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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470
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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 Heritage Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters US-Egypt military cooperation
EGYPT's Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lt Gen Magdi Hatata, has returned from a nine-day visit to the United States where he met with his counterpart, US Joint Chief of Staff Gen Henry Shilton and senior military officials.Egyptian and American military officials held a series of meetings during which means to boost military relations between the two countries were discussed.
Military sources in Cairo said that Hatata's agenda included a number of topics, foremost among them plans to develop and modernise the Egyptian armed forces.
Hatata headed the Egyptian delegation to the annual meetings of the American-Egyptian Joint Military Committee. Franklin Kramer, US deputy defense secretary for national security affairs, led the American side. During the three-day meetings, Hatata discussed Egypt's arms requests and programmes to develop weapons and equipment.
Developing joint military exercises through the use of hi-tech methods were also discussed. The bi-annual military exercise, Bright Star, was specified as an example.
Hatata and his delegation visited a number of military bases in North Carolina and Texas. He also visited the US army's Special Operations headquarters, where he was briefed on training techniques, battle preparation procedures and troop modernisation systems.
Hatata also visited the US Congress building, where he met with members of military and financial committees.
Confrontation continues
TWENTY Islamist members of the clandestine Al-Takfeer Wal-Hijra are currently being interrogated by the state security prosecutor. Questioning points to the organisation's leader, Kamel El-Sayed Mansour, as having regrouped and recruited new members in Alexandria and Giza.Four cells were formed, eight senior members in the first, charged with leadership, explanation of the group's ideology and follow up. Two more cells were formed in Alexandria and one in Giza.
Three-hour lessons take place every two weeks at the homes of members where the ideology of the group is explained based on the teachings of Shukri Ahmed Mustafa, the group's founder, who was sentenced to death following the assassination of the former Awqaf (religious endowments) Minister Sheikh El-Dahabi in 1977.
All members have aliases in order to avoid recognition or arrest. Suspects face a long list of charges: joining an illegal group; calling for the obstruction of the constitution and its legislation; prohibiting government bodies from performing their duties; harming social unity and peace and possessing printed material propagating the ideas of a banned group.
The suspects allegedly started their activities by distributing leaflets espousing fanatic thought, near mosques and slums.
During a search of the suspects' homes, printed material and audio taped cassettes of religious teachings were confiscated.
The group considers society and the regime infidel, claiming that they do not apply Islamic Shari'a, or law. It prohibits prayers in mosques, saying they were built by non-believers. It also prohibits Friday prayers with non-group members and is against education at schools and universities.
All together, there are 28 suspects, of which eight are on the run.
Underground relief
RELIEF has been promised to those searching for parking space on the congested streets of Cairo. Last week, Prime Minister Atef Ebeid attended the closure of two deals for the building of two multi-storey underground car-parks. Those who park at Ahmed Helmy Station and in the Gezira area are the primary beneficiaries.Planning for underground car-parks is a pet project of the current Cairo governorate -- the idea is not only to provide parking space, but also underground shopping areas, thus relieving crowded streets and making room for gardens above ground. Another two car-parks are already under construction and the comprehensive plan of the Cairo governorate is to establish 14 underground car-parks with a total capacity of 10,000 cars.
The ambitious scheme is in no way cheap. The two car-parks covered by the new deals will cost LE378 million and will have space for 3,058 cars, micro-buses and buses.
According to the agreement, the governorate will receive an income of LE200 million over the 25-year period in which the car-parks are run by the private sector.
Five star prison
HIND Shamseddin Al-Fasi, wife of Saudi Prince Turki bin Abdel-Aziz, was sentenced in absentia by an Egyptian court to one year in jail for failing to repay a $2.5 million debt.The sentence, passed last Sunday, also ordered the princess to pay LE2,001 in compensation.
Although Al-Fasi is reported to be currently residing at a five-star hotel in Cairo, she neither showed up nor sent a lawyer to represent her. According to procedure, she has two weeks to appeal the sentence.
The sentence is the latest in a long series of complaints and court rulings against the family who took residence on the upper floors of a Cairo hotel in 1983. Former employees of the prince have accused him of mistreatment and withholding pay. In 1997, one of the prince's bodyguards was arrested after beating two men who objected to his blocking a Cairo street with his car. Three other bodyguards have been deported after similar complaints. Earlier this month, a Cairo court sentenced another bodyguard of the prince in absentia to one year in prison for assaulting an Egyptian cook.
