NYT editorial on tourist deaths provokes Egyptian government ire

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid sent a letter on Thursday to the New York Times editorial board criticising what he described as a "disingenuous" and "misleading" editorial on an Egyptian army attack that left 12 Mexican and Egyptian tourists dead and 10 others injured in Egypt's Western Desert earlier this week, according to the Ministry's official Facebook page.

"The editorial published on 16 September 2015 by the Editorial Board of the New York Times on the accidental attack against a tourist convoy in Egypt is as disingenuous as it is misleading", he said.

Referring to a quote from the editorial in question, which said, "There needs to be a full public accounting. Regrettably, under Mr. Sisi's closed, repressive regime, that is unlikely", Abu Zeid accused the editorial board of prejudging the results of the official investigation "as has become the norm with the Times' recent pieces".

"The Editorial Board has conveniently omitted that Egypt has in fact launched such an impartial and genuine investigation at the highest level three days ago," he added. "But this does not come as a surprise to us. We are now accustomed to the New York Times' biased and partial reporting."

Abu Zeid then referred to another "selective" New York Times editorial on the same subject, saying that it removed the Egyptian Foreign Minister's open letter to the people of Mexico from its overall context.

"We are now accustomed to the New York Times' biased and partial reporting" - Ahmed Abu Zeid

"I am deeply troubled that some people have chosen to exploit this tragic event to allege that Egyptian law enforcement officials have no strict rules of engagement, act indiscriminately, or do not take the necessary precautions during their operations", said Egyptian FM Sameh Shoukri in the quote selected by the New York Times' editorial.

However, according to Abu Zeid, the editorial omitted Shoukri's following passage, which stresses that "Egypt's law enforcement agents operate under a strict moral, ethical and legal code that seeks to avoid civilian casualties."

"Such an omission undermines the very essence of the point being made," commented Abu Zeid, adding that the report also neglected to mention any other single passage from the letter, "the bulk of which was in fact focused on offering condolences and assuring that the necessary investigations will be conducted."

"The report disregards the letter's unwavering commitment to an investigation and its expression of hope that this tragic incident will not pull the people of Mexico and Egypt apart."

In his open letter to the people of Mexico, Shoukri expressed his sympathies and assured the Mexican people the Egyptian army was the "most cautious and careful" at preserving people's lives, but many social media users felt he did not accept full responsibility and criticised him for Egypt's reluctance to hold anyone responsible for the incident.

Not a coup

In the second part of his letter to the New York Times editorial board, Abu Zeid went on to criticise the paper's coverage of Egypt, which he described as "consistent in propagating an alarmingly false narrative of events in Egypt over the past few years."

According to Abu Zeid, the New York Times used the latest tragic incident "as a backdoor to rehash its same old argument that a 'coup' took place in Egypt in 2013, toppling a 'democratically elected president'."

"This completely baseless claim seems to pop up in every single editorial or report by the New York Times on any matter related to Egypt, in what can only be described as a deliberate attempt to twist the facts and mislead the public," he added.

"Not only is this an inaccurate account of the events that unfolded in Egypt between 2013 and 2015, but more disturbingly, it whitewashes the grave offences committed by the Brotherhood regime during its period in power."

Abu Zeid then concluded by calling on the New York Times and its Editorial Board to "choose professionalism over sensationalism and integrity over partiality."

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was Defence Minister when he used the army to overthrow Egypt's first democratically-elected president Muhammed Morsi in 2013.