Egypt

Egyptian youth attacks Morsi with cover of "I will survive"

Another good reason to love this oldie. 

Your Middle East

 

A new satirical video based on the 1978 hit "I will survive" has been released by leftist and secular groups in Egypt.

The cover, seen here with English subtitles, underlines the inability of the Islamist leadership to satisfy demands by the country's youth. Large segments are still feeling left out from the political process, over two years after the ousting of strongman Hosni Mubarak.

"In the past he was in the square standing beside me, it didn't matter if he had a beard or wore a Gabaleya," a person sings. "We chanted together pelting rocks, he didn't call me an infidel."

Meanwhile, demonstrators clashed with riot police on Friday when they demanded early elections.

via www.yourmiddleeast.com

Egypt's 'rebels' gather millions of signatures to protest Morsi

World News, by Charlene Gubash, Producer, NBC News

Hassan Amar/AP An Egyptian activist covers her face with the petition for "Tamarod," Arabic for "rebel," a campaign calling for 15 million signatures expressing "no confidence" in Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and calling for early presidential elections, during a protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo on May 17.

CAIRO – Once again, a handful of activists has managed to galvanize and inspire Egypt’s grumbling masses in a way no opposition political parties have been able to.

Their concept is simple. They are inviting the Egyptian electorate to sign a petition expressing “no confidence” in President Mohamed Morsi, a move they hope will trigger early presidential elections.

The response has been eye-opening. So far, 6,000 volunteers for the grassroots campaign dubbed “Tamarod” or “Rebel” have collected over 2 million signatures, according to the group’s spokesman Mahmoud Badr. Egypt’s electorate numbers about 50 million, with half of those voting in the last presidential election.

The movement has grown quickly, with opposition parties announcing support, widespread press coverage and black and white leaflets plastered across nearly every Cairo neighborhood. The “Rebel” Facebook page has attracted 150,000 “likes” in one month.

At a busy intersection in Mohandiseen, an upper-middle class Cairo neighborhood, at least 20 people stopped last Thursday to sign the leaflets and jot down national ID numbers to verify their identity.

Mohamed Muslemany / NBC News

Egyptian volunteer Basma Sherif, 24, hands out 'Rebel' petitions calling for no confidence in President Morsi and calling for early elections.

“Yesterday was even more crowded,” said Basma Sherif, as she handed out forms.

“There were accidents because people were leaving their cars in traffic to come and sign,” said Sherif, a 24-year-old insurance company employee. 

People from all walks of life and throughout Egypt are signing the petition – from upper class educated elites to truck drivers and housekeepers – even people who voted for Morsi in the last election are now taking part in the campaign.

"People come from the cars to sign – poor, rich, middle class, everybody has one opinion,” said Sherif.

 

via worldnews.nbcnews.com

CAIRO: Egyptians don’t like Morsi’s presidency, but opposition flounders anyway

Miami Herald, Nancy A. Youssef, Macclatch Foreign Staff

CAIRO -- As Egypt’s first democratically elected president nears the completion of his first year in office, there is growing resentment among Egyptians about his tenure. The dismal economy has grown worse, sectarian tensions are greater, and government services have declined – something many people thought would have been impossible.

Indeed, many here feel that Mohammed Morsi’s time in office represents the dashing of hopes for the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak and was supposed to give rise to a better Egypt.

A Pew Research poll released last week found that only 30 percent of Egyptians believe the nation is headed in the right direction, compared with 65 percent during the 2011 uprising. The number is back to the levels of Mubarak; in the year before his ouster, only 28 percent of Egyptians thought the country was headed in the right direction.

Yet no one here is talking about a potent challenge to the Morsi presidency, despite the failures of his first year. The opposition National Salvation Front, comprised of more than 40 organizations that have sponsored innumerable protests to Morsi’s actions, is no better, say most Egyptians.

Why?

Many say the group is too large, represents too many opinions and is too inexperienced to launch a formidable challenge to Morsi. But observers, opponents and analysts also agree that the opposition faces a challenge that also plagues Morsi – how to function in a democratic state.

Just as Morsi, who rose to prominence through the secretive Muslim Brotherhood religious society, has used presidential power as a blunt instrument against his opponents, the opposition has yet to adjust to challenging a democratic leader instead of a 30-year despot.

“The opposition is making the same mistake . . . of simply hating someone rather than coming up with a strategy. They have replaced Mubarak with the Muslim Brotherhood,” said Khalid Ismail, a businessman who was active in the anti-Mubarak movement.

While opponents call Morsi undemocratic, they often adopt undemocratic tactics to fight him. Many voice their frustrations by calling for a usurping of the June 2012 election that led to his presidency. Some call for a return to the military rule that governed the country between Mubarak’s fall and Morsi’s election victory.

They’ve started a petition calling for his removal over the economy’s failings. They’ve offered a contradictory view of elections, calling for delaying parliamentary elections because of problems with the election law, while demanding early presidential elections, under the same election law, in hopes of removing Morsi from office.

Still others, including the National Salvation Front, are considering whether to boycott the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for fall.

In some cases, opponents confront those supporting Morsi with violence.

“All these inconsistencies have affected the opposition’s popularity,” said Manar el Shobagy, an associate professor of politics at the American University in Cairo and a former member of the Constituent Assembly that was charged with writing a new constitution.

Ahmed Maher, who leads the 6th of April movement, one of the largest of the so-called revolutionary organizations that led the protests that toppled Mubarak, is among those who is trying to create a viable opposition movement. He concedes his movement is disorganized and that his followers don’t know how to work as an opposition in a country where recent elections have been, by all accounts, fair and legitimate.

via www.miamiherald.com

Echoes of the revolution far from Cairo

BBC News: only an excerpt, so do read on. 

The streets of Nagaa Hammadi are much quieter than those of Cairo

When the 25 January revolution happened in Egypt in 2011, the capital Cairo became the focus of world attention. Millions of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square to call for bread, freedom and social justice. But millions more watched events from afar. Sixty per cent of the country's population live outside the big urban centres of Cairo, Alexandria and Port Said. In the latest in her series of reports, Egypt's Challenge, the BBC's Shaimaa Khalil travels to Upper Egypt to examine the effects of the revolution two years on.

"You're going from one Egypt to another Egypt," Yassin Gaber, a young Egyptian journalist, told me on my trip to the south.

"You slip into a different world geographically, culturally and politically. People's priorities are a bit different."

We were travelling by train overnight, about 600km (370km) south, to the town of Nagaa Hammadi on the banks of the Nile.

Another companion on our journey was Islam Hammam, who is from Nagaa Hammadi and returns regularly to visit his family. He had agreed to show me his hometown and be my guide to a part of Egypt I had never visited before.

Islam is 21 years old, and a student in Cairo. He is also a member of the Sixth of April movement, which was at the forefront of revolutionary protests in Tahrir Square.

Islam told me that Upper Egypt had always felt abandoned by the government during the time of former President Hosni Mubarak, and the revolution does not seem to have changed that sentiment.

"Some people do feel the benefits of the revolution - that now we have freedom. Others are not bothered, they just want jobs and stability. They feel things are worse now," he said.

"So when I come back, I try to raise political awareness."

 

via www.bbc.co.uk

Is Egypt safe for tourists?

Only an excerpt, so read on. 

Matthew Teller, Quite Alone

I’m just back from 3 weeks in Egypt – and yes, the country is safe for tourists.

That’s it. Go ahead and book your holiday. You’ll have a fabulous time. Thanks for reading.

Oh, you want more?

For this particular trip I didn’t go to Alex or the Delta, I didn’t go to Sinai & the Red Sea resorts, and I didn’t go to the Western Desert. That’s a chunk of Egypt missing. But I did spend time in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, I did visit key cities and archaeological sites in Middle Egypt, and I did talk to a few people. Here’s my take on things.

Tourism to Egypt is way down. In 2010, 15 million tourists visited. In 2011 that was down to 10 million. Then 11 million in 2012.

But in my book 11 million people is a pretty sizeable vote of tourist confidence – in terms of sheer numbers, it’s more than Morocco gets, more than South Africa, and far more than Argentina, India or Japan. But there’s a political transition under way in Egypt. The country is emerging after decades of dictatorship. Vested interests are jockeying for position. That means Egypt is in the news quite a bit. Work with that. Understand it. Don’t wait for things to go back to normal. There is no more ‘normal’.

And lack of political stability doesn’t necessarily mean lack of tourist safety. Quite the opposite. Police are extra-vigilant now around tourists. The local tourism industry knows it can’t afford to be even a tiny bit complacent. Nobody is taking any chances. Egypt, in some ways, is safer now for tourists than it was before 2011.

via quitealone.com

Today’s Egypt (2), who is to blame?

On May 16, Islamic militants kidnapped Egyptian soldiers travelling back from a regular leave to their base in Sinai. The kidnappers demanded the release of some of their own. These detained militants had been “convicted of killing five security officers and one civilian during a string of attacks in June/July 2011 on an Al-Arish city police station and a North Sinai branch of the Bank of Alexandria. (http://bit.ly/10GyLr6)

Consequences: soldiers and officers in various regions in Egypt opted to demonstrate and go on strike until their kidnapped mates in Sinai are returned; they also closed the borders with Gaza. In a further escalation, and in a telephone call to OnTv, the father of one of the kidnapped first pleaded with Morsi and the army to rescue his son, but then threatened that the kidnapped man’s family and village are willing to take matters into their hands.

Who is to blame? Who is the victim and who is the offender in this situation?  

Baggage handlers at Cairo Airport went on strike on May 18 to demand stronger safety measures after their coworker died when a conveyer belt used to unload luggage fell on his head and killed him. (http://abcn.ws/10OdtZJ) Twenty flights left Cairo airport with no luggage on board. The delay in handling the luggage got the baggage-less travellers angry, and they, too, took matters into their own hands and barged into the security’s offices in the hopes of . . . ? I really don’t know what they were hoping to achieve.

In several incidents across Egypt thieves were lynched when vigilante villagers took it upon themselves to fix a wrong. “Had el Haraba,” as it is called has become an ordinary way to get back at those who erred and those who don’t accept a person’s way. (http://bbc.in/134V0hK)

This may be a consequence to Article 37 from the Criminal Apprehension Law, which allows citizens to apprehend crime committers. The article does not give citizens the right to prosecute the guilty, but in Egypt things must be exaggerated and taken to extreme measures; it is also a sign of absolute anarchy. Again who is the victim and who is the offender here?

These are three examples of acute cases of lawlessness. Egyptians have turned against the system—be it the leaders, the government, the army, or the police force—doubting its ability to fix the wrong. This, of course, is in addition to the hundreds of strikes that lead the country to impasse and total chaos. Strikes, demonstrations, rallies, and protests on most fronts ask for rights and protection, while at some fronts demand retaliation and seek vendettas.

For over two years the norm has been to take matters into one’s personal hands to achieve redemption and satisfaction whatever the case may be. We all know these cases, so we don’t need to repeat them, but in all, the picture of the victimized and the victimizer becomes so blurry that we are unable to identify or distinguish one from the other.

Both the system and the people are to blame here.

First, the system is to blame for not fixing the wrong quickly enough resulting in outright reactionary violence from the victims themselves. The victimized don’t believe in the will of those governing. Many a case was not solved; many a case remains unexplainable. The reason why the soldiers in Sinai are protesting this time round is that it has been over a year since 16 Egyptian soldiers and officers were killed, and to date no closure. 

But at the same time, Egyptians are to blame, too. Lynching anyone even if this someone committed a heinous crime is an act against the country and other Egyptians.

Can Morsi fix all our troubles and the Egyptian mindset soon before things turn sour? I doubt it. Morsi hasn’t the intention or the power to do so. But will strikes and lynching get these people’s rights back? I doubt that, too.   

But we can’t deny that the previous regime is also to blame. Mubarak had over 30 years to fix the ways of Egyptians from grounds up. He didn’t. These attitudes, though they have increased after the revolution had existed before.

The blame here falls on Egyptians who let lawlessness rule. The newly acquired zeal to defy the system has taken over. It looks as though there is no way out of this one unless Egyptians realize that without a law to preside over Egypt, there is no Egypt.

مطالب مختتطفين ٧ جنود في سيناء--يانهار اسودـ

 

20 Flights Without Bags After Egypt Airport Strike - ABC News

Aya Batrawy, AP

Egyptian officials say baggage handlers in Cairo's airport have gone on strike to protest a colleague's death, leaving passengers on 20 international flights from Europe and Arab countries waiting several hours for luggage.

Airport officials say senior officials from the country's national carrier are meeting the baggage handlers to hear their demands, which include guarantees of safer working conditions.

The strike started Saturday after a baggage handler who works for EgyptAir died when a conveyer belt used to unload luggage fell on his head. Airport officials say it took more than an hour for the ambulance to arrive at the scene from the airport's onsite hospital.

Officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to brief the media.

The strike by around 60 baggage handlers did not disrupt flights.

via abcnews.go.com

Egypt police close Israel border crossing to protest kidnapping of 7 colleagues in Sinai

Tony G. Gabriel, The Associated Press

CAIRO - Scores of Egyptian police have blocked a commercial border crossing with Israel to protest the abduction of their colleagues in the volatile Sinai peninsula.

The closure Sunday left around 40 trucks stranded at Awja crossing, according to Ahmed Osman, a civil servant there.

Suspected militants abducted seven Egyptian policemen on Thursday. Security officials said the kidnappers are demanding the release of jailed militants. The officials said negotiations with the kidnappers through mediators are deadlocked.

Israeli officials had no comment on the closure.

Protesting police also shut down Egypt's main crossing point into the Gaza Strip Friday, barring people from going in or out of the Palestinian territory. There was no indication that Israel or Palestinians were involved in the abduction.

via www.calgaryherald.com

Morsi: No more wheat imports within four years

I'll believe it when I see it. 

Daily News Egypt, by Hend El-behary

Morsi pointed that the primary goal is to stop importing wheat in four years.

President Mohamed Morsi made the announcement about achieving self sufficiency in wheat production within four years during a visit to a wheat farm near Alexandria (Photo Presidency handout)

Egypt will stop all wheat imports within the next four years, depending only on domestic production, President Mohamed Morsi said in a speech last Wednesday delivered from a wheat field near Alexandria.

“The current [production] rates are excellent and I think by the end of the week we will reach 2 million tonnes, which is around half of what we are seeking this year,” he said.

“Wheat production is expected to surge by 30 % to reach roughly 9.5 million tonnes in 2013, compared to previous years, where production was estimated at seven million tonnes,” Morsi added.

The president emphasised that Egypt is looking to achieve 12 million tonnes in two years, which is more than 80 % of the nation’s domestic need for wheat.

Morsi pointed that the primary goal is to stop importing wheat in four years.

However some experts disagree with the president’s opitimism. Sherief El-Kherby, an economy expert, said that this speech is not scientific. Former minister of Supply and Interior Trade Gouda Abdel Khalek concurred with El-Kherby on a TV show on Tahrir satellite channel, saying that although “we are going to be happy if Egypt achieved self-sufficiency, but experts realise that this is not going to happen”.

Economy expert Abdel Khalek explained that “the land allocated for agriculture is limited, so increasing production will be limited as well”.

Egypt is currently importing 10 million tonnes annually, but plans are in place buy five million tonnes from abroad this year.

Minister of Supply and Domestic Trade Bassem Ouda has said he expects a harvest of 9.5 million tonnes of domestic wheat this season, which runs from April until early June.

About half of the harvest ends up in government-owned flour mills, with the rest being sold on the market.

via www.dailynewsegypt.com