New leaks expose Sisi's 'media arms'

A leaked audio recording aired on Egyptian TV yesterday appears to prove the army’s influence over the country’s media.

Mekameleen satellite channel broadcast the recordings dialogue between Brigadier General Abbas Kamil, President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi’s office manager, and military spokesman Colonel Ahmad Ali.

During the recording, Kamil asked Ali to instruct loyal journalists to begin a campaign using TV to defend Al-Sisi and to claim that there was a campaign to undermine him.

Kamil said the idea rose following a meeting that had just taken place between him and Al-Sisi. He went on to ask Ali to write down the ideas journalists, who are considered to be on the side of the army and on the side of Al-Sisi and who will be required to propagate, have given in order to use them in.

These ideas included saying that the residential building that Al-Sisi was occupying prior to becoming president was nothing more than “administrative accommodation belonging to the army” and that “Al-Sisi was using it just like any other army officer”.

It is clear from the context of the discussions that the call was made prior to the presidential elections and that Al-Sisi was anxious about what people were talking about it at the time. Hence, Kamil commissioned Ali to tell journalists to ask via viewers: “Why are we treating our symbols in this way? There is a campaign aimed at undermining Marshal Al-Sisi. Is this something you, the people of Egypt, are pleased with?”

Mekameleen linked this recording to a leaked video that was published on the internet by the Rasd Network in early 2014 in which Al-Sisi talks about “media arms” in order to promote the army and the coup.

The channel said the recording was made on the morning of 1 April, 2014, noting that the “media arms” soon went into action as early as on the evening of that day. This is proven by the fact that journalists brought up the issues referred to by Kamil on their shows that evening.