INTERVIEW
granted by
PRESIDENT ANWAB, ITL SADAT to Editor_in-Chiref of the Kuwaiti <
January g, 19?6
Mr. Ahmed AI Garallah, the Editor-in-chief of the Kuwaiti this period the president -..Pd"g applied a certain form of political thought like any poritician, he presented many causes, knowing that he may lose them at f"u."rt, but w'l win tiem again in the future . .. There were those who strongly opposed him, at the end, his but viewpoint proved to be the right srance, one . .. For in_ his fu' conviction that the Middle Eist game i" , on"- hundred per cent American game. Every time, I met with president Anwar to El Sadat, f used find myself charged with observations and queries concerning Arab worid' since the Pres- the internal situation in Egypt, and the from the locai and national ident is in a very sensitive position points of view. El Sadat' and let So, hail with me President Mohamed Anwar with him' and as usual' he us begin, a kind of controversial talk can come rout with fruitfull will open his heart to us so that we conclusions. Question:Mr.President,IhavebeeninEgyptforeightdays of the representatives of now, during which I met with a number Marei' writers' senior the People's e'"r"roUty, Engineer Sayed that they all journalists, and "o,,'" of the public ' ' I discovered wantyoutobefrankwiththeArabworldconcerningwhatishap. you refrain from talking pening in Egypt . '. They also say that to say now ? on this question ' .. So, do yoo have a^nything But first allow me to thank Presialent : I have much to say ' " introduce me " My answer you for the kind words you used to Arab nation is living in a is that not only Egypt, but our entire ' ' Prior to October 6 we lost state of regeneratiJn #t"t October 6 worse, we lost our self-con- the confidence of the world, and, even every Arab country have fidence . .. As our Arab brothers in pessimistic wave, as well known and have read. the defeatist and our morale altogether ' " as the psychological warfare undermined now is' in fact' new Then came October 6, and what we are living movements' understanding birth pangs of the Arab nation, in its had' found itself' as and tactics, especially after the Arab nation like individuals ; psychologists say . . Nations are exactly' wheneveranationoranindividualfindsitselforhimself,sucha sense that a great moment is eonsidered a turning point' in the dealofgoodmayaccruethereof,whileifitismisunderstood,much harm can come of it. 4 For that neason, I am saying, today, that the Arab nation, and the Egyptian people at the .o"" "r" suffering new pains of birth giving. As you have seen and fert here in cairo, there is fulr freedom in every aspect of life here .. Detention camps were cros- ed four years ag1 .. AIr poritical prisoners received iuu amnesty, and sovereignty of the law is now prevailing. We have embarked upon a new stage in Egypt, and perhaps this experience wilI be attentivery viewed by our Arab brothers ever5nvhere el.regards foreign policy, r,ve got over the stage of slogans and outbiddings, and in--itiated the stage of fuil maturity, in the sense that we should study .nd analysu" urr""y .uuse with all its dimensions ' " we cannot isolate ourselves from the world, and in the meantime we cannot address the world with a ra^nguage other than the language accepted by our age. From this point we began our politicar rine which some might misunderstand, but as tong as we are fully convinced that we are assuming the responsibility, we shall eontinue in our line, God wil_ ing " As r am accustomed, r shall always lay the bare facts be- fore my people and before the entire Arab nation. In the inteynal sphere, we are undergoing a new experience much bigger than the one that is being carried out or had beenr carried out in the fierd of foreign poricy . .. we are setting up a state of institutions now in Egypt,"and r am reaty proud it has already been set up . .. rte aenates you hear about in the peopre,s Assembly, and ca'ing the Ministe"s io such a difficurt aecount by the Assembly, are but a crear evidence that the constitutional in_ stitution is performing its duty, and demonstratr"S il-i"u eharac_ ter in the best way .. . Therefore, the exeeutive authority is existing in full form ' " Regarding the political organisation, we are eon- sidering its evorution in a way to senre the current stage through which Egypt and our Arab nation are passing, so that it mav be an access for other stages to follow . .. our new experience is being applied on every aspect of life . .. For example, we formed a corn- mittee headed by vice-President Hosny Moubarak to write the his- tory of the revolution since 1919 and up to the 1952 Revolution, and another sub-committee for the study and investigation of the reasons of the June 5th defeat. So, as you see, the political field in Eglryt is like a beehive, there is movement in every direction ' .. For instance, we are very active in the diplornatic field, and the diplomatic battle is going on successfully as a substitute for the military one until it proveS use- less. In the internal sphere, a completely new build.-up and a new experience are being undergone on the basis of true democracy and sovereignty of the law in the state of institutions, side by side with preserving national unity and social peace. Question : Mr. President, frorn the economic point of view' would you like to say something to the Arab world ? Prcsiilent : Yes . .. I am not accustomed to hide facts from my Arab brothers, as I am also not used at all to ask for anything, because, according to our criteria, we the peasants who glew up on the soil of this land, it is extremely difficult for us to ask anybody for anything. Nevertheless, the cabinet laid down the true figures of our debts before the People's Assembly, and with extreme frank- ness tJrey are more' than L.E. 2400 million. . What really bothers me is the question of liquidity. For seven years before the ba.ttle we were drained of every drop of blood in our veins . .. Why ? Because we were living on our own economy, not like fsrael which receives a cheque from the Jews of the world, and then cashes it from the bank . . But we were spending from our flesh and blood. . .. As I told my Arab brothers in October 1973, our economy 6 reachedrock bottom ' . ' Alrow me,_hereto direct Arab brothersin Saudi;;; my thanks to the Ir*"i,,-fi;"#Emirates"gr,"",t"i rJl"n u* ou,and yearsl%Th"f;:t'J".'ffT,ii#l;;e before during the *"uur, rcJ our october lgz3 we **:^lsaid, veins. .. Nowwe need ," ,*::1il'Jr:il#?rf*:::;j i" We did not die nor did just we b completely need a blood bankrupt, we trans,fusion. *."to*" industry,ir,"aJitio' t" th";;r"";*rilTr:HJ,rff "*mtj *hi;;;;'; ffiiy;il.J"ffi#d contributingin tr,e new buird ;: ff #flH"#:.ffi",H?i"':f ::oilfields:11il- in Sinai, a1d "f#;:-,gffi"i are * ;;; to export bd;"'Ji,ou" a smaJt parr of our #ffiT:bff:f#s a""ui*lT* herpedus The total revenue from the Suez Canal and the rrstored ;i13i# mi,riond;,,;;ua,y oil_ properry?H::T":|#:;?LIT ',re rinancethe fian, *; ;;i,fiH":f:l-J#:J,:X","# l';ffi lfrTff.nmtptionbJ ; ;";*ionso, onlv1'{ 6 reasonable thenr"c;";:ff;Tl can we ";;J;;';"--"::^l .ffi;{?Xperiod or erace, in1""i"a." the sensethat _H they .;i;; *iu li.L" n:,li H$[ as fertilizer,,rs,ee'ent- time and an;arhers such *a ,osr"l.*"ro ,nr" "**"t, brothers:i"'xJ*"i, ;e for:ned a i1ilXffi"T::*:"r ror the exploitationor nutoAIICJ these are r il ffi;:T#1tr*TJ,T#"ilry*:ffi ,ffiH a critical stage. We have the fundamentals upon which we can rely, formost among which are the Suez Canal and the oil surplus. . Our major problem is that of liquidity and how we can repay the short term loans the interests of which ranged betwem 20Vo and 22% last year. . We were able to repay some loans from the aid we received from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Arab Emirates, thus avoiding interests of L.E. 60 rnillion we used to pay annually. There is still a"nother part of these loans we have to repay in 19?6 so that we can finish with these interests altogether and initiate the stage of reconstruction a^nd production.. rn that case, and even before the end of this period of grace, our production would be restored to a position where we can re-imburse all our debts. Ttris is our economic position in all frankness. Question : Following your visit to the united. states, a consort- ium was declared for the support of Egypl combining rran, saudi Arabia, the States of the Arab Gulf and America too.. What happened in that respect ? President : The consortium you are talking about is between America, west Germany, Japan and Saudi Arabia, and was lately joined by Kuwait which assisted us last year. . we also received aid fronr, saudi Arabia and rran at the end of last year. As for America, west Germany and Japan, we did not receive a^nything at all. Question : Mr. President, there is an economic deficit in your 1 budget besides Egypt's debts so, from the economic point of 1 view, if the projeets of public serwiees are given to foreign com- l panies C as it happens in some other states, wo,'ld not that be a possible solution for the problem ? € I Presitlent : we are not rigid, nor prejudieed o,r head-strong. . i1 we are rather, ready to understand and discuss everything that b 8 can serve ouf economy in the open-door policy, and will approve withotrt hesitation, what we consider in our interest. The Minis' terial Council has full power in this respect . . It is not only that the private sector is required to play an active role, no; without the least embarrass.ment, I say that we need an operation of b'lood transf,usion to our veins because our blood was drained and Cried up from sufferings and bleeding during the past period. Question : F"or that operation of blood trans,fusion to be undergone, would you like it to take the forrn of aid or loans from the Ara"b countries,, or joint ventures between you and the Arab countries ? Presial€nt : We are ready to acoept the three forms. . If it is aid, we shall be very grateful to our Arab brothers. . We are aJso ready to'receive any kind of loans, and I shall not say that I shall repay the instalments from the output of agriculture and indus- try, but from the revenue of the Suez Canal and the oil surplus which is estimated at about 600 or 700 million dollarsr.. So, when I give an annual figure of 500 million dollars we can repay, it will not be a problem to borrow 2, or 3 or 4 billion dollars because I can, for sure, repay 500 million dollars annually after re-opening the Suez Canal. By the way, the first ship to pass through the Canal after reopening it was a new Kuwaiti one. . I saw it anchor- ing in Port Sai,C,and f was told that it was the first ship or in the first convey that would pass on June 5. Before the closure of the Suez Canal in 1967 the number of ships transiting therein ranged between 55-60 ships daily. After reopening it the number of ships ranged between 20-50, but thanks be to God, we reach- ed the old average of 55 ships daily in the last month of December, with more tonnage, bechuse the size of ships became bigger than it was in 1967. . So, theposition of tfie Suez Canal is not only good, but beyondtheimagination of any man.. rwelcome anykindof aid, and a.m ready to accept loans or joint ventures. Perhatrrsthe pipeline is the best example in this respect, because at one time my Arab brothers offered to finance the pipeline with its value of 400 million dollars but I refused saying that I would prefer it to be joint pro' ject. . This was exactly what happened, a^nd.we initiated the pro' ject with 507o f.or us and 50 % f.or our brothers in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. . The project is almos . finished and we shall reap its fruits very shortly, the sa.me goes for all joint ventures. Question : After the military crossing you achieved a political crossing, now there is some talk about an economic crossing as you are preparing yourself fo,r the coming presidential campaign. . Ttre question here is; in case the President fails to futfil an economic crossing, would that lead, in its turn, to the failure of his political crossing ? What would you say to this if you take into considera- tion that you guara^ntee freedom of opinion ? Presidpnt : There ls no do,lrbt, about it . . It is an undeniable fact that freedom of opinion is guaranteed to all. . You have live,tl among us, and can judge for yourself whether there is full freedom or not .. I cannot visualize the economic position in that way, in the sense that had we been unable to transcend the economic obstacles, we would also fail to carry out a political crossing at home. . f am very much of an ascetic on this point. But the picture is different here. . It is not that there are mistal 10 t wakeup in x'.T'A,lffiil"|; #,j:T: ,T'" themorning with whatto o" Jt1 America;;il;*H is goingon in the-Ea* 3Tf"f:"THt",.'|;"Tfj; r"J w* o, *u e""u reraxed" r wis'h they o*tioir. r viouraue would take-such r rru.rrv__u*i; sibility away from and res'on- me.. Our major problem is one of time. Thanks be to God_we are pursuing the '"u"JJ-tr,"L right path. As f said, ,"#"IfrT: ili"Jl*n't' * i.,i,"oi,ilLdorars in otherstate :,: :1,,1iJll;"1"?irT:llffi hl"" andteu them, revenue,anayou rne I must s.ive +ui'i.-ffi#il'y,".rh-Jftrffi:: do this, and any orru ur"J."rrould do ttu solve our n"obt*:.,. samJ in order to are -Neverthelu"*,-** not a bankmpt coun- :3;ffi T"frlliJ;;""r-;;t^,*"; surreringa ;;ii;p* in our ."..nm:Tni.tl;.ff;i?l;l?l;j3l l"rr..oto the Arab worrd as an billion dollars you eeonomicsuppo"t ? need now P'mident r h days the prime to some Arab .r -few Minister will pay co'untries witi; ;; visits exploiting the whore ff:Ln ;;'"fi,t"LJT"r"11.fr#lwhat1f we ;: "tr,; nren,situ- . euwtion We ther,e them any kind of preliminary presidBrft,? And did 'r talks with 1+1iT"E-T;J:ll *; megreat 11ffi:.,""l}1ffi1n'n"'o"" 'q'"i.ilu"otr,"" rurriued fr:H:[*tt#,"i#xl,H,r"tnm:T,;tffi theircommit- 11 Questim : Mr. President, during your visit to the united states you conducted an economic dialogue with the Americans. . Have you started putting its results into effect, or are they still under study ? President : No .. we began putting these results into effect, and you can take a rist of the projects alrea.dy implemented from the Prime Minister. rrowever, it is only natural to counter some obstacles in the economic field, some of which are of our own making .. Why ? Beeause during the past twenty years we were completely closed on ourselve5;, and all our laws and rife were formulated according to this closed position .. By being opened up now, it is naturar to find some difficulty .. As regards investors, there is also some kind of argwnent espeeiaily wittr investors in smarl enterprises.. Tday, onr economy does not nee,r. small enterprises', but rathe,r big ones.. However, we are going well on o*" wry .. Ibo or three days ag'o port we, ultimately, closed Said ," " f".u port, the s€une a's Singapore and Hong Kong .. we are on the threshold of the right path, we only need some time. . As a matter of fact, there is an excellent response from America and western Europe in all fietds .. president, Question : Mr. can it be said that the open-door policy is an abolition of the socialist ideology in Eg:ypt ? Presidsnt: No .. Absolutely not .. QuestJon : . . or of the method of nationalisation whieh the Political Administration applied in the past. President : This is what some are tryrng to attack us with.. They say that we aborished or are on our way to riquidate so- cialism . . No. . What we are saying is that socialism, in its essence L2 which we see and which is provided for in pressedin the charter, can be ex_ two y:at".t suffiiiency and justice.. s"rti"r""cy ia pro- l,:::'3?1T[idl:?.T"i'*"*i* Let-,,""to;;;;ng such big rhein thearea difficult ",;;HTfl**Jli:','"'#+;fr;l1';liiT'# c:. now utilising. every drop of the Nite *"iu* ;;;; of the High Dam, we t# "or,"trrr.uon are still living on 4Vo *f: of our land, and the "ffi*,ri1 ffi$::X;*n* Iargearea.;;';. verv we,, ... surriciencyis.increase," bution of production ;;;;;trlHTltt%.1*":H*: . . or;:;il;m has namely, it does ,rrotr,""-q;racteristic, not call for the- owr,"r*frip as scientific sociarism of means of production does . .- N;":. In lieu of production of the lLersrrip or in Marxism,lur socialism ffi; says This means that our economy dSws to meet the needs up a.nd directs its plan of the ";;;; *n* ,* me teI we calt the broad base.. ::, you two words aceording very simply to ou"'J,]".Jl :":T.-lis ,:l":tusm, and million an inwitable solution.". persons ,rr,.l-oltup''on we are Bg an area of 4% and;; p,..ithe arabreuiilJ ;;;;{,''::"#ff,*u ol"" ;;"; increased on.concluCing the {:ffi*TlTl#Tj#,Tx contracts of tfre ai ;J; nation of the stations for the desati- e67oof ,r; ;;;.I,i,i' *" _rr..';:::tf ;:'[:i:-,::.""p" solution for the Bs #i ffijffi:%r,:f and social peace; lluions;-;;;'equat opportunitieg j'stice pu*, *uJrr"" no j:l'J;#il-*;ilyrd:o"i"l ""il;p;dil:l* class and no bloody con_ ownriving .. wehave no orher ."*;;m ffi?"tr"Ti:tng:"mJH,j:: 13 atisation and sequestration, an end wa.s put to alt this once and for all on May 15, and as you see, before the coming presidential campaign. Now, I am stud'ying the best way to codify tle people's gains in our constitution, the trrcople's constitution, without any form of sequestrations, nationalisation or confiscation save with a pro- per reparation and according to a court's verd.ict . . The sover- eignty of the law, the state of institutions, and nespect of man's dignity; all this I shall codify very soon' Pr€sidert : Mr. President; ca,n we possibly say that you regard socialisna as a concept and no1 as a measure, a particular concetrrt the Western that is either equivalent to the prer-hling concept in World,narnelythatyouareseekingsocialjusticeand'peacefor your people, or one that might be taken to mean confiscation and nationalisation. Tobefrank,Mr.President,Istatethefactthatsrorrepeople see in socialism the image of nationalisation, and even of Marxism. Pr€sialsnt : As I have repeatedly announced, this is not at all our thought. At a certain stage in our life, our charter was oDce turned into a theory of Marxism, but this was erroneous. undoub tedly, it was a hundred per cent of a failure as an erperience. At present, there is an open-door policy newly adoptetl' Thus, among lhe basic properties of our socialism are the control over the means of production in a bid to direct them towards the service of our country, as well as fo,r the prosperity of the masses, and not for accumulating the wealth for a minority. Another ploperty chaructenzing our socia.lism, as we all know, is religion. Religion is inherent in us, constituting an integral part of our entity and we catr accept no other substitute. 14 That is why our socialism ls one of faitb. A third char' acteristic, I had formerly outlined at the inauguration of the Peo- ple's Assembly in its final session, upon my request to tlre minis- ters to promulgate a legislation to be proposed by tJre govern- ment, which is connected with providing tJre necessary allocations for the security of every citiz*;n on the Iand of Egypt whether in the city, the village, in t:he n:ral or urban societies, in the hamlets, or in the society of nomads. Every individual should feel secure. This is counted as an advantage of our own socialism. In other words, the State interference is for the purpose of ensuring every Egyptian citizen against disability, illne*s, old age and death, in order to help him lead an honourable life. We have al- ready gone a long way in this connection insistently demanding that this should take plaee in 1976 without a^ny delay despite the heavy burdens we bear. Consequent upon this, we all have to in our responsibility, as far as each of us can' I share shouldering' I even if we have to start with a more humble minimum, so as to I continue forever along the course of ensuring our people. In the l meantime, I consider the overall social insurance operation as more remarkable than all the resounding expressions, or descrip- tions often used as the landmarks of socialism. Quoetion : Mr. President, it is clear that, nowadays, there are current economic ambitions. Do you think the economic adminis- tration or in other words, the government organs, are capable of achieving this ambition ? Presiilent : Certainly, in this country there are limitless capacities a^nd potentials. What is mostly required is that the obstacles laid by the laws and regulations should be instantly re- moved. Ttris step is to be followed. by practice which will take some time. As regards the organs, their effeciency, as well as the requirrcd cadr€s, they are all available. 15 : Mr. President, we would like to move to the foreign Quostion plr or international policy. How do you consider the last Vienna in- ia: cident in connection to Egypt ? ha Pnesident : It is really a depressing, grevious matter which clearly shows how a few resort to hiring gang' leaders to carrSr out operations of the sort, in a way that badly affects us as Arabs. Mr pn Why should we force the world to look upon us with the same old rgr: view they had of us, as though we had not yet become mature ? But thanks be to God., that we in Egypt have become fully mature, bet Furthermore, we fearlessly, and without any complications, deal m€ with everyone, with the super-powers, and the non-'aligned coun- Al tries alike, as well as with our brothers in Africa and everywhere. thr bat We believe that we have the power to say 16 Question : Mr. president, it was part of the venezuelan carlos, plan to come to Egypt, together with both the saudi and the rran- ian ministers and ask you to abrogate -travethe sinai agreement. rf this had realry happened, what woura been your attitude then ? Prcsident : this, they lrior._to had attacked our Embassy in Madrid, but the Egyptian Ambass-ador had explained provisions to them the included in the agreement, and oi which they were ignorant, they, not without relung so*y, found out that they had been misled by their command. aine articles stated in sinai agree- ment were not secre,y cited but pubricly discrosed, there a deliberate had been attempt to twist or falsify the established facts. rn the meantime, and along with the incident of attacking our Em- bassy' they had been plotting to operate a public strike in Kuwait. They believed that by way of ar'ou*ing emotions "rra prouoairrg anxieties, they could possibly aborish facts, but they of the were unaware fact that facts can never be concealed. There is nothing to force us to justify our actions, for we are arways acting openry and in the limelight. We have but one word., *" d" not say some_ thing inside the rooms and another before the microphone. me acquaint Let our Arab brothers with a deplorable unfortunately event which had occurred during my visit to the u.s. and to Europe, namely that, in London, "ny J"*orrstration cannot be out a permission' allowed with- what happened was that our parestinian Syrian brothers requested and permission to organise a demonstration against me. The same request was presented by the English rsraelis. Thus the Police put three toguti"t _the in one rine and arong the same street since they constituted the opposition, which in front of them stood our Egyptian yo,'tlq in u ou-orrstration of support, it was quite a sight. Deep at heart r wished the palestinians and the Syrians had t7 is whY I saY notbeenplacedsidebysidewitht}relsraelis.ThatiswhylsayThat pains of birth- that our Arab nation today is undergoing new God will- giving. I was and am still optimistic and I will always be' out- i"g. W" cannot slip backward into the policies of hysteria' These biddings, or accusations of treason for the slightest reason. allowed claims are now rejected and. are no longer accepted or demanded the a,fter october 6. Even if carlos had come here and been no res. abrogation of tlre Sinai agreement, there would have ponse to his request. is said that the Russians are boost- Queotion : Mr. President, it El Assad or ing Syria to spite Egypt. Others argue that President you regard it as be- Syria-consider the g"ttt" being Russian, while ingfunerican.Woulayoukindly,Mr'President'explainthispoint more clearly ? is quite Presiilent : The fact that the Russians support Syria evident,notonlyduringandaftertheOctoberWarbutevenprior ttre dismissal to it. If you remember,l took my decision eoncerning that date' that of the Soviet experts on July 8, Lg72' Ever since isayearand2monthsbeforetheoutbreakoftheoctoberbattle' deteriorat- our relations with the soviet union have been steadily ing.Inthemeantime,ithasbountifultybeenprovidingSyriawith allitsneedsinarmament.Inaddition,ithadcompensatedSyria the cease- for every weapon it lost in the battle' Thus, even before and mis- fire on Oetober 22was put into force, the tanks, artillery, to our pres- siles Syria used in the war, had been replaced' And up entdaySyriaisstillbackedbytheSovietlJnion.Whileuntilthis replaced' moment, not a single piece of the arms I lost has been On Brezhnev promiseJ to visit Egypt in January, but he didn't' between the other hand, we both agreed. that the contracts signed usshouldbereimbursed.Accordingly,theybeganinF'ebruaryand March of 19?5 to supply us with goods inctuded in the deals which 18 were due for derivery since rast year. Again this process was harted, and the agreements were uot implemented. Consequent upon this, the whole situation was bro'ght to a deadrock, whether politically or economicalry as r exprained concerning the period of grace. rt is for every Arab to know that the game of the Middle East area cannot be Russian since the soviet Union cannot and has not the power to influence rsraer, not to mention the vorunteers and the people it sends to rsrael whereas America supplies rsrael, with everything starting with the loaf of bread ana irltter to the gun and Phantom, thus America alone has the power ef influsnsing rs- rael. This does not necessarily mean that we should ha.nd over our affairs to America to setfle. on the contrary, as r had previousry mentioned before the congress that r am onry a friend who is ready to agree with the Americans. if they are right, and similarly ready to differ with them in case they are wrong. rn this respect the dimensions of this process are so far explicit, but some are striving to show facts outside their true context. : Mr. president, Quesrtion what do you think of the internal affairs in Syria ? President : f have no details concerning this matter, since, I always believe that the domestic situation is the right of every na- tion, for each has its own eircumstances and conditions. As r do not interfere in the state of affairs of any country, r likewise do not admit any interference by another conntry in our own internal affairs. But it seems clear that owing to particular circumstances definitely stemming f'om the interior, have placed syria in the position of the outbidders. rn the light of this new ,rttitodu, th" s5zrians began a series of misinterpret-ations in connection with our going to the Geneva conference, in December 1g?3, and with first disengagement the agreement we signed, which did not prevent them from signing a similar one on the Golan front ; immediately 19 after, they did the sa:ne in connection with the second disengage- ment agreement. There is something not very clear, yet it can be r taken for granted that it is a reflection of rocal circumstances. r h would have liked the Arab cause to acquire larger proportions, to er be greater than and rather above all these matters, for these is not one of us who does not face domestic probems. d Qumtion : Are you still optimistic concerning your cordial re- lations or rather the relations you had once with president El As- H sad ? ax to President : After the first disengagement, r travelled to Syria it and visited President EI Assad in the airport of Damascus along th with party the leaders of the Baath and the National Front, on va my way to Kuwait, that is, one day after the first disengagemenr thr agreement was reached. During this visit r totd president El Assad before the members of the front that < Question : Mr. President, have you read president El declarations to the 22 rvith palestinian their brothers, to work out a satisfactory solu_ tion to this proble1._O, our part, we resent any Arab or non_ Ara'l: interference in Lebanon's internal affairs. we are that if the intentions positive are clear and if our brothe.rs show more frankness, in Lebanon they will be abre to their solve trreir:prontems on own' Thus, putting an end to the crises Lebanon and Arabs a.re now iiving. all the Question : Mr. president, it is said that president is accused of being F,ranjieh behind trrr- """atation of time tt " "ucerri-".r"rrr* every they subsided ; there u"" .o-" who cat for his dismissar. president : r think it is natural that any head of state is be hetd responsibre f<.rr to every ";;;; that takes place try' lnspite in his coun_ of this, t always unJ- *r'r President have my conviction that soliman tr'ranjieh c"r, frt r' end to at this by";o establish_ in Lebano,i,fo", ",ir""t*ri",r, fi#;:,e ;;.; state in : Question Mr. President, how do you recent visualize the end of events in Lebanon ? President : I a,dmjt to you the fact that I consider lem the only one this prob_ I firrd _V*ff ,rrr.iil t" lem, even *otu"; in any other prob- in our struggle against Israel, the US and and all the USSR : the-variables, *""ft wneretrris ;ffrt:ffT ""J,:;#t"* presentlv anonseems armostt"-1 -ly '*hu!- is happining in Leb- andammu,,itio,'-,'luTT"J"ffi-irru" who is lt"";T,ll;1,i}1:,,r*i-ff behind t,, """ ilT interest' 111,*lut_ Orurr. designed and in whose some claim that these p;; the Lebanese . are aimed at manipurating domestic poricy fo"' th"" rearization tives set by or ceJain objec_ particutar parties. oti*" is a foreign stress the fact that there interference, and r reassert that definitely there must 23 be for who is financing the conflicting parties in Lebanon, allow- ing them to continue the exchange of fire, fighting against each other and killing the innocent as well. In order to give my opin- ion of the situation, the whole picture should appear explicit be- fore me, whereas in fact I can only pereeive aspects of bitterness and pain inflicted on our brothers in Lebanon. Question: l[r. President, a good many people are of the opinion that the present-day Arab situation has become a bit gloomy. For instance, if you look at the Moroccan-Algerian pres- ent relations. the current events in Lebanon as well as the ambi- tions directed towards the Gulf area and the Arab Peninsula, you will agree that many are depressed by it. What is your view, Mr. PresiCent ? President : I am against that. Prior to 1973, we had been suffering from a greater feeling of depression, a deeper bitterness .and a more violent feeling of rupture, that is far beyond what is going on in the Arab world nowad.ays. According to what I say, it is a stage of rebirth so that the newly born nation is to be guided by the modern concepts of the age in which we live, and which throughout tens of years, we have been unable to understand and apply. It is high time to address ourselves to the application of these concepts in keeping with this period of re- generation. It is period for the new reformulation of the Arab mentality, for dealing with the outside world in the language of the age, and a period for tackling the problems confronting us with seriousness and objectivity away from emotions and outbid- dings. However, casting a glance on the Arab East and West, I always took it for granted that those living in the West are less emotional but they proved to be the opposite. Despite this, if we bear in mind that we are underg'oing a period of rebirth then what has been occunring lately in the Arab world should be regarded as a 24 natural part of the process. so r would like to comfort you and tell you that r am deeply optimistic because of my firm belief that no one can ever shake the Arab solidarity or the Arab stand manifest- ed on october 6, sinee its roots have become deeply intrenched into the land, something which makes it difficult for anyone to to.rch. Question : Mr. President, how, in your opinion, will the stnrg- gle between Algeria and Morocco come to an end ? President : r am very distressed by the situation of the two countries, because r am a friend to both. president Bomedienne fought the war with me, and went as far as buying weapons for me. King El Hassan too vorunteered to send Moroccan troops in the immortal war of Suez. That is why r am in a painfur and em- barrassing situation. r only fear ilrat the struggle should turn, as it often happens in the East, into a personar problem. The probrem rvould then be too difficult to solve. I am sorr}z to see this personal element in the struggle even today. Question : Mr. President, r:an't you cooperate with them to reach a solution ? President : well, r authorized our prime Minister to go to Al- geria and president Morocco and talk to Boumedienne anrrl King Etr Hassan. ! The Minister of state for Foreign Affairs, who is now visit- ing Mauritania, I' wilr pass by Mo'occo on his way back to cairo. I we are attem\ti\q\q\K\K\\qNl\\R,. \. ateter. sq5\\ \ \ \ \\ ltrsrsrq \\tn \u\e sr\es' \'ot \o\\ are to trT to see\ u so\u\rtr' \'&\er dear to us' brothlrs, anct both are been said that President : Mr' President' it has Question sometime ago' in order yourself have *"t """""tfy' Kazzafy and countries' relations between the two to re-establi"h ;;i;;dly ?s on the contr&ry' hispapers President : No, this never occurred; my family just a few days agn' have lately been attacking me and have you succeeded in diversifying Question : Mr. Presideut, [hesourcesfromwhichyoupurchaseyourweapons? doors are all open be- Prosident : Yes, I thank God' now the fore us. source of weapons no longer as Qumtion : Is the Russian ? necessary to You as it used to be President:No,itisstillanecessalysource'asmo,stofour that the open-door policy weapons are from Russia' Yet' we hope attow for new sources of we are following at the moment' witt our sources is inevitable ; we weapons. This step of diversifying in 1955' imposed by the suffered from the monopoly on weapons the 28th' of F ebruary' 1955' West following the battle of Gaza on deal we concluded with Russia This was the direct cause for the announced in September 1955' to break ttre monopoly, this deal was and now we have to Ilistory, I regret to say, repeats itself' on weapons' and open new free ourselves from Russian monopoly of monopoly' sources, so as not to be at the mercy to lead campaign for building Arab Question : Egypt used -a successful ? factories ; has this campaign proved an institution is now be- President : It is proceeding well' and institution includes three of ing established for ttris purpo"". ttti* oursisterArabcountries.Itissupervisedbytheindustrialinstitu- tion, and it is on its way to great accomplishments' you have long been attacking the Quostion : Mr. President, for some personal at- Russians, and yet they remain silent' except is the secret of Egypt's tacks published in the soviet papers. what power and of your power in this connection ? 26 payment of debts Question : Ttre establishment of a schedule to the Russians seems to have failed ? President : we have only agreed" on one year, 1976. The other problems are still pending, the military and financial problems do still exist. existing Question : Mr. President, do you think the differences between Russia and Egypt will affect its future influence in the Arab area ? Pre'sident : AII I ask and hope for our Arab brothers, is for them to know where the interests of the Arabs lie. They should not just seek traditional friendships nor maintain traditional enmity with America. we should make friends with tirose who back our goals and care for our interests. On the other hand, we do not form friend- ships with those who are in opposition with our goals and in- terest. We are, however, still sentimental and emotional - yet, all I ask for during this stage of re-birth, is for us not to be biased to either East or West. Some said Sadat is pro-America, he has gone to America ' Lat' er on, Ftench President d'Estaing paid his visit to Eg:ypt, and we concluded a friendship agreement between our two countries. By the way, this dectraration is much more powerful than our treaty with the Russians. Now, as a result of Pr.esident d'Estaing's visit, Sadat is said to be, not an American, but French. I do believe that we should, for our own benefit, open our hearts, to all those who show an earnest wish to help us realise our interests. 28 rn order to rebuild the Arab nation according porary to the contem_ concepts of the age of technology, we shourJ compretely stop taking sides. Time has come when the spirit of consciousness and maturity should prevail. The wor{d has now acquired the proper perspective of t}re Arab nation' so there is no point in our continuing to take sides. r am really astonished to see some people try to present a wrong image nf the Arabs, as being in a crisis an,l in , iiglrt =poi.'a' this has been exported to rsrael in 1g?3. The crisis, the tigh spot, a'these belong now to the Israeli society. I don't know why some insist on bringing all this back; but they will not succeed, because the Arab nation, after the october War, has become mature. Even if this is not apparent today, will become so gradually. it Question : Mr. president, your recent visit to America and western nations, the resulted, from an international point your of view, in being considered and described by the westJnr p"o, "" rn"r, of peace' what, in your view, were the other positive afrpeats which not pubrished about _w_ere this visit, and which the Arab press did not mention ? Prosident : r shall refer to one example which r beteve will be quite ampre' r am not positive whether or not our Arab brothers happened to come across the speech addressed to rsrael, by which was published. Arsop, in the uNew york Times>>. well, Alsop is a biased Zionist rsraeli from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. you must have watched Alsop, just as the American Congress did, through the satellite Tele-Star, *re medium owned by your country, Kuwait. you also saw how we were "oT:tl in the wcl- Congress, and the manner in which problems' we spoke of our we had a resolution adopted by the u.N. "oic"rning the 29 PLo, and the fact that it should partieipate in all discussions con- cerning the Middle East problem, which means that the pLO must gk go to Geneva. The second measure taken was to take the palestine Libera- tion organisation to the Security council folowing the last ag- c( gression. we compelled the world society to accept this procedure Sr as being normal, or rather r,ve did not compel them, for they cer- w( tainly have their own rational thinking which made them realise th, lhat such a procedure was necessary. no The Palestine Liberation organisation attended the security w( pu council for the first time in the history. we have done a lot, but r would like to point out what r said to yasser Arafat, in Riyadh, before President Boumedienne r urged him not to allow anyone ho who wishes to attack Egypt to do so under borrowed palestinian Isr colours. There is one other point, r would like to stress to both thr our Arab brothers and yourself today. r emphasized yasser to a Arafat that the Palestine cause is well-cherished in Egypt and is in safe hands, for the simple reason that we do not renounce our principles, no matter what you do, and no matter how much you sit shout and oppose; we, in Egypt, shall still cherish the palestin€,c&rse we have a common destiny. Egypt is well aware of its historical U resporrsibility, and is not willing to foresake or bargain over this wi responsibility. You can see for yourself all the clamour and the rows they make for nothing. while, on the other ha,nd, you have what was accomplished in the united Nations, in the security coun- th cil, and all over the world. My trip to the states, prodded rsrael to I try and make a failure of it, by exerting pressure on the information th media in America. Their aim was to change my stand concerning st the description of Zionism as being racism; but r refused out of b5 conviction. st The solution is in the hands of America. The problem, how- M ever, is the elections vear. sh 30,. Question : How dc Americans view the prospects of the strug- gle between the Arabs and Israel ? Fresident : I would have preferred that, as Arabs, we would convene, like rsraelis did in the Zionist conference held in Basle, Switzerland, towards the end o,f last century. r'd have preferred that we should sit and discuss the strategy. the plan, the action and the visualisation. But, unfortunately, this is not possible and is not to be had. The least that could happen unfortunately, is that we will wake up in the morning to find everything we mentioned published all over the world. Through my relations with America, r rliscovered that America holds 99% of the solution cards, and is capable of setiling the Arab- Israeli dispute . .. But we must accept the fact that 1g?6 being the u.s. election year, no President can adopt a decision, especially a non-elected Pr:esident like President Ford. Since I met Kissinger in November 19?3, none of them: Kis- singer, Nixon or F ord, broke a promise they made. Question : Since you met the American people and the big U.S. economists d,o you believe they consider that the future lies with the Arabs or fsrael ? President : certainly, they consider that the future lies with the Arabs. That was why r said that Alsop's article should be read. 'rhe I consider it a radical change. American people want to know the truth, r was truly delighted wittr their reception and under- standing of us. Not a day passed witho'ut my being interviewed by the T'v., a broadcasting station or papers. The people's under- standing and reaction indicate an obvious change of attitude My being invited to a joint meeting of the congress and senate shows full consciousness of their interests in this region and 31 through the Arab nation and. fult consciousness of the post-October 6 personality of the Arab nation. But it is regrettable that some of ust are fond of stirring up emotional battles or outbidding, just for the sake of addressing the emotions or sentiments of people, forgetting that there is a vital matter that we should all be concerned about - that when we realise a profit somewhere, it should be increased and developed and not left at the mercy of Israel to destroy. Question : How do you visualise the Israeli society at present? Presiil$t : News agencies are performing this task for me, by explaining the emigration from Israel. All this information is Is- raeli. Its economy has completely collapsed, for Israel, from the outset, lived on subsidies, not possessing the components of a state. The principal components of a state are that it should have resources to pay the salaries of officials. But it never had any. Only following the October War we began to hear of deficit (in Israel), a^nd of the austerity measures adopted. But more impor- tant is the disruption that occurred on aecount of the October War. a^nd thB collapse of the fsraeli security theory upon which it was based, and which Ben-Gurion described as fundamental for its es- tablishment. This theory toppled completely. They are now in the stage of loss and disruption we were in, before October. They do not deny this, as news a5iencies carry it. This is why I tell you that I'm surprised that after we exported all this to Israel, some people want to bring it back, but ean't. Question : Mr. President, Israel's strategy, including the con- ference in Basle in 1886 was that Israel should extend from the Eu- phrates to the Nrle. Now, as you say, since their position is not normal inside Israel, do you believe that this strategy has changed? 32 President : Tlris theory, Zionism, is based on expansion. As long as they adhere to it, the principles of Zionism will be observed. This is why Zionism is aecused of raeism. president, Question : Mr. rraq invited rraqi Jews to ref,urn, if they, wished. Do you think other Arab countries could invite oriental Jews in the future, or is ilre idea a dangerous one ? President : The Arab naLion and. my peop,le are used. to may not resorting to emotionar operations, aimed ib" p"opuganda and i'formation purposes. r stucry rnatters carmly and caretuily. But up to now I tell you frankly, that r ca'not understand what rraq is doing and do not know its limitations.. rn my view, everything should be based on a certain strategy or concept. But what is the rest of their concept ? r don't know their viewpoint or whether t'his is one of the eno'tionar operations that burst forth, once in a while, in the Arab natior, mere emotionarism and nothing else. We do not practise these things. : f Question have scme personal questions to ask ? President : Go ahead. Question : Do you visit the popular quarters (of Cairo) ? President : yes, I lived and was brought up in Cairo,s lar quarters. popu- Qtaestion : Hor,v Co you visit them ? Fresident : When f leave rny house in Guiza. I pass by the biggest popular quarter in Egypt lBoulac), and return by the same road' Then occasionany, r take my car and drive in these places' There is no prace in Egypt where r have no recotections, from the days of my imprisorrmerrt, escape and struggle. For in_ stance, when r went to rsmailia T visited the drivers, coffee house &e where I used to sit when I was a driver. In every town there is a drivers' coffee house, so that any cne having a consignment for transport rvould knovl where to go. I have recoilecbions every- where : in Shohada, in Denshway, in Tanta, at the shrine of El sayed Et Badawi. But I must be content wibh my occasional drives, as I cannot practise my freedom' like an ordinary citizen' your when driv- Question : Mr. President, lvhat are feelings ing through the popuiar quartei"s you see a bare-footed man or' rine shivering with cold ? Prcsiilent : I told you I was one of them. I grew up anong them in the village. You have listened to my recent T.V. interview. I was reared in a standard under the poverty demarca- tion line. This is why I feel for them and they for me' I say that if our socialism does not realise insurance against disease, povet'ty' incapacity, old age and death, we will not have accomplished any- thing. interval where- Question : Mr. President, following the healthy in you eliminated the centres of power' there was much talk about corruption in the Army and the Intelligence, talk which proved the freedom granted to the people. Since, you were morally present' what is your view of the past 20 years in Egypt ? President : I said before, that it is a natural thing that a re- volution should adop'l certain mea,sures for self-proteciion, which is a common thing to all revolutions. But I consider that our revolu- tion took longer than necessary to do away rvith these measures' To be frank, in the sense that, if I was responsible and had been elected President of the Republic in 1956 as President Gamal Abdel Nasser had been elected President for the first time in 1956 and the task of the Revolution command council had ended, I'd have applied the measures I applied at present' It lvas necessary to 34 cha-nge the shaky framework of society by agrarian reform and redistribution of wealth. But this could have accomplished in a rriffsplf method. l,his is my view and estimation. These operations took longer than they should have. This is why, from my position or respon-sibility, r say that I am cortecting all this, at the same time. : Mr. Question President, whilst in the Operation Room last october were you contemplating a military victory of personal glory ? President : This requires a flash-back. rmmediatery following my investiture in 1g?0, r began preparing for the batfle, as r was fully persuaded that short of a uattte the position would not change and we would remain rilisr"upted. In a T.V. interview f gave our people here and which the Arab nation may have heard r spoke of what r suffered dT-q the rast five years and especially the three years previous to the batile from being misunderstood and disrupt- ed which was a naturar thing. This is why r never took any measure against the students, the people, or any category. i.o*iau*"d this, the outcome of disruption, since I, myself, was mone disrupted than they were. When I adopted my . decision on Ramadan bth, after my meet_ ing with the Armed Forces High command, r had previousry met the National Security Council *a o'Ramadan ?, a Tuesday, I sign- ed the combat order for F ield Marshal Ahmed rsmail. The batfle was to take place the foilowing Saturday. No one can imagine what wonderful sense of satisfaction I experienced. It was finished now. f was impatienfly waiting for Saturday, whatever the consequences. r moved and went to Tahra palace which r had chosen as the commanrr of the country with com- munications leading to all Esypt ; in the event communications 35 wouldbeinternrpted..Aslsaid,Ididnotimaginethatthebattle rnould. be over without raiding the cities' frcm Tuesday to I had a most restful sleep d'uring the nights chest and the awful Thursday, as the burden was lifted off my were experiencing disruption I, my country anrf the Arab nation should win or we was about to end, one way or another' Either we nation and the coming would be beaten and our people, the Arab did 'ot give generations would say thaf I died in the front lines and Cairo' This was the ivay to despair and to slow death in my bed in got up on Ramadan source of my happiness. I slept normally and 10(october6).FieldMarshalAhmedlsmailcalledonmeandafter performingmymorningactivitiesandexercise,tvewenttotlreope- received from the ration Room and waGd. The first message we frontwasatexactly2:00o'clock'Vice-President'Mubarak'the planes which our then Air Force Commander, had sent out 220 troopssawflyinglowtoavoidthersraeliradars.Whentheysaw x7tis, xbesz itid not await the crossingl order. MOSI Of them efOSSgd, being moved by the sight of the 220 planes that struck their targets at the same time and returned. Question : Did you inform your wife of the decision for the battle ? President : No. I am not used to mixing home life with my rvork. The decision was taken between me and President Hafez El Assad. After my meeting with the Armed Forces High Com- mand on Monday October 5, all the commanders of the Armed Forces were informed, but apart from them, nobody knew. Question : If you happened to be in the Operation Room and learned that a plane formation had hit Guiza where your family resides, another hit Shoubra and a third El Abba^.;sieh,how could you control your feelings ? Prresident : I will tell you a simple matter. In such a situa- tion a person pays little heed to his family when the fate of a 36 nation is at stake. Vice-President Hosny was responsible for the defence of all the targets in the Republic and not merely the first ,r,itack. I am not at all concerned with that angle. If any place was blasted, I would have known that it must have been beyond Hosni's control. and that he would strike back harder. Ilowever, this supposition never occurred to me. My youngest brother Atef whom I regarded as a son was a pilot. He took part in the first sortie and died in the first ten minutes of the October War. f am now proud of him and every time I visit an airpoft, each pilot I see is my brother Atef. You may have noticed that I take all the guests that come to visit me to the Gianaclis airfield and introduce my sons, the pilots to the kings and heads of state. I was proud and happy for they carried out my orders better than was required of them. Question : Mr. Pr'esident, every head of state and leader has his personal feelings. During tlie oper"ations, what was the sound you liked to hear most ? President : I had a tape recording lvith light western music. Not the modern raucous type. I like the soft waltzes and the chamtrer music to which. at times. I would sit and listen. I also asked Abdel Kader Hatem, the Minister of hrformation at the time, to start chorus singing and it was started, I greatly enjoyed the battle songs. Question : Has any particular song drawn your attention ? President : 'The Rebaba'. Question : ^dmong the past victory songs, is there alry particular Egyptian song you like ? 'Ihe President : The battle song,s. ordinary sentimental songs do not appeatrto me. Question : Political plays are being staged at present. Do yo'u ask for their recordings or attend them incognito ? g7 T'V' I have not been to a Proident : I only see them on 196?' I completely cut off en- theatre or to any poiU" pf""e since 'Oi It is only this year that I go tertainments after if'u set-back' out a little, but not to public places' that there are Do jokes on El Sadat? Quefion : Dirtl you notice of suppression'Our Prceident : Jokes thrive in an atmosphere therefore' rataliate to people like to philosophise matters arrd' Now there is no suppression' suppression by *.fti"g jokes' he says it or writes in the Whenever any one has anything to say' he wants since nothing is papent. F'urttrermore, f'e lan oV wftat forbidden. mlnner of enjoy- : People regard your elegance as a Question of enioying nrlership ? ing life and others consiaer it as a -*rrn"" of mine' Just I select a Prcoident : Elegance is an old habit 'galabieh" tailored in El Ilussein (dis- nice suit, I also seteit a nice farsrers' All my life I selest- trict) to wear whilst sitting witb the seek riches nor would ed my suits, I have no other hobby' I neither disturb me' I have even ex- I like to drop to a level that would the poverty demarca- periencedprison. w iumilv and l.lived under a few well-tailored ones' tion line. I don't trave a dozen suits' only just as I like to wear and I wear them well, on suitable occasions, and like to do every thing the galabieh well. I am a perfectionist it is not enjoying mlership weil, even,o *uaring -y "tott"r._But have lived in one of the or anything like trri. wnv then I could frorn Meet Aboul Kom' palaces ? I am ,UU tt'" provincial arrivrng line . . It clelights from a standard below irre poverty demareation 'fellah' (provincial) is no longer an insult me that now the word wealtby antl t'he aris' pronounced by the Turks who ruiecl us or the 'fel- proud of belonging to a tocratic classes. Now, everyone can be lah,family.firewordfellahhasveryrrighnigniricance,atpresent. 38 if two lists rvith names of officials Question : Mr. Pi'esidenl, bearing the names of your for appointment are brought to you' one you approve ? relatives and another. Which one would President:Iwillanswerr,vithastory.Directlyaftermyin- mV elder brother's sons vestiture, I received a report claiming that the pretext that they had' encroachetl on their neighbours, with elder brother was one were the sons of the high and mighty' My prison and looked after of the people that attended me whilst in order I signed in my my interests. Nevertheless, the only detention eldest brother to pnove administration was the one to arrest my give you an example of that no one is beyond the law' I will now for instance' He had ]row I select my collaborators, Ismail Fahmi' Minister' on account of been pensioned off by the former Foreign was relieved of of- a difference between them' When the Minister When we fiee, Ismail Fahmi returned as F oreign Under-Secretary' he was appointed as lesumed our relations with West-Germany posts of the State' Ambassador to West-Germany. one of the major It was the first Then he eame to see me to take leave for travel' timelsawhimandlgavehimthenecessaryinstructions'Hetold but that as he had me that he was p.epi-red to leave two days heardthecabinetwouldbereshuffledheaskedforpermissionto answer the questions staSrtitl after the reshuffle, so that he could him to do so' At of German authorities on the subject' I allowed you may have t-he time, I wanted to start a political campaign. As a military noticed, we are either engaged rn a political campaign or some of one, and never allow the position to stagnate' This is what ourArabbrothersfailtounderstarrd.Aslwantedtomovethe Re- position forward, and was thinking of the 242 Security council Ismail Fahmi' solution, I summoned three persons among whom was 12 years there' being an expert in U.N. affairs, for having worked 39 personalities' The and being one of our brilliant and prominent secondmallwastheCounselloroftheNationalsecurityCounciland As I had the one of our Ambassadors. nr:rv stationed in America' for us and what 242 Resolution in mind, I wanted to know its value wouldbetheconseqtlencesofitsannulmentandthebenefitsfrom received its implementation. I askecl each to compile a report' and His re- them. I read the two others first and then Tsmail Fahmi's' portwasthebest.Iimmediatelygaveinstnrctionstosummonhim magnifi- Lefor:e he left for German;2. Ismail Fahmi's report was like to cent, revealing an all-round knowledge of the subject I also including have the suggestion of a person who compiles a report position alternative suggestions. He was fully acquainted with our as any step was bound to reflect on our movement which may have in turn reflected on our entire position " At the end of the report he gave his frank opinion saying : < 40 Prosident: Relatives are out of-bouncl with me, be they eve' so efficient ; personal rerations can be a, corrupting erement. Question: Mr. president, do you see films ? President : I do. In this hall. Question : What particular film dirl you like ? President : I Iiked many films, especially old ones, not the sex and seduction f'ms. new They are disgusting. r < : Question Which of the Egyptian fiims drew your attention ? Presitlent : Unfortunatel5r, I am attracted to just like in old productions, foreign films. Cfr"y frua more technique and per_ fection' They were purposeful films and not merely for ment and pastime ,ike amuse- the present ores. rnuy lems in treatediertain prob- our soeiety and the actors better of the past generation were than the preseflt ones. Question : Mr. presid.ent, some oJ your adversaries democracy is a scenario^ say that the ,rial";;; of which v,,as ident and executed set by the pres- by Sayyed M;;; i"n", do you say to this ? President : Absolutely not. Before Marei. HafezBadawi the People's Assembly was speat 4l of freedom' or by^ the practice : Are you satisfied Question it ? afraii to Practise '"" ;;;;;-still seeking As I told you' I am : I a^mperfectly courtent' funda- Presidsrt iaving- down its R'#i;;;;i; nevorution' be no bo legalise th" tfrat there would th" Ct"stitution so mental principles ; camps and of freedonrll to detention retum to tlre suppression to the absence of law' make of Egypt ? do you intend tu Question : What position for which it Egypt to attain the president: r want and the world' in t-tre.t* t'ltiott is historicaltv q"triiJ'-foti' which they are' uu p'o"a of his country I want every ngyJti'J""to the land means it' too' To us Egyptians and very cons"ious-of them to trtt new B8ili' But I'want great deal, and. especially in sddi- a ot tect"'oiog:v tna scienles' be proud ot ugypt'#;t{-fu" back to seven it* ancient past' dating tion to being n";; of of thousandyears.ThefirstGo'u**",iianttthefirst-civilisationi *""t thern to he lnoutl develo'ped'in ttris-plaf in the world' Egvpt is still at the sarne that in;";;; mJ5 and the fact i:lg,after't"a i" ** constnrctive level of civilisatiJn and authenticity in his ngypii"" should be secure progressive, tnto""ou""' every his propertv and everything' present and future' his life' submis- would you prefer to nrle a Question : Mr' Fresident' sive or an oPPosing PeoPle great decide for it depends on a President : It is difficult to clealofthings.l,,*""takesubmissivenessoroppositionintomyself wf'ttf'"t I am satisfied with account. I look *iUf i" to see or not' : an success which people ctrnfuse There are two sorts of a you see and feel a's'you conduct inward feeling of successwhich 42 dialogue with yourself a^nd as you exarnine it, and an outward, apparent success, according to the estimation of others. This differs, for one nran may be strict while r may not be so and another man may be fond of manoeuvring, which r a.rr ncvt.There- fore, when r score an inward suscess,r care little about outward. success and what people say. As long as I am in harmony or peace with myself, I feel I am suceessful, whatever the people nrsy be, submissive or opposing. If they understand -", *"ll and good if not, r am a man who tearned politics on the street and from A to z. r know that the day the peop,rewilr r6jeet me r will not stay for a minute; only artists stay on until they are old and tired and are stoned on the stage,.r have no intention of being stoned. \ilhen r have an inner feering of success,r am happy. rf th; peopre under- stand me, well and good, if they don't understand -", r will make a short stay. president, Question : Mr. Did you ever cry in your life ? Presi0€mt : Very rarely and only out of rage. My mother died in my arms and r used to love her dearry, yeg r dirl not shed a tear. But rage, at times, drives me to teans. firis happened when f was a young lieutenant in the Signals corps. r was against the British Military Mission while the com- mander of the corps and the senior officers eurried favour with them to get promoted and remain in their posts. one day, the commander of the corps summoned me on ac- count of a difference between myserf and one of the member.sof the mission. r went to him under guard and stood before him. He blamed me for the way in which r talked with the member of the Military Mission and at the end, he suspended me. suspension for an officer meant that we wourd remove his bert and sit at the mess under guard. 43 That day I spoke agitatedly to the Commander though res- pecting the limits of military behaviour and politeness - I am ne\zer impolite under any circumstance - but I told him, what I thought then I left the room. Outside I felt tears flowing from my eyes, tears of rage. I have no tears which is not a very good thing for at times tears are restful, especially when one loses a beloved i)erson. Question : Do your children carry the problems of the people to you ? Do they transmit the particular problem of an individual in the Egyptian society ? How do, you deal with it ? President : Certainly, they come with problems from univer- sities, the problems of their colleagues. When they go to a visit in a certain place and the people get to know them, they give them petitions or some such things. I see them and study them then they take their norrnal course..This happens very often. - The Editor-in-Chief of the Kuwaiti Al Siyassa paper concluded his interview with Presi,Cent El Sadat sa.ying; Ttre President was talking with the simplicity of some one who had having previously prepare,d the answers. But he had not even read the questions.>> 44