Revolutie in Egypte #189: Waar een Israëlier is opgepakt.

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Premier Egypte wil verkiezingen uitstellen

De Egyptische parlementsverkiezingen, die gepland staan voor september, moeten worden uitgesteld totdat er een nieuwe grondwet is opgesteld. Dat heeft de Egyptische premier Essam Sharaf in een vandaag gepubliceerd interview gezegd.

Het uitstel zou het ‘politieke landschap’ van Egypte de tijd geven vorm aan te nemen. Sommige mensen denken dat verkiezingen in september onevenredig voordelig zouden zijn voor de Moslimbroederschap, de grootste politieke beweging in het land.

Het volgende parlement zal een groep mensen aanwijzen die een nieuwe grondwet moeten opstellen. Een parlement gedomineerd door de Moslimbroederschap kan leiden tot te veel religieuze invloed in de grondwet, zo is de vrees.

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Egypt's Consensus Conference wants military to guarantee secular character of the State


Egypt’s National Consensus agreed in their meeting Sunday that the new constitution should include an article that gives the armed forces the role of protecting Egypt’s civil institutions, regardless of the affiliation of the majority of the parliament (i.e. based on religion or other).

The decision came from the consensus’s Armed Forces and Investments and Monitoring Committee during their meeting today in the parliament building. The National Consensus is a conference led by the deputy prime minister, Yeyha El-Gamal, to discuss Egypt's interim period with political analysts, leaders and other interested parties.

The former social affairs minister, Mervat El Telawy, explained that this article would prevent Islamists, such as the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) or Salafists from adopting measures that would transform Egypt into a theocracy if they won a majority in the parliamentary elections set for September.

Several members of the National Consensus emphasised the need to draft the constitution before the elections to give nascent political forces time to gain momentum in the street, otherwise parliament will be dominated by old faces.

Samy Hegazy, a member of the committee added that today only three political parties have been established: the Free Egyptians Party, the Salafist El Nour Party and the MB's Freedom and Justice Party. The fact that there are so few official parties necessitates postponing the elections to give new parties the chance to become established, organise and campaign.

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Police disperse Muslims besieging church in Minya

Police on Thursday dispersed hundreds of Muslims besieging the Mar Girgis church in Bani Ahmed village, Minya.

They were protesting a decision by Minya Bishop Makarius to reinstate Father Georgy, the church priest, who had previously been removed on charges of inciting sectarian strife between Copts and Muslims.

Minya military commander Ezz Eddin Hussein requested that the bishop stick to an agreement reached in May to appoint Father Karas Magdy in Georgy’s place.

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Official statement: Military council against IMF loan

According to the new budget plan, Egypt will not have to resort to foreign loans to support its deficit, something the ruling military council was keen to avoid

A statement issued by the Ministry of Finance indicated that the reductions in the 2011/2012 budget deficit came as a result of consultation with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Egypt’s de facto ruler since 11 February, and a social dialogue that the ministry called for during the preparation of the budget.

Egypt’s finance minister announced Saturday that the country will not need to borrow from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the World Bank. He stated that the ministry succeeded in reducing the budget deficit by LE27.3 billion, to reach 8.6 per cent of GDP instead of 11 per cent.

News agencies reported that Samir Radwan explained that the military council preferred not having large foreign debts, so as not to put pressure on the new government that will come after upcoming elections.

Radwan also indicated that the deficit will be covered through local borrowing as well as aid packages. The finance minister said that Qatar has provided $500 million as a “gift” for budget support.

There had been sharp public dismay at the interim government’s position towards financing the budget deficit through loans from the IMF or the World Bank, despite continuous official confirmations that loans would not entail any “veiled” conditions. The IMF agreed to a $3 billion 12-month standby finance arrangement for Egypt this month.

Up to last Tuesday, official circles were confirming that the loan acquiring process was proceeding successfully. Both the Ministry of International Cooperation and the World Bank denied news about the cancellation of a World Bank loan.

On Wednesday, Egypt's cabinet approved next's year budget, introducing severe cuts on the draft proposed by the Ministry of Finance in the beginning of June. Expenditure was reduced by LE27.3 billion, bringing the deficit to LE134.3 billion. Consequently, there was no need to resort to international borrowing.

Details of only LE 8.5 billion in cuts have been revealed so far, less than a week from implementation of the new budget.

A source at the Ministry of Finance told Ahram Online that another LE7 billion would be cut from public investment, without providing any further details. Ahram Online was unable to reach other officials at the ministry for comment.

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Rosenthal ontmoet Egyptische ambtgenoot
Laatste update: 18 juni 2011 19:17 info

DEN HAAG - Minister Uri Rosenthal van Buitenlandse Zaken heeft zaterdag in Amsterdam een ontmoeting gehad met zijn Egyptische ambtgenoot Nabil Elaraby. Rosenthal besprak met hem de ontwikkelingen in Egypte en in het Midden-Oosten.

Foto: ANP
De twee ministers spraken onder meer over het openstellen van de Europese markten voor landbouwproducten uit de Arabische wereld.
Volgens Rosenthal zijn economische hervormingen, naast die op het gebied van rechtsstaat en democratie, basisvoorwaarden voor een succesvolle omwenteling in het Egypte van na het autoritaire regime van de dit voorjaar opgestapte president Hosni Mubarak.
Ook kwam de situatie van religieuze minderheden als de kopten in Egypte aan de orde. De kopten zijn de laatste maanden vaak slachtoffer van specifiek tegen hen gericht geweld.

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Op zaterdag 25 juni 2011 22:32 schreef Drifter__ het volgende:
IMF en haar wurgcontracten, daar moet je ver weg van blijven...

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Arab activists criticise conditions attached to western aid

As Egypt rejects IMF loan, Arab NGO network says liberalisation advocated in aid packages poses threat to economic and social justice demands made during recent uprisings

Arab activists warned on Monday that conditions attached to western aid threatened to undercut the goals of economic and social justice at the heart of the Arab spring, following Egypt's decision to spurn a loan offer from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Arab NGO network for Development said liberalisation of trade, investment and deregulation advocated by the US and the EU as part of their aid packages had contributed to the unrest in the first place.

"Such conditionalities should not be reinforced through various forms of partnerships and aid packages promoted in the name of democracy support," said a joint statement from 65 civil society groups. "The path to development of each country should be decided by its own people, via constitutional processes and national dialogue."

The warning followed Egypt's decision not to borrow from the IMF. The Egyptian finance minister, Samir Radwan, said on Saturday that Egypt would not borrow from the institution after revising its budget and cutting the deficit target from 11% to 8.6% of gross domestic product. The IMF said Egypt had scrapped plans for a $3bn loan agreed last month, a move that now calls into question the World Bank's own loan. Radwan said Qatar had provided Egypt with $500m for budgetary support in the past week, and Saudi Arabia had offered a similar amount.

Counter Balance, which monitors the European Investment Bank, argued that western governments tended to confuse the transition to democracy with a transition to liberalisation because it served their interests. "The European Investment Bank, for instance – which will be lending the biggest share of EU money – has been active in the region for 30 years without tangible development results for the people," said the group's Caterina Amicucci.

The NGOs said that as late as September 2010 the IMF was still praising Tunisia's "sound macroeconomic management and structural reforms over the last decade", and was calling for more of the same by restraining public spending on wages and food and fuel subsidies.

"Those same economic models are now being promoted, as if nothing happened, via the conditionalities attached to the new aid package," the Arab NGO network said.

Top officials from the African Development Bank, based in Tunis, have acknowledged that they were too blinkered in their approach to development, putting too much emphasis on economic growth and neglecting factors such as unequal growth, the urban-rural divide and income variation.

The Arab NGO network said if the west really wanted to support the region's democratic movements, it should start by eliminating the conditions attached to aid, assess previous lending by development banks in the region, guarantee full transparency of any new aid, cancel debt taken on by former leaders, and renegotiate international trade and other economic commitments signed by past governments.

Egypt has £18.5bn of debt, much of it run by Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president who stepped down in the face of protests.

The Arab NGO network said that out of the ¤1.87bn (£1.6bn) lent by the European Investment Bank to Egypt between 2006 and 2010, 92% went on energy projects – and four-fifths of this to promote fossil fuels. Of the ¤1.8bn lent to Tunisia in the same period, half went to energy projects, and 10% was invested in infrastructure for transporting gas to Italy.

The G8 group of the world's largest economies in May pledged $20bn in aid via the multilateral development banks to Egypt and Tunisia.

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‘Egyptische leger geeft gebruik maagdelijkheidstests toe’

Het militaire bestuur in Egypte geeft toe dat er zogenoemde ‘maagdelijkheidstests’ zijn uitgevoerd op vrouwelijke demonstranten. Dat heeft Amnesty International vandaag bekendgemaakt. Een lid van de Opperste Militaire Raad zou hebben verklaard dat de tests een middel waren om beschuldigingen van verkrachting te ontkrachten.

De maagdelijkheidstests kwamen in maart aan het licht. Demonstranten zouden tijdens de betogingen tegen de toen reeds afgetreden oud-president Hosni Mubarak op het Tahrir-plein in Kairo zijn aangevallen. Mannen in burgerkleding belaagden de demonstranten en nadat het leger de demonstratie opbrak zouden vrouwen in gevangenschap zijn verkracht.

Diverse slachtoffers werden aan de tests onderworpen nadat ze aangifte deden van de aanrandingen. “Mensen onderwerpen aan zulke onterende tests om te bepalen of ze verkracht zijn slaat nergens op en is niets minder dan mishandeling”, stelt Amnesty vandaag. De organisatie wil dat de betreffende vrouwen medische en psychologische hulp krijgen.

Het lid van het militaire bestuur, generaal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, zei dat de tests niet meer zullen worden toegepast. Het was voor het eerst dat de Opperste Militaire Raad openlijk sprak over de tests en toegaf dat deze zijn gehanteerd.

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Gemeenteraden bewind Mubarak naar huis gestuurd

Een Egyptische rechtbank heeft vandaag besloten alle gemeenteraden naar huis te sturen. Die waren gekozen tijdens het bewind van de verdreven president Hosni Mubarak. De raden bestonden bijna geheel uit leden van Mubaraks partij na verkiezingen die volgens velen oneerlijk verliepen.

De zaak was bij de rechtbank aangespannen door een groep bewoners. De Egyptische regering kan nog in beroep gaan tegen de uitspraak. Activisten hopen dat de regering nieuwe verkiezingen uitschrijft voor de gemeenteraden.

In september zijn al nieuwe parlementsverkiezingen gepland. Voor het einde van het jaar kunnen de Egyptenaren ook een nieuwe president kiezen.

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Military council to decide on extension of transitional period within next 2 days
Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) will declare its stance on the extension of the transitional period within two days, said Assistant Defense Minister Sameh Sadeq on Tuesday.

The council is to announce a new law on the People’s Assembly and Shoura Council, which will set forth its position concerning the date for the next parliamentary elections, which are currently set for September, Sadeq told Al-Dostor news website. He stressed that the council respects the will of the people.

However, he failed to comment on earlier statements by Deputy Prime Minister Yehia al-Gamal, in which he said that the SCAF had decided to extend the transitional period to December instead of September.

A military source told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Monday that the council is adhering to the September deadline.

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daliaziada daliaziada
Clashes between families of martyrs and police forces in #Tahrir now. Some reported that police is using thugs with swords!! #Egypt #Jan25

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Op dinsdag 28 juni 2011 23:44 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

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Wie is er "retiliating"? Politie/thugs? Of de families?

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Op dinsdag 28 juni 2011 23:48 schreef rakotto het volgende:
Live uitzending op AJ Mubasher nu

Reden:

Mensen protesteerden voor Maspiro, al een week ofzo nu. Zij willen dat de gewonden door de staat geholpen worden (Ziekenhuis betalen etc) en dat de personen die schuldig zijn aan het vermoorden van protesters sneller worden veroordeeld ipv dat de rechtzaken steeds uitgesteld worden.

Vandaag opeens kregen ze een uitnodiging bij een theater ofzo en zouden zij tegemoet gekomen worden. Ze waren uiteindelijk bij de theater en werden niet toegelaten. Opeens werden ze aangevallen door thugs en de politie uit het niets. Er werden toen 4 mensen opgepakt en ergens afgevoerd door de politie. De mensen gingen toen demonstreren bij de Ministerie van Binnenlandse zaken.

Bij de demonstratie daar zijn er gevechten uitgebroken door de politie en de mensen. Ze eisen de vrijlating van de mensen die net opgepakt zijn. Men ging dan terug naar Tahrirplein om verder te protesteren en wereden gevolgd door de poltie.

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Op dinsdag 28 juni 2011 23:48 schreef rakotto het volgende:

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Politie is "wraak" aan het nemen.

الشرطه تعتدى على متضامن مع أهالى الشهداء

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Geüpload door gsquare86 op 28 jun 2011

Families of martyrs from Maspero sit-in were invited to the honorary celebration of martyrs at Ballon theater. After being denied entry to the celebration, clashes between protesters and theater security erupted. The police showed up and started beating family of martyrs supporters shown in this raw video that I got from an eyewitness, who was there. June 28th