First government under Morsi makes Egyptian headlines

President Mohammed Morsi's new Egyptian cabinet Cairo – Akram Ali President Mohammed Morsi's new government topped the headlines of Cairo’s newspapers on Friday, with mot publications focussing on new Prime Minister Hisham Kandil swearing-in at the presidential palace on Thursday.
Egyptian media also reported on the sought release of the last Egyptian detained in the US's infamous Guantanamo prison, while the Islamic Group (Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiyya) held their annual Iftar (fast-breaking meal) at the sit-in of the relatives of the detained Egyptian Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman to demand his release.
The state-run Al Ahram newspaper reported that  government of PM Kandil was sworn in before Morsi on Thursday afternoon. Following the oath, President Morsi held a lengthy meeting at the presidential headquarters with the cabinet.
 The newspaper said that Morsi discussed with the new ministers the importance of joint efforts among all ministries in order to help the Egyptian people in the current stage as well as achieve the objectives of the February 20 revolution that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak. President Morsi stressed the need to expedite the implementation of the Hundred Days Programme in order to achieve the five issues included in the programme : security, hygiene, solving the traffic problem, public health and food security for citizens.
Kandil announced yesterday the formation of his government which included 43 ministers, including eight from former interim prime minister Kamal Ganzouri's government, such as Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi as a Minister of Defence and Mohammed Kamel Amr as a Minister of Foreign Affairs.
According to the same newspaper, a number of politicians called for the  need to discuss the budget of the armed forces in secret meetings between the Defence Committee and National Security Council of the Parliament in order to preserve secrecy.
Dr Abdel-Azim Mahmoud Hanafi, professor of Political Science and Director of Kenana Centre for Strategic Studies opposed the demands.
In turn, Fathi Faraj, an amry veteran, said : “We reject these calls because it leads to the arming of the military which is considered harmful to the  national security of Egypt. We agree to discuss the budget in a special committee with national security officials in order to preserve the confidentiality of information of the armed forces, in peace and war.”
 He expressed his complete rejection of control over the armed forces by any legislative authority because its role was to "protect the legislative body".
 Abdul Ghaffar Shukr , a co-founders of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party , believed that the defence budget should be "number one in the state budget" and be discussed in secret meetings between  the Defence Committee and National Security Council of the Parliament  in order to preserve its confidentiality.
He added that the President had the right to declare war after considering the opinion of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces or the National Defence Council, provided that there is balance in the formation of the National Defence Council between political and military leaderships.
The Egyptian newspaper Al Akhbar  reported that the Foreign Minister, Mohammed Amr, demanded in a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the release of the last Egyptian detainee in Guantanamo, Tarek Swah.
Amr Rushdie, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the letter, which was handed over by the Egyptian embassy in Washington to the US State Department on Tuesday, includes Minister Mohamed Amr Ali’s insistence on the release of the detained citizen in Guantanamo since the end of 2001 without trial or clear evidence. US military prosecutors had even made a decision in March 2012 to drop all charges against him.
In exclusive statements to Al Akhbar, Dr Mohammad Salim Al-Awa , a former candidate for the presidency, said he had not decided whether to participate in the presidential team or not . He said that his second meeting with Morsi included consultations on a number of issues. Awa added that the rumours of his acceptance to the post of adviser to President for Transitional Justice affairs was issued by the presidency.
The independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm  highlighted news about the annual Iftar of the Islamic Group on Thursday night near the US Embassy, attended by Omar Abdel Rahman’s family who has been detained by the United States. The Iftar was attended by the leaders of the Islamic Group: Dr Tarek El Zomor, spokesman of the group, Engineer Assem Abdul Majid, a member of its Shura Council, Dr Nageh Ibrahim as well as officials from the Building and Development party, the political wing of the group. It gained 13 seats in the recent parliamentary elections.
The Islamic Group is an Egyptian Sunni Islamist movement, and is considered a "terrorist organisation" by the United States and European Union. The group was dedicated to the overthrow of the Egyptian government and replacing it with an Islamic state.
Activists held banners demanding the release of Rahman, imprisoned in the United States, congratulating to those released in the last batch, while wishing success to Morsi, and asking him to intervene to save the Muslims of Burma.
Rahman’s son said that his family and the Islamic Group will perform the Eid ( feast) prayer at the open sit-in if his father is not released. He demanded President Morsi allow them to visit his father in prison with an official delegation, human rights organisations and the Ambassador of Egypt in Washington to check his health and start the process for his return.
The Independent newspaper Dostor quoted political activist Ahmed Doma as saying that the retention of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi as Minister of Defence has revealed a deal between Morsi and the army chief; as Morsi became the president in exchange for Tantawi’s remaining in his post as the minister of defence.
Doma mentioned in a statement to the newspaper that it was expected Tantawi would remain as minister of defence, and that the President was conditioned not to have power over a number of files such as the military and its budget. "It is not Tantawi’s fault but Morsi’s who has accepted from the very start to be a figurehead president with no powers," he said.