Mubarak offers to broker talks between Hamas and Fatah - AP

Jan 25, 2008 23:26 Updated Jan 26, 2008 0:13

By Pakinam Amer
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO, Egypt

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak offered on Friday to host talks between rival Palestinian Fatah and Hamas leaders, in an apparent effort to raise his country's role as Mideast peace broker and ease the pressure following Gaza Palestinian influx into Egypt from the Hamas-controlled strip.

In an interview for Saturday's edition of the Egyptian weekly al-Osboa, Mubarak said he wants peace between the Palestinians.

"I want this language of violence to stop," Mubarak was quoted as saying by the state MENA news agency. "Peace could be achieved on the basis of international resolutions and agreements that demand the establishment of Palestinian state."

Hamas appeared eager to accept the offer.

Ayman Taha, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera TV that Hamas's supreme leader, the Syria-based Khaled Mashaal, was ready to accept Mubarak's invitation to an "unconditional dialogue."

"We as Hamas have nothing against sitting in Egypt for dialogue and to end all our differences with our brothers in Fatah," Taha told Al-Arabiya, another pan-Arab satellite channel.

But Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's representative in Egypt, Nabil Shaath told The Associated Press that Fatah has made no decision on the invitation.

Abbas's position was clear, Shaath said: Fatah was "always ready for dialogue," but what was important was the result of such talks. And a result cannot be achieved "unless Hamas announces its readiness to let go of military control" of Gaza, he said.

Shaath also said Abbas will head to Egypt after meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday and would talk more here about Mubarak's offer.

Mubarak's offer came as Egypt is enduring an influx of hundreds of thousands of Gazans through its border with Gaza Strip since Wednesday, when Hamas members blew up segments of the border wall separating the area from Egypt.

The breach climaxed a week of Gazans' discontent after Israel imposed a blockade on the Strip, stopping shipments of fuel, medicine and food. Israel has also been carrying out air strikes and limited ground operations against Gazan terrorists who are launching attacks on Israel.

Egypt has failed to stem the flow of Gazans or manage the chaotic border situation, despite deploying reinforcement. Egypt has long feared the instability in the Hamas-controlled Gaza could spill over into Egypt, and has been distancing itself from Hamas. The last time Hamas and Fatah met for talks in Cairo was in Feb. 2005.

Earlier this month, Hamas Premier Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza called for talks with Egypt and Fatah, to work out a new shared arrangement for Gaza's border crossings. At the time, Haniyeh suggested Hamas would be prepared to cede some control to the Abbas government in the West Bank.

In Syria Friday, radical Palestinian factions called on the two rival Palestinian groups to begin dialogue and end their power struggle. A statement at the end of the three-day National Palestinian Conference of factions opposed to peace with Israel stressed the need for Palestinians to unite in the face of the worsening Gaza situation, which they ascribed to Israel's siege.

Dialogue is the "only way to solve inter-Palestinian differences," the groups said.

LINK: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1201070794077&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/25/africa/ME-GEN-Egypt-Palestinians-Talks.php

Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood to stop Gaza protests - AP

By Pakinam Amer
Associated Press Writer
2008-01-23 16:28:37 -

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian police have arrested at least 460 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, including leading figures, in their attempt to thwart a planned demonstration in protest of Israel's blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip, security officials said Wednesday.

The demonstration was scheduled to take place in front of the Arab League's headquarters in downtown Cairo by noon, and was expected to attract hundreds of political activists and members of the banned Islamic group.

Muslim Brotherhood members from across different provinces, mainly the oasis city of Fayoum and the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, have been flocking to the capital to join members of their brethren since the early hours Wednesday, according to a security official. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

However, their attempt to reach the protest site was prevented by security forces who dispersed the walking crowds by force and detained at least 300 of the activists in Cairo alone. Police also arrested a total of 160 others in metro and train stations outside of the capital or when they were about to get into their vehicles and heading to Cairo.

A statement from the Brotherhood said their members, would-be-protesters, were held back by riot police and beaten by batons and heavy clubs. Five lawmakers among them were surrounded by police and were continuously badmouthed, the statement said.

Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mahdi Akef described the arrests as «an embarrassment, a disgrace» and called on authorities to end this «unfair campaign» and immediately release the group members.

He ascribed the sudden flurry of arrests to rising «popular support for lifting the blockade on Gaza and opening the crossing points in Rafah to assuage the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Some 64 members were arrested from Alexandria, including leading member Ali Abdel Fattah, 16 from Cairo's twin city of Giza, 52 from Fayoum and the rest from elsewhere in the Nile Delta, security officials said.

Brotherhood lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud told The Associated Press that so far, 380 members of the organization have been arrested in Cairo in connection with protests over the situation in Gaza.

The group has been urging the Egyptian government to reopen the closed border crossings with Gaza for humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced on Wednesday that he had ordered his troops to allow the Palestinians into Egypt to buy food in Rafah after thousands broke through the border.

Earlier in the day, around a thousand Cairo University students, including many affiliated with the Brotherhood, held a rally on campus in support of the Gaza Palestinians despite Mubarak's move to allow Palestinians to cross into Egypt because they were starving.

Damietta, north of Cairo, witnessed another Gaza-related demonstration of around 3000 activists _ mostly Brotherhood members. Twelve organizers were arrested, security officials said.

The Brotherhood, founded 1928, but officially banned since in 1954, is Egypt's largest opposition group with its lawmakers, who run as independents, holding just over a fifth of the seats in the 454-member lower house of the parliament.

Link: http://www.pr-inside.com/egypt-arrests-muslim-brotherhood-to-r400530.htm
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3497959,00.html

Al-Jazeera: US Fails to Isolate Iran from Arabs

By Pakinam Amer in Cairo

George Bush, the US president, has urged Arab states to think of Iran as the greatest threat to their security, but his warnings are likely to fall on deaf ears in the Middle East.

During a stop in the United Arab Emirates on his Middle East tour on Sunday, Bush called Tehran a "sponsor of terror" and urged Arab allies to confront Iranian "extremism".

But Middle East analysts say the US president is too late as key American allies in the Arab world have thrown their weight behind a growing rapprochement with Iran.

Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a political analyst and professor of political science at Tehran University, said American fumbling in the Middle East has pushed Arabs to adopt dialogue with the Islamic Republic.

He said: "America's wrong policies in the Middle East have ironically helped Iran's voice be heard more clearly, as well as Iran's political prudence that has kept it away from the conflicts in the area.

"At this moment in time, the United States' popularity is at its lowest level among the people all over the Arab world, and Iran's popularity has grown immensely as the only regional power standing against the United States in the same region."

Unprecedented moves

For most of 2007, the US tried to push through a UN resolution to impose economic sanctions on Iran if it did not halt its alleged nuclear weapons programme.

But Washington failed in its bid to isolate Iran in the Middle East.

Not only did its Arab allies reject a punitive US military strike against Iran, but they were also keen on bolstering their own ties with the country.

The members of the Gulf Co-operation Council countries invited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, to attend their annual meeting held in Doha, Qatar last December while Egypt engaged in shuttle diplomacy of its own with Tehran.

Often contentious issues between Iran and its neighbours, such as a string of disputed islands bordering the United Arab Emirates, were shelved for later "dialogue" in favour of building trust and rapprochement.

Weeks later, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia invited Ahmadinejad to perform the Hajj in Mecca.

Even Egypt has been keen on extending a friendly hand towards Iran. For the first time in 27 years, the two countries are discussing the possibility of renewing diplomatic relations and reopening Tehran's embassy in Cairo.

In 1980, Tehran cut off ties when Anwar Sadat, then Egyptian president, hosted Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the deposed Shah of Iran.

Iran also blamed Egypt for supporting its enemy during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war.

But last week, Ahmadinejad told Iranian television that if Egypt decided to restore full diplomatic ties, he would "put the new Iranian ambassador on the next plane to Cairo".

Street name changed

Iran also caved in to Egyptian demands and recently changed the name of a Tehran street honouring Khaled el-Islamboli, the man who assassinated Sadat.

Fahmy Howeidy, an Egyptian scholar and expert on Iran, believes recent conflicts, including the Iraq war, have elevated Tehran's importance in the region.

"For one, no one can talk about the Iraqi file without mentioning Iran. Iran is also involved in the Lebanese and Afghani files [and] it has connections with the Syrians, the Palestinians. Thus, if anyone wants to reach a settlement in the region, he should approach Iran," he told Al Jazeera.

Mustafa Bakri, an Egyptian MP and opposition journalist, agrees.

He said: "In the coming period, Iran will play a significant role in the Gulf regional security, perhaps even with the undeclared consent of the international powers.

"At the same time, the Gulf countries would seek to assure Iran that their lands will not be a base from which any war against it will be launched."

Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, earlier said that existing relations between Iran and its Arab neighbours should be strengthened.

He said: "We believe the stronger the ties get, the more stability, peace and security the Persian Gulf region will enjoy and that is a crucial necessity needed by both Iran and its neighbours in the region."

Marandi believes that the normalisation of Arab ties with Iran also plays to domestic consumption.

"It's despite US pressure that Arab countries are extending a friendly hand towards Iran," he said.

"The reality is that a lot of the Arab regimes have always been very close to the United States and some of them have been dependent on the United States.
"It's for the benefits of these governments to strengthen ties with the Iranian government and be seen as independent."

Role in Iraq

In Iraq, Iranian influence - and involvement - is becoming pivotal to stabilising the country, five years after the US-led invasion that toppled the Saddam Hussein government.

In late January, US and Iranian representatives are expected to sit for a fourth round of discussions over Iraq's security.

Ahead of the talks, US generals who once accused Iran of arming and training Shia death squads, conceded that Iran has a constructive role to play in Iraq by curbing arms and fighters from crossing the border.

Hussein Hafez, a political science professor at Baghdad University, said the US has tried to isolate Iraqi Shias from Iran since 2003.

He said: "Iraq's Shia society is an integral element in the architecture of America's tie-up with Iran and vice versa. Iran is a major and influential state in the region. It is not possible any more for the American think-tanks and decision-makers to deal so naively and simply with a state like Iran."

Hafez says Tehran's ongoing support for Shia militias, which he believes undermine US efforts in Iraq, make US-Iran negotiations "inevitable".

"The Iranian-US dialogue in so many ways reminds me of the US foreign policy shift before its complete defeat in Vietnam; back then,the American strategy experts had noted that the US administration had changed its policies towards the countries of south-east Asia."

However, Iraq is unlikely to benefit from US-Iran talks, he said.
"Unfortunately, the US does not care about the interests of any of Iraq's factions. It is its own interests that it serves."

Cautious steps

While the threat of war between the US and Iran has significantly subsided since a National Intelligence Estimate report said Tehran halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003, tensions remain high.

Bush's Iran terror warning earlier this week was preceded by a showdown between Iranian gunboats and US warships in the Gulf.

Iranians say such brinkmanship and speeches means that Tehran still distrusts Washington's intentions and is waiting for the US elections for any signs of a shift in strategy.

"Iran is wary of the US policy change," says Marandi in Tehran.
"I don't think that the Iranians really believe that this [US] administration has shifted its policy towards Iran and I think that they are waiting to see what the next administration will do."

With additional reporting by Doha Al Zohairy in Cairo and Alireza Ronaghi, Al Jazeera's Iran correspondent.

Link to the article: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5620B788-6455-4C5C-A7D5-9A3CC917517D.htm

In-depth timeline - Iran and Arabs: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BECB3E7C-0E40-45DE-9FEF-FB25A97423CF.htm

In Egypt, unrest will spill over into 2008 - dpa

By Pakinam Amer
Dec. 18, 2007

Cairo (dpa) - In the last few months of 2007, Egypt has experienced a series of massive workers strikes, motivated by none other than poor standards of living and lack of privileges, foreboding the beginning of a possible "uprising" by Egypt‘s poor.

But an angry struggle against deteriorating economic conditions is not the only source of concern for many Egyptian analysts. "Political oppression" is another and as the year ends, pro-democracy activists say that they are as worried as ever about Egypt‘s political future.

"Inevitably the country‘s political struggles will spill over into the coming year," says legal expert and human rights activist Hafez Abu Saada.

Against the backdrop of economic problems and amid tensions created by a political war between banned Islamist movements like theMuslim Brotherhood and the ruling powers, observers are predicting that the coming year will be equally dominated by both pro-democracy activity and workforce riots.

Egypt should expect more signs of the coming of "a revolution of the hungry" not unlike the bread riots that occurred during the rule of former president Anwar al-Sadat, one newspaper columnist wrote.

The expression "revolution of the hungry" was coined by opposition columnists to describe an aggressive resistance to stringent pro-capitalist economic policies, privatization being a common example, that stomp on the rights of underprivileged Egyptians in favour of the well-to-do.

For these columnists, the "resistance" was clear in September‘s week-long strike of 27,000 Egyptian workers over low wages and overdue benefits in northern Gharbiya province.

In the eyes of observers, the protests signaled the birth of a new front of opposition to the government.

At one point, the workers took control of one of the state‘s biggest mills and threatened to overthrow its administration. The state had to bow to their demands when attempts to quell the workers‘ protests by force had promised to be disastrous.

The workers protests were coupled with the controversy over the food subsidy policy with government cancelling food ration coupons for "undeserving" citizens and increasing prices of some subsidized goods.

The policy was enacted in the 1960s and has encompassed basic food items like flour, oil, rice, and sugar. Wheat is also subsidized, and in turn bread whose quality is less than mediocre but relatively affordable for many Egyptians.

A very common sight in the streets is the morning bread queues, so the notion of making bread more expensive has already driven many otherwise passive Egyptians to speak out in a struggle for the last remnant of government assistance.

"In addition, privatization continues to throw more people to the streets, while early retirement (policies) lay off workers and leave them with a monthly allowance that barely makes ends meet," said Abu Saada.

This kind of proletariat opposition is not political, says Malek Moustafa, one of Egypt‘s prominent political bloggers: "Hunger is what has driven these people to the streets."

Moustafa also believes that protests for civil liberties and political freedom will continue unabated but will not be as influential, "especially in the absence of the US as a supporter."

In late 2006 and more so in 2007, the United States support for political reform in Egypt has faltered. Egypt remains the second-biggest recipient of US aid in the world. And although cutting down the aid was a demand of many "angry" activists inside Egypt, most analysts believe that the possibility is far-fetched.

The Hamas experience in the nearby Gaza Strip made the likelihood of Islamists coming to power in Egypt if free elections were to beheld a scary prospect for both the US and the international community, observers feel. Thus, the US has found itself compelled to support authoritarian regimes like Mubarak‘s, says Abu Saada.

Once the country‘s most outspoken movement, the Kifaya (Enough) group has withdrew from the political scene as well, amid reports of rifts among its own ranks. And despite trying to initiate a "civil disobedience" campaign last July in order to protest the government‘s domestic policies, the group‘s activity has become feeble in 2007.

Adding to the tension-filled atmosphere is the flurry regarding human rights violations. Reports of torture in prisons and abrupt, unjustified detentions are flying around while a crackdown on dissident members of the press continued fiercely.

"No one expects 2008 to be a better year," says Abu Saada. "We expect more chains (on freedoms), more (political) oppression and more repression of the country‘s poor."

© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/160545.html

Iraq's refugee writers scramble for a living in Egypt - dpa

By Pakinam Amer
Dec. 17, 2007

Cairo (dpa) - Iraqi writers and journalists exiled abroad owing to the poor security situation in their native country are facing the prospect of having to return home to "save face" because of dwindling finances and poor security prospects, many say.

"People are returning because they‘re running out of money. The alternative is to extend your hand out and beg," says Alia Taleb, a female writer and the former managing editor of a Baghdad-based newspaper.

"But an Iraqi would rather die in his land then beg for money in a foreign country. Iraqis return so that they won‘t be stripped of their pride and dignity," added Taleb, who left Baghdad more than a year earlier.

Recently, reports of relative stability in Baghdad had encouraged many to return, especially those without enough financial resources.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has however warned Iraqis against returning home, insisting that the country still suffers from lack of security and services. In additiona UN survey has revealed that two-thirds of those who returned found their homes occupied and so became displaced again.

Like other Iraqi refugees, the writers and journalists exiled in Egypt have accommodation problems because of strict visa rules endorsed to control the flow of asylum-seekers into the country.

According to the UN refugees‘ body, one out of eight Iraqis have left their country - the largest long-term movement since the displacement of the Palestinians in 1948.

In Egypt alone, a country rife with poverty and with more than 79 million inhabitants mostly concentrated in Cairo and around the Nile delta, at least 80,000 Iraqis have arrived since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

Taleb is one Iraqi who knows she has no life back in Baghdad. She used to have a small parcel of land that she sold in order to be able to find a relatively comfortable home in Cairo.

"What do you think made us leave behind our heritage, let our life‘s achievements turn to ashes? We left all this behind our backs because of our children, to give them life," Taleb tells Deustche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"We can‘t find a place in any country, not here or Syria or Jordan. But the alternative is death," she says, noting that more than 125 journalists have been killed so far in the war-scarred country.

"As journalists, we are targets for all the power-strugglers in the country," she says.

But it‘s not only the fear of death that made Iraqi artists, journalists and writers leave their homes, relatives and memories behind. "And it‘s not just fear of death that holds us from returning," Taleb says.

For many independent women like Taleb, it is the notion of being killed "without cause," for example for wearing the wrong clothes or bearing the wrong allegiance.

"It is very likely that a woman in Iraq is killed for such petty reasons. If she works in media, she then becomes a direct target for militants.

"I would hate to die at the hands of a nobody who would just shoot me for the way I dress, for not covering my hair or because I drive a car," adds Taleb, who does not wear the headscarf worn by many Muslim women across Arab states. Women in Iraq are victims of crimes, explosions, sexual assaults, random and targeted shootings, according to Taleb.

"They kidnap women and girls in Iraq. They rape them. They take them hostages for ransom money," says Taleb. "I‘d rather die than see one of my daughters suffer any of these things."

Taleb, like other stranded Iraqi writers, does not have a stable or well-paying job and can barely make ends meet through freelancing and temporary assignments.

"The money is running out. I spent 35,000 dollars in the past year alone," she says. "Many editors-in-chief, writers, senior journalists who I used to know back in Baghdad are here in Egypt. They are all without jobs now.

"And we‘re not young any more. We had high positions in our country. I was a managing editor in my homeland, I would never accept to do small jobs again.

"But how much longer can I struggle?"

© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur