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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 November 1999 Issue No. 455 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 November 1999 Issue No. 455
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Books Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Epidemic of allegations
By Gamal Essam El-DinOne week ahead of a procedural session in which Ahmed Fathi Sorour was to be re-elected People's Assembly Speaker, the Giza High State Security Court cleared Omar Abu Steit, a deputy of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) for the Upper Egypt governorate of Sohag, of charges related to hooliganism. The Court, however, sentenced Abu Steit to three months in prison after finding him guilty of delivering a licensed weapon to another person not in possession of a license.
The court's verdict was welcomed by most MPs who believe a hooliganism conviction would have indelibly tarnished the Assembly's image.
Sorour himself said he was happy to hear Abu Steit had been acquitted of the hooliganism charges. "Sentencing Abu Steit to three months in prison is not enough reason for the Assembly to drop his membership. Abu-Steit was only convicted of delivering his licensed weapon to another person. This is a misdemeanor. Membership is dropped only in the case of MPs being convicted of crimes of dishonour, such as forgery and financial fraud," he said.
Abu-Steit, 68, was taken into custody last August on charges related to hooliganism. He later faced trial on six charges ranging from hooliganism and the use of force to the possession of an unlicensed weapon. The court hearings began on 1 October.
In another development, the socialist prosecutor general decided last week to refer Mahmoud 'Azzam, an MP for the district of El-Saff in Giza governorate, and his wife Aleyya El-'Ayyouti, who fled the country last July, to the Court of Ethics so that their assets, estimated at around LE94 million, might be placed under sequestration. The Prosecutor's report charged that 'Azzam, 50, took advantage of his wife's position as vice-president of the Nile Bank to obtain loans amounting to LE130 million against false guarantees. Azzam is one of four deputies currently standing trial in "the case of the loan deputies", a four-year saga involving allegations of profiteering and the illegal acquisition of public funds.
Allegations of the involvement of People's Assembly deputies in financial malpractice appears to be contagious. Mustafa Kamal Helmi, Speaker of the Shura Council, has provisionally agreed that the immunity of eight Council members be dropped. Justice Minister Farouk Seif El-Nasr had asked that their immunity be dropped so that the eight could be investigated by prosecution authorities on charges related to financial wrongdoing.
Despite these dramatic developments, MPs are apparently keen to improve their image in the new session ahead of next year's parliamentary elections. They, both majority and opposition, are preparing to fire a series of questions on controversial issues at cabinet ministers when parliamentary debates open within the next two weeks.
The tragic crash of EgyptAir flight 990, with the loss of 217 lives, has received the lion's share of questions tabled so far. Yassin Seraggeddin, leader of the liberal Wafd party's parliamentary group, and Abdel-Moneim El-'Oleimi, an independent, directed two questions to Prime Minister Atef Ebeid "on the measures that should urgently be taken to maintain the reputation of the national carrier EgyptAir".
El-'Oleimi told Al-Ahram Weekly that "regardless of the tragic crash, the reasons for which we are still unsure of, there have been frequent reports that the performance of EgyptAir is becoming poorer. Every now and then we hear about chronic delays in arrivals and departures and frequent malfunctions. This mars the reputation of the national carrier. I think that the tragic crash should prompt us, parliament and government, to open the dossier of EgyptAir in this session."
For his part Ahmed Taha, an independent MP, submitted a parliamentary interpolation -- a question that must be answered -- to Prime Minister Ebeid charging that Mossad was behind the crash. "There were 33 army officers on board flight 990. It is evident that Mossad... was closely monitoring the training of these army personnel in the United States and decided to kill them by means of this tragic crash," Taha told Al-Ahram Weekly. Taha added that "it is strange that such a large number of well-trained army officers be placed on board one flight."
Next on the list of parliamentary questions is the issue of the riots, involving Egyptian workers, which broke out in Kuwait last week. Mahmoud Zeinhom, a Nasserist MP, blamed the foreign ministry for failing to take adequate action to protect the rights of Egyptian workers in Kuwait. "The foreign ministry has long been aware of the deteriorating conditions of Egyptian workers in Kuwait and other Arab countries, but it always fails to take pre-emptive action to safeguard their rights and protect them against humiliation by police forces," said Zeinhom.
In legislative terms, although the assembly rarely approves draft laws submitted by MPs, some opposition figures remain bent on pursuing this course. Undaunted by the rejection of his proposed laws for three years, Khaled Mohieddin, leader of the leftist Tagammu party, decided to submit an amendment to the 1956 law on the exercise of political rights. The amendment aims to introduce sufficient guarantees for organising fair parliamentary elections, including complete judicial supervision of the voting process. It also seeks to stiffen penalties for ballot rigging. Mohieddin said that his proposed legislation gains added significance this year, after the call by opposition parties on the eve of the presidential referendum for comprehensive constitutional and political reform.
