Salve for Muslim wounds
EU foreign policy chief offers apology for Danish cartoons
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 16, 2006
CAIRO: European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said in his last press conference in while in Egypt late Tuesday that his visit to Cairo had cleared up many misunderstandings, and his talks with Al-Azhar High Council and the Arab League secretary general were “very good, and productive.”
During his visit, Solana met with Al-Azhar high cleric Muhammad Al-Sayyid Tantawi and apologized for the offense caused by the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. In an official statement issued by Al-Azhar, Tantawi said that an apology is not enough; respect for religions must be enforced by law and the publishers of the offensive cartoons must be punished.
According to Solana, EU grants “respect for the [sentiment] of the Islamic countries, particularly the Arab countries and the people of [the] region and the religion that they choose [to follow].”
According to Solana, an initiative to impose regulations preventing the insulting of religions and protecting religious beliefs would be discussed. However, the organization calls upon Muslims to stop the bloodshed resulting from the behavior of some radicals.
Solana offered another alternative to the economic boycott of Danish goods. He said that the response to religious and moral attitudes should be “talking to each other, reconstructing the bridges that have been broken.” Dialogue is a more effective means of expression, according to the foreign policy chief, suggesting that Muslims in the Middle East and Arab countries should pursue it.
“There is no Islamophobia in Europe,” said Solana, who insisted that Muslims there are free to practice their religion and are well represented.
Solana’s statements, however, appear to contradict EU statements issued on the same day. In their statement early Tuesday, the EU had formally given their full support to Denmark, saying that no compromises will be made and no limitations will be set on freedom of expression.
When faced with EU statements, Solana only said that it is the EU’s obligation to support countries that are members of the union. “I cannot speak on behalf of the EU,” however, Solana “as a European citizen” acknowledges that the caricatures are offensive to Muslims and that Muslim views should be respected.
Responding to American accusations holding Iran and Syria responsible for fueling the anger that lead to the destruction of Danish embassies on their soil, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said, “They are no more than just claims.” He went on to say, “I will not even respond to that,” adding that the response and the anger are not limited to a few countries but rather extend to the entire Muslim world.
“We refuse violence” but demand respect for Muslim beliefs, said Moussa. “We will wait and see what the EU does in terms of religiously sensitive issues; they had promised to respond.”
“I think our (the Muslim World’s) message was delivered quite strongly,” Moussa noted.
Solana, during his visit, also touched on other issues that “were causing trouble in the region,” with Hamas’ success in parliament and Iran’s uranium enrichment program topping the list.
“The Palestinians voted in a very orderly fashion; it is an example to many countries of the region,” Solana told the press. However, Hamas has yet to meet many conditions before being recognized, one of which is to recognize and accept the “two states”: Israel and Palestine.
“We are waiting to see the situation, on the formation of the government… We would like to see the [peace] process continue,” said Solana. “I don’t see Hamas as a government … We support Abu Mazen … Who is also elected by a majority.”
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=651
Thursday, April 13, 2006
DSE: What the newspapers are saying
What the newspapers are saying
The aftermath of the ferry disaster and the afterglow of the African Cup victory
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 14, 2006
CAIRO: The continuously unfolding events regarding Egypt’s ferry accident still dominate the headlines of national and independent newspapers. In response to the tragedy, the government promises a thorough investigation supervised by a Parliamentary committee.
More than 1,000 Egyptians are dead or missing in a Red Sea ferry accident that occurred less than 10 days ago. After a fire reportedly broke out on board, chaos spread on the ship that carried around 1,400 Egyptian citizens and crew. The ship, according to some press reports, was still in the vicinity of the Saudi Arabian port of departure but refused to turn back, with the captain allegedly insisting that the fire could be controlled. Passengers were held at sea for more than 20 hours, while the ferry sunk.
Distress signals sent to Egyptian ports were allegedly ignored initially; French, Saudi, Indian and British ships picked up several survivors and alerted the Egyptian authorities. Bodies were brought to the Egyptian port of Safaga, where families of victims rioted and threw stones at security guards, who pushed them away.
Initially, the ship’s owner, a member of the upper house of the Shura Council, denied responsibility for the accident and was exempted from earlier investigations. However, amid opposition outcries, the government announced Monday that the prosecution would “indeed question” Mamdouh Ismail, the owner and manager of Salam 98, a ferry that reportedly should have gone out of service years ago.
“We do not cover up for those responsible for the disaster and we guarantee transparency during investigations,” a government representative told national newspaper Al-Ahram Monday. According to the Al-Ahram report, “within hours” of publication on Monday, the parliament would look into a legislative amendment of a law that secures the rights of the missing. According to the proposed amended law, the missing person’s family would be granted all the financial rights a deceased person’s family is granted, after the person is missing for more than 15 days, as opposed to one year, as the original law stated.
Meanwhile, tempers of the opposition and Islamists flared as the government decided to delay the elections of the local councils for two years. According to Reuters, “the delay means that if current President Hosni Mubarak, 77, were to die or step down, the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), would be the only party able to field a candidate for president under the current make-up of Egypt's elected bodies.”
Al-Ahram reports that the decision made by the Shura Council is meant to grant “localities time to endorse the plans of reform recently suggested by President Mubarak.”
"The NDP wanted to delay the elections to gather themselves … The make-up of the local councils in the current situation ... makes the candidate of the NDP the only player in presidential elections," deputy Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Habib told Reuters.
Reaping the products of success, independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, is still celebrating the national football team’s latest victory, dedicating four pages of their Monday issue to post-victory news and features.
Egypt beat the Ivory Coast 4–2 on penalties in the final round of the African Cup of Nations last Friday, earning the golden cup for the fifth time in its history.
The newspaper also reported that celebrated striker Ahmad “Mido” Hossam was pardoned from the six-month international ban, implemented after Mido had a heated row with principal team coach Hassan Shehata in front of thousands of audience members.
“I am the closest player to Mido … I know the outburst was a result of Mido’s eagerness [to play],” said Ahmad Hassan, rising star of the current national football team and winner of the MTN best player in Africa award. “He had never meant to upset the coach as some had imagined … He was zealous and emotional because he cared for his team’s advantage.”
In his defense, British Tottenham coach Martin Jol, where Mido is on loan, told the press that he understood why Mido was frustrated.
“The game was 1–1 when they took him off and he always believes that he can score,” said Jol. “I know he's an emotional guy; a lot of the top players are … For most of his time with us he has shown great mental strength and been a winner … He's very helpful to everyone, but he's a young kid and has had to grow up quickly.”
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=631
The aftermath of the ferry disaster and the afterglow of the African Cup victory
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 14, 2006
CAIRO: The continuously unfolding events regarding Egypt’s ferry accident still dominate the headlines of national and independent newspapers. In response to the tragedy, the government promises a thorough investigation supervised by a Parliamentary committee.
More than 1,000 Egyptians are dead or missing in a Red Sea ferry accident that occurred less than 10 days ago. After a fire reportedly broke out on board, chaos spread on the ship that carried around 1,400 Egyptian citizens and crew. The ship, according to some press reports, was still in the vicinity of the Saudi Arabian port of departure but refused to turn back, with the captain allegedly insisting that the fire could be controlled. Passengers were held at sea for more than 20 hours, while the ferry sunk.
Distress signals sent to Egyptian ports were allegedly ignored initially; French, Saudi, Indian and British ships picked up several survivors and alerted the Egyptian authorities. Bodies were brought to the Egyptian port of Safaga, where families of victims rioted and threw stones at security guards, who pushed them away.
Initially, the ship’s owner, a member of the upper house of the Shura Council, denied responsibility for the accident and was exempted from earlier investigations. However, amid opposition outcries, the government announced Monday that the prosecution would “indeed question” Mamdouh Ismail, the owner and manager of Salam 98, a ferry that reportedly should have gone out of service years ago.
“We do not cover up for those responsible for the disaster and we guarantee transparency during investigations,” a government representative told national newspaper Al-Ahram Monday. According to the Al-Ahram report, “within hours” of publication on Monday, the parliament would look into a legislative amendment of a law that secures the rights of the missing. According to the proposed amended law, the missing person’s family would be granted all the financial rights a deceased person’s family is granted, after the person is missing for more than 15 days, as opposed to one year, as the original law stated.
Meanwhile, tempers of the opposition and Islamists flared as the government decided to delay the elections of the local councils for two years. According to Reuters, “the delay means that if current President Hosni Mubarak, 77, were to die or step down, the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), would be the only party able to field a candidate for president under the current make-up of Egypt's elected bodies.”
Al-Ahram reports that the decision made by the Shura Council is meant to grant “localities time to endorse the plans of reform recently suggested by President Mubarak.”
"The NDP wanted to delay the elections to gather themselves … The make-up of the local councils in the current situation ... makes the candidate of the NDP the only player in presidential elections," deputy Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Habib told Reuters.
Reaping the products of success, independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, is still celebrating the national football team’s latest victory, dedicating four pages of their Monday issue to post-victory news and features.
Egypt beat the Ivory Coast 4–2 on penalties in the final round of the African Cup of Nations last Friday, earning the golden cup for the fifth time in its history.
The newspaper also reported that celebrated striker Ahmad “Mido” Hossam was pardoned from the six-month international ban, implemented after Mido had a heated row with principal team coach Hassan Shehata in front of thousands of audience members.
“I am the closest player to Mido … I know the outburst was a result of Mido’s eagerness [to play],” said Ahmad Hassan, rising star of the current national football team and winner of the MTN best player in Africa award. “He had never meant to upset the coach as some had imagined … He was zealous and emotional because he cared for his team’s advantage.”
In his defense, British Tottenham coach Martin Jol, where Mido is on loan, told the press that he understood why Mido was frustrated.
“The game was 1–1 when they took him off and he always believes that he can score,” said Jol. “I know he's an emotional guy; a lot of the top players are … For most of his time with us he has shown great mental strength and been a winner … He's very helpful to everyone, but he's a young kid and has had to grow up quickly.”
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=631
DSE: Cyberian Misr
Cyberian Misr
Buying artwork is one click away
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 11, 2006
CAIRO: In a first, Egypt has its own online gallery of original contemporary and modern art, a retail website launched by some of Egypt’s most talented artists.
Egy-Art.com offers worldwide shipping of Egyptian artwork, a step that founders of the website believe is essential to market Egyptian taste in fine art. Browsing through the online site is smooth and user-friendly; a person can easily search for artwork using different categories: size, genre and/or artist.
The artwork is usually displayed in medium to high resolution; the most essential details are available. Price quotation, however, may vary and the customer would then be asked to contact the website for the exact price. The artwork is generally titled, presented with a date, and sometimes signed by the artist who created it. The sellers can also provide an authenticity certificate signed by the artist upon request of the customer.
According to the founders, art galleries in Egypt are not common and many a young talent is overlooked. The online gallery was then thought of as a venue or “a forum”. Possibly the first of its kind – Egypt’s artists can display their masterpieces; a reflection of Egypt’s “great civilization and artistic marvels of its ancient [Egyptian] past.”
The website aims at “offering art lovers the best original artworks from a variety of famous artists [and] talented emerging ones. Every piece of our collection is unique, one-of-a-kind, and signed by the artist.” Reportedly, the website has art advisors who help appraise the art pieces and selectively choose every art collection on the website.
The variety of artwork on Egy-Art is satisfying; paintings, sculptures, mosaic pieces, drawings and graphics are in abundance. For passionate artists and art fans, the website can also be a display of modern skills in art, contemporary ideas and an inspiration, in addition to being an online artwork store “of art that talks to [one’s] soul,” using the founders’ words.
The site also offers a unique service for customers and clients: Consultancy. According to the website owners, the site offers architects, interior designers, and artists “a convenient source of original artwork for any project.”
The consultants, one of Egypt’s leading sculptors and a renowned mosaic artist, offer their professional advice to anyone who wants to uphold a gallery in Egypt, no matter what the size and the specialization of gallery is.
They also offer to arrange for the delivery of commission work, if the displayed art does not suit the customer’s desired taste or collection in need. The customer, vendor or artist, has but to send them his name, contact information and other details concerning the needed art pieces’ size, number and genre.
The customer could also request certain pieces of art by name of artist or title of piece.
For more information visit: www.egy-art.com
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=630
Buying artwork is one click away
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 11, 2006
CAIRO: In a first, Egypt has its own online gallery of original contemporary and modern art, a retail website launched by some of Egypt’s most talented artists.
Egy-Art.com offers worldwide shipping of Egyptian artwork, a step that founders of the website believe is essential to market Egyptian taste in fine art. Browsing through the online site is smooth and user-friendly; a person can easily search for artwork using different categories: size, genre and/or artist.
The artwork is usually displayed in medium to high resolution; the most essential details are available. Price quotation, however, may vary and the customer would then be asked to contact the website for the exact price. The artwork is generally titled, presented with a date, and sometimes signed by the artist who created it. The sellers can also provide an authenticity certificate signed by the artist upon request of the customer.
According to the founders, art galleries in Egypt are not common and many a young talent is overlooked. The online gallery was then thought of as a venue or “a forum”. Possibly the first of its kind – Egypt’s artists can display their masterpieces; a reflection of Egypt’s “great civilization and artistic marvels of its ancient [Egyptian] past.”
The website aims at “offering art lovers the best original artworks from a variety of famous artists [and] talented emerging ones. Every piece of our collection is unique, one-of-a-kind, and signed by the artist.” Reportedly, the website has art advisors who help appraise the art pieces and selectively choose every art collection on the website.
The variety of artwork on Egy-Art is satisfying; paintings, sculptures, mosaic pieces, drawings and graphics are in abundance. For passionate artists and art fans, the website can also be a display of modern skills in art, contemporary ideas and an inspiration, in addition to being an online artwork store “of art that talks to [one’s] soul,” using the founders’ words.
The site also offers a unique service for customers and clients: Consultancy. According to the website owners, the site offers architects, interior designers, and artists “a convenient source of original artwork for any project.”
The consultants, one of Egypt’s leading sculptors and a renowned mosaic artist, offer their professional advice to anyone who wants to uphold a gallery in Egypt, no matter what the size and the specialization of gallery is.
They also offer to arrange for the delivery of commission work, if the displayed art does not suit the customer’s desired taste or collection in need. The customer, vendor or artist, has but to send them his name, contact information and other details concerning the needed art pieces’ size, number and genre.
The customer could also request certain pieces of art by name of artist or title of piece.
For more information visit: www.egy-art.com
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=630
DSE: Nour’s wife denied visitation rights
Nour’s wife denied visitation rights
Nazif tells Newsweek Nour’s case justified
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 8, 2006
CAIRO: Ayman Nour’s wife and El-Ghad party spokesman, Gamilla Ismail, was prevented from visiting her husband, who is currently in the midst of his sentence in Tora Mazraa Prison; Ismail claims the bar was meant to prevent Nour from submitting articles he had written for the El-Ghad newspaper.
Ismail said she had a written permit from the Prosecutor General allowing her visitation rights to Nour. Judicially, according to Ismail, she has the right to visit Nour every 21 days.
Nour had been regularly submitting columns, which were often analyzed and photocopied by prison officials, for the El-Ghad newspaper. Through Ismail, he occasionally sent speeches to the press syndicate, journalists and his supporters outside Egypt.
Following the refusal to grant her access to her husband, Ismail staged a sit-in in front of the prison, in spite of attempts by security to force her to leave. Shortly afterwards, she was joined by Nour’s principal lawyers and Nour supporters, who staged a protest outside the prison headquarters. The protestors chanted for Nour while standing in the open air for more than nine hours.
“I think this decision was made to stop him from writing,” Ismail told The Daily Star Egypt. “They want to bar him from the public life; they want him to be forgotten.”
The ban came after one independent newspaper had recently published that there is talk that Nour is a potential candidate for the United Nations Good Will Ambassadorship. According to Ismail, while unfounded, that news is “probable.”
Nour, indicted of forging signatures to authorize his party, was one of Mubarak’s principal political opponents in last year’s presidential elections. However, his liberal El-Ghad party performed poorly in last year’s tumultuous parliamentary elections and has achieved little, in spite of being backed up by many Egyptian liberals and intellects, in addition to the U.S. State Department of State.
Nour’s trial has drawn wide international attention, and when the El-Ghad head and former presidential candidate was sentenced to five years in prison, strong reactions were voiced. His case was often linked to the future of political reform in Egypt and democratic prospects.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview with Newsweek, Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif defended the government’s right to indict Nour, saying that his case was handled fairly. “Because I know Ayman, I know he forged those papers,” Nazif told the magazine.
“The problem with Ayman Nour’s case, and here I have my own frustrations with the media, is that nobody looked at the case on its own merits,” Nazif told the weekly magazine. “All you hear about when you read [is that] these are bogus charges. Not true. I don’t think what Ayman Nour did in Egypt, if done in the U.S., would have gone unpunished.”
Nazif, in this comprehensive interview, also dispelled any chances of Nour being released early. “Nobody has that power except the president, and that is the pardon power. But the president hasn’t used that authority as far as I know since he came to office,” Nazif told Newsweek. “[Besides] this is not a political court … This is an ordinary Egyptian criminal court.”
“[Nour] was prosecuted and the case took its course,” Nazif added. “It’s difficult to come in and interfere with a court case once it’s there. He has the right to appeal, and he will … Let the courts decide.”
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=584
Nazif tells Newsweek Nour’s case justified
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 8, 2006
CAIRO: Ayman Nour’s wife and El-Ghad party spokesman, Gamilla Ismail, was prevented from visiting her husband, who is currently in the midst of his sentence in Tora Mazraa Prison; Ismail claims the bar was meant to prevent Nour from submitting articles he had written for the El-Ghad newspaper.
Ismail said she had a written permit from the Prosecutor General allowing her visitation rights to Nour. Judicially, according to Ismail, she has the right to visit Nour every 21 days.
Nour had been regularly submitting columns, which were often analyzed and photocopied by prison officials, for the El-Ghad newspaper. Through Ismail, he occasionally sent speeches to the press syndicate, journalists and his supporters outside Egypt.
Following the refusal to grant her access to her husband, Ismail staged a sit-in in front of the prison, in spite of attempts by security to force her to leave. Shortly afterwards, she was joined by Nour’s principal lawyers and Nour supporters, who staged a protest outside the prison headquarters. The protestors chanted for Nour while standing in the open air for more than nine hours.
“I think this decision was made to stop him from writing,” Ismail told The Daily Star Egypt. “They want to bar him from the public life; they want him to be forgotten.”
The ban came after one independent newspaper had recently published that there is talk that Nour is a potential candidate for the United Nations Good Will Ambassadorship. According to Ismail, while unfounded, that news is “probable.”
Nour, indicted of forging signatures to authorize his party, was one of Mubarak’s principal political opponents in last year’s presidential elections. However, his liberal El-Ghad party performed poorly in last year’s tumultuous parliamentary elections and has achieved little, in spite of being backed up by many Egyptian liberals and intellects, in addition to the U.S. State Department of State.
Nour’s trial has drawn wide international attention, and when the El-Ghad head and former presidential candidate was sentenced to five years in prison, strong reactions were voiced. His case was often linked to the future of political reform in Egypt and democratic prospects.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview with Newsweek, Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif defended the government’s right to indict Nour, saying that his case was handled fairly. “Because I know Ayman, I know he forged those papers,” Nazif told the magazine.
“The problem with Ayman Nour’s case, and here I have my own frustrations with the media, is that nobody looked at the case on its own merits,” Nazif told the weekly magazine. “All you hear about when you read [is that] these are bogus charges. Not true. I don’t think what Ayman Nour did in Egypt, if done in the U.S., would have gone unpunished.”
Nazif, in this comprehensive interview, also dispelled any chances of Nour being released early. “Nobody has that power except the president, and that is the pardon power. But the president hasn’t used that authority as far as I know since he came to office,” Nazif told Newsweek. “[Besides] this is not a political court … This is an ordinary Egyptian criminal court.”
“[Nour] was prosecuted and the case took its course,” Nazif added. “It’s difficult to come in and interfere with a court case once it’s there. He has the right to appeal, and he will … Let the courts decide.”
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=584
DSE: Tragic ferry accident dominates local headlines
Press Round-up: Tragic ferry accident dominates local headlines
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 7, 2006
CAIRO: With follow-up stories regarding Al-Wafd’s continuing ban gradually shifting out of the public eye, Egypt’s tragic ferry accident, where more than 1,000 are feared to have perished, has dominated the headlines.
The Red Sea ferry, returning from Saudi Arabia, sunk early Friday, killing most of its passengers. The ferry had been carrying around 1,400 Egyptian citizens and crew, along with more than 200 cars.
The crisis was a result of a fire that broke out on board and got out of control within a few minutes. Reportedly, the ferry sent several distress signals to nearby Egyptian ports and was ignored. Survivors claim that the crew was the first to leave the ship, and that there were very few lifeboats.
Hundreds of bodies were recovered and survivors were moved to the nearby port of Safaga, where families awaited. Riots and protests broke out as security police tried to force families away from the site. Clashes between the police and civilians resulted in injuries on both sides.
Coverage of the incident has been varied throughout media outlets and different newspapers have shed light on different sides of the same story. The difference in coverage was plainly evident from the headlines alone. While one Al-Ahram headline read: “379 survivors,” the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm headline read: “1039 dead and missing.”
National newspapers focused on efforts made to help survivors and families of the victims. The state-directed daily Al-Ahram reports that the latter have received more than LE 45 million over the course of the past 24 hours.
The independent and opposition press, on the other hand, has been more concerned with what they call “the corruption” behind the accident, adding that “the failure of the Egyptian emergency and rescue forces” contributed to the tragedy. The papers have also accused the government of “intentionally covering up” for the owner of the navigation company, who has political immunity and is a member of the Shura Council. Some opposition voices have even called for international intervention during the investigation of the accident and demanded full transparency.
On the international front, around six weeks have passed since the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed surfaced, and news of protests, Arab reactions and foreign apologies have not waned.
Initially the newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, refused to apologize. However, after angry Muslim outbreaks, a boycott of Danish products around the Arab world and several death threats from Islamic extremists, both the Danish government and the newspaper issued official apologies.
In the latest development, national and independent newspapers report that Patriarch Shenouda, pope of Alexandria, joined by chiefs of Middle East Christian assemblies had criticized the Danish paper’s conduct in handling a sacred Muslim symbol. The high priests reportedly deemed the cartoons a “shameful desecration” of Islam.
The newspapers also report several fuming protests in Cairo, Alexandria and Assiout, where many Muslims have insisted on upholding an “economic boycott of Denmark” in spite of apologies. Pictures show young and old Egyptians carrying orange flags and banners reading: “Boycott Danish Products.”
Meanwhile, expectations run high for today’s football semi-final match between Egypt and Senegal.
Al-Ahram reports that Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak is personally attending the national team’s training in an effort to boost morale. Hassan Shehatah, the team’s principal coach, reportedly said, “People’s cheering goes hand in hand with victory.”
Last in line is news of Al-Wafd, where reportedly Safwat Al-Sherif, chairman of the High Committee of Journalists and head of the Shura Council, has decided to appoint two chief editors for the paper, saying that the presence of two editors should assure the newspaper’s “neutrality and objectiveness.” Al-Sherif said that the position of managing director will remain vacant until conflicts between Noaman Gomaa, overthrown chairman of the party and former managing director, and his rivals are over.
The publishing of the party newspaper stopped more than 10 days ago as the in-fighting between the party’s political opponents escalated. Gomaa, after being refused the title of managing director, halted the publication, dismissing both the editor-in-chief and managing editor “for taking sides during the conflicts.”
Following the ban on the newspaper, a “victim” of the inner conflicts between two generations of Al-Wafd, the journalists and their syndicate protested and filed complaints in an attempt to restore the newspaper. Meanwhile, two court cases that are both filed by Gomaa, are expected to resolve the Al-Wafd crisis and decide the newspaper’s fate.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=577
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 7, 2006
CAIRO: With follow-up stories regarding Al-Wafd’s continuing ban gradually shifting out of the public eye, Egypt’s tragic ferry accident, where more than 1,000 are feared to have perished, has dominated the headlines.
The Red Sea ferry, returning from Saudi Arabia, sunk early Friday, killing most of its passengers. The ferry had been carrying around 1,400 Egyptian citizens and crew, along with more than 200 cars.
The crisis was a result of a fire that broke out on board and got out of control within a few minutes. Reportedly, the ferry sent several distress signals to nearby Egyptian ports and was ignored. Survivors claim that the crew was the first to leave the ship, and that there were very few lifeboats.
Hundreds of bodies were recovered and survivors were moved to the nearby port of Safaga, where families awaited. Riots and protests broke out as security police tried to force families away from the site. Clashes between the police and civilians resulted in injuries on both sides.
Coverage of the incident has been varied throughout media outlets and different newspapers have shed light on different sides of the same story. The difference in coverage was plainly evident from the headlines alone. While one Al-Ahram headline read: “379 survivors,” the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm headline read: “1039 dead and missing.”
National newspapers focused on efforts made to help survivors and families of the victims. The state-directed daily Al-Ahram reports that the latter have received more than LE 45 million over the course of the past 24 hours.
The independent and opposition press, on the other hand, has been more concerned with what they call “the corruption” behind the accident, adding that “the failure of the Egyptian emergency and rescue forces” contributed to the tragedy. The papers have also accused the government of “intentionally covering up” for the owner of the navigation company, who has political immunity and is a member of the Shura Council. Some opposition voices have even called for international intervention during the investigation of the accident and demanded full transparency.
On the international front, around six weeks have passed since the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed surfaced, and news of protests, Arab reactions and foreign apologies have not waned.
Initially the newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, refused to apologize. However, after angry Muslim outbreaks, a boycott of Danish products around the Arab world and several death threats from Islamic extremists, both the Danish government and the newspaper issued official apologies.
In the latest development, national and independent newspapers report that Patriarch Shenouda, pope of Alexandria, joined by chiefs of Middle East Christian assemblies had criticized the Danish paper’s conduct in handling a sacred Muslim symbol. The high priests reportedly deemed the cartoons a “shameful desecration” of Islam.
The newspapers also report several fuming protests in Cairo, Alexandria and Assiout, where many Muslims have insisted on upholding an “economic boycott of Denmark” in spite of apologies. Pictures show young and old Egyptians carrying orange flags and banners reading: “Boycott Danish Products.”
Meanwhile, expectations run high for today’s football semi-final match between Egypt and Senegal.
Al-Ahram reports that Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak is personally attending the national team’s training in an effort to boost morale. Hassan Shehatah, the team’s principal coach, reportedly said, “People’s cheering goes hand in hand with victory.”
Last in line is news of Al-Wafd, where reportedly Safwat Al-Sherif, chairman of the High Committee of Journalists and head of the Shura Council, has decided to appoint two chief editors for the paper, saying that the presence of two editors should assure the newspaper’s “neutrality and objectiveness.” Al-Sherif said that the position of managing director will remain vacant until conflicts between Noaman Gomaa, overthrown chairman of the party and former managing director, and his rivals are over.
The publishing of the party newspaper stopped more than 10 days ago as the in-fighting between the party’s political opponents escalated. Gomaa, after being refused the title of managing director, halted the publication, dismissing both the editor-in-chief and managing editor “for taking sides during the conflicts.”
Following the ban on the newspaper, a “victim” of the inner conflicts between two generations of Al-Wafd, the journalists and their syndicate protested and filed complaints in an attempt to restore the newspaper. Meanwhile, two court cases that are both filed by Gomaa, are expected to resolve the Al-Wafd crisis and decide the newspaper’s fate.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=577
DSE: Islamists behind bars
Islamists behind bars
Human rights group calls for release of Muslim Brotherhood members held without charge
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 6, 2006
CAIRO: Following the release of 453 Muslim Brotherhood prisoners around two weeks ago and 269 last week, families of the remaining Islamists still behind bars have been staging protests and calling for the release of “their loved ones.”
Families of around 20 detained “Muslim activists” have been staging protests in front of the National Council of Human Rights; protests often monitored by riot police. Veiled women, some adorned completely in black, stood holding banners and calling on the rights group to fight for their case; requesting the release of “those activists” who according to the families are “detained without cause or guilt.”
Directly following the protests, the rights group published a report calling on the government and the Egyptian prosecutors’ office to “immediately” release the prisoners. The National Council said that these and similar arrests are but a result of the emergency law that is still in effect and needs to be retracted in order for true democracy to have a chance.
During last November’s violence-marred parliamentary elections, more than 150 Muslim Brotherhood candidates ran in the elections as “independents,” refusing to merge with other blocks of the opposition. The candidates gained unprecedented ground as the number of seats they held increased, enabling them to form the largest opposition cluster the Egyptian parliament has seen in decades.
However, hundreds of the Muslim Brotherhood members were arrested during riots and protests. The Brotherhood members were blamed for taking part in the violence-marred clashes that occurred during voting; sometimes in front of ballot stations and as the votes were counted. Reportedly, some were also arrested during clashes with police.
Many of the senior Muslim Brotherhood members and leaders denied taking part in any violence, saying that in some cases their supporters and sympathizers were either “brutally attacked” or “provoked” into clashes by National Democratic party thugs as police “stood by watching.”
The official Muslim Brotherhood Web site, Ikwan-Web, said that the arrests were only part of “tactics” used by the ruling government to crush their popularity and the swelling support for their parliamentary candidates. According to the site, “The second and the third rounds of the November vote saw a wave of arrest campaigns … In order to stamp out the great vote showing of the group.”
The site also reported that 293 members have been imprisoned in what they called “the notorious” Borg-Al-Arab prison, in the absence of charges and without a trial. Additionally, according to the online source, around 160 members and supporters have been detained in Cairo under interrogation.
Last January, following several rowdy protests by members of the Brotherhood, the Ministry of Interior released most of the prisoners. Nevertheless, according to the Muslim Brotherhood’s principal lawyer, Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud, a group of members remain behind bars without charge. “Only hope remains that these flocks of the brothers will be treated like [the others] and released soon,” said Abdel-Maksoud.
“The problem is that the prosecution constantly renews the detention period for these remaining members in particular,” Essam El-Erian, senior Brotherhood leader and group spokesman told The Daily Star Egypt. “Renewing detention is equivalent to imprisonment … There are cases of such people who have been detained, through a similar fashion, for years. Some are even banished [after recurring detention]; where their families and no one would be able to know anything about them or their whereabouts.”
According to El-Erian, the main charges against the currently detained are “protesting and persistence to vote.”
“Because they wanted to vote for their candidates but were blocked from the ballot stations, clashes occurred and they were arrested,” said El-Erian who insisted that the detained should be released, like the rest of “the Brothers,” in the course of a few weeks.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=571
Human rights group calls for release of Muslim Brotherhood members held without charge
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 6, 2006
CAIRO: Following the release of 453 Muslim Brotherhood prisoners around two weeks ago and 269 last week, families of the remaining Islamists still behind bars have been staging protests and calling for the release of “their loved ones.”
Families of around 20 detained “Muslim activists” have been staging protests in front of the National Council of Human Rights; protests often monitored by riot police. Veiled women, some adorned completely in black, stood holding banners and calling on the rights group to fight for their case; requesting the release of “those activists” who according to the families are “detained without cause or guilt.”
Directly following the protests, the rights group published a report calling on the government and the Egyptian prosecutors’ office to “immediately” release the prisoners. The National Council said that these and similar arrests are but a result of the emergency law that is still in effect and needs to be retracted in order for true democracy to have a chance.
During last November’s violence-marred parliamentary elections, more than 150 Muslim Brotherhood candidates ran in the elections as “independents,” refusing to merge with other blocks of the opposition. The candidates gained unprecedented ground as the number of seats they held increased, enabling them to form the largest opposition cluster the Egyptian parliament has seen in decades.
However, hundreds of the Muslim Brotherhood members were arrested during riots and protests. The Brotherhood members were blamed for taking part in the violence-marred clashes that occurred during voting; sometimes in front of ballot stations and as the votes were counted. Reportedly, some were also arrested during clashes with police.
Many of the senior Muslim Brotherhood members and leaders denied taking part in any violence, saying that in some cases their supporters and sympathizers were either “brutally attacked” or “provoked” into clashes by National Democratic party thugs as police “stood by watching.”
The official Muslim Brotherhood Web site, Ikwan-Web, said that the arrests were only part of “tactics” used by the ruling government to crush their popularity and the swelling support for their parliamentary candidates. According to the site, “The second and the third rounds of the November vote saw a wave of arrest campaigns … In order to stamp out the great vote showing of the group.”
The site also reported that 293 members have been imprisoned in what they called “the notorious” Borg-Al-Arab prison, in the absence of charges and without a trial. Additionally, according to the online source, around 160 members and supporters have been detained in Cairo under interrogation.
Last January, following several rowdy protests by members of the Brotherhood, the Ministry of Interior released most of the prisoners. Nevertheless, according to the Muslim Brotherhood’s principal lawyer, Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud, a group of members remain behind bars without charge. “Only hope remains that these flocks of the brothers will be treated like [the others] and released soon,” said Abdel-Maksoud.
“The problem is that the prosecution constantly renews the detention period for these remaining members in particular,” Essam El-Erian, senior Brotherhood leader and group spokesman told The Daily Star Egypt. “Renewing detention is equivalent to imprisonment … There are cases of such people who have been detained, through a similar fashion, for years. Some are even banished [after recurring detention]; where their families and no one would be able to know anything about them or their whereabouts.”
According to El-Erian, the main charges against the currently detained are “protesting and persistence to vote.”
“Because they wanted to vote for their candidates but were blocked from the ballot stations, clashes occurred and they were arrested,” said El-Erian who insisted that the detained should be released, like the rest of “the Brothers,” in the course of a few weeks.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=571
DSE: Al-Wafd crisis continues
Al-Wafd crisis continues
Al-Wafd reporters protest paper ban and Gomaa again regains access to party headquarters
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 3, 2006
CAIRO: Dozens of Al-Wafd newspaper reporters and editors demonstrated for hours in front of Cairo’s press syndicate on Wednesday, calling on Noaman Gomaa, overthrown party chairman, to release their paper for publication and to grant them their full financial rights.
The Wednesday protest is the latest in a series of angry protests and sit-ins that Al-Wafd reporters have staged since the halt of publication of the party newspaper last Friday. This time reporters from other independent newspapers such as Al-Masri Al-Youm joined Al-Wafd reporters in their protest. The reporters carried banners saying, “No to Al-Wafd’s ban,” and “No to the delay of the reporters’ salaries.”
Even as the High Committee of Journalists, under the blessing of Head of Parliament Fathi Sorour, issued a resolution calling on Gomaa to republish Al-Wafd “immediately,” the latter was issuing his immediate refusal.
Gomaa’s choice to “temporarily” ban the newspaper, deemed a “victim” of the party’s inner political conflicts, was topped by his decision to dismiss both its editor-in-chief and managing editor. Gomaa previously told the press that he had certain conditions that had to be met in order for the newspaper to be reissued; one of the conditions was to list his name as party chairman and managing director of the newspaper on the front page. Another condition was a guarantee of newspaper neutrality during the current in-house strife between the two groups of party rivals.
Gomaa, in an official statement, also said that the newspaper staff have received their compensations regularly and “without delay,” a statement directly contradicting reporters’ claims.
The party crisis reached a peak two weeks ago when Gomaa was overthrown by a group of Al-Wafd members that have chosen to call themselves “the reformists.” The reformists include Al-Wafd’s senior leaders and political activists Mahmoud Abaza and Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour along with flocks of party members of the younger generation.
The inner revolution declared Gomaa officially removed from office, saying that the latter was a “dictator” who wanted to hold on to his seat for as long as he could. The group also said that the deteriorating conditions of the party were a direct result of Gomaa’s fading ideology and his firm “authoritarian” grip on the party’s policies. The “reformists” vowed to elect a new chairman within 60 days of Gomaa’s forcible removal from office.
For several days, Gomaa and his party rivals both used the headquarters, since the prosecutor general had helped Gomaa gain non-violent access to the Dokki party headquarters (tightly secured by police forces and surrounded by armed riot police).
However, late Monday, Abaza, Abdel-Nour and their supporters cordoned off the entrance of the party headquarters and barred Gomaa from entry. Television networks and journalists were also shut out.
Gomaa, who spoke on air to Amr Adib on Tuesday, called on security to intervene; calling his rivals “thugs” and “rebels” whose “brutality” must be put to an end.
In response, the prosecutor general – late Wednesday and for the second time – helped Gomaa enter the Dokki headquarters. His supporters surrounded Gomaa’s car, chanting in opposition to his rivals and shouting that Gomaa “is the only true leader of Al-Wafd.”
The prosecutor told the press that his constant support for Gomaa was neither meant to solve the crisis, nor was it intended to declare Gomaa chairman.
Different political groups have offered to intervene to give “council” to the two fighting groups. However, analysts predict the current conflict is far “too fierce” to be resolved through mediation or reconciliation.
The conflicting Al-Wafd members and leaders await the decision in two court cases recently filed by Gomaa against the “reformists.” Gomaa said he is hopeful that the court verdicts, one of them expected to be issued next Saturday, will both be in his favor.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=554
Al-Wafd reporters protest paper ban and Gomaa again regains access to party headquarters
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 3, 2006
CAIRO: Dozens of Al-Wafd newspaper reporters and editors demonstrated for hours in front of Cairo’s press syndicate on Wednesday, calling on Noaman Gomaa, overthrown party chairman, to release their paper for publication and to grant them their full financial rights.
The Wednesday protest is the latest in a series of angry protests and sit-ins that Al-Wafd reporters have staged since the halt of publication of the party newspaper last Friday. This time reporters from other independent newspapers such as Al-Masri Al-Youm joined Al-Wafd reporters in their protest. The reporters carried banners saying, “No to Al-Wafd’s ban,” and “No to the delay of the reporters’ salaries.”
Even as the High Committee of Journalists, under the blessing of Head of Parliament Fathi Sorour, issued a resolution calling on Gomaa to republish Al-Wafd “immediately,” the latter was issuing his immediate refusal.
Gomaa’s choice to “temporarily” ban the newspaper, deemed a “victim” of the party’s inner political conflicts, was topped by his decision to dismiss both its editor-in-chief and managing editor. Gomaa previously told the press that he had certain conditions that had to be met in order for the newspaper to be reissued; one of the conditions was to list his name as party chairman and managing director of the newspaper on the front page. Another condition was a guarantee of newspaper neutrality during the current in-house strife between the two groups of party rivals.
Gomaa, in an official statement, also said that the newspaper staff have received their compensations regularly and “without delay,” a statement directly contradicting reporters’ claims.
The party crisis reached a peak two weeks ago when Gomaa was overthrown by a group of Al-Wafd members that have chosen to call themselves “the reformists.” The reformists include Al-Wafd’s senior leaders and political activists Mahmoud Abaza and Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour along with flocks of party members of the younger generation.
The inner revolution declared Gomaa officially removed from office, saying that the latter was a “dictator” who wanted to hold on to his seat for as long as he could. The group also said that the deteriorating conditions of the party were a direct result of Gomaa’s fading ideology and his firm “authoritarian” grip on the party’s policies. The “reformists” vowed to elect a new chairman within 60 days of Gomaa’s forcible removal from office.
For several days, Gomaa and his party rivals both used the headquarters, since the prosecutor general had helped Gomaa gain non-violent access to the Dokki party headquarters (tightly secured by police forces and surrounded by armed riot police).
However, late Monday, Abaza, Abdel-Nour and their supporters cordoned off the entrance of the party headquarters and barred Gomaa from entry. Television networks and journalists were also shut out.
Gomaa, who spoke on air to Amr Adib on Tuesday, called on security to intervene; calling his rivals “thugs” and “rebels” whose “brutality” must be put to an end.
In response, the prosecutor general – late Wednesday and for the second time – helped Gomaa enter the Dokki headquarters. His supporters surrounded Gomaa’s car, chanting in opposition to his rivals and shouting that Gomaa “is the only true leader of Al-Wafd.”
The prosecutor told the press that his constant support for Gomaa was neither meant to solve the crisis, nor was it intended to declare Gomaa chairman.
Different political groups have offered to intervene to give “council” to the two fighting groups. However, analysts predict the current conflict is far “too fierce” to be resolved through mediation or reconciliation.
The conflicting Al-Wafd members and leaders await the decision in two court cases recently filed by Gomaa against the “reformists.” Gomaa said he is hopeful that the court verdicts, one of them expected to be issued next Saturday, will both be in his favor.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=554
DSE: Al-Wafd Party crisis continues
Al-Wafd Party crisis continues
Gomaa barred from headquarters while paper remains unpublished
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 2, 2006
CAIRO: The stakes were raised in the internal crisis in the Al-Wafd Party, as Noaman Gomaa, overthrown chairman of Al-Wafd, was barred by his rivals from the party’s headquarters for approximately three days; an act that weakened chances for reconciliation between the party rivals.
Gomaa, after being denied access to the party’s headquarters by the young supporters of his two political opponents Mahmoud Abaza and Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour, also refused to succumb to the High Committee of Journalists’ request to resume publication of the Al-Wafd newspaper. The committee convened last Sunday in response to the continued protests of Al-Wafd reporters to resolve the issue – the newspaper’s ban was primarily a result of the months-long inner party strife. The body decided that the paper should be republished “immediately” and the dismissed editors reinstated. The decision was reportedly supported by Head of Parliament Fathi Sorour.
The publishing of the party’s newspaper was halted last Friday amid outcries of journalists and requests by different press organizations to release it. Gomaa also dismissed the editor-in-chief and managing editor.
“Reformists” Abaza and Abdel-Nour, supported by many of the party’s youth who sustain calls for internal reform, had taken hold of the party’s headquarters more than two weeks ago and declared Gomaa officially removed from office. The senior leaders said that their tolerance for Gomaa’s “dictatorial lead” had waned. The group decided to choose a new president for office, to be “democratically” elected within 60 days of Gomaa’s forced removal.
Following the upheaval, the prosecutor-general made a decision to support Gomaa, deeming the procedures that removed him to be “unconstitutional.” The latter gained access to the headquarters, but only for a brief period; however, during that time, Gomaa had another conflict with the newspaper’s editors when they refused to place his name on the paper as both party leader and managing director.
In a twist of events, Abaza and his supporters have regained control of the Dokki headquarters during the past few days and barred Gomaa and his “elderly supporters” from entry. Television networks and reporters were also prevented from entering the headquarters, currently surrounded by livid advocates of Gomaa and cordoned off by “reformists” and monitored by police.
The press also reported early Wednesday that Gomaa was “secretly” offered a “ceremonial leadership position” in the party by an Abaza supporter. Gomaa allegedly refused the position, saying that he was “already the true chairman of the party.”
Gomaa, having previously filed an administrative court case against Abaza due to be decided next Saturday, resorted to legal action again after the latest barricade on the party quarters. The overthrown leader took his case to another Cairo court, specializing in pressing and urgent cases.
Following the incident, Al-Karama Party-to-be announced that they were willing to mediate between the two groups of the Al-Wafd Party adversaries; recommending peaceful resolutions as an alternative to court or government intervention. The Kefaya (Enough) opposition group supported Al-Karama’s initiative, reportedly suggesting the formation of a council of “neutral” leaders, acknowledged by both sides, to help solve the crisis.
Gomaa, appearing on a live satellite TV show with Amr Adib late Tuesday, said that he would not give up his position. The leader said he was “astonished” by the move carried out by Abaza and his supporters, seeing them as, “[Young] Al-Wafd members whom I helped grow and rise.”
“I had trusted everyone around me,” he said.
Prior to the uprising against him, Gomaa said that Abaza, who led the internal revolution along with Abdel-Nour, never asked him to leave office. “We had a friendly meeting where he voiced the party’s needs for more democracy and council within its ranks … I promised I would do all that the internal laws qualify me to in terms of assuring democracy [inside the party],” said Gomaa.
Nevertheless, Gomaa still believes that Abaza, his main rival in the Al-Wafd crisis, is “a respected and a well-mannered” leader who is only surrounded by “thugs” and a select few who crave power and authority.
Abdel-Nour, who phoned-in during the show, said that Gomaa had been informed that many of his party leaders and members had called for urgent changes inside the party. According to Abdel-Nour, they met with Gomaa several times to discuss their requests, including imperative amendments to the party laws to prevent a monopoly of power or authority inside the ranks.
“The flocks surrounding the party are not thugs,” said Abdel-Nour. “They are groups of people chanting against Mr. Noaman Gomaa.”
Abdel-Nour added that the party is open “for everyone” and that it was not barring Gomaa or the press. On the other hand, Gomaa insisted that it was closed down by Abaza’s “militias” for more than two days – a claim supported by Adib who said that his show’s own camera crew were prevented from entering the party.
Finally, Gomaa said that Abdel-Nour and his group have buried the truth and are denying facts; they took over the party using fraud while he is supported by “most” members of the party’s high board.
“The so-called chairman’s elections are fraudulent. The party’s chairman is not dead nor did he leave office,” said Gomaa, referring to himself in the third person. “The chairman is still here; still alive and worthy of the board’s trust.”
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=546
Gomaa barred from headquarters while paper remains unpublished
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 2, 2006
CAIRO: The stakes were raised in the internal crisis in the Al-Wafd Party, as Noaman Gomaa, overthrown chairman of Al-Wafd, was barred by his rivals from the party’s headquarters for approximately three days; an act that weakened chances for reconciliation between the party rivals.
Gomaa, after being denied access to the party’s headquarters by the young supporters of his two political opponents Mahmoud Abaza and Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour, also refused to succumb to the High Committee of Journalists’ request to resume publication of the Al-Wafd newspaper. The committee convened last Sunday in response to the continued protests of Al-Wafd reporters to resolve the issue – the newspaper’s ban was primarily a result of the months-long inner party strife. The body decided that the paper should be republished “immediately” and the dismissed editors reinstated. The decision was reportedly supported by Head of Parliament Fathi Sorour.
The publishing of the party’s newspaper was halted last Friday amid outcries of journalists and requests by different press organizations to release it. Gomaa also dismissed the editor-in-chief and managing editor.
“Reformists” Abaza and Abdel-Nour, supported by many of the party’s youth who sustain calls for internal reform, had taken hold of the party’s headquarters more than two weeks ago and declared Gomaa officially removed from office. The senior leaders said that their tolerance for Gomaa’s “dictatorial lead” had waned. The group decided to choose a new president for office, to be “democratically” elected within 60 days of Gomaa’s forced removal.
Following the upheaval, the prosecutor-general made a decision to support Gomaa, deeming the procedures that removed him to be “unconstitutional.” The latter gained access to the headquarters, but only for a brief period; however, during that time, Gomaa had another conflict with the newspaper’s editors when they refused to place his name on the paper as both party leader and managing director.
In a twist of events, Abaza and his supporters have regained control of the Dokki headquarters during the past few days and barred Gomaa and his “elderly supporters” from entry. Television networks and reporters were also prevented from entering the headquarters, currently surrounded by livid advocates of Gomaa and cordoned off by “reformists” and monitored by police.
The press also reported early Wednesday that Gomaa was “secretly” offered a “ceremonial leadership position” in the party by an Abaza supporter. Gomaa allegedly refused the position, saying that he was “already the true chairman of the party.”
Gomaa, having previously filed an administrative court case against Abaza due to be decided next Saturday, resorted to legal action again after the latest barricade on the party quarters. The overthrown leader took his case to another Cairo court, specializing in pressing and urgent cases.
Following the incident, Al-Karama Party-to-be announced that they were willing to mediate between the two groups of the Al-Wafd Party adversaries; recommending peaceful resolutions as an alternative to court or government intervention. The Kefaya (Enough) opposition group supported Al-Karama’s initiative, reportedly suggesting the formation of a council of “neutral” leaders, acknowledged by both sides, to help solve the crisis.
Gomaa, appearing on a live satellite TV show with Amr Adib late Tuesday, said that he would not give up his position. The leader said he was “astonished” by the move carried out by Abaza and his supporters, seeing them as, “[Young] Al-Wafd members whom I helped grow and rise.”
“I had trusted everyone around me,” he said.
Prior to the uprising against him, Gomaa said that Abaza, who led the internal revolution along with Abdel-Nour, never asked him to leave office. “We had a friendly meeting where he voiced the party’s needs for more democracy and council within its ranks … I promised I would do all that the internal laws qualify me to in terms of assuring democracy [inside the party],” said Gomaa.
Nevertheless, Gomaa still believes that Abaza, his main rival in the Al-Wafd crisis, is “a respected and a well-mannered” leader who is only surrounded by “thugs” and a select few who crave power and authority.
Abdel-Nour, who phoned-in during the show, said that Gomaa had been informed that many of his party leaders and members had called for urgent changes inside the party. According to Abdel-Nour, they met with Gomaa several times to discuss their requests, including imperative amendments to the party laws to prevent a monopoly of power or authority inside the ranks.
“The flocks surrounding the party are not thugs,” said Abdel-Nour. “They are groups of people chanting against Mr. Noaman Gomaa.”
Abdel-Nour added that the party is open “for everyone” and that it was not barring Gomaa or the press. On the other hand, Gomaa insisted that it was closed down by Abaza’s “militias” for more than two days – a claim supported by Adib who said that his show’s own camera crew were prevented from entering the party.
Finally, Gomaa said that Abdel-Nour and his group have buried the truth and are denying facts; they took over the party using fraud while he is supported by “most” members of the party’s high board.
“The so-called chairman’s elections are fraudulent. The party’s chairman is not dead nor did he leave office,” said Gomaa, referring to himself in the third person. “The chairman is still here; still alive and worthy of the board’s trust.”
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=546
DSE: Press Syndicate discusses press freedom, honors three journalists
Press Syndicate discusses press freedom, honors three journalists
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 2, 2006
CAIRO: Following several incidents regarding Egyptian journalists, the press syndicate put together a closed discussion on the status of press freedom and its future in Egypt, honoring three “courageous” journalists.
Over the past few months, harassment of reporters and press personnel has contradicted all expectations of a free press. The ruling party assured the public that Egypt is passing through a period of reform, using words like democracy, transparency and truth. Meanwhile, the wave of democracy and political growth has yet to encompass the Egyptian press, where some are being imprisoned, harassed and punished for doing their duty.
Promises by President Hosni Mubarak that press laws would be amended to prohibit the imprisonment of journalists for publishing and print cases were not met. Calls of international human rights and reporters rights groups urging Egypt’s authorities to grant the press more freedom and grant journalists their full rights were disregarded.
According to the press syndicate’s official lawyer, at least two journalists are called upon by the Prosecutor General on a daily basis to answer petitions and complaints of libel and slander raised against them. More often than not, “the complaints turn out to be unfounded [and] they waste precious time,” says the lawyer.
In addition, the press syndicate, as a legal entity, is precluded from standing as a third party in journalists’ court cases. According to one syndicate member, when the syndicate supports journalists, judiciary bodies ignore their statements and deem the syndicate an “intruder.” Their petitions, when a violation against the press occurs, are often ignored.
Cases of violation, a first of their kind, were also one of the reasons the syndicate said they called for the high-profile discussion. In the past few weeks alone, Al-Wafd’s internal strife has lead its overthrown Chairman Noaman Gomaa to bar the publication of the decades-old party newspaper for four days, dismissing both its managing editor and editor-in-chief. Three reporters from Al-Fajr newspaper were given harsh sentences in libel cases, in absentia and in the absence of their lawyers.
Investigations into the cases of female journalists, who were allegedly harassed while covering the riots and protests on the day of a key vote, were abruptly closed by the Prosecutor General’s office. Their cases were said to be “accidental” and the perpetrators were considered “unknown.”
In addition, the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm could not be found on newsstands last Friday as the distribution company, owned by the national newspaper Al-Ahram, delayed its distribution until Saturday at noon.
The newspaper’s editor said that “they had not been given a reason for the delay.” They could only speculate. One reason put forth by an Al-Masry Al-Youm reporter was that Al-Ahram may have been given orders by the Egyptian security to temporarily ban the paper for publishing “an unwanted yet bold” interview.
“The press cannot work properly under an oppressive system,” said Muhammad Abdel-Qodous, Islamist writer and one of the speakers at the syndicate’s discussion. “What happened, for example, in the case of Al-Masry Al-Youm was a result of the Interior Ministry intentionally barring the paper on that day … Closing the cases of the [female] journalists … These were all slaps on our faces [as journalists and members of the syndicates].”
“It has become the norm now that journalists are susceptible to imprisonment because of their opinions and because of writing the truth,” says Diaa Rashwan, of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. According to Rashwan, no reconciliation short of changing the press laws could make up for all the present violations. “We need a clear law” to state that it is illegal and unconstitutional to put writers and journalists behind bars, said Rashwan.
In agreement, Abdullah El-Sinnawy, editor of the socialist party newspaper Al-Arabi, said that the status of reporters is saddening. El-Sinnawy deemed the promise to free press “unreal,” saying that it was not intended to be put in motion.
“I do not even comprehend the judiciary and legal basis that journalists and people of opinion are tried upon. When there is absence of malice, there is no case,” said El-Sinnawy. “The cases of harassment against journalists stand as a barrier to making plans for the future of the press, which is considered the mirror of how much democracy and reform are really present in a country.”
According to El-Sinnawy, the press in Egypt has lost its “dominion over events.” “Even the national papers have turned into state-owned papers,” says El Sinnawy, who said he believed that “nothing and no one” gives the right for a state to own or control a newspaper.
“Distribution of newspapers has failed dramatically and they have lost credibility. National papers and state-owned media failed to convince and now they want to copy the opposition and party papers [in the way they cover events],” said El-Sinnawy.
El-Sinnawy was supported by Magdy El-Galad, editor of Al-Masry Al-Youm, who said that when national papers failed to cover the truth and sell their lies to the public, they resorted to other ways.
In the beginning, the national newspapers used to intentionally ignore riot and protest coverage and any opposition activities for that matter, says El-Galad. “Now they want to imitate us, they began to cover [these events] to give the impression that they are free and objective. However, they are not.”
“Their coverage is full of color … They color their stories so that the facts appear in the way they want them to; they’re presenting the angle that suits their agenda,” says El-Galad. “Things are covered so differently [in national and independent papers]. It’s paradoxical … You would think the two [groups of] newspapers belong to different countries.”
Following his speech, El-Galad announced that Egypt’s independent newspapers decided last Saturday to form their own independent distribution company so as not to be controlled by national newspaper’s distribution companies.
The Al-Masry Al-Youm Friday issue delay has only opened their eyes, says El-Galad. The distribution, owned by the national press, has been controlling them and setting sales for them for years, according to El-Galad.
“It is time we control our own sales and distribution,” states El-Galad, “and let the market decide.”
During the discussion, the syndicate honored three Al-Masry Al-Youm reporters for their courage in reporting the truth and doing their “honorable duty.” The three journalists had written a story that allegedly accused the former housing minister Ibrahim Soliman of corruption. The latter filed a case against the journalists, who were sentenced in absentia, to one year imprisonment and LE 10,000 each. As they took their case to the cassation court, their sentences are still pending. “It was a very painful experience,” says Alaa Al-Ghatrify, one of the three journalists. “As we were re-trialed, we stood in a cage among killers and drug dealers … There is no respect for a journalist and the syndicate must press more for that [missing] respect.”
According to Al-Ghatrify, “The minister Ibrahim Soliman came to court solely to see us behind bars; he wanted us to be a live example of what could happen to anyone who thinks he [or she] can criticize the government.”
“As painful as it is, this is just one step towards gaining our freedom; the freedom to write [the truth],” said Youssef Al-Oumy, another Al-Masry Al-Youm journalist.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=541
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: February 2, 2006
CAIRO: Following several incidents regarding Egyptian journalists, the press syndicate put together a closed discussion on the status of press freedom and its future in Egypt, honoring three “courageous” journalists.
Over the past few months, harassment of reporters and press personnel has contradicted all expectations of a free press. The ruling party assured the public that Egypt is passing through a period of reform, using words like democracy, transparency and truth. Meanwhile, the wave of democracy and political growth has yet to encompass the Egyptian press, where some are being imprisoned, harassed and punished for doing their duty.
Promises by President Hosni Mubarak that press laws would be amended to prohibit the imprisonment of journalists for publishing and print cases were not met. Calls of international human rights and reporters rights groups urging Egypt’s authorities to grant the press more freedom and grant journalists their full rights were disregarded.
According to the press syndicate’s official lawyer, at least two journalists are called upon by the Prosecutor General on a daily basis to answer petitions and complaints of libel and slander raised against them. More often than not, “the complaints turn out to be unfounded [and] they waste precious time,” says the lawyer.
In addition, the press syndicate, as a legal entity, is precluded from standing as a third party in journalists’ court cases. According to one syndicate member, when the syndicate supports journalists, judiciary bodies ignore their statements and deem the syndicate an “intruder.” Their petitions, when a violation against the press occurs, are often ignored.
Cases of violation, a first of their kind, were also one of the reasons the syndicate said they called for the high-profile discussion. In the past few weeks alone, Al-Wafd’s internal strife has lead its overthrown Chairman Noaman Gomaa to bar the publication of the decades-old party newspaper for four days, dismissing both its managing editor and editor-in-chief. Three reporters from Al-Fajr newspaper were given harsh sentences in libel cases, in absentia and in the absence of their lawyers.
Investigations into the cases of female journalists, who were allegedly harassed while covering the riots and protests on the day of a key vote, were abruptly closed by the Prosecutor General’s office. Their cases were said to be “accidental” and the perpetrators were considered “unknown.”
In addition, the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm could not be found on newsstands last Friday as the distribution company, owned by the national newspaper Al-Ahram, delayed its distribution until Saturday at noon.
The newspaper’s editor said that “they had not been given a reason for the delay.” They could only speculate. One reason put forth by an Al-Masry Al-Youm reporter was that Al-Ahram may have been given orders by the Egyptian security to temporarily ban the paper for publishing “an unwanted yet bold” interview.
“The press cannot work properly under an oppressive system,” said Muhammad Abdel-Qodous, Islamist writer and one of the speakers at the syndicate’s discussion. “What happened, for example, in the case of Al-Masry Al-Youm was a result of the Interior Ministry intentionally barring the paper on that day … Closing the cases of the [female] journalists … These were all slaps on our faces [as journalists and members of the syndicates].”
“It has become the norm now that journalists are susceptible to imprisonment because of their opinions and because of writing the truth,” says Diaa Rashwan, of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. According to Rashwan, no reconciliation short of changing the press laws could make up for all the present violations. “We need a clear law” to state that it is illegal and unconstitutional to put writers and journalists behind bars, said Rashwan.
In agreement, Abdullah El-Sinnawy, editor of the socialist party newspaper Al-Arabi, said that the status of reporters is saddening. El-Sinnawy deemed the promise to free press “unreal,” saying that it was not intended to be put in motion.
“I do not even comprehend the judiciary and legal basis that journalists and people of opinion are tried upon. When there is absence of malice, there is no case,” said El-Sinnawy. “The cases of harassment against journalists stand as a barrier to making plans for the future of the press, which is considered the mirror of how much democracy and reform are really present in a country.”
According to El-Sinnawy, the press in Egypt has lost its “dominion over events.” “Even the national papers have turned into state-owned papers,” says El Sinnawy, who said he believed that “nothing and no one” gives the right for a state to own or control a newspaper.
“Distribution of newspapers has failed dramatically and they have lost credibility. National papers and state-owned media failed to convince and now they want to copy the opposition and party papers [in the way they cover events],” said El-Sinnawy.
El-Sinnawy was supported by Magdy El-Galad, editor of Al-Masry Al-Youm, who said that when national papers failed to cover the truth and sell their lies to the public, they resorted to other ways.
In the beginning, the national newspapers used to intentionally ignore riot and protest coverage and any opposition activities for that matter, says El-Galad. “Now they want to imitate us, they began to cover [these events] to give the impression that they are free and objective. However, they are not.”
“Their coverage is full of color … They color their stories so that the facts appear in the way they want them to; they’re presenting the angle that suits their agenda,” says El-Galad. “Things are covered so differently [in national and independent papers]. It’s paradoxical … You would think the two [groups of] newspapers belong to different countries.”
Following his speech, El-Galad announced that Egypt’s independent newspapers decided last Saturday to form their own independent distribution company so as not to be controlled by national newspaper’s distribution companies.
The Al-Masry Al-Youm Friday issue delay has only opened their eyes, says El-Galad. The distribution, owned by the national press, has been controlling them and setting sales for them for years, according to El-Galad.
“It is time we control our own sales and distribution,” states El-Galad, “and let the market decide.”
During the discussion, the syndicate honored three Al-Masry Al-Youm reporters for their courage in reporting the truth and doing their “honorable duty.” The three journalists had written a story that allegedly accused the former housing minister Ibrahim Soliman of corruption. The latter filed a case against the journalists, who were sentenced in absentia, to one year imprisonment and LE 10,000 each. As they took their case to the cassation court, their sentences are still pending. “It was a very painful experience,” says Alaa Al-Ghatrify, one of the three journalists. “As we were re-trialed, we stood in a cage among killers and drug dealers … There is no respect for a journalist and the syndicate must press more for that [missing] respect.”
According to Al-Ghatrify, “The minister Ibrahim Soliman came to court solely to see us behind bars; he wanted us to be a live example of what could happen to anyone who thinks he [or she] can criticize the government.”
“As painful as it is, this is just one step towards gaining our freedom; the freedom to write [the truth],” said Youssef Al-Oumy, another Al-Masry Al-Youm journalist.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=541
DSE: Al-Wafd reporters protest peacefully
Al-Wafd reporters protest peacefully
Journalists’ Committee releases newspaper for print after short halt
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: January 31, 2006
CAIRO: More than 30 of the temporarily banned Al-Wafd newspaper journalists sat-in on Sunday in front of the High Committee for Journalists, protesting the halt of their daily publication.
In front of the committee’s headquarters, reporters staged a silent and peaceful protest that lasted around three hours, during which members of the committee were assessing Al-Wafd’s case. The journalists, mostly holding banners saying “No for Al-Wafd’s Ban,” awaited the committee’s statement that was expected to decide the newspaper’s fate. They were joined by other journalists and press seniors sympathetic to their cause.
The committee, after long negotiations, decided to release the paper for print, saying that the decades-old newspaper would be reissued with the position of the managing director left blank, until the internal strife between Al-Wafd’s party leaders is resolved.
The “historic” halt of the publication in question, lasting for four days, was initiated by Noaman Gomaa, the currently overthrown chairman of the Al-Wafd Party. His decision to temporarily ban the newspaper – dismissing both its managing editor and editor-in-chief – came after internal in-fighting with senior members Mahmoud Abaza and Mounir Fakhr Abdel-Nour reached its peak.
Two weeks ago, the two senior members – supported by a younger generation of Al-Wafd members – staged an “internal revolution” against the chairman of Al-Wafd, accusing him of being “an authoritarian” and deeming him responsible for the lack of democracy in the party. The younger generation wanted him out, especially after Al-Wafd performed poorly in all national elections and has failed to maintain its position as a key opposition group. Abaza said that fresh blood was needed within the party’s rank and a new chairman would be selected within 60 days of Gomaa’s removal.
However, Gomaa refused to surrender easily. Backed by the prosecutor general and senior supporters, Gomaa gained access to the Dokki headquarters. The headquarters, used by both senior rivals, looked more like a military camp; each leader protected by a heavy police presence.
When the newspaper’s editor refused to comply with Gomaa’s request to list his name as the party chairman and the managing director of the party’s newspaper on the front page, Gomaa reportedly fired him and 13 other reporters. Some of the reporters claimed that Gomaa also blocked their salaries.
However, in an official statement issued on Sunday, a Gomaa representative refuted claims – circulated in press reports – that the latter dismissed reporters. The representative also said that the reporters received their salaries regularly. The halt, according to Gomaa, was essential to keep the party’s stand “neutral” during the ongoing conflicts.
Gomaa also filed a court case against Abaza. The Administrative Court Case decision – due next Saturday – is expected to resolve the strife over the presidency of the party.
Following committee’s statements, Al-Wafd journalists – present on the scene – reportedly promised to file a case against Gomaa for what they called the “unconstitutional” and “unfair” ban of their newspaper.
The case of Al-Wafd foreshadows other changes – whether forced or voluntarily – in other parties, whose older generations have monopolized their highest positions and dominated most party decisions.
Similar changes are expected to take place in the ruling National Democratic Party, which has suffered from internal problems for months. On Monday, President Hosni Mubarak announced that “key changes” will take place in the NDP, especially in the Policy Committee.
The president’s announcement came after several senior members of the party, including former parliamentarian Hossam Badaway, told the press that a strong wave of “reformation” is taking place in the party’s ranks; claiming that the NDP needs to change “from head to toe” in order to transform its frail image.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=532
Journalists’ Committee releases newspaper for print after short halt
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: January 31, 2006
CAIRO: More than 30 of the temporarily banned Al-Wafd newspaper journalists sat-in on Sunday in front of the High Committee for Journalists, protesting the halt of their daily publication.
In front of the committee’s headquarters, reporters staged a silent and peaceful protest that lasted around three hours, during which members of the committee were assessing Al-Wafd’s case. The journalists, mostly holding banners saying “No for Al-Wafd’s Ban,” awaited the committee’s statement that was expected to decide the newspaper’s fate. They were joined by other journalists and press seniors sympathetic to their cause.
The committee, after long negotiations, decided to release the paper for print, saying that the decades-old newspaper would be reissued with the position of the managing director left blank, until the internal strife between Al-Wafd’s party leaders is resolved.
The “historic” halt of the publication in question, lasting for four days, was initiated by Noaman Gomaa, the currently overthrown chairman of the Al-Wafd Party. His decision to temporarily ban the newspaper – dismissing both its managing editor and editor-in-chief – came after internal in-fighting with senior members Mahmoud Abaza and Mounir Fakhr Abdel-Nour reached its peak.
Two weeks ago, the two senior members – supported by a younger generation of Al-Wafd members – staged an “internal revolution” against the chairman of Al-Wafd, accusing him of being “an authoritarian” and deeming him responsible for the lack of democracy in the party. The younger generation wanted him out, especially after Al-Wafd performed poorly in all national elections and has failed to maintain its position as a key opposition group. Abaza said that fresh blood was needed within the party’s rank and a new chairman would be selected within 60 days of Gomaa’s removal.
However, Gomaa refused to surrender easily. Backed by the prosecutor general and senior supporters, Gomaa gained access to the Dokki headquarters. The headquarters, used by both senior rivals, looked more like a military camp; each leader protected by a heavy police presence.
When the newspaper’s editor refused to comply with Gomaa’s request to list his name as the party chairman and the managing director of the party’s newspaper on the front page, Gomaa reportedly fired him and 13 other reporters. Some of the reporters claimed that Gomaa also blocked their salaries.
However, in an official statement issued on Sunday, a Gomaa representative refuted claims – circulated in press reports – that the latter dismissed reporters. The representative also said that the reporters received their salaries regularly. The halt, according to Gomaa, was essential to keep the party’s stand “neutral” during the ongoing conflicts.
Gomaa also filed a court case against Abaza. The Administrative Court Case decision – due next Saturday – is expected to resolve the strife over the presidency of the party.
Following committee’s statements, Al-Wafd journalists – present on the scene – reportedly promised to file a case against Gomaa for what they called the “unconstitutional” and “unfair” ban of their newspaper.
The case of Al-Wafd foreshadows other changes – whether forced or voluntarily – in other parties, whose older generations have monopolized their highest positions and dominated most party decisions.
Similar changes are expected to take place in the ruling National Democratic Party, which has suffered from internal problems for months. On Monday, President Hosni Mubarak announced that “key changes” will take place in the NDP, especially in the Policy Committee.
The president’s announcement came after several senior members of the party, including former parliamentarian Hossam Badaway, told the press that a strong wave of “reformation” is taking place in the party’s ranks; claiming that the NDP needs to change “from head to toe” in order to transform its frail image.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=532
DSE: Al-Masry Al-Yom Friday issue delayed
Al-Masry Al-Youm Friday issue delayed
Readers’ fears for the independent daily’s future ungrounded
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: January 30, 2006
CAIRO: Last Friday, the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm could not be found on newsstands; rumors that the paper had been banned by the government circulated, as faithful readers searched for the newspaper in dismay.
The newspaper has one of the highest rates among opposition and independent newspapers for distribution. The publication has almost always been on top of events, presenting fair coverage; much of the readership has said it balanced out some of the “one-sided reports” published by national papers. The newspaper is also famous for exposing corruption cases and shedding light on some of the government’s violations.
Many were ready to believe the ongoing rumors of the ban; however, the surfacing of the paper the next morning negated all speculations. Reportedly, the newspaper was only delayed by the Al-Ahram company in charge of the paper’s distribution.
Al-Ahram Distribution, denying the presence of any malice toward the newspaper, said that the daily in question was distributed on time. However, the Friday issue only surfaced on Cairo newsstands on Saturday morning.
“The delay is certainly intended,” said one Al-Masry Al-Youm writer who refused to be named. “This is a fact; that Al-Ahram did not distribute the paper on Friday. A decision was made to ban it on that day from the market.”
Nevertheless, the writer said the newspaper staff and seniors do not know the “real reason” behind the delay; they can only speculate. “Al-Ahram newspaper circulation is very weak on Friday. The distributors might have wanted to boast its circulation by keeping Al-Masry Al-Youm, a strong rival, away for the day,” said the writer.
“The decision to delay it might also be for security reasons. In Friday’s issue we had an exclusive interview with the father of the alleged perpetrator of the Beni Mazar massacre; the interview was bold … Maybe it is the reason,” said the writer. “However, we will never know. Al-Ahram is already rejecting all of these speculations.”
The Beni Mazar massacre in a village south of Cairo, where more than three families were slaughtered and mutilated during the night, has become a national issue with a young villager arrested last month and held responsible for the incident.
As national papers claimed the “mentally ill” man was responsible, opposition and independent papers insisted that the young man was only a “scapegoat” and could never have carried out the killings alone. The papers went so far as to say that the real perpetrators are certainly loose, claiming that the Ministry of Interior is only covering up for its malfunction; using an innocent man to silence people’s fears and put a stop to questions raised by the press.
Meanwhile, the father of the accused claims his son was tortured into confessing the murderous acts and blames Egypt’s police for failing to find the true murderers.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=520
Readers’ fears for the independent daily’s future ungrounded
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: January 30, 2006
CAIRO: Last Friday, the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm could not be found on newsstands; rumors that the paper had been banned by the government circulated, as faithful readers searched for the newspaper in dismay.
The newspaper has one of the highest rates among opposition and independent newspapers for distribution. The publication has almost always been on top of events, presenting fair coverage; much of the readership has said it balanced out some of the “one-sided reports” published by national papers. The newspaper is also famous for exposing corruption cases and shedding light on some of the government’s violations.
Many were ready to believe the ongoing rumors of the ban; however, the surfacing of the paper the next morning negated all speculations. Reportedly, the newspaper was only delayed by the Al-Ahram company in charge of the paper’s distribution.
Al-Ahram Distribution, denying the presence of any malice toward the newspaper, said that the daily in question was distributed on time. However, the Friday issue only surfaced on Cairo newsstands on Saturday morning.
“The delay is certainly intended,” said one Al-Masry Al-Youm writer who refused to be named. “This is a fact; that Al-Ahram did not distribute the paper on Friday. A decision was made to ban it on that day from the market.”
Nevertheless, the writer said the newspaper staff and seniors do not know the “real reason” behind the delay; they can only speculate. “Al-Ahram newspaper circulation is very weak on Friday. The distributors might have wanted to boast its circulation by keeping Al-Masry Al-Youm, a strong rival, away for the day,” said the writer.
“The decision to delay it might also be for security reasons. In Friday’s issue we had an exclusive interview with the father of the alleged perpetrator of the Beni Mazar massacre; the interview was bold … Maybe it is the reason,” said the writer. “However, we will never know. Al-Ahram is already rejecting all of these speculations.”
The Beni Mazar massacre in a village south of Cairo, where more than three families were slaughtered and mutilated during the night, has become a national issue with a young villager arrested last month and held responsible for the incident.
As national papers claimed the “mentally ill” man was responsible, opposition and independent papers insisted that the young man was only a “scapegoat” and could never have carried out the killings alone. The papers went so far as to say that the real perpetrators are certainly loose, claiming that the Ministry of Interior is only covering up for its malfunction; using an innocent man to silence people’s fears and put a stop to questions raised by the press.
Meanwhile, the father of the accused claims his son was tortured into confessing the murderous acts and blames Egypt’s police for failing to find the true murderers.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=520
DSE/DSL: Bush/Arab Media (REAC)
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
After repeated failed attempts to foster its image in the Middle East, U.S. lays blame on Arab media
Bush: 'Arabic television does not do our country justice'
By Pakinam Amer
Daily Star staff
CAIRO: Criticism of Arab media outlets by America's mainstream press and the U.S. State Department are escalating, while efforts to revamp the U.S. image in the Middle East are evidently failing.
Last week U.S. President George W. Bush was quoted as saying, "Arabic television does not do our country justice." Bush said that Arab media has put out propaganda that defames U.S. policies and
its administration.
According to the American president, the image Arab media present of the U.S. government - and even the American people - is unfair and exaggerated. "It doesn't give people the impression of what we're about ... You can't figure out America when you're looking at some of these television stations; you just can't, particularly given the message that they spread," said Bush.
Over the past decade, U.S. foreign policy has for the most part continued to provoke Arab reactions. Media and press veterans in the Arab world, with Al-Jazeera topping the list, have been systematically testing the limits in openly condemning the U.S. government and its policies.
During an interview with Al-Jazeera last month, Bolivian President Evo Morales was quoted as declaring Bush "a terrorist" and labeled American military intervention in Arab countries as "state terrorism."
Such statements, broadcasted on Al-Jazeera, are not unique. Since the American occupation of Iraq, vitriolic scorn and criticism of Bush and U.S. foreign affairs have almost become the norm.
"We are not being extreme in our coverage of U.S. politics," said Ahmad Moussa, deputy editor of the Al-Ahram daily newspaper. According to Moussa the Arab media balances out the "extreme" press coverage of U.S. media, which constantly sides with Israel and works to promote its country's interests in the Middle East.
"The American press adopts the same views and policies voiced by its government and powerful lobbies; views that are often against Arab and Muslim states and organizations," said Moussa. "This consequently pushes Arabic media to respond and defend their case."
Moussa said that by presenting their side Arab media succeed in putting forth a complete picture of the events in the Middle East and of the real foreign policies of the United States.
"Personally, I have not heard of an instance where the United States condemned the massacres and the bloodbaths that Israel is responsible for in Palestine. Mass killings and assassinations by Israelis are not mentioned," said Moussa. "On the other hand, you find the United States intervening in internal government policies [in the Arab world]; giving official statements whenever a riot breaks out in Egypt or an internal issue comes up ... it is certainly provoking," said the Al-Ahram senior editor.
However, Moussa insists that the Arab media, especially Egyptian, is objective in spite of the double standards of U.S. foreign policy and the prejudiced American press coverage of this policy. "We [as Egyptian media personnel] are keen on maintaining Egypt-U.S. relations, for instance, by being fair and accurate in coverage ... But these relations should not stop us from criticizing the United States and American policies," said Moussa.
Renowned British Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk has emphasized in many of his speeches that the United States and its media are indeed biased against Arab states. Fisk said in one lecture at Stanford University that he believed, "[American newspapers and television] are becoming alternative in the sense that they're not giving you a full picture ... [They report the Middle East] in a spineless, biased [and] cowardly way." The American press should not be called "mainstream" since it has become "so compliant in [its] reporting in the Middle East," as reported in the Stanford Daily. "[It] has fallen into line with the reporting style which avoids any serious criticism of one side: Israel."
Across the Arab world, attempts initiated by the United States to boost its image as "a country of freedom and democracy" or to cover Middle Eastern affairs "the American way," were often rejected.
Channels such as the Arabic-language Al-Hurra television channel and U.S.-funded Radio Sawa were shunned; sometimes accusations against them were harsh and unfounded. Some Arab journalists have gone as far as labeling Al-Hurra "Bush's mouthpiece in the Middle East."
Bush emphasized in his aforementioned speech that Americans need to find more effective routes to improve their representation in foreign countries, the Arab world in particular. The president said that a key reform was to introduce what he called a "language initiative" that aims at educating Americans in different languages so that they would be able to defend what they stand for in foreign media outlets.
The initiative will focus on languages such as Hindu, Farsi and Arabic. In a Reuters report, Bush said that the initiative is "part of a strategic plan to protect the United States and spread democracy." It is essential, according to the U.S. statement, to "America's standing in the world."
Bush's statement and initiative come after the United States allegedly closed down the youth magazine Hi, published in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East. The Arabic-language magazine directed at young Arabs was part of an earlier U.S. strategy aimed at boosting the American image. The magazine, supported by U.S. funds, has apparently fallen short of expectations, although earlier distribution reports were reportedly high and the magazine was believed to have a far-reaching effect when it kicked off more than two years ago.
One of the main reasons that some Egyptian youths were turned off by the magazine is the fact that it was U.S.-financed. "I do not believe in the U.S. media ... It is [especially] fraudulent in their coverage of politics," said Shady Sherif, the young publisher of several English and Arabic language publications aimed at Egyptian youth.
"Their [the U.S.] accusations against our media are driven by the fact that Arab media haven't been able to compete with the Americans' in the past," said Sherif. "Now we have channels like Al-Jazeera which presents the whole picture ... The American media is not used to our presence; they're not used to others challenging their views."
Commenting on the shaky status of Hi magazine, Sherif said that "[An American-founded magazine like Hi cannot compete with a magazine like ours ... One that is 100 percent local and Egyptian; run by Egyptian youth," said Sherif.
According to Sherif, local youth-directed media generally boasts more credibility among Egyptians, even though "it is not well supported by the old guard of the Egyptian media." Well-funded foreign magazines can only beat the local publications in financing; in addition to having its government support, according to Sherif.
However, according to recent press reports the halt may be only transitory. According to Reuters, Washington made its decision "following recommendations from an independent advisory panel" that the U.S. State Department needed to assess the magazine's readability and its ability to compete with other popular youth publications. This appraisal, according to the U.S. State Department statement, as reported by Reuters Washington, "is part of a broader effort to develop a 'culture of measurement' and to evaluate regularly the effectiveness of the department's public-diplomacy programs."
While many Arabs hold negative sentiments toward U.S. foreign policy, many intellectuals and youths across the Middle East are still open to American culture and community. Arabic channels often host American talk shows, serials and movies that are often hailed by Arab critics and mainstream viewers alike. American entertainment channels are widely popular, through which Americans arguably have more than an adequate channel to present their views and beliefs.
Link: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=21487
After repeated failed attempts to foster its image in the Middle East, U.S. lays blame on Arab media
Bush: 'Arabic television does not do our country justice'
By Pakinam Amer
Daily Star staff
CAIRO: Criticism of Arab media outlets by America's mainstream press and the U.S. State Department are escalating, while efforts to revamp the U.S. image in the Middle East are evidently failing.
Last week U.S. President George W. Bush was quoted as saying, "Arabic television does not do our country justice." Bush said that Arab media has put out propaganda that defames U.S. policies and
its administration.
According to the American president, the image Arab media present of the U.S. government - and even the American people - is unfair and exaggerated. "It doesn't give people the impression of what we're about ... You can't figure out America when you're looking at some of these television stations; you just can't, particularly given the message that they spread," said Bush.
Over the past decade, U.S. foreign policy has for the most part continued to provoke Arab reactions. Media and press veterans in the Arab world, with Al-Jazeera topping the list, have been systematically testing the limits in openly condemning the U.S. government and its policies.
During an interview with Al-Jazeera last month, Bolivian President Evo Morales was quoted as declaring Bush "a terrorist" and labeled American military intervention in Arab countries as "state terrorism."
Such statements, broadcasted on Al-Jazeera, are not unique. Since the American occupation of Iraq, vitriolic scorn and criticism of Bush and U.S. foreign affairs have almost become the norm.
"We are not being extreme in our coverage of U.S. politics," said Ahmad Moussa, deputy editor of the Al-Ahram daily newspaper. According to Moussa the Arab media balances out the "extreme" press coverage of U.S. media, which constantly sides with Israel and works to promote its country's interests in the Middle East.
"The American press adopts the same views and policies voiced by its government and powerful lobbies; views that are often against Arab and Muslim states and organizations," said Moussa. "This consequently pushes Arabic media to respond and defend their case."
Moussa said that by presenting their side Arab media succeed in putting forth a complete picture of the events in the Middle East and of the real foreign policies of the United States.
"Personally, I have not heard of an instance where the United States condemned the massacres and the bloodbaths that Israel is responsible for in Palestine. Mass killings and assassinations by Israelis are not mentioned," said Moussa. "On the other hand, you find the United States intervening in internal government policies [in the Arab world]; giving official statements whenever a riot breaks out in Egypt or an internal issue comes up ... it is certainly provoking," said the Al-Ahram senior editor.
However, Moussa insists that the Arab media, especially Egyptian, is objective in spite of the double standards of U.S. foreign policy and the prejudiced American press coverage of this policy. "We [as Egyptian media personnel] are keen on maintaining Egypt-U.S. relations, for instance, by being fair and accurate in coverage ... But these relations should not stop us from criticizing the United States and American policies," said Moussa.
Renowned British Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk has emphasized in many of his speeches that the United States and its media are indeed biased against Arab states. Fisk said in one lecture at Stanford University that he believed, "[American newspapers and television] are becoming alternative in the sense that they're not giving you a full picture ... [They report the Middle East] in a spineless, biased [and] cowardly way." The American press should not be called "mainstream" since it has become "so compliant in [its] reporting in the Middle East," as reported in the Stanford Daily. "[It] has fallen into line with the reporting style which avoids any serious criticism of one side: Israel."
Across the Arab world, attempts initiated by the United States to boost its image as "a country of freedom and democracy" or to cover Middle Eastern affairs "the American way," were often rejected.
Channels such as the Arabic-language Al-Hurra television channel and U.S.-funded Radio Sawa were shunned; sometimes accusations against them were harsh and unfounded. Some Arab journalists have gone as far as labeling Al-Hurra "Bush's mouthpiece in the Middle East."
Bush emphasized in his aforementioned speech that Americans need to find more effective routes to improve their representation in foreign countries, the Arab world in particular. The president said that a key reform was to introduce what he called a "language initiative" that aims at educating Americans in different languages so that they would be able to defend what they stand for in foreign media outlets.
The initiative will focus on languages such as Hindu, Farsi and Arabic. In a Reuters report, Bush said that the initiative is "part of a strategic plan to protect the United States and spread democracy." It is essential, according to the U.S. statement, to "America's standing in the world."
Bush's statement and initiative come after the United States allegedly closed down the youth magazine Hi, published in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East. The Arabic-language magazine directed at young Arabs was part of an earlier U.S. strategy aimed at boosting the American image. The magazine, supported by U.S. funds, has apparently fallen short of expectations, although earlier distribution reports were reportedly high and the magazine was believed to have a far-reaching effect when it kicked off more than two years ago.
One of the main reasons that some Egyptian youths were turned off by the magazine is the fact that it was U.S.-financed. "I do not believe in the U.S. media ... It is [especially] fraudulent in their coverage of politics," said Shady Sherif, the young publisher of several English and Arabic language publications aimed at Egyptian youth.
"Their [the U.S.] accusations against our media are driven by the fact that Arab media haven't been able to compete with the Americans' in the past," said Sherif. "Now we have channels like Al-Jazeera which presents the whole picture ... The American media is not used to our presence; they're not used to others challenging their views."
Commenting on the shaky status of Hi magazine, Sherif said that "[An American-founded magazine like Hi cannot compete with a magazine like ours ... One that is 100 percent local and Egyptian; run by Egyptian youth," said Sherif.
According to Sherif, local youth-directed media generally boasts more credibility among Egyptians, even though "it is not well supported by the old guard of the Egyptian media." Well-funded foreign magazines can only beat the local publications in financing; in addition to having its government support, according to Sherif.
However, according to recent press reports the halt may be only transitory. According to Reuters, Washington made its decision "following recommendations from an independent advisory panel" that the U.S. State Department needed to assess the magazine's readability and its ability to compete with other popular youth publications. This appraisal, according to the U.S. State Department statement, as reported by Reuters Washington, "is part of a broader effort to develop a 'culture of measurement' and to evaluate regularly the effectiveness of the department's public-diplomacy programs."
While many Arabs hold negative sentiments toward U.S. foreign policy, many intellectuals and youths across the Middle East are still open to American culture and community. Arabic channels often host American talk shows, serials and movies that are often hailed by Arab critics and mainstream viewers alike. American entertainment channels are widely popular, through which Americans arguably have more than an adequate channel to present their views and beliefs.
Link: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=21487
DSE: Reporters protest Al-Wafd halt
Reporters protest Al-Wafd halt
Paper latest victim of Al-Wafd party in-fighting
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: January 30, 2006
CAIRO: A group of angry Al-Wafd reporters sat-in in front of the press syndicate Saturday morning, protesting the halt of publication of the Al-Wafd newspaper that is now in its fourth day.
The newspaper halt was a direct result of longstanding in-fighting among different factions inside the Al-Wafd party. The conflict peaked when Noaman Gomaa, chairman of the party, was overthrown by a group of party “reformists” less than two weeks ago.
Senior leader Mahmoud Abaza, former parliamentarian Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour and hundreds of younger allies lead the overthrow, claiming that the supreme committee of the party was responsible for the decision to remove Gomaa. “It took around two hours to form the decision [of the overthrow] … It should have taken minutes,” Abaza told the press.
Abaza said that the new chairman should be elected by a majority of Al-Wafd members, notably the younger generations who need more representation. According to the senior leader, fresh young faces should be leading the party and the elderly must step aside. Accordingly, the new chairman should be chosen over the course of 60 days from the date of Gomaa’s removal.
Following his overthrow, Gomaa was assisted by his supporters and the police in gaineing access to the Dokki headquarters of Al-Wafd and declared himself “the one and only chairman of Al-Wafd,” refusing his removal from office, deeming it “unconstitutional and illegal” and accusing his rivals of fraud. The temporary resettlement of Gomaa was supported by a prosecutor general’s decision.
The overthrown chairman fired both the editor-in-chief and the managing editor of Al-Wafd newspaper last Wednesday, thus halting its publication in this transitional, yet critical, period of the party’s life. When his decision was frowned upon by many journalists, Gomaa reportedly topped it by dismissing 13 more reporters; Gomaa refused to listen to mediators from the Al-Ahram Distribution Company and allegedly said that his decision was essential to keeping the newspaper “neutral” during the strife and preventing its writers from taking sides.
According to the dismissed editor-in-chief, the overthrown leader allegedly wanted the newspaper to publish his name on the front page as the chairman of Al-Wafd. The editor reportedly refused, saying that he had to wait for the decision of the court to re-instate Gomaa’s name and position. Gomaa, according to reports, became furious and claimed that “through this [act] the paper was already taking sides” and thus halted it.
The decision, opposed by the press syndicate, provoked outcries from many Al-Wafd editors and reporters, who said they had always been “innocent victims” of the party’s inner conflicts. The reporters, who considered themselves on neutral ground, called upon Al-Wafd authorities not to involve them in their in-fighting and to remove the temporary ban on the paper so that they could resume their work “in peace.”
Reportedly, the reporters said that as a result of the Gomaa-Abaza strife, the newspaper’s status had become shaky, with the staff not having received their salaries for the month; the reporters called on President Hosni Mubarak to interfere and reinstate them. The sit-in participants were joined by representatives of the press syndicate, in addition to sympathizers from independent newspapers.
Meanwhile, Gomaa and Abaza still share the headquarters of Al-Wafd, holding subsequent press conferences and each insistent on his decision and each explaining the course of future proceedings of the party accordingly. Riot police remain watchful for fear of any outbreak of violence between zealous supporters of the two sides.
Gomaa and Abaza will remain under the protection of police while they await the Administrative Court’s decision concerning the former chairman’s standing in the party. The court decision is due next Saturday and is expected to be in favor of Gomaa, since initial reports by the national assembly said that the latter’s removal violated laws specified by the constitution of the Political Parties’ Committee and they called for his re-installment.
Gamal Essam El-Din, Al-Ahram Weekly political columnist and analyst, said that the Al-Wafd “long-standing and bitter” conflict will only be resolved by law. “The two parties will never choose to reconcile; even if they do, matters inside the party will never be the same. Sensitivities are high and problems may surface again and again.” According to the analyst, the rivalry is fierce and deep-rooted on both sides, will never lead to peace and “nothing will run smoothly.”
Referring to the decision to halt publication, the analyst deemed Gomaa “a dictator,” saying that the real reason behind the halt was that the newspaper refused to take Gomaa’s side. The analyst said that the court is the only entity that will “set matters right.”
“The newspaper is suffering because of the conflict, because of Gomaa … Gomaa makes his own authoritarian decisions without discussions. This has always been Gomaa.”
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=516
Paper latest victim of Al-Wafd party in-fighting
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: January 30, 2006
CAIRO: A group of angry Al-Wafd reporters sat-in in front of the press syndicate Saturday morning, protesting the halt of publication of the Al-Wafd newspaper that is now in its fourth day.
The newspaper halt was a direct result of longstanding in-fighting among different factions inside the Al-Wafd party. The conflict peaked when Noaman Gomaa, chairman of the party, was overthrown by a group of party “reformists” less than two weeks ago.
Senior leader Mahmoud Abaza, former parliamentarian Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour and hundreds of younger allies lead the overthrow, claiming that the supreme committee of the party was responsible for the decision to remove Gomaa. “It took around two hours to form the decision [of the overthrow] … It should have taken minutes,” Abaza told the press.
Abaza said that the new chairman should be elected by a majority of Al-Wafd members, notably the younger generations who need more representation. According to the senior leader, fresh young faces should be leading the party and the elderly must step aside. Accordingly, the new chairman should be chosen over the course of 60 days from the date of Gomaa’s removal.
Following his overthrow, Gomaa was assisted by his supporters and the police in gaineing access to the Dokki headquarters of Al-Wafd and declared himself “the one and only chairman of Al-Wafd,” refusing his removal from office, deeming it “unconstitutional and illegal” and accusing his rivals of fraud. The temporary resettlement of Gomaa was supported by a prosecutor general’s decision.
The overthrown chairman fired both the editor-in-chief and the managing editor of Al-Wafd newspaper last Wednesday, thus halting its publication in this transitional, yet critical, period of the party’s life. When his decision was frowned upon by many journalists, Gomaa reportedly topped it by dismissing 13 more reporters; Gomaa refused to listen to mediators from the Al-Ahram Distribution Company and allegedly said that his decision was essential to keeping the newspaper “neutral” during the strife and preventing its writers from taking sides.
According to the dismissed editor-in-chief, the overthrown leader allegedly wanted the newspaper to publish his name on the front page as the chairman of Al-Wafd. The editor reportedly refused, saying that he had to wait for the decision of the court to re-instate Gomaa’s name and position. Gomaa, according to reports, became furious and claimed that “through this [act] the paper was already taking sides” and thus halted it.
The decision, opposed by the press syndicate, provoked outcries from many Al-Wafd editors and reporters, who said they had always been “innocent victims” of the party’s inner conflicts. The reporters, who considered themselves on neutral ground, called upon Al-Wafd authorities not to involve them in their in-fighting and to remove the temporary ban on the paper so that they could resume their work “in peace.”
Reportedly, the reporters said that as a result of the Gomaa-Abaza strife, the newspaper’s status had become shaky, with the staff not having received their salaries for the month; the reporters called on President Hosni Mubarak to interfere and reinstate them. The sit-in participants were joined by representatives of the press syndicate, in addition to sympathizers from independent newspapers.
Meanwhile, Gomaa and Abaza still share the headquarters of Al-Wafd, holding subsequent press conferences and each insistent on his decision and each explaining the course of future proceedings of the party accordingly. Riot police remain watchful for fear of any outbreak of violence between zealous supporters of the two sides.
Gomaa and Abaza will remain under the protection of police while they await the Administrative Court’s decision concerning the former chairman’s standing in the party. The court decision is due next Saturday and is expected to be in favor of Gomaa, since initial reports by the national assembly said that the latter’s removal violated laws specified by the constitution of the Political Parties’ Committee and they called for his re-installment.
Gamal Essam El-Din, Al-Ahram Weekly political columnist and analyst, said that the Al-Wafd “long-standing and bitter” conflict will only be resolved by law. “The two parties will never choose to reconcile; even if they do, matters inside the party will never be the same. Sensitivities are high and problems may surface again and again.” According to the analyst, the rivalry is fierce and deep-rooted on both sides, will never lead to peace and “nothing will run smoothly.”
Referring to the decision to halt publication, the analyst deemed Gomaa “a dictator,” saying that the real reason behind the halt was that the newspaper refused to take Gomaa’s side. The analyst said that the court is the only entity that will “set matters right.”
“The newspaper is suffering because of the conflict, because of Gomaa … Gomaa makes his own authoritarian decisions without discussions. This has always been Gomaa.”
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=516
DSE: Grains of Truth
Grains of truth
“Strictly Confidential” e-mail makes the rounds claiming a conspiracy against Amr Khaled
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: December 28, 2005
CAIRO: An electronic mail message (e-mail) entitled “Strictly Confidential”, preceded with the tag “Forward,” is circulated on the Internet to forewarn people of a conspiracy against Islamic preacher Amr Khaled; asking Muslims to pray for the popular young man.
Amr Khaled, often described as a modern televangelist, began preaching in Egypt less than a decade ago, gaining popularity among Egyptian and Arab youth.
Many relate to Khaled as a “moderate” Islamic voice that had risen among extremist views, old-fashioned Al-Azhar clerics and worn-out manners of preaching. During his early years, Khaled -thin moustache, well-groomed and abandoning the traditional Islamic robes for a suit- often talked about the love of God and his prophets and good Muslim manners.
The e-mail currently circulating about Khaled, claiming a to have proof of a “secret conspiracy”, was allegedly originally issued by a high-profile Egyptian security official, who remains undisclosed. The sender urges people to believe that there is a conspiracy aimed at destroying Khaled, defaming his image in Egypt and elsewhere.
The message listed three methods security officials are allegedly employing to end “the Khaled phenomenon.” According to the mail, the three methods are supposedly centered on media and verbal campaigns against him. Outlets like leftist magazine Rose El Youssef, according to the mail, will be encouraged to badmouth him and raise questions about his morality. In addition, Al-Azhar clerics will be urged to discredit his religious authority, “they will press on the fact that he is not an Azhar graduate,” read the mail. The third and last procedure, outlined in the e-mail, lies in resorting to the fundamentalist Salafi scholars to attack Khaled’s manner of preaching and distrust his piety. In addition, the mail read, the security will block Khaled from leaving the country.
This is not the first time,however, that security officials are accused of plotting against Khaled. A few years ago, when the preacher suddenly left the country for London “to undertake further Islamic studies,” as he had said; strong rumors circulated that Khaled was deported by the Egyptian government in order to limit his influence on youth. Khaled, in many statements, denied the rumors. This year, he has visited Egypt several times,but refrained from talking widely to the press.
Although this mail message sounds more like an unfounded exaggeration, some recent events shed more light on the allegations voiced in the email.
As the message surfaced, prominent presenter Amr Adib accompanied by Islamic scholar Khaled El-Guindy have discussed on Monday an Al-Azhar cleric’s fuming attacks against Amr Khaled in the daily Al Qahira Al Youm cable-TV show. Many leftist columnists in mainstream media outlets, including Rose El Youssef, have voicied their hardlined views against the preacher, albeit his leave from Egypt.
There is no foundation,however, that these incidents are part of a formal campaign against Khaled, or instigated by official policy. Nonetheless, for Khaled’s zealous supporters, such incidents could support that their claims are genuine.
Mona, who refused to disclose her surname, was one of those who forwarded the email to her friends and acquaintances.“ Although there have always been attacks on Amr Khaled, I haven’t felt the effect of this email yet in media outlets or among Al-Azhar scholars.”
According to Mona, “There is a possibility that the message content is not true, although I do not doubt that those in control of the country’s politics do not want him to preach.”
Al- Azhar,on the other hand, refused any allegations that there is (or will be) a systematic attack on Khaled. “We did not attack Amr Khaled and we have no reason whatsoever to do so,” said Omar Bastawi, director of Al-Azhar clergy Cairo office.“We were only asked [by the media] if Amr was an Al- Azhar scholar or not.We said he is not … Amr personally announced this fact in several [media outlets],” said Bastawi.
The aforementioned case of an Al-Azhar cleric discrediting Khaled seems to be an individual act of an “angry sheikh” as opposed to being part of “a government scheme” against Khaled.
The cleric is attacking the young preacher “because Amr Khaled did what [the cleric] could not do,” concluded El-Guindy on Monday’s show,complimenting Khaled’s perceived far-reaching influence and winding up what he believed to be the reason behind the attacks.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=504
“Strictly Confidential” e-mail makes the rounds claiming a conspiracy against Amr Khaled
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: December 28, 2005
CAIRO: An electronic mail message (e-mail) entitled “Strictly Confidential”, preceded with the tag “Forward,” is circulated on the Internet to forewarn people of a conspiracy against Islamic preacher Amr Khaled; asking Muslims to pray for the popular young man.
Amr Khaled, often described as a modern televangelist, began preaching in Egypt less than a decade ago, gaining popularity among Egyptian and Arab youth.
Many relate to Khaled as a “moderate” Islamic voice that had risen among extremist views, old-fashioned Al-Azhar clerics and worn-out manners of preaching. During his early years, Khaled -thin moustache, well-groomed and abandoning the traditional Islamic robes for a suit- often talked about the love of God and his prophets and good Muslim manners.
The e-mail currently circulating about Khaled, claiming a to have proof of a “secret conspiracy”, was allegedly originally issued by a high-profile Egyptian security official, who remains undisclosed. The sender urges people to believe that there is a conspiracy aimed at destroying Khaled, defaming his image in Egypt and elsewhere.
The message listed three methods security officials are allegedly employing to end “the Khaled phenomenon.” According to the mail, the three methods are supposedly centered on media and verbal campaigns against him. Outlets like leftist magazine Rose El Youssef, according to the mail, will be encouraged to badmouth him and raise questions about his morality. In addition, Al-Azhar clerics will be urged to discredit his religious authority, “they will press on the fact that he is not an Azhar graduate,” read the mail. The third and last procedure, outlined in the e-mail, lies in resorting to the fundamentalist Salafi scholars to attack Khaled’s manner of preaching and distrust his piety. In addition, the mail read, the security will block Khaled from leaving the country.
This is not the first time,however, that security officials are accused of plotting against Khaled. A few years ago, when the preacher suddenly left the country for London “to undertake further Islamic studies,” as he had said; strong rumors circulated that Khaled was deported by the Egyptian government in order to limit his influence on youth. Khaled, in many statements, denied the rumors. This year, he has visited Egypt several times,but refrained from talking widely to the press.
Although this mail message sounds more like an unfounded exaggeration, some recent events shed more light on the allegations voiced in the email.
As the message surfaced, prominent presenter Amr Adib accompanied by Islamic scholar Khaled El-Guindy have discussed on Monday an Al-Azhar cleric’s fuming attacks against Amr Khaled in the daily Al Qahira Al Youm cable-TV show. Many leftist columnists in mainstream media outlets, including Rose El Youssef, have voicied their hardlined views against the preacher, albeit his leave from Egypt.
There is no foundation,however, that these incidents are part of a formal campaign against Khaled, or instigated by official policy. Nonetheless, for Khaled’s zealous supporters, such incidents could support that their claims are genuine.
Mona, who refused to disclose her surname, was one of those who forwarded the email to her friends and acquaintances.“ Although there have always been attacks on Amr Khaled, I haven’t felt the effect of this email yet in media outlets or among Al-Azhar scholars.”
According to Mona, “There is a possibility that the message content is not true, although I do not doubt that those in control of the country’s politics do not want him to preach.”
Al- Azhar,on the other hand, refused any allegations that there is (or will be) a systematic attack on Khaled. “We did not attack Amr Khaled and we have no reason whatsoever to do so,” said Omar Bastawi, director of Al-Azhar clergy Cairo office.“We were only asked [by the media] if Amr was an Al- Azhar scholar or not.We said he is not … Amr personally announced this fact in several [media outlets],” said Bastawi.
The aforementioned case of an Al-Azhar cleric discrediting Khaled seems to be an individual act of an “angry sheikh” as opposed to being part of “a government scheme” against Khaled.
The cleric is attacking the young preacher “because Amr Khaled did what [the cleric] could not do,” concluded El-Guindy on Monday’s show,complimenting Khaled’s perceived far-reaching influence and winding up what he believed to be the reason behind the attacks.
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=504
DSE: Ayman Nour sentenced to five years in jail
Ayman Nour sentenced to five years in jail
LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS CONDEMN CONVICTION OF “NATIONAL HERO”
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: December 26, 2005
CAIRO: After a trial that dragged on for more than a year, Ayman Nour was sentenced, early Saturday, to five years in jail by an Egyptian court.
Nour, chairman of El-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, was accused last year of forging all but 14 applications out of the 2,000 needed by law to declare his political party legal. Nour, however, will appeal to the Cassation Court against what he calls an unjust sentence, say his lawyers.
The court convicted five other co-defendants from El-Ghad Party, one of whom – tried in absentia - received 10 years in jail. The other’s sentences ranged from three to five years.
According to legal reports, some of Nour’s co-defendants had confessed that they forged the official documents upon Nour’s command. One co-defendant, however, claimed that he was pressured by security to testify against Nour.
A statement issued by the party following the sentence alleged that the judge and members of the judiciary were “hostile” towards Nour and his defense attorneys.
Only a few of Nour’s defense attorneys were allowed to witness the sentencing. Howeida Mansour, one attorney who was prevented from entering the courtroom, said “Everyone knew the sentence beforehand; they will convict him. It is a matter already decided by the court long ago.”
According to Mansour, by oppressing Nour, the regime has turned him into a “national hero” in the eyes of the Egyptian people and the international community.
Before the trial went into session, Nour’s attorneys claimed that security officials scanned the courtroom for explosives, “a move that has never preceded a court case before. It is unheard of,” calimed Mansour. Many members of the press who attempted to attend the trial were shoved and harassed at the door. Photographers were violently herded into a corner once inside the courtroom. Security personnel constituted the majority of the trial attendees.
Nour was President Hosni Mubarak’s strongest competition in this year’s presidential elections, earning around 8 percent of the votes. However, in the latest November parliamentary elections his party performed poorly and Nour lost his house seat.
Two weeks before the Saturday trial, Nour went on a hunger strike, protesting detainment without conviction. Human rights groups, both local and international, have regarded the premature detention as an omen of how the court decision would go. The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary had claimed, in a press release published Monday last week, that putting Nour in custody before the trial gave away “the court’s premeditated tendency to convict Nour.”
Chaos filled the court halls, as the sentence was announced. Gamilla Ismail, Nour’s wife and party spokeswoman, started shouting along with her family, “Down with the [government] … We seek sanctuary in God.”
During the trial, around 300 El-Ghad supporters stood by the courthouse chanting the Egyptian anthem. The diverse group of supporters, wearing orange scarves, T-shirts or caps, waved their orange banners that read: “Together we build a tomorrow.”
Groups of El-Ghad supporters gathered by the Cairo courthouse the night before the trial. The sit-in attracted around 30 fully loaded trucks of security and riot police, who cordoned off the courthouse until the case was over the following morning. The supporters, who performed the night prayer in unity in a nearby mosque, kept to the streets until the next morning, where more supporters joined them.
During the night, one supporter claims, they “were pushed and harassed several times.Women were specifically targeted.”
Ismail joined the night sit-in to read a written statement allegedly sent by Nour himself to members of the sit-in. In the statement, Nour predicted his indictment and asked his supporters to struggle peacefully for his cause “without using violence, or even bad-mouthing the government or the justice system.”
Nour’s supporters were outraged by the court’s decision. When they heard the final sentence, many of the supporters burst into tears and a few passed out. The rest chanted: “God is greater than tyrants,” while others loudly cursed the regime.
“His voice will never die and we will continue on the path he paved for us,” said Yasmine Abdel-Aziz, a zealous El-Ghad member and supporter.
Aida Seif El-Dawla, human rights group leader, who was present at the scene, adorned in black, silently wept over the “the liberal leader.”
Shortly after the sentence was pronounced, Ismail joined the protestors shouting: “Down with Mubarak.”
She appealed to the protestors to be calm. “We must not let them win.You must not give the dogs of the regime [referring to the riot police] a reason to touch any of you … Don’t be sad. God is with you,” said Ismail in a loudspeaker as she stood on top of her Black Jeep Cherokee, surrounded by crying and wailing supporters. Ismail asked supporters to head to the press syndicate Sunday evening for a peaceful protest.
Protestors later marched peacefully to Bab Al-Shiria, the district Nour had represented in the outgoing parliament, chanting “Nour! You are the true leader of this nation.”
Some shouted, “We succumb to God’s judgment, but not to Mubarak’s.”
The march occasionally blocked traffic and attracted other pedestrian reactions.“He was the man who was going to get us jobs,” said one booth owner referring to Nour, as he watched the marchers.
“He made projects for the youth, helped widows and orphans. He gave out computers and established a free cultural club for our area,” said Inshirah Mandour, a housewife and a Nour sympathizer.
“He gives people jobs and housing, provides them with health care, and pays school fees for children from his own money… He sent 25 people to Hajj [Muslim pilgrimage] at his own expense,” said another supporter.
“The president is retaliating against him.” According to Mandour,“ This is a dispute between Nour on one side and the president and his son on another.”
Many regard the final sentence a “direct defiance” to the U.S. State Department who has on many occasions supported Ayman Nour and linked his case to the state of reform and democracy in Egypt.
Last Friday, a U.S. editorial in The Washington Post called upon the American president to interfere in support of Nour, by cutting annual U.S. monetary aid to Egypt. “The United States provides Mr. Mubarak's [government] with $1.8 billion in military and economic aid; without that money for his generals it's doubtful the aged president could remain in office,” read the inflammatory editorial.
The editorial claimed Nour’s case had no “gray areas”; he held neither extremist views nor a threatening ideology.
“We will never give up and we will continue to protest,” says Ihab El-Khouli, Nour’s principle attorney. “This is a strictly political case. It is not just a plot against Ayman Nour; they are targeting the whole movement.”
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=485
LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS CONDEMN CONVICTION OF “NATIONAL HERO”
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: December 26, 2005
CAIRO: After a trial that dragged on for more than a year, Ayman Nour was sentenced, early Saturday, to five years in jail by an Egyptian court.
Nour, chairman of El-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, was accused last year of forging all but 14 applications out of the 2,000 needed by law to declare his political party legal. Nour, however, will appeal to the Cassation Court against what he calls an unjust sentence, say his lawyers.
The court convicted five other co-defendants from El-Ghad Party, one of whom – tried in absentia - received 10 years in jail. The other’s sentences ranged from three to five years.
According to legal reports, some of Nour’s co-defendants had confessed that they forged the official documents upon Nour’s command. One co-defendant, however, claimed that he was pressured by security to testify against Nour.
A statement issued by the party following the sentence alleged that the judge and members of the judiciary were “hostile” towards Nour and his defense attorneys.
Only a few of Nour’s defense attorneys were allowed to witness the sentencing. Howeida Mansour, one attorney who was prevented from entering the courtroom, said “Everyone knew the sentence beforehand; they will convict him. It is a matter already decided by the court long ago.”
According to Mansour, by oppressing Nour, the regime has turned him into a “national hero” in the eyes of the Egyptian people and the international community.
Before the trial went into session, Nour’s attorneys claimed that security officials scanned the courtroom for explosives, “a move that has never preceded a court case before. It is unheard of,” calimed Mansour. Many members of the press who attempted to attend the trial were shoved and harassed at the door. Photographers were violently herded into a corner once inside the courtroom. Security personnel constituted the majority of the trial attendees.
Nour was President Hosni Mubarak’s strongest competition in this year’s presidential elections, earning around 8 percent of the votes. However, in the latest November parliamentary elections his party performed poorly and Nour lost his house seat.
Two weeks before the Saturday trial, Nour went on a hunger strike, protesting detainment without conviction. Human rights groups, both local and international, have regarded the premature detention as an omen of how the court decision would go. The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary had claimed, in a press release published Monday last week, that putting Nour in custody before the trial gave away “the court’s premeditated tendency to convict Nour.”
Chaos filled the court halls, as the sentence was announced. Gamilla Ismail, Nour’s wife and party spokeswoman, started shouting along with her family, “Down with the [government] … We seek sanctuary in God.”
During the trial, around 300 El-Ghad supporters stood by the courthouse chanting the Egyptian anthem. The diverse group of supporters, wearing orange scarves, T-shirts or caps, waved their orange banners that read: “Together we build a tomorrow.”
Groups of El-Ghad supporters gathered by the Cairo courthouse the night before the trial. The sit-in attracted around 30 fully loaded trucks of security and riot police, who cordoned off the courthouse until the case was over the following morning. The supporters, who performed the night prayer in unity in a nearby mosque, kept to the streets until the next morning, where more supporters joined them.
During the night, one supporter claims, they “were pushed and harassed several times.Women were specifically targeted.”
Ismail joined the night sit-in to read a written statement allegedly sent by Nour himself to members of the sit-in. In the statement, Nour predicted his indictment and asked his supporters to struggle peacefully for his cause “without using violence, or even bad-mouthing the government or the justice system.”
Nour’s supporters were outraged by the court’s decision. When they heard the final sentence, many of the supporters burst into tears and a few passed out. The rest chanted: “God is greater than tyrants,” while others loudly cursed the regime.
“His voice will never die and we will continue on the path he paved for us,” said Yasmine Abdel-Aziz, a zealous El-Ghad member and supporter.
Aida Seif El-Dawla, human rights group leader, who was present at the scene, adorned in black, silently wept over the “the liberal leader.”
Shortly after the sentence was pronounced, Ismail joined the protestors shouting: “Down with Mubarak.”
She appealed to the protestors to be calm. “We must not let them win.You must not give the dogs of the regime [referring to the riot police] a reason to touch any of you … Don’t be sad. God is with you,” said Ismail in a loudspeaker as she stood on top of her Black Jeep Cherokee, surrounded by crying and wailing supporters. Ismail asked supporters to head to the press syndicate Sunday evening for a peaceful protest.
Protestors later marched peacefully to Bab Al-Shiria, the district Nour had represented in the outgoing parliament, chanting “Nour! You are the true leader of this nation.”
Some shouted, “We succumb to God’s judgment, but not to Mubarak’s.”
The march occasionally blocked traffic and attracted other pedestrian reactions.“He was the man who was going to get us jobs,” said one booth owner referring to Nour, as he watched the marchers.
“He made projects for the youth, helped widows and orphans. He gave out computers and established a free cultural club for our area,” said Inshirah Mandour, a housewife and a Nour sympathizer.
“He gives people jobs and housing, provides them with health care, and pays school fees for children from his own money… He sent 25 people to Hajj [Muslim pilgrimage] at his own expense,” said another supporter.
“The president is retaliating against him.” According to Mandour,“ This is a dispute between Nour on one side and the president and his son on another.”
Many regard the final sentence a “direct defiance” to the U.S. State Department who has on many occasions supported Ayman Nour and linked his case to the state of reform and democracy in Egypt.
Last Friday, a U.S. editorial in The Washington Post called upon the American president to interfere in support of Nour, by cutting annual U.S. monetary aid to Egypt. “The United States provides Mr. Mubarak's [government] with $1.8 billion in military and economic aid; without that money for his generals it's doubtful the aged president could remain in office,” read the inflammatory editorial.
The editorial claimed Nour’s case had no “gray areas”; he held neither extremist views nor a threatening ideology.
“We will never give up and we will continue to protest,” says Ihab El-Khouli, Nour’s principle attorney. “This is a strictly political case. It is not just a plot against Ayman Nour; they are targeting the whole movement.”
Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=485
DSE: Saddam on trial
Saddam on trial
Former leader accuses U.S. captors of torturing him
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: December 27, 2005
CAIRO: During his trial last week,incarcerated fromer Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein accused his American guards of torturing him, an allegation that provoked diverse reactions inside Egypt. Human rights groups, however, remain silent in reaction to the claims.
The leader, who is strongly suspected of killing thousands during his reign, has been on trial charged with the murder of 148 people after the Dujail town incident in 1982. In this famous incident, a small group of militants opened fire on Hussein’s presidential convoy following a formal visit to the mixed Shi’i and Sunni town. In retaliation, witnesses claim that Hussein carried out large scale arrests in the days that followed. According to press reports, his regime captured whole families, including children as young as six. Some of those arrested never reappeared and are believed to have been either persecuted or condemned to death.
Hussein is expected to receive a death sentence, if convicted.
Some Egyptians – who object to the procedures of the trial - echo views like those of the former Qatari minister of justice who perceives the trial as another “sham of justice” staged by the United Sates.
For two years the Americans spent millions of dollars, seeking the help of Arab,American, and British experts to make the trial look justifiable, said the former minister,who is also one of Hussein’s defense attorneys.
“I am against putting him on trial; let alone torturing him,” said Samir Essmat, an Egyptian construction engineer. “The system that is judging him [referring to the Americans] is already corrupt. Who gives them the right to remove an elected president, occupy his country under a false claim and then try him?”
“It was enough humiliation for him to be removed and imprisoned,” said Maha El-Sherif, a marketing student. “They should not try or mistreat him in the first place.They should give him a life-sentence and let it be.”
Another Egyptian citizen, science journalist Nadia El-Awwady, said, “Regardless of affiliations; if a person accuses a certain entity of something like torture, an investigation into the allegations should immediately take place.” According to El-Awwady, the fact that the captors and the controllers of the trial procedures are American raises questions about the trial’s fairness. “I understand, though, that the judges are Iraqis and it is the Iraqis’ right to see Saddam prosecuted,” she said.
According to a recent New York Times report, on the sixth day of the trial,“Saddam erupted; standing at the microphone in the dock to say that all the testimony about torture had been ‘invented’ by the Americans and dictated to the Dujail witnesses.”
“They talk about torture,” Hussein said, “But don't you think it would be responsible for you to ask us, the defendants, if we have been tortured? I have been beaten on every part of my body, and the marks are still all over me … Beaten by the Americans, and tortured,” alleged Hussein.
The White House officially denied Hussein was being tortured, stating that “Hussein is being treated the exact opposite of the way his regime treated those he imprisoned.”
According to Hussein, his confinement conditions are unsatisfactory. “There is no sun for Saddam Hussein,” he said.
“No torture can be justified whether it concerns Saddam or any other human being,” said Mohammad Wahby of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.
“Nonetheless, we cannot take Saddam’s words for granted. He is probably using the tribunal to publicize his counter attacks and to justify his actions.” According to Wahby, being a former Arab leader, Hussein’s claims “count and will resonate among people. In a way, he represents Arab dignity.”
Sharing the same views, Gamal Essam Eddin, political columnist at Al-Ahram Weekly told The Daily Star Egypt that he does not believe Saddam’s claims. “He might have been badmouthed,but I refuse to believe that he was physically abused.”
Interestingly,Middle East and international human rights organizations have ignored Hussein’s claims.Amnesty International is one of the organizations monitoring the trial for guarantees of fairness; however, their attention is centered on the witnesses and the victims brought to testify against Hussein.
“It is easy to believe that Hussein was tortured and beaten by American soldiers,” said Mohammad Zarie of the Human Rights Center for the Assistance of Prisoners. Zarie said that the images from Abu Gharib prison and other recorded incidents prove that “torture as a demeanor is apparently systematic.”
According to Zarie, head of the aforementioned Egyptian rights group, “One of the main roles of the Iraqi human rights groups is to investigate the assertions of Saddam … They are still so immature that they cannot separate between their emotions about a political issue on one side and their proper conduct as human rights activists towards the issue on another.” International organizations have not done their proper job concerning this issue, added Zarie. “But of course, the Americans will hold back any investigation into the allegations of torture.”
Former leader accuses U.S. captors of torturing him
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: December 27, 2005
CAIRO: During his trial last week,incarcerated fromer Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein accused his American guards of torturing him, an allegation that provoked diverse reactions inside Egypt. Human rights groups, however, remain silent in reaction to the claims.
The leader, who is strongly suspected of killing thousands during his reign, has been on trial charged with the murder of 148 people after the Dujail town incident in 1982. In this famous incident, a small group of militants opened fire on Hussein’s presidential convoy following a formal visit to the mixed Shi’i and Sunni town. In retaliation, witnesses claim that Hussein carried out large scale arrests in the days that followed. According to press reports, his regime captured whole families, including children as young as six. Some of those arrested never reappeared and are believed to have been either persecuted or condemned to death.
Hussein is expected to receive a death sentence, if convicted.
Some Egyptians – who object to the procedures of the trial - echo views like those of the former Qatari minister of justice who perceives the trial as another “sham of justice” staged by the United Sates.
For two years the Americans spent millions of dollars, seeking the help of Arab,American, and British experts to make the trial look justifiable, said the former minister,who is also one of Hussein’s defense attorneys.
“I am against putting him on trial; let alone torturing him,” said Samir Essmat, an Egyptian construction engineer. “The system that is judging him [referring to the Americans] is already corrupt. Who gives them the right to remove an elected president, occupy his country under a false claim and then try him?”
“It was enough humiliation for him to be removed and imprisoned,” said Maha El-Sherif, a marketing student. “They should not try or mistreat him in the first place.They should give him a life-sentence and let it be.”
Another Egyptian citizen, science journalist Nadia El-Awwady, said, “Regardless of affiliations; if a person accuses a certain entity of something like torture, an investigation into the allegations should immediately take place.” According to El-Awwady, the fact that the captors and the controllers of the trial procedures are American raises questions about the trial’s fairness. “I understand, though, that the judges are Iraqis and it is the Iraqis’ right to see Saddam prosecuted,” she said.
According to a recent New York Times report, on the sixth day of the trial,“Saddam erupted; standing at the microphone in the dock to say that all the testimony about torture had been ‘invented’ by the Americans and dictated to the Dujail witnesses.”
“They talk about torture,” Hussein said, “But don't you think it would be responsible for you to ask us, the defendants, if we have been tortured? I have been beaten on every part of my body, and the marks are still all over me … Beaten by the Americans, and tortured,” alleged Hussein.
The White House officially denied Hussein was being tortured, stating that “Hussein is being treated the exact opposite of the way his regime treated those he imprisoned.”
According to Hussein, his confinement conditions are unsatisfactory. “There is no sun for Saddam Hussein,” he said.
“No torture can be justified whether it concerns Saddam or any other human being,” said Mohammad Wahby of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.
“Nonetheless, we cannot take Saddam’s words for granted. He is probably using the tribunal to publicize his counter attacks and to justify his actions.” According to Wahby, being a former Arab leader, Hussein’s claims “count and will resonate among people. In a way, he represents Arab dignity.”
Sharing the same views, Gamal Essam Eddin, political columnist at Al-Ahram Weekly told The Daily Star Egypt that he does not believe Saddam’s claims. “He might have been badmouthed,but I refuse to believe that he was physically abused.”
Interestingly,Middle East and international human rights organizations have ignored Hussein’s claims.Amnesty International is one of the organizations monitoring the trial for guarantees of fairness; however, their attention is centered on the witnesses and the victims brought to testify against Hussein.
“It is easy to believe that Hussein was tortured and beaten by American soldiers,” said Mohammad Zarie of the Human Rights Center for the Assistance of Prisoners. Zarie said that the images from Abu Gharib prison and other recorded incidents prove that “torture as a demeanor is apparently systematic.”
According to Zarie, head of the aforementioned Egyptian rights group, “One of the main roles of the Iraqi human rights groups is to investigate the assertions of Saddam … They are still so immature that they cannot separate between their emotions about a political issue on one side and their proper conduct as human rights activists towards the issue on another.” International organizations have not done their proper job concerning this issue, added Zarie. “But of course, the Americans will hold back any investigation into the allegations of torture.”
DSE: Documentary Glorifies Sadat's Assassin
Documentary glorifies Sadat’s assassin
IRANIAN ISLAMIST GROUP ANNOUNCES INTENTION TO PRODUCE CONTROVERSIAL FILM
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: December 21, 2005
CAIRO: A prospective Iranianproduced documentary on the assassination of the late President Anwar Sadat, has kicked off a range of volatile of reactions inside Egypt.Among other issues, the documentary apparently glorifies Khaled El-Islamboli, Sadat’s assassin. While some Egyptians are ready to incriminate the Iranian government, others cautioned against linking the government to the documentary, especially since such a link could put a strain on the tentatively recovering relations between the two countries.
A week ago an Iranian Islamist group announced, in a statement sent to Agence- France-Presse, that it was working on a documentary film featuring the 1981 assassination of Sadat, to be titled “34 Bullets for the Pharaoh.”
The group, which calls itself “The Committee for the Glorification of Martyrs,” seems set to undermine recent, and widely publicized, efforts by the Iranian government to reinforce relations with Egypt.
In a show of good faith, the Iranian government had recently announced that it would rename a street previously named in honor of Islamboli, executed for his assassination of the late President. Still, it remains unclear whether the Iranian government is funding the aforementioned extremist group or even formally recognizes it.
The documentary, if published on CD-ROMs as the group has promised, is certain to ignite anger, both among members of the Egyptian government as well as the average Egyptian, and may potentially have a negative impact on relations between the two nations.
Iran has often rallied the sympathy of many Arabs, especially Egyptians, as a result of being subject to repressive economic sanctions and export controls by the United States for more than a decade. Many Egyptians consider the nation prey to U.S. hegemony and biased foreign policy.
However, defaming a widely respected figure like Sadat may be crossing the line. Sadat is generally a highly-respected figure among Egyptians. During his presidency, Egypt attacked Israeli forces occupying Sinai in October 1973 and reclaimed much ground before the United States intervened . The victory led to the Camp David truce with Israel, a move that gained Sadat and his Israeli counterpart Menachem Begin a Nobel Peace Prize. Sadat soared in popularity as Egyptians enjoyed relished their success.
According to the statement faxed to a news agency, “The documentary will feature raw images of the assassination of Sadat and the trial of the martyr Khaled El-Islamboli and his companions.” While the film’s essential message is apparently a glorification of a murder, political analyst Nabil Abdel-Fatah, of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, thinks the Egyptian government has to maintain calm in handling the incident.
“Featuring a film about Sadat, even if it is meant to defame the leader is not a political move on behalf of Iran, especially since there is no indication that the government is involved in its production,” says Abdel-Fatah. “The film should be handled as artwork, even if it is created by an extremist group.”
According to Abdel-Fatah, it should be seen and criticized as art, without letting it hinder relations between Egypt and Iran. “A film is responded to with another film or even a court case against its makers. The normalization between the two countries should not be dependent on it.”
Nevertheless, Abdel-Fatah argues that government-controlled matters like the Khaled El-Islamboli street name should be a major concern. “The film is a different case. It is enough that it is done by a non-governmental militant group; this should be sufficient to disparage its quality and the intentions of those behind it.”
There is an influential reformist trend inside the Iranian government interested in establishing ties with Egypt, which is a strong U.S. ally in the Middle East, says Abdel-Fatah. “It is in their benefit to retrieve strategic stability with Egypt, in an attempt to improve relations with the United States . they are fighting for that,” the analyst adds.
Iran cut all its diplomatic ties with Egypt in 1979 (the same year Iran became an Islamic republic), after Sadat made peace with Israel, allowing working and diplomatic relations between the two former rivals.
Mixed messages are flying on the international scene, however. On one hand, peace talks are currently taking place between Cairo and Tehran. On the other, present Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -following in the footsteps of his spiritual mentor Ayatollah Khomeini - has openly vowed to wipe Israel off the map and threatened that “any leaders in the Islamic umma (community)” that deal with Iran’s archenemy Israel or contemplate “the surrender of the Muslim world” will certainly face “the wrath of their own people.”
Egypt has strong ambassadorial ties with Israel. In addition to business relations, Egypt and Israel regularly exchange agricultural experts. Recently, Egypt launched an economic trade agreement with Israel, the QIZ, which allows Egypt to export products to the United States duty-free if the products contain a given percentage of input from Israel.
Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric is dramatically different from that of former leader Mohammad Khatami who first called for a dialogue between Egypt and Iran as part of a greater initiative to improve Iranian foreign relations and recover its ties with neighboring Middle East countries.
Contrary to his predecessor, Ahmadinejad has been reluctant to maintain relations with the United States and according to BBC News the hardliner is “backed by powerful conservatives who use their network of mosques to mobilize support for him.”
It is worth noting that the fundamentalist group in question surfaced in press reports prior to their Sadat-documentary incident. In 2004 the group offered a $100,000 reward to anyone who killed Salman Rushdie, controversial Indianborn British writer of The Satanic Verses. The anonymous group sent their offer to a Tehran daily.
In a striking display of art appreciation, the same group (linking itself to an anonymous ‘World Islamic Movement’) claimed ownership of a stone sculpture (currently set in Tehran) commemorating the “martyrs” who bombed the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.
Diaa Rashwan, with at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and possibly Egypt’s foremost expert on Islamic and militant groups, said that the Islamic group could be a hoax.
“There is a possibility that there is a third entity that is attempting to jeopardize Egypt and Iran’s anticipated relations by publicizing this alleged documentary to ruin the two countries’ efforts towards reconciliation,” he says.
According to Rashwan it is unusual for an Iranian Islamic group to even use the words “world” or “global” in its name especially since most of the Iranian groups are Shi’a and those who describe themselves as “global” are always Sunni.
“I also highly doubt that the Iranian government is involved with this so-called Islamic group, bearing in mind that Iran is keen on regaining its relations with Egypt. It is Egypt who is disinclined to take this step unless some particulars [such as changing the Khaled El-Islamboli street name] are set in motion,” says Rashwan.
The notion of a documentary celebrating the assassination of a renowned Egyptian leader has already provoked reactions on the street.
Magdy Mohammad,a driver, says that the judgment of the Iranian group on an Egyptian leader is insignificant. “We do not care what they think. El-Islamboli is a criminal and Sadat never deserved a brutal death.” Mohammad however refuses to blame the Iranian government. Gamal Ali, who owns an ironing shop shares his view, saying that Iran should not be indicted. “The country has many thoughts and trends. This extreme group does not represent the view of the whole nation.”
“We all know that Sadat was a man of peace and a good Islamic figure,” says Yahya Mohammad, a supermarket owner. “The Egyptian government should respond in an official statement, but in a friendly manner. Then again, those few who show hatred to Egypt could be motivated by others, maybe Jews.”
Mahmoud Mohammad, a shop worker, insists that Iran should apologize “even if as a government it is not responsible for the film. As pious Muslims they should ban such a movie.”
The past few decades have been a period of isolation for Iran since relations with the United States and Arab countries became strained in the late 1970s. In 1980 Iran started a war with neighboring Iraq, which later led to a military engagement between U.S. and Iranian forces. In 1981 a group of Iranian students seized the American embassy in Tehran for more than two months. The country has also been suspected of fueling Islamic militancy in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East.
IRANIAN ISLAMIST GROUP ANNOUNCES INTENTION TO PRODUCE CONTROVERSIAL FILM
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: December 21, 2005
CAIRO: A prospective Iranianproduced documentary on the assassination of the late President Anwar Sadat, has kicked off a range of volatile of reactions inside Egypt.Among other issues, the documentary apparently glorifies Khaled El-Islamboli, Sadat’s assassin. While some Egyptians are ready to incriminate the Iranian government, others cautioned against linking the government to the documentary, especially since such a link could put a strain on the tentatively recovering relations between the two countries.
A week ago an Iranian Islamist group announced, in a statement sent to Agence- France-Presse, that it was working on a documentary film featuring the 1981 assassination of Sadat, to be titled “34 Bullets for the Pharaoh.”
The group, which calls itself “The Committee for the Glorification of Martyrs,” seems set to undermine recent, and widely publicized, efforts by the Iranian government to reinforce relations with Egypt.
In a show of good faith, the Iranian government had recently announced that it would rename a street previously named in honor of Islamboli, executed for his assassination of the late President. Still, it remains unclear whether the Iranian government is funding the aforementioned extremist group or even formally recognizes it.
The documentary, if published on CD-ROMs as the group has promised, is certain to ignite anger, both among members of the Egyptian government as well as the average Egyptian, and may potentially have a negative impact on relations between the two nations.
Iran has often rallied the sympathy of many Arabs, especially Egyptians, as a result of being subject to repressive economic sanctions and export controls by the United States for more than a decade. Many Egyptians consider the nation prey to U.S. hegemony and biased foreign policy.
However, defaming a widely respected figure like Sadat may be crossing the line. Sadat is generally a highly-respected figure among Egyptians. During his presidency, Egypt attacked Israeli forces occupying Sinai in October 1973 and reclaimed much ground before the United States intervened . The victory led to the Camp David truce with Israel, a move that gained Sadat and his Israeli counterpart Menachem Begin a Nobel Peace Prize. Sadat soared in popularity as Egyptians enjoyed relished their success.
According to the statement faxed to a news agency, “The documentary will feature raw images of the assassination of Sadat and the trial of the martyr Khaled El-Islamboli and his companions.” While the film’s essential message is apparently a glorification of a murder, political analyst Nabil Abdel-Fatah, of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, thinks the Egyptian government has to maintain calm in handling the incident.
“Featuring a film about Sadat, even if it is meant to defame the leader is not a political move on behalf of Iran, especially since there is no indication that the government is involved in its production,” says Abdel-Fatah. “The film should be handled as artwork, even if it is created by an extremist group.”
According to Abdel-Fatah, it should be seen and criticized as art, without letting it hinder relations between Egypt and Iran. “A film is responded to with another film or even a court case against its makers. The normalization between the two countries should not be dependent on it.”
Nevertheless, Abdel-Fatah argues that government-controlled matters like the Khaled El-Islamboli street name should be a major concern. “The film is a different case. It is enough that it is done by a non-governmental militant group; this should be sufficient to disparage its quality and the intentions of those behind it.”
There is an influential reformist trend inside the Iranian government interested in establishing ties with Egypt, which is a strong U.S. ally in the Middle East, says Abdel-Fatah. “It is in their benefit to retrieve strategic stability with Egypt, in an attempt to improve relations with the United States . they are fighting for that,” the analyst adds.
Iran cut all its diplomatic ties with Egypt in 1979 (the same year Iran became an Islamic republic), after Sadat made peace with Israel, allowing working and diplomatic relations between the two former rivals.
Mixed messages are flying on the international scene, however. On one hand, peace talks are currently taking place between Cairo and Tehran. On the other, present Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -following in the footsteps of his spiritual mentor Ayatollah Khomeini - has openly vowed to wipe Israel off the map and threatened that “any leaders in the Islamic umma (community)” that deal with Iran’s archenemy Israel or contemplate “the surrender of the Muslim world” will certainly face “the wrath of their own people.”
Egypt has strong ambassadorial ties with Israel. In addition to business relations, Egypt and Israel regularly exchange agricultural experts. Recently, Egypt launched an economic trade agreement with Israel, the QIZ, which allows Egypt to export products to the United States duty-free if the products contain a given percentage of input from Israel.
Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric is dramatically different from that of former leader Mohammad Khatami who first called for a dialogue between Egypt and Iran as part of a greater initiative to improve Iranian foreign relations and recover its ties with neighboring Middle East countries.
Contrary to his predecessor, Ahmadinejad has been reluctant to maintain relations with the United States and according to BBC News the hardliner is “backed by powerful conservatives who use their network of mosques to mobilize support for him.”
It is worth noting that the fundamentalist group in question surfaced in press reports prior to their Sadat-documentary incident. In 2004 the group offered a $100,000 reward to anyone who killed Salman Rushdie, controversial Indianborn British writer of The Satanic Verses. The anonymous group sent their offer to a Tehran daily.
In a striking display of art appreciation, the same group (linking itself to an anonymous ‘World Islamic Movement’) claimed ownership of a stone sculpture (currently set in Tehran) commemorating the “martyrs” who bombed the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.
Diaa Rashwan, with at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and possibly Egypt’s foremost expert on Islamic and militant groups, said that the Islamic group could be a hoax.
“There is a possibility that there is a third entity that is attempting to jeopardize Egypt and Iran’s anticipated relations by publicizing this alleged documentary to ruin the two countries’ efforts towards reconciliation,” he says.
According to Rashwan it is unusual for an Iranian Islamic group to even use the words “world” or “global” in its name especially since most of the Iranian groups are Shi’a and those who describe themselves as “global” are always Sunni.
“I also highly doubt that the Iranian government is involved with this so-called Islamic group, bearing in mind that Iran is keen on regaining its relations with Egypt. It is Egypt who is disinclined to take this step unless some particulars [such as changing the Khaled El-Islamboli street name] are set in motion,” says Rashwan.
The notion of a documentary celebrating the assassination of a renowned Egyptian leader has already provoked reactions on the street.
Magdy Mohammad,a driver, says that the judgment of the Iranian group on an Egyptian leader is insignificant. “We do not care what they think. El-Islamboli is a criminal and Sadat never deserved a brutal death.” Mohammad however refuses to blame the Iranian government. Gamal Ali, who owns an ironing shop shares his view, saying that Iran should not be indicted. “The country has many thoughts and trends. This extreme group does not represent the view of the whole nation.”
“We all know that Sadat was a man of peace and a good Islamic figure,” says Yahya Mohammad, a supermarket owner. “The Egyptian government should respond in an official statement, but in a friendly manner. Then again, those few who show hatred to Egypt could be motivated by others, maybe Jews.”
Mahmoud Mohammad, a shop worker, insists that Iran should apologize “even if as a government it is not responsible for the film. As pious Muslims they should ban such a movie.”
The past few decades have been a period of isolation for Iran since relations with the United States and Arab countries became strained in the late 1970s. In 1980 Iran started a war with neighboring Iraq, which later led to a military engagement between U.S. and Iranian forces. In 1981 a group of Iranian students seized the American embassy in Tehran for more than two months. The country has also been suspected of fueling Islamic militancy in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East.
DSE: Nour continues hunger strike
Nour continues hunger strike
PROTESTING THE CONDITIONS OF HIS DETENTION, NOUR REFUSES FOOD
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: December 19, 2005
CAIRO: Appealing for the sympathy of the public and attention of the officials, Ayman Nour, leader of El-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, continues his hunger strike for an eighth day - lying in a hospital room in Tora Mazraa Prison - protesting his temporary detention amid warnings of his appointed physicians and appeals from his wife.
Nour, a former runner-up in presidential and parliamentary elections, was accused in January of last year of forging 1986 signatures out of 2000 needed by law to form a legitimate political party. Nour, who has been in the limelight ever since, denied the accusations.
The former lawyer,who cynical voices in the National Democratic Party often call “America’s sweetheart,” may face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison pending forgery case. The courts are expected to deliver their verdict on December 24.
One of Nour’s defense attorneys, Amir Salem told The Daily Star Egypt that the hunger strike is not meant to affect the course of the trial in any way, and it is not expected to sway the court's decision. “He is only protesting the injustice and the humiliation he is facing,” explained Salem.
According to the attorney,the two physicians who are following Nour’s medical condition insist that the politician is in serious risk of slipping into a coma. Nour is diabetic and went on a hunger strike for seven consecutive days, before he allowed the physicians on Saturday evening to give him fluid replacements to stabilize his condition.
Gamilla Ismail, Nour’s wife and party spokesperson, said Nour only accepted “a cup of tea” Sunday morning, but is insistent on maintaining the food ban until the forthcoming trial. Ismail said that meanwhile she would “do her best to get a response to the request [of releasing Nour].”
Salem, along with El-Ghad Party, had presented a petition last week to the prosecutor's office calling for a legal investigation into Nour’s hunger strike."I threatened to sit in the office until they succumb to my request.
Fortunately, they agreed to send a legal committee, accompanied by an appointed medical team, to meet [Nour] in prison and they officially reported his strike and the reasons that lead to it."
Nour not only went on strike to object his imprisonment, a mere 20 days before the fervently awaited final ruling in his forgery case, but also to complain of the “ill-treatment” he received during his detention, said Hisham Kassem, El-Ghad deputy leader and human rights activist.
He is still on trial and he is not officially detained, “Nevertheless at the Tora Mazraa Prison, they let him fill out applications that only convicts and sentenced prisoners are supposed to fill,” said Kassem.“This act is outright degradation in its own right.”
Several national human rights and prisoners’ rights groups have issued reports concerning the Nour incident and calling for his “immediate release,” however, there has been no official government response as of date of publication.
“We want the public opinion to support Nour’s cause,” said Hafez Abu Saada of the Egyptian Organization of Human Rights.
Nour’s cause is also supported by the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary, who deemed his upcoming trial “lacking many guarantees of justice and fairness.”
Human Rights Center for Assistance of Prisoners also issued a petition bound for the general prosecutor and Minister of Interior Habib El-Adly. Mohammad Zarie, founder of the center, attempted to visit Nour in person. However, according to Zarie, his health condition was "critical" and he could not accept any visits.
In its petition the center recounted the alleged “disgraceful” detainment conditions that Nour was subjected to.According to the report, Nour’s covers and mattress were taken from him and he was forced to “sleep on the floor, leading him to suffer from physical and emotional pain … He was given the worst of treatment as the rest of the prisoners watched.”
Zarie claimed that the “demeaning” conduct violated international human rights laws.
Commenting on Nour’s outgoing trial, Human Rights Watch’s Deputy Director in the Middle East Joe Stork said in a report published earlier this month that the trial “like the violence against voters in the parliamentary elections, is a terrible advertisement for President Mubarak’s supposed reform agenda, and for Egypt’s judiciary. In the courtroom, as at the voting booths, there is little tolerance for challenges to the ruling party’s hegemony.”
Nour’s controversial party El-Ghad Party performed poorly in all three rounds of the latest parliamentary elections. El-Ghad had alleged complaints of forgery and corruption, averring in their weekly newspaper “a conspiracy” against their candidates – Nour topping the list.
Nour’s defense is often backed by the United States State Department and international human rights organizations that on different occasions have linked Nour’s case to the current state of political freedom and reform in Egypt.
PROTESTING THE CONDITIONS OF HIS DETENTION, NOUR REFUSES FOOD
By Pakinam Amer
First Published: December 19, 2005
CAIRO: Appealing for the sympathy of the public and attention of the officials, Ayman Nour, leader of El-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, continues his hunger strike for an eighth day - lying in a hospital room in Tora Mazraa Prison - protesting his temporary detention amid warnings of his appointed physicians and appeals from his wife.
Nour, a former runner-up in presidential and parliamentary elections, was accused in January of last year of forging 1986 signatures out of 2000 needed by law to form a legitimate political party. Nour, who has been in the limelight ever since, denied the accusations.
The former lawyer,who cynical voices in the National Democratic Party often call “America’s sweetheart,” may face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison pending forgery case. The courts are expected to deliver their verdict on December 24.
One of Nour’s defense attorneys, Amir Salem told The Daily Star Egypt that the hunger strike is not meant to affect the course of the trial in any way, and it is not expected to sway the court's decision. “He is only protesting the injustice and the humiliation he is facing,” explained Salem.
According to the attorney,the two physicians who are following Nour’s medical condition insist that the politician is in serious risk of slipping into a coma. Nour is diabetic and went on a hunger strike for seven consecutive days, before he allowed the physicians on Saturday evening to give him fluid replacements to stabilize his condition.
Gamilla Ismail, Nour’s wife and party spokesperson, said Nour only accepted “a cup of tea” Sunday morning, but is insistent on maintaining the food ban until the forthcoming trial. Ismail said that meanwhile she would “do her best to get a response to the request [of releasing Nour].”
Salem, along with El-Ghad Party, had presented a petition last week to the prosecutor's office calling for a legal investigation into Nour’s hunger strike."I threatened to sit in the office until they succumb to my request.
Fortunately, they agreed to send a legal committee, accompanied by an appointed medical team, to meet [Nour] in prison and they officially reported his strike and the reasons that lead to it."
Nour not only went on strike to object his imprisonment, a mere 20 days before the fervently awaited final ruling in his forgery case, but also to complain of the “ill-treatment” he received during his detention, said Hisham Kassem, El-Ghad deputy leader and human rights activist.
He is still on trial and he is not officially detained, “Nevertheless at the Tora Mazraa Prison, they let him fill out applications that only convicts and sentenced prisoners are supposed to fill,” said Kassem.“This act is outright degradation in its own right.”
Several national human rights and prisoners’ rights groups have issued reports concerning the Nour incident and calling for his “immediate release,” however, there has been no official government response as of date of publication.
“We want the public opinion to support Nour’s cause,” said Hafez Abu Saada of the Egyptian Organization of Human Rights.
Nour’s cause is also supported by the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary, who deemed his upcoming trial “lacking many guarantees of justice and fairness.”
Human Rights Center for Assistance of Prisoners also issued a petition bound for the general prosecutor and Minister of Interior Habib El-Adly. Mohammad Zarie, founder of the center, attempted to visit Nour in person. However, according to Zarie, his health condition was "critical" and he could not accept any visits.
In its petition the center recounted the alleged “disgraceful” detainment conditions that Nour was subjected to.According to the report, Nour’s covers and mattress were taken from him and he was forced to “sleep on the floor, leading him to suffer from physical and emotional pain … He was given the worst of treatment as the rest of the prisoners watched.”
Zarie claimed that the “demeaning” conduct violated international human rights laws.
Commenting on Nour’s outgoing trial, Human Rights Watch’s Deputy Director in the Middle East Joe Stork said in a report published earlier this month that the trial “like the violence against voters in the parliamentary elections, is a terrible advertisement for President Mubarak’s supposed reform agenda, and for Egypt’s judiciary. In the courtroom, as at the voting booths, there is little tolerance for challenges to the ruling party’s hegemony.”
Nour’s controversial party El-Ghad Party performed poorly in all three rounds of the latest parliamentary elections. El-Ghad had alleged complaints of forgery and corruption, averring in their weekly newspaper “a conspiracy” against their candidates – Nour topping the list.
Nour’s defense is often backed by the United States State Department and international human rights organizations that on different occasions have linked Nour’s case to the current state of political freedom and reform in Egypt.
DSE: Ayman Barakat's Trial Postponed
Ayman Barakat’s trial postponed
El-Ghad supporters stage protest in Banha
By Pakinam Amer
‘The case against him is very fishy,’ alleges his attorney
CAIRO: A group of El-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party supporters protested rowdily on Monday in front of the Benha Criminal Courthouse chanting, “Down, Down with Mubarak!”
The protestors flocked from Cairo and Banha (a city in Qalyubiyya) to witness the ruling in the court case of El-Ghad party leader Ayman Barakat. The ruling however was postponed until next month, says Barakat’s attorney.
Barakat’s trial is not related to Ayman Nour’s - chairman of El-Ghad party who earlier last year was convicted of forging the applications required to declare his political party official. However, Barakat’s attorney Ihab El-Khouli claimed that the board member’s case was part of “a wave of aggression against El-Ghad party leaders and members.”
Barakat, a lawyer himself, is accused of fraud concerning a defense case he handled two years ago. Barakat’s attorney says that his client is innocent and was arrested essentially because he is “an active participant in El-Ghad demonstrations and protests.”
“The case against him is very fishy,” alleges his attorney. “Even the way in which he was arrested is humiliating.
El-Khouli, like his fellow El-Ghad members, believes that such trials as Barakat and Nour’s mark difficult times ahead for the party. “We are in a state of constant oppression, criticism and attacks,” says El-Khouli.
The lawyer claims that not only has the government pinpointed the leaders,but university student members of El-Ghad have also been harassed. “Even student members of El-Ghad are pursued and forced to resign from the party… The media is also making a fierce campaign against us,” said El-Khouli.
The attorney called the struggle against members of El- Ghad “ferocious” and deemed it a measure of how Egypt fears “real” liberty and democracy.
The Barakat trial coincides with a press release that the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary published Monday expressing their deep concern over the events preceding the trial of Ayman Nour, saying that the government procedures were meant to “direct the trial towards conviction before defense has completed its task.”
“The court's decision to place Ayman Nour in custody is an incident that may indicate the court's premeditated tendency to convict Nour before defense has had the opportunity to present its case,” reads the center’s statement.
Barakat’s trial was expected to foreshadow the final ruling on Nour’s case. Nour, meanwhile, has been maintaining a hunger strike for nine days in objection to his detainment three weeks prior to his final trial scheduled for December 24.
El-Ghad supporters stage protest in Banha
By Pakinam Amer
‘The case against him is very fishy,’ alleges his attorney
CAIRO: A group of El-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party supporters protested rowdily on Monday in front of the Benha Criminal Courthouse chanting, “Down, Down with Mubarak!”
The protestors flocked from Cairo and Banha (a city in Qalyubiyya) to witness the ruling in the court case of El-Ghad party leader Ayman Barakat. The ruling however was postponed until next month, says Barakat’s attorney.
Barakat’s trial is not related to Ayman Nour’s - chairman of El-Ghad party who earlier last year was convicted of forging the applications required to declare his political party official. However, Barakat’s attorney Ihab El-Khouli claimed that the board member’s case was part of “a wave of aggression against El-Ghad party leaders and members.”
Barakat, a lawyer himself, is accused of fraud concerning a defense case he handled two years ago. Barakat’s attorney says that his client is innocent and was arrested essentially because he is “an active participant in El-Ghad demonstrations and protests.”
“The case against him is very fishy,” alleges his attorney. “Even the way in which he was arrested is humiliating.
El-Khouli, like his fellow El-Ghad members, believes that such trials as Barakat and Nour’s mark difficult times ahead for the party. “We are in a state of constant oppression, criticism and attacks,” says El-Khouli.
The lawyer claims that not only has the government pinpointed the leaders,but university student members of El-Ghad have also been harassed. “Even student members of El-Ghad are pursued and forced to resign from the party… The media is also making a fierce campaign against us,” said El-Khouli.
The attorney called the struggle against members of El- Ghad “ferocious” and deemed it a measure of how Egypt fears “real” liberty and democracy.
The Barakat trial coincides with a press release that the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary published Monday expressing their deep concern over the events preceding the trial of Ayman Nour, saying that the government procedures were meant to “direct the trial towards conviction before defense has completed its task.”
“The court's decision to place Ayman Nour in custody is an incident that may indicate the court's premeditated tendency to convict Nour before defense has had the opportunity to present its case,” reads the center’s statement.
Barakat’s trial was expected to foreshadow the final ruling on Nour’s case. Nour, meanwhile, has been maintaining a hunger strike for nine days in objection to his detainment three weeks prior to his final trial scheduled for December 24.
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