World press on Houla massacre and Mubarak's sentence (June 2-4, 2012)

The bloodshed in the Syrian town of Houla which took place on May 25
continues to be in the center of international media attention. Following the
massacre, the Washington Post on Sunday published an article entitled
"Brutal killing of at least 108 in Houla marked new low in Syrian
uprising" investigating the event and its consequences for Syria and
the world. The newspaper called the events in Syria "extraordinary, an
act of hatred and perhaps revenge that exposed the depth of the
animosities tearing the country apart." At the same time, the newspaper
believes that the event exposed the lack of power of the international
community to stop Syria from disintegrating into civil war. Amid
confusing testimonies, the newspaper tries to establish the source of
aggression and comes to the conclusion that the government army and
not the rebels are to be held responsible for the killings.

"Among officials in Washington, there was a palpable sense of a line
being crossed… Yet with Russia, a close ally of Syria, stressing that
it will not countenance tougher action at the United Nations against
the regime in Damascus, it remained unclear whether the killings in
Houla marked a turning point in the conflict or simply a new low,"
the newspaper concludes.

Another event in the center of attention of the media is the verdict
handed to Hosni Mubarak, the ousted Egyptian president who was sentenced to
life in prison on Saturday accused of complicity in the killings of
protesters during the 2011 revolt and demonstrations which followed
the announcement of the verdict. In an article entitled "Political
Clashes and Vow of Appeal in Verdict on Mubarak and Aides" the New
York Times claims that the "verdict seemed to mirror the tortured,
half-fulfilled political transition that began with Mr. Mubarak’s
ouster." Protesters flooded the streets of Egypt protesting against
the weak verdicts of the judge, who had not found any evidence that Mr.
Mubarak had ordered the killings and who dismissed corruption charges
against Mr. Mubarak and his sons.

Following the verdict given to Hosni Mubarak, the former PM of Egypt, Ahmed
Shafiq, attacked the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate, Mohamed Morsi, on
the eve of presidential elections in Egypt and said that the once-repressed Islamist organization would lead Egypt into a religious war
between Muslims and Christians. The article entitled "Presidential
hopeful and former PM attacks Brotherhood’s candidate" published by
the Washington Post states that "neither man is seen as a candidate
who would deliver on the demands for wide reform voiced during last
year’s revolt. But the results of the Mubarak trial could push
Egyptians who planned to sit out the race to vote for the Muslim
Brotherhood’s candidate, although analysts said that such a vote would
not be a vote for Morsi but a vote against Shafiq and the backbone of
the Mubarak government." The newspaper also believes that Shafiq's
accusations "played on the fears promoted during Mubarak’s time, that
the Brotherhood would turn Egypt into an Islamic state, repress Coptic
Christians and lead the country into a sectarian war."