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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 February 2000 Issue No. 469 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 February 2000 Issue No. 469
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Heart of conflict
PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak called on Israel to stop placing obstacles on the road to peace and strongly criticised Tel Aviv for its continued bombing of South Lebanon. In a number of press statements, Mubarak described Israeli threats against Beirut as "obnoxious, destructive and pointless". He warned that such actions "encourage fanaticism and repulse public opinion".The deteriorating situation in Lebanon demands a firm international and European response: "The world must tell Israel to implement what has already been agreed upon'," he said.
The violent confrontation in South Lebanon, Mubarak argued, was a predictable "result of freezing peace talks on the Syrian track".
Noting that the resumption of Syrian-Israeli negotiations had reassured all peoples in the region, he added that "the Arab people do not [now] understand why Israel is placing all these obstacles on the road to peace by insisting on preconditions before starting negotiations". Progress, he insisted, must be made on all tracks "in order for things to get back to their natural course".
"I told Barak [during his visit to Cairo two weeks ago] not to make conditions which obstruct the peace process, and asked him to implement the Sharm Al-Sheikh agreement," Mubarak said. "Barak has made many promises but has not carried them out."
"Until all tracks are resolved," Mubarak said, Israel cannot hope to be integrated in to the regional fold.
"Israel is mistaken if it thinks that after reaching peace with Syria and Lebanon, the Palestinian issue can be buried, shelved, or that it could then impose a settlement on the Palestinians," he said. "The Palestinian issue will remain at the heart of the conflict in the Middle East."
Iron meltdown
THE CHAIRMAN of Aswan Iron and Steel Project (AISP), Mohamed Abdel-Ra'ouf Bahgat, has been remanded in custody for 15 days pending investigations by the Prosecutor General's office.Bahgat was first summoned for questioning two weeks ago, and arrested a few days later. The prosecutor's office has so far declined to make public details of the investigation, or any charges that Bahgat may eventually face.
AISP has been the focus of fevered press speculation for some months now. The campaign has been hotly pursued by Akhbar Al-Youm, which claims to have evidence that Baghat received a 27 month custodial sentence from a Finnish court after being found guilty of forging commercial documents.
AISP's lawyer, Hosni Abdel-Hamid, refused to comment on the investigations, claiming they were sub judice.
AISP was initially set up to capitalise on the rich mineral reserves, especially iron ore, first identified in Geological Authority surveys south east of Aswan.
"The deal which Bahgat signed with the former government was investigated and reviewed by the People's Assembly and the Industry Committee... and any questions and criticisms currently levelled at that deal might usefully be addressed to those parties," said Abdel-Hamid.
Bar poll soon
NOMINATIONS for the Bar Association's elections are expected to start within the next two weeks.Lawyers will soon be taking the first step toward rejuvenating the syndicate, which was placed under judicial sequestration for three successive years. The crisis ended last October after three custodians resigned from the association and transferred power to an interim judicial committee. This was done in accordance with a ruling by the Court of Cassation. Under Law 100 of 1993, which governs professional syndicates, the newly-appointed committee has up to six months to prepare for the elections. Hence, the legal term set by law to stage them will end in mid-April. The judicial committee will open the door for nominations as soon as voter lists are prepared. Sameh Ashour, Ahmed Nasser and Ragai' Atteya are the three top nominees for association chairman.
The 200,000-strong syndicate has been frustrated after a ruling by the National Democratic Party (NDP) announced its complete support for Atteya and nominated 14 other lawyers, all members of the NDP, to compete for the council's 24 seats. "Lawyers will never accept the NDP's interference in the affairs of the Bar Association," said Nasser. "Such an attitude is unprecedented in the history of our syndicate. In the past, the government used to support nominees indirectly in order not to antagonise the majority of voters. This strange attitude on the part of the NDP will have a negative impact on Atteya," Nasser said. He asserted that the NDP action had not had any adverse affect on the non-governmental nominees. "They believe the lawyers will have the upper hand in the end despite governmental interference," Nasser said.
The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, meanwhile, still intends to take part in the elections despite the latest blow directed against 20 of the group's leading members now standing trial on charges of seeking to infiltrate syndicates. Mokhtar Nouh, former treasurer of the dissolved council of the Bar Association, and Khaled Badawi, his assistant, who were planning to contest the elections, are among the 20 suspects. "Other members of the brotherhood will replace Nouh and Badawi and compete for around 10 seats," Islamist lawyer Fatma Rabie said.
