Egypt names new cabinet in post-Mubarak purge - Summary

Sun, 06 Mar 2011

Cairo - Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf named the bulk of his cabinet choices Sunday, replacing the holders of the key portfolios of foreign affairs, justice, and the interior.

Sharaf named former attorney general Mohamed Abdelaziz el-Guindy as minister of justice to replace Mamdouh Marie, who has been widely accused of corruption.

Nabil el-Araby, a former judge at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, was named as minister of foreign affairs.

El-Araby would replace Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, who has held the post since 2004.

General Mansour el-Essawi was selected as interior minister to replace Mohmoud Wagdi, who was appointed by former president Hosny Mubarak in the wake of the violent crackdown on anti-government protesters by security forces on January 28.

El-Essawi is a former head of security for Giza, which is in greater Cairo, and is an ex-governor of Minya in Upper Egypt.

The list of candidates remains subject to the approval of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has been in charge of the country since Mubarak's ouster on February 11.

Sharaf was appointed last week by the country's Supreme Council to create a new government after widespread protests demanding the cabinet be purged of Mubarak's allies and associates.

Sharaf's recommendations come as protests against the State Security Investigations Services (SSIS) continued.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Lazoughly SSIS office in central Cairo, demanding to be let in to ensure that evidence of wrongdoing by Mubarak's administration was not being destroyed by security officers.

A similar protest took place in Banha, just north of Cairo.

Protesters forced their way into SSIS offices in Cairo and Alexandria on Saturday and took hundreds of files into their possession.

Egypt's armed forces asked protesters to hand over the files, warning that they should not be spread around because this would threaten national security.

But documents were already being uploaded by protesters onto the internet and disseminated via Twitter and other social media sites.

Protesters said they found documents burnt, cut and shredded inside the offices, fueling suspicions that officers from the service were trying to destroy evidence which would incriminate members of the old regime.

Activists have been calling on Egypt's transitional military government to suspend the SSIS, which has been blamed for violence against protesters that left more than 350 dead during crackdowns on recent anti-government protests.

However, the Interior Ministry is studying a plan to restructure the security body, state media reported.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/370498,post-mubarak-purge-summary.html.