Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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More aid for Palestinians

TRUCK-LOADS of donated provisions and medical aid will make their way to the Egyptian-Israeli border at Rafah shortly in yet another show of solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada.

The donations were collected by the Egyptian People's Committee for Solidarity with the Palestinian People, an independent group of various non-governmental organisations and individual activists. The aid includes 74 tons of food and LE100,000 worth of medical supplies as well as other provisions. Some 80 committee members will accompany the trucks to the border, with many staying in Rafah until Israel allows the provisions in.

The committee is continuing its campaign to collect one million signatures in solidarity with the Palestinian people. It has printed stickers, which have appeared all over the city, calling for "Intifada until victory." It also started the creation of two Web sites on the Internet.

Stranded at the border

ISRAEL has banned 70 ambulances carrying a large amount of medical supplies and medicine to Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli troops from passing through the Egyptian-Israeli border.

According to officials in Rafah, the ambulances and supplies -- donated by the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- arrived at the border two weeks ago and have been stranded there since, as Israel continues its brutal military aggression against Palestinians.

Activists released

TWENTY-TWO students arrested a month ago for participating in anti-Israeli demonstrations were released this week on LE100 bail each.

Policemen cleared

INTERIOR minister Habib El-Adli has exonerated his policemen of any form of biased or improper conduct throughout the three phases of parliamentary elections. In a statement to the press, El-Adli said, "The situation must be clarified to the public to prevent confusion resulting from the circulation of wild rumours." He said the ministry had advance information on criminal intent and acted to prevent any violation of the law. "What were we supposed to do when truck-loads of armed men were preparing to attack opponents of a candidate they supported?" he asked.

As for widely publicised complaints by journalists subjected to attacks themselves, El-Adli said there were people who did not want Egypt to be stable "and we will not pay any attention to them."

Punished for torture

A POLICE officer and his assistant have been found guilty of torturing to death two suspected thieves in the course of their interrogation. The Aswan Criminal Court sentenced Captain Mohamed El-Sayed Abdel-Azim to seven years in jail and policeman Mohie Samer Saqr to three years.

Last month, a state security court handed down a one-year jail term to a police officer who whipped a suspect to death.

Journalist jailed

OPPOSITION journalist Mohamed Abu Lu'ayya was sentenced to six months in jail by a Cairo court and fined LE7,500 after he was found guilty of libel. Abu Lu'ayya, a reporter for the now defunct bi-weekly Al-Shaab, mouthpiece of the frozen Labour Party, had distributed leaflets claiming that Ibrahim Nafie, head of the Journalists Syndicate and editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram, used a syndicate-organised concert by Lebanese singer Magda Al-Roumi to embezzle money from the union.

Since December 1998, five journalists, including Al-Shaab's editor-in-chief Magdi Hussein, have been sentenced to various jail terms for libel. Hussein is currently serving a two-year sentence for slandering Minister of Agriculture Youssef Wali.

Technicolour discovery

THEY may not look like much but the three painted life-size statues of Mery-Hershef, a high-ranking official in the Sixth Dynasty founded by King Pepi I, are quite a find, writes Nevine El-Aref.

It was all in the day's work by a Czech-Egyptian team in the noblemen's cemetery in Abu Sir Necropolis, when the tomb of Mery-Hershef was found south of Giza. "It is a unique tomb in the area," said Gaballa Ali Gaballa, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). "Not only because of its exquisite scenes painted in colour, but also because inside its burial chamber three well-preserved life-size statues of Mery-Hershef were found."

The three green and red 105 by 128 centimetre statues are sculpted inside niches on the biggest wall of the tomb's burial chamber decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions.

"It's the first time that such a huge statue of an official has been discovered in Abu Sir," said Zahi Hawass, director-general of the Giza Plateau and Bahareya Oasis. He described the tomb as the most beautiful yet seen of the era.

Mery-Hershef's tomb is the second to be discovered in the noblemen's cemetery in Abu Sir. The first, found last year, belonged to Kar, another high-ranking official during the reign of King Pepi I.

War games

EGYPT and Saudi Arabia engaged in 13 days of joint naval exercises, code-named Morgan-6, off the southeastern coast of the Red Sea, reports Amira Ibrahim from the waters of the site. Since 1995, the games have become an annual event and are viewed by experts as a sign of increasing military cooperation between the two countries. This year also witnessed the inclusion of jet fighters in the exercise for the first time.

Egyptian and Saudi commanders told the Weekly that this year's exercise had been very successful despite bad weather conditions.

Compiled by Fatemah Farag

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