Egypt

Report shows that Salafists, Mubaraks, not April 6 Youth Movement, receive millions in foreign funding

Ahram Online, by Zeinabl El Gundy—it's not what you receive, it's what you do with it that counts.

Investigating accusations that youth movements have foreign agendas due to foreign funding, the Egyptian ministry of justice reports a Salafist organisation received almost $50 million in one year from the Gulf

 

 

Alaa Mubarak in the inauguration of Mohamed Alaa Mubarak association "Photo: Internet"

The daily Akhbar El Yom newspaper has published excerpts from the ministry of justice’s report on foreign funding of NGOs. Since summertime there has been a witch hunt on, as foreign funding - particularly Western funding - is viewed as foreign intervention and manipulation of Egyptian society.

The fact-finding committee, headed by judges Sameh Abu Zaid and Ashraf El-Ashamawi, discovered that a single Salafist association has received LE296 million ($50mn)  from  two Gulf countries.

According to the report, the Salafist Ansar El-Sonna association received LE181.7 million ($30mn) from Qatar and LE114.5 million ($19mn) from Kuwait, which was approved by former minister of social solidarity Ali Meslahi on February 12, 2011.

The report named those two donations as the biggest received by any Egyptian NGO in 2010 and 2011. 

The report also concluded that the April 6 Youth Movement had not received any foreign funding, accusations that had stalked the revolutionary movement for months. 

Also mentioned in the report are donations received by the Mohamed Alaa Mubarak Charity Association from Oman and UAE until July 2011, which came to LE86 million ($15.5). The association was founded in 2010 by Heidi Rasaskh, the wife of Alaa Mubarak, the son of ousted president Mubarak, who is currently in prison facing charges of corruption.

The association was founded as a tribute to their son, Mohamed Mubarak, who died in 2009. It is unclear how the association operates currently, after the ousting of former president and the detention of Alaa Mubarak. 

The fact-finding committee also noted the foreign donations received by the NGO, Caritas Egypt, which came to more than LE155 million ($26mn). Caritas has operated in Egypt since 1967, with a focus on women and children. 

The report also included the donations of the American funding body USAID to NGOs working in the field of democracy development in Egypt, which came to LE65 million ($11mn) . According to the findings, USAID funded the American Democracy Institute (ADI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) to the tune of LE40 million ($6.7mn). The report did not specify which Egyptian NGO’s received the remaining LE25 million ($4.25).

For its part, the Salafist Ansar El-Sonna association has denied that any of the Kuwaiti and Qatari funds were for political purposes, but claimed they were used for charitable projects, with the knowledge of the government and the ministry of international cooperation.

The Ansar El-Sonna association is considered to be the biggest charitable Salafist NGO in Egypt. 

The famous association’s sheikhs and spokespeople have always denied in the media that the donations it receives from the Gulf are used to fund the activities of the growing Salafist political parties in Egypt, insisting that the donations are spent on orphanages and mosques across the country. 

The spokesperson for the April 6 Youth Movement, Mahmoud Afifi, tweeted that the group would not tolerate any unfounded accusations of receiving foreign money. He also thanked all those who trusted in the movement despite the defamation campaign.

The We Are All Khaled Said Movement, an influential campaign that played a major role in the January 25 Revolution, demanded that Major General El-Rowaini, member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the commander of the central military zone, apologise for accusing the April 6 Youth Movement of receiving foreign funding and working against the country.

Major General El-Rowaini accused the youth movement of receiving foreign funding in media statements in July. This move enflamed tensions further between revolutionary activists and SCAF and made the public call into question youth movements’ integrity.

 

via english.ahram.org.eg

King Tut replica tomb opens to public in Egypt

Do visit the original piece here; some great photos. CNN, by Barry Nield

Completed tomb at dusk. Tutankhamun's tomb is a key attraction in Egypt, which is struggling to attract tourists amid ongoing political and social

(CNN) -- It's not quite the Mummy Returns -- more like an attempt to stop the Mummy disappearing in the first place.

Archeological experts have built an exact, full-sized replica of King Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt, recreating every tiny detail to save the original from being destroyed by visitors.

The replica tomb opened this week near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, where tourists flock to see the ancient Valley of the Kings complex that houses the young pharaoh's actual resting place.

Laser scanners and high definition printers were used to recreate the precise textures and colors of wall murals depicting the afterlife.

King Tutankhamun's original tomb, built following the 19-year-old ruler's death in 1327 B.C., was discovered almost intact by archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.

But decades of tourism have taken their toll.

The replica is an exact copy of Tut's tomb

Moisture from the breath of visitors has damaged the murals and walls, while temperature fluctuations have caused paint to flake off and cracks to expand.

Journey into the afterlife

Luckily, dampness isn't an issue in the new tomb -- some Egyptologists attending an official inauguration reportedly burst into tears when they saw how accurate it was.

The facsimile tomb recreates the paintings -- which depict the young pharaoh's journey into the afterlife -- in their existing damaged form from images taken in 2009.

Carved masonry inside the structure, including the sarcophagus in the middle of the burial chamber that once contained King Tut's mummy, have been recreated using resin.

Both the tombs are currently open to the public, but the plan is eventually to close the original to allow for conservation work.

And, no doubt, offer some peace and quiet to Tutankhamun, whose remains are still there, protected by a glass case.

The replica is said to have reduced some to tears

via www.cnn.com

Egypt Launches “We Miss You” Ad Campaign To Lure Back Visitors

Read on. Nicolas Parasie for The Wall Street Journal

Egypts Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou says there is still a demand for Egypt and a demand for Egyptian products. Nicolas Parasie for The Wall Street Journal

Egypt’s tourism minister is in Dubai this week to launch a new campaign called “We miss you” aimed at wealthy visitors from the Persian Gulf region in an attempt to help revive its ailing travel industry. As part of the charm offensive, Egypt is offering discount packages to Arab tourists, will establish more direct flights to the Gulf region and is planning a social media blitz to give its travel sector a much-needed shot in the arm. Minister Hisham Zaazou talks to The Wall Street Journal about the economic impact of the country’s tourism downturn and the way it wants to tackle the problem of sexual harassment of women.

WSJ: Egypt’s tourism industry suffered one of its worst years in 2013. What was the financial impact on the country?

Mr. Zaazou: “If I compare the peak years we’ve been through, particularly 2010, with our performance for 2013, I think we have a problem. In 2010, we received 14.7 million tourists generating an income for the Egyptian economy of $12.5 billion and that is more than the Suez Canal gave Egypt. If you compare these figures with 2013, you find there is a big drop. In 2013, we received a mere 9.5 million (tourists), generating an income of $5.8 billion. Our tourism may be sick but it will not die. I cannot claim that the current level of tourism to Egypt is satisfactory for us. This is a sick man, not very healthy compared to what he was before and I believe we need to work in the coming period with the political situation getting better by the day to get more business. I’m confident the business will come back strongly. There is a demand for Egypt and a demand for Egyptian products.”

WSJ: You said other countries’ travel warnings inflict much damage on Egypt’s tourism sector. What are you doing about it?

Mr. Zaazou: “The travel warnings are not fair for specific reasons. First, the travel advisories or warnings should meet three basic criteria. It should be time-specific. It is not. It should be geographic specific. And in this case it is not. Third, you should consult the host country when attempting to make a negative travel advisory per agreements with the WTO (World Tourism Organization). Fine, if it is a security issue then send me a security expert or delegations from your end to come and check for yourself the situation on the ground. Listen, we’re transparent, you send a delegation, you send a team, let them make the analysis and if they find anything that needs to be improved we’re willing to do it. Once we arrive to a point where you feel it is adequate, then there’s no need to keep the negative travel warning.”

via blogs.wsj.com

Snowden, Abdel Rahim Ali, and the ethics behind state surveillance

The latest Munk Debate, a world-renown forum that argues for and against controversial issues, took place in Toronto to the presence of approximately 3,000 attendees. The topic was “Is State Surveillance a Legitimate Defence of our Freedoms?” “In a risk-filled world are democracises justified in turning to large-scale state surveillance, at home and aborad, to fight complex and unconventional threats?" 

The results of the debate are in: 41% of attendees were pro state surveillance, and 59% were against it. Though the results were not a sweeping majority, an eye opener in itself, a poignant defence from both sides of the argument was presented.

On the pro side, Alan Dershowitz said, “The state now is moving much more from reacting to violence to a proactive, preemptive, preventive mode of intelligence gathering,” a valid reason why surveillance exists. 

Though Alan Greenwald, Pulitzer Prize winner for his collaborative work in disclosing the Snowden classified documents, does not oppose targeted surveillance, he said, “The more you know about someone, the more you can control and manipulate them in all sorts of ways. “

The Munk Debate is one of the many mediums that have discussed state surveillance in the last year. The discourse was sparked after Edward Snowden leaked classified documents collected from the Internet and bugged telephone conversations by the American National Security Agency (NSA). It became the story of 2013 and remains current today.

Though the US would love to try Snowden for betraying trust and leaking classified national security information, many view Snowden with awe. He knew beforehand that his actions would turn him into a fugitive, unable to return to his homeland, and yet he did it anyway.

Now, back to Egypt, as we always do, where Abdel Rahim Ali, four nights a week, on his “Black Box,” or in Arabic, “Al Sandook el Aswaad,” leaks out phone calls on revolutionists, activists, and prominent and notorious Egyptian figures alike.

How is this any different to what Snowden did and continues to do?

A big difference: Ali has the system’s support or else he wouldn’t have been able to continue bringing this information to the forefront. The security apparatus wants the information leaked, and it is coincidental that Ali secured the goldmine. The leaks expose many whether they are Muslim Brotherhood members, April 6^th activists, or Morsi and Baradie themselves. The program’s theme is built on the assumption that those depicted betrayed Egypt.

This while, in Snowden’s defence, the classified and now disclosed information focuses on the NSA betraying the trust of everyone including the congress, it does not target a single group.  Second, in Snowden’s case, his source is himself, a reason why he is considered a whistleblower. He had access to classified information, and he decided to bring it forward.

As for Abdel Rahim Ali’s source, we know nothing about it. When asked about his source, Ali says that it is good journalism, and the good journalist never reveals his source.

We come back to our original debate:  Is state surveillance ethical? Should governments listen in on its citizens for state security? The response is governments do, everywhere, whether citizens, Americans and Egyptians alike, like it or not. State security surpasses privacy rights. If listening in on a conversation leads to capturing a terrorist about to blow a building housed by hundreds of citizens, surveillance becomes necessary, and the defence of privacy becomes mute.

However, in Abdel Rahim Ali’s leaks, it goes beyond state surveillance, which we know happens. The leaks are a tool.  As viewers watch, they turn against those exposed.

And though the leaks are often taken out of context and read, by Ali himself, in a way that manipulates the viewer, they are accepted as a given. In the eyes of Egyptians, Baradie collaborated with the Americans, April 6^th activists sold Egypt, and Morsi, and his team, betrayed Egypt to Hamas. In all fairness though, some of the privately discussed information may be incriminating, while some may be a slip of a tongue, an involuntary anger spell, or simply misconstrued readings.  

The interesting matter is that the security apparatus knew the information all along, but it felt it is high time that Egyptians get to know it, too.  I agree that Egyptians should know, on the premise that we get to know the whole truth. I bet there is much more that is withheld or not disclosed.

Not only Egyptians but also citizens of all nationalities must take heed and view similar disclosures with a grain of salt. They must be skeptic about the content that reaches them and the reasons behind it.  We, as Egyptians, have been taken on a roller coaster ride with relentless ups and down. We must learn to analyze information and think matters out before we come up with our own conclusions.

Al Jazeera lodges $150 million claim against Egypt

Read on. Al Jazeera does not have a chance of winning such a claim. The amount of hatred it spews resulted in the restrictions it faces in Egypt.

Via Connecticut Post, by Adam Schreck, Associated Press

FILE - In this file photo taken Wednesday, March 5, 2014, Al Jazeera English bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, left, producer Baher Mohamed, second left, and correspondent Peter Greste, center, stand inside the defendants' cage in a courtroom during their trial on terror charges, along with several other defendants, in Cairo Egypt. Pan-Arab satellite network Al Jazeera said Monday, April 28, that it has filed a claim against Egypt demanding $150 million in compensation to cover what it says are damages to its investments in the country since July. Photo: Mohammed Abu Zaid, AP

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Qatar-backed, pan-Arab satellite network Al Jazeera said Monday it has lodged a formal complaint against Egypt demanding $150 million in compensation to cover what it says are damages to its investments in the country since July.

The move is certain to deepen a rift between Egypt's interim government and the small Gulf nation of Qatar, which was a strong supporter of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood.

Al-Jazeera said in a statement posted on its website that it lodged a formal "notification of dispute" with Egypt's interim government based on a bilateral investment treaty between Qatar and Egypt dating back to 1999. That pact calls on both governments to provide "fair and equitable treatment" to investors, according to the network. It did not say where it was lodged.

"As the treaty obliges Egypt to provide Al Jazeera's investments with full protection and security, Al Jazeera considers the Egyptian authorities to be in violation of international law," the network said.

It threatened to seek international arbitration if it the two sides do not reach a settlement within six months.

Egyptian authorities accuse the Doha, Qatar-based network of providing a platform for the Brotherhood. The interim military-backed Egyptian government has branded the Islamist group a terrorist organization — a charge the Brotherhood denies.

Egyptian government representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

Al Jazeera has faced what it calls a "sustained campaign of harassment and intimidation" since Morsi's ouster in July.

Egypt's interim government in August called a local affiliate of the network known as Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr a national threat, with government ministers alleging it operated illegally and in violation of professional standards. It remains on the air.

via www.ctpost.com

Kerry on Mubarak's fortune

Here Kerry announces that the US has frozen Mubarak's assets—31 billion. This announcement caused a huge ripple effect then that Egyptians are paying for until now. How unfortunate.

 

It took a whole day for a spokesman for Sen. John Kerry to tell the Washington Times that the senator misspoke when he said the U.S. had frozen more than $30 billion of assets belonging to ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, according to the Washigton times website. 

The spokesman for Senator Kerry said he mistakenly referred to Mr. Mubarak instead of Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi.

Can anyone imagine how this affected the world and Egypt? 

 

Egypt recovers raft of ancient treasures looted in revolution

The Daily Star

CAIRO: Egypt has recovered 10 Pharaonic artifacts, including a gilded wooden Tutankhamun statue, looted during the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, the Antiquities Ministry said Tuesday.

The pieces were taken from the famed Egyptian Museum near Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Jan. 28, 2011, when protesters calling for Mubarak’s ouster drove his feared security forces from the streets.

Along with the Tutankhamun statue, which will be restored by Egyptian experts, two statues of Queen Nefertiti’s children were also recovered, according to Antiquities Minister Mohammad Ibrahim. Authorities also recovered a stone likeness of Tutankhamun as a young boy, which had been broken off of a larger statue showing him in the arms of a goddess.

One missing artifact was found in Belgium and eight others in the United States, state news agency MENA quoted the ministry as saying.

A total of 54 artifacts went missing from the museum when looters broke in during the uprising. Thirty-five of the pieces have since been recovered.

 

via www.dailystar.com.lb

Morsy’s jailbreak trial resumes

Egypt Independent

Cairo Criminal Court on Wednesday held the seventh trial hearing of ousted President Mohamed Morsy and other defendants, all charged with escaping from prison during the 25 January revolution.

 

A judicial source said the defendants arrived in court, which is held at the Police Academy, amid tight security.

 

The court is hearing more testimonies of the prosecution's witnesses. Osama al-Helw, member of the defense team, brought in a large box filled with documents. His colleague Mohamed al-Damaty told the Turkish Anadolu news agency that the defense does not have any new requests for the court.

 

“The course of the session is normal,” he said.

 

In last Wednesday’s session, the committee in charge of assessing whether the evidence was tampered with or not was sworn in.

 

Judge Shaaban al-Shamy took the testimonies of former Interior Minister Mahmoud Wagdy and former Prisons Department Director Mohamed Naguib.

 

There are 131 defendants, 105 of them are fugitives. They are all charged with breaking into 11 prisons, attacking police stations and kidnapping four policemen during the revolution.

 

Shamy assigned five lawyers from the Lawyers Syndicate for the defendants in case their defense team withdraws.

 

The Court of Appeals had rejected a request from the defense to replace the judge.

 

Defendant Mohamed al-Beltagy wore a blue prison uniform, while the other defendants chanted slogans against what they called “military rule” and turned their backs to the panel.

 

The court sentenced defendant Safwat Hegazy to one year in prison for insulting it during the hearing.

 

via www.egyptindependent.com