A divided Egypt marks anniversary of Mideast war

October 06, 2013

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian jetfighters are staging celebratory flights over Cairo, ushering in a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the nation's last war with Israel on a day when rival rallies by supporters and opponents of the ousted Islamist president carry the potential for violence.

Security forces are deployed across much of the Egyptian capital in anticipation of clashes. Sunday's rallies in Tahrir Square, birthplace of the 2011 uprising against autocrat Hosni Mubarak, are likely flashpoints. Authorities have vowed not to allow supporters of the ousted Mohammed Morsi into the square.

The possibility of bloodshed on an occasion revered by most Egyptians is seen as a sign of the schism that began soon after Morsi's narrow election victory in 2012. He was ousted in a July 3 coup.

Stabbed Egyptian politician decries violence

October 05, 2013

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian politician who has opposed the military crackdown that has killed or jailed hundreds of Islamist supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi was surprised to find himself under a violent attack when he accidentally drove through a pro-Morsi protest march in Cairo.

Khaled Dawoud, the spokesman for the liberal al-Dustour party, was pulled out of his car and stabbed after one of the protesters recognized him, shouted his name and accused him of being in favor of the clampdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. The 46-year-old politician couldn't escape because he was stuck in a traffic jam.

Friday's assault highlights the complexity of the political situation in Egypt, which has suffered from two and a half years of turmoil and chaos following the 2011 revolution that forced autocrat Hosni Mubarak from power. It also raised concerns that the Arab world's most populous nation is falling into a cycle of revenge attacks and random violence as the Brotherhood organization is frayed with its top leaders in prison or on the run.

"Those who resort to violence and killing fail to understand the lessons of history," Dawoud told The Associated Press from his hospital bed Saturday, where his left hand was wrapped in layers of bandages after his attackers tried to cut his wrist. His face bruised, Dawoud described how one man from the angry mob in the protest also stabbed him in his side, slightly missing his heart, twice.

Dawoud served as the main speaker for the National Salvation Front, the opposition grouping that had rallied against Morsi in the lead up to the massive protests against the Islamist leader that led to the military coup that toppled him on July 3.

But while he supported the military's intervention, Dawoud publicly opposed the decision to violently raze two pro-Morsi sit-in camps in Cairo, a move that killed more than 600 protesters and sparked nationwide clashes that left hundreds more dead.

He resigned in mid-August as NSF spokesman after the group praised the security agencies for their role in the violent dispersal of the camps. Egypt's vice president at the time, Mohammed ElBaradei, and the founder of al-Dustour party, also resigned over the bloodshed.

Dawoud has continued to speak out in weekly columns in favor of reconciling with the Brotherhood and integrating them into Egypt's political road map, backing initiatives calling for it. He also makes regular TV appearances despite a backlash, with Islamists still threatening him on social media sites

"I was told several times ... 'Whatever you do, your hands will always be covered in Muslim Brotherhood blood," he recalled. "It is a big sin in itself for them" that he backed removing Morsi. He said Friday's attack will not change his stance.

"I still don't approve of resorting to arbitrary violence" against any political forces, he said. "We want the rule of law. Human blood is precious. This is why we did our revolution. We want Egyptians to live for the sake of the country, not to die for it."

The Brotherhood political arm, the Freedom and Justice party, condemned the attack, denouncing "all acts of violence, even against those who supported the military coup." Dawoud rebuffed the condemnation, and questioned the peaceful nature of the pro-Morsi protests, adding that the attack against him was "a clear attempt to kill me."

A group of 10 young men started smashing the car's windows before one stabbed his left side with a 15-centimeter (6 inch) dagger. "Another guy told me 'we will cut off your hands' and started sawing my left hand back and forth", Dawoud added.

A few bystanders came to his rescue, breaking up the mob and capturing the man with dagger. "It was a miserable day. There was no ambulance and I had to walk for 10 minutes to the hospital," Dawoud said. "Every step I took I thought I was going to die. I was bleeding from everywhere."

Western Saharans protest EU-Morocco fishing accord

December 10, 2013

LAAYOUNE, Western Sahara (AP) — Police clashed with stone-throwing demonstrators in a city of Western Sahara on Tuesday during a protest against a new fishing accord that gives EU boats access to rich coastal waters.

At first, only a few dozen people were able to gather at a time, chant anti-accord slogans and display banners before riot police chased them away in Laayoune city, knocking many people down. Protesters calling for independence from Morocco were chased through the streets of the city, and some Spanish activists were arrested.

By nightfall, the demonstrations had spread to other neighborhoods of the city and degenerated into stone throwing clashes between youths and police. Local hospitals said at least 90 protesters were injured, and the governor's office said 35 members of the security force were hurt.

A foreign journalist on the scene was stopped several times by police to prevent him from covering the protests and nearly had his camera taken away. Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the extreme northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

The European Union parliament recently approved a four-year agreement giving its fleet access to Moroccan waters for 40 million euros ($55 million) a year. The richest fishing waters are off the coast of the Western Sahara, which was annexed by Morocco in 1975.

Activists in the disputed territories say Morocco has no right to enter into treaties concerning their national resources and lobbied against the accord, which was approved by the EU parliament in a 310-to-204 vote, with 49 abstentions.

In December 2011, the parliament let lapse an earlier fishing agreement, partly over concerns about the situation in the disputed territories. Morocco declares the Western Sahara an integral part of its national territory, but the U.N. is supposed to organize a long-delayed referendum to allow the inhabitants to vote on their fate.

The desert region is also rich in phosphates, and international companies have started looking for off-shore oil deposits. Unlike in the rest of Morocco, demonstrations are not tolerated in the restive towns of Western Sahara, which are under heavy security.

Egypt halts tourism with Iran

Reuters
October 1, 2013

Cairo: Egypt halted tourism activities with Iran on Tuesday citing security concerns, a Tourism Ministry spokeswoman said, further distancing itself from Tehran after former Islamist President Mohammad Mursi tried to improve ties.

“At the moment the security situation does not allow the ministry to support travel with Iran, including flights and tourist visits,” spokeswoman Rasha Azaizi said, without giving details.

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Cairo in February, the first visit by an Iranian leader in more than three decades.

The first commercial flight between Egypt and Iran in 34 years took off in March as Mursi tried to normalize ties broken after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution.

Diplomatic relations remain severed. The state news agency said 43 Iranian tourists visited Egypt in April. But regular commercial flights never got underway.

Mursi, elected in 2012, was overthrown by the army in July after street protests against his rule. Azaizi said Mursi’s government’s plans to increase tourism with Iran had been put on hold.

Relations between Egypt and Iran broke down in 1979 when Cairo gave sanctuary to the deposed shah. Many in Egypt, a majority Sunni country, still harbor strong feelings against Shiite Iran.

The army-backed government views Tehran with deep suspicion.

In July, Egypt accused Iran of “unacceptable interference” in its domestic affairs for criticizing the military’s removal of Mursi. Iran called the ousting of Mursi a “cause for concern” and suggested “foreign hands” were at work in the Arab state.

Egypt historically has much stronger ties with Gulf Arab states, who have vied with Iran for regional influence.

Source: Gulf News.
Link: http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/egypt-halts-tourism-with-iran-1.1238087.

Morsi had refused to appoint General Al-Sisi as prime minister

Friday, 27 September

The Secretary General of the Al-Wasat Party, Mohamed Abdul Latif, revealed that during the rule of elected President Mohammed Morsi an agreement had been reached between party members to nominate Egypt's Defense Minister General Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi as prime minister instead of Hisham Qandil, however Morsi had refused.

According to Abdul Latif, at the time General Al-Sisi was a national figure that everyone could agree upon.

Abdul Latif described the army's involvement in the political process as "unjustified", pointing out that to overcome the current political crisis all parties should agree to an unconditional dialogue.

The Secretary General of Al-Wasat Party also asserted that the party is still intact, despite the arrests of its President, Eng. Aboul-Ela Madi, and Vice President, Essam Sultan, stressing that Al-Wasat is still active. Abdul Latif denied claims of splits within the party or dismantling it due to a few members' resignations, saying that, "the resignations do not affect the party's work".

According to Abdul Latif, the new constitution currently being drafted only reflects one political persuasion and therefore it might not survive even if it is approved in a referendum. He explained that, "the chances for a boycott of the referendum or a vote of ‘no' are high". Abdul Latif pointed out one article in particular that indicates the country's President can appoint the Defense Minister only with the approval of the armed forces, saying that this establishes the basis for an "armed forces dictatorship."

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/7558-morsi-had-refused-to-appoint-general-al-sisi-as-prime-minister.

Ukraine police stand down after protest grows

December 11, 2013

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Police in Ukraine on Wednesday pulled back as protesters claimed victory after an overnight face-off in which authorities removed some barricades and tents and scuffled with demonstrators occupying Kiev's main square.

Squadrons of police in helmets and bearing metal shields converged at about 1 a.m. on Independence Square, but thousands of protesters put up fierce resistance for hours, shoving back at police lines to keep them away from key sites.

The Ukrainian chief of police issued a statement saying that there would be no attempt to break up the demonstrations. Protesters have been gathering around the clock to demand the resignation of the government in a crisis that threatens the leadership of President Viktor Yanukovych.

"I want to calm everyone down — there will be no dispersal," Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko said on the ministry's website. "No one is encroaching on the rights of citizens to peaceful protest."

Three police buses that had been parked outside the building all night drove away to the protesters' shouts of "Shame!" Another group of police that had been stationed outside the Kiev city hall building, which has been occupied by protesters for weeks, departed from the scene.

Several thousand protesters who remained on the square after dawn cheered as police drove away. "This is a great victory," Arseny Yatsenyuk, a top opposition leader, shouted from the stage. Throughout the standoff the police appeared to be under orders to refrain from using excessive force, unlike the violent beatings of protesters in recent weeks. Several demonstrators and police were injured, but the policeman helped injured activists up from the ground and moved them away.

The protests began in late November when Yanukovych backed away from a pact that would deepen the former Soviet republic's economic ties with the 28-nation European Union — a pact that surveys showed was supported by nearly half the country's people.

The agreement would make Ukraine more Western-oriented and represent a significant loss of face for Russia, which has either controlled or heavily influenced Ukraine for centuries. Demonstrators who gathered during the night waved EU and Ukrainian flags and sang the national anthem.. Many of the protesters, wearing orange construction hats to protect themselves from police truncheons, locked arms and simultaneously jumped up and down to stay warm in freezing temperatures that plunged to 12 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 11 Celsius).

Scuffles broke out between police and opposition lawmakers, one of whom lay down on the snow trying to block a vehicle from advancing on the camp. An Orthodox priest sang prayers, and a popular Ukrainian rock song with the lyrics "I will not give up without a fight" blared from loudspeakers over the square. Pop singer Ruslana kept up morale by singing the national anthem and cheering protesters from the stage.

One protester stripped to his waist in the frigid air, got down on his knees and shouted "Stop this ... We are one people!" At least one tent caught fire after a metal barrel where a fire was burning to keep demonstrators warm overturned.

After some of the barricades and tents were dismantled, police and city workers began to remove debris with bulldozers. Policemen used what appeared to be chain saws to clear the barricades. But as the sun rose over Kiev in the morning, the police had not been able to drive back the protesters on the square or to storm the city administration building, where demonstrators poured the building steps with ice to make seizing it more difficult.

There were no police left near the building or on the square by mid-morning, as a crowd of several thousand still lingered on the street. "They had to leave, there were just too many people here," said Andrei Govdun, a protester.

Western officials issued strong statements as the crackdown unfolded. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a strong statement, expressing U.S. "disgust with the decision of Ukrainian authorities to meet the peaceful protest ... with riot police, bulldozers, and batons, rather than with respect for democratic rights and human dignity."

"This response is neither acceptable nor does it befit a democracy," said Kerry, urging authorities to show "utmost restraint" and protect human life. "The United States stands with the people of Ukraine. They deserve better."

Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, who is a reigning world heavyweight boxing champion, urged Ukrainians to rush to the center of the capital to defend democracy. "We will say no to a police state, no to a dictatorship," he told protesters in the square.

The confrontation unfolded as EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland were in the city to try to talk to the government and the opposition to work out a solution.

"The authorities didn't need to act under the coverage of night to engage with the society by using police," Ashton said in a statement after the police action started. "Dialogue with political forces and society and use of arguments is always better than the argument of force."

The protests are the biggest since Ukraine's pro-democracy Orange Revolution. Those protests, also centered on Independence Square, known as the Maidan, succeeded in forcing the annulment of Yanukovych's fraud-tainted presidential victory in 2004, and ushered his pro-Western opponents into power. Yanukovych returned to the presidency in the 2010 vote, drawing on support from heavily industrialized eastern Ukraine where there are many Russian speakers.

Aiming to defuse the latest crisis, Yanukovych had called earlier Tuesday for the release of the demonstrators previously arrested in the protests and vowed that Ukraine is still interested in integrating with Europe.

Yatsenyuk told demonstrators at the square that the protest leaders were still insisting on their key demands: that Yanukovych dismiss the government, appoint a new one committed to signing an association agreement with the EU, release all the arrested protesters, and punish police who beat peaceful demonstrators.

Riot police have twice previously dispersed demonstrators with clubs and tear gas, beating some severely enough to send them to intensive care. Tim Ash, an emerging markets analyst with Standard Bank in London, said that Yanukovych's decision to use force against demonstrators on Wednesday would only escalate the crisis.

"The result of today's actions will be an even more confrontational situation on the ground," Ash said. "The opposition will dig in even more, demanding real changes in the administration." The crisis was deepened by Ukraine's troubled finances. The economy is teetering on the brink of default and Yanukovych has been scrambling to get funding either from the International Monetary Fund or From Russia.

Yuras Karmanau in Kiev, John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels, and Laura Mills in Moscow contributed to this report.

Bosnian musician to help poor Roma study music

December 10, 2013

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Bosnia's most popular musician — a man whose international career has been built on music inspired by Balkan and Gypsy tunes — is searching for talented Roma children to help them get an education in music.

Goran Bregovic, a 63-year-old former rocker, started his quest Tuesday with a visit to Sarajevo's biggest Roma settlement of Gorica. That's the same name he has given his new foundation, which will provide scholarships to Roma kids who wish to study music but can't afford to.

"Roma are very talented in music but most have no education," Bregovic said. Centuries-old prejudices and hostilities against Roma, also called Gypsies, have turned them into Europe's most underprivileged minority. Nearly half of the tens of thousands of Roma in Bosnia are illiterate and most live in extreme poverty on the margins of society.

"I cannot solve their huge problems, but as a neighbor to a neighbor, I can try to help as much as I can," Bregovic said. That's why the residents of Gorica were so excited about his visit. "No public figure has ever done something like this for us," said Zineta Hasanovic, 58. "We are so grateful."

Hours ahead of the artist's arrival, some of Gorica's 100-plus residents started a barbeque. When the children screamed "He's here!" a band begun playing. Bregovic quickly grabbed a guitar and joined in.

A turkey someone brought to the party interrupted the singing when it escaped from the man holding it. The crowd chased the bird around the square, eventually locking it up in an old car, before continuing the song. A group of young dancers shivered for a bit in light costumes as someone searched for an extension cord to play their music.

All these glitches were accepted by residents with good humor. "(Roma have been) present in Europe for six or seven centuries and they have left a beautiful musical trace," Bregovic said, adding that many European composers — from Beethoven to Liszt — had been influenced by Gypsy music.

He urged others to also help Roma walk a path to a better life. "To light a path that leads somewhere, you need a lot of little lights," the artist said. "If the foundation manages to educate a few little Roma, those will be a few little lights on their path."