter which is getting out of hand. "The powers that be want to silence me for personal reasons, since I was the one who pioneered the anti- Mubarak movement and opposition to bequeathing the presidency to his son," he asserted. It is very unlikely that Qandil will be able to publish his work anywhere, any time soon. "Understandably, the owners of newspapers fear to pay the price of allowing me to write," he reasoned. However, the staunch critic vowed to continue fighting for his beliefs through Kifaya. "I will increase my activities in Kifaya in light of the recent political and social developments," he announced. "In fact, I want to overhaul the movement." While many observers feel the price Qandil paid was too high, he begs to differ. "I have paid the price of opposing the regime several times," he recalled. "First, in 2003 I was banned from publishing my daily piece in a newspaper where I had written for a decade. Then I was abducted in 2004, and now I'm forced to stop writing altogether." But for Qandil, "all these intimidations are a low price to
