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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 March 1999 Issue No. 421 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 March 1999 Issue No. 421
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters UK clamps down on militants
By Khaled DawoudBritish authorities on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of three London-based militants in an early morning raid the previous day, but refused to release their names or any other details because under British law they cannot do so until the men have been officially charged. The authorities said only that the three were arrested under the anti-terrorism act which was passed late last year, penalising the plotting of terrorist acts outside Britain.
However, Islamists living in Britain identified the three as Mustafa Kamel, a 41-year-old Briton of Egyptian origin better known as Abu Hamza El-Masri, Yasser Serri, an Egyptian who was sentenced to death in absentia by the Supreme Military Court in Cairo in 1994 for plotting an attack against then Prime Minister Atef Sidki and who has been seeking political refugee status in Britain, and a third person identified as Abu Emad, an Egyptian. According to an Islamist living in Britain, little is known about the third suspect.
The most prominent of the three is Sheikh Abu Hamza El-Masri, who only three weeks ago chaired a meeting in London in which he unveiled what he claimed to be his latest invention to fight "arrogant Western powers", in particular the United States. This was described as "air-bound mines" or flying bombs tied to balloons in order to target US warplanes launching attacks on Arab and Islamic countries, such as Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan.
More important, however, is that Abu Hamza's son is among 10 militants standing trial in Yemen for involvement in terrorist activities there. Yemen requested Abu Hamza's arrest and extradition in January, claiming that he too was involved in plotting terrorist acts.
Abu Hamza, who lost both hands and one eye while fighting Soviet invasion troops in Afghanistan, has repeatedly expressed hatred for the United States and urged the targeting of American military personnel as well as civilians. He also publicly praised Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who has been described by the United States as the main suspect in the bombing of its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania last summer.
Abu Hamza El-Masri
Serri, meanwhile, has been running what could be described as a media centre, known as the Islamic Observation Centre, for Arab and Islamic militant organisations fighting their home governments. Serri received statements and publications from such groups and passed them to the media. Egyptian authorities have repeatedly asked for his extradition, but this demand has not been met as a result of legal complications and the fact that his papers are at the British Home Office for a decision on his asylum request.
Omar Bakri, leader of an Islamist group known as Al-Muhajeroon, told Al-Ahram Weekly in a telephone interview that the three suspects were arrested at the same time, around 6am, on Monday morning. "The way police arrested the three reminded us of the methods used by totalitarian regimes in several Arab countries. They broke into their houses and went straight into their bedrooms to arrest them in front of their wives and children," Bakri said.
He added that Islamists in Britain were "surprised" by the arrests, especially given that a few days earlier, British authorities allowed Serri and Abu Hamza to organise a demonstration in front of the British parliament to call for the release of five Egyptian militants held in Britain since September. The five are now reportedly being held in a centre for asylum-seekers.
"Something has definitely happened between Friday [when the demonstration was staged] and Monday when the arrests took place," Bakri said. He suspected that the British authorities acted after Yemen handed over a video cassette showing Abu Hamza's son and four of his colleagues undergoing weapons training at a camp in Albania. The same video tape was played before the court trying Abu Hamza's son last Thursday.
Bakri also suspected that "strong pressure by the Egyptian government might have been behind Serri's arrest," while pointing out that Abu Hamza and Serri do not have a great deal in common. "The two do not agree on many things, but it seems that the British authorities gave in to pressure from the United States [which has been leading a worldwide campaign against suspected associates of bin Laden], Egypt and Yemen," he said.
Bakri warned that the arrests "might push the Islamists living in Britain to move underground, which means that a minority might resort to violence, of which we do not approve." He added that the active Islamist groups in Britain "sent a warning to the British authorities that they either press charges against the three suspects or set them free." The Islamists were due to organise a demonstration on Wednesday in front of the police station where the three are being held to demand their release.
