17 - 23 January 2002
Issue No.569
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 17 - 23 January 2002 Issue No.569 |
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Moroccan ties
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher headed to Morocco on Tuesday for a two-day visit that will involve talks on the recent developments in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, reports Soha Abdelaty. The two sides will discuss efforts to stem Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people. Maher will also be delivering a letter from President Hosni Mubarak to Morocco's King Mohamed, covering the Middle East peace process, as well as other issues of mutual cooperation.
Tuesday's discussions are a continuation of the meetings Maher held with his Moroccan counterpart, Mohamed Bin Essa, in Cairo last week. Essa's visit to Cairo followed a decision by the two sides to postpone Mubarak's trip to Morocco, originally scheduled for 10 January. With the escalation of the situation in the occupied territories, it was decided that Mubarak's presence was needed in Cairo. The scheduled visit by Mubarak was intended to fall under the umbrella of the fifth Egyptian- Moroccan joint committee meetings. So far, it has not been rescheduled.
MP convicted
Member of Parliament Fawzi El-Sayed has been sentenced to three years in prison by the Supreme State Security Court. El- Sayed, who is a real estate mogul outside his political life, was accused of violating building codes and forging official papers to cover up his actions.
El-Sayed, MP for Nasr City in eastern Cairo, was briefly imprisoned in 1994 for violating building codes and evading fees for the extension of utilities' services to his buildings. This time round, he is being convicted for similar charges. His convictions include depriving the state of millions of pounds in revenue, as well as the forgery of official papers.
El-Sayed was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in order to stand trial.
Robbers found dead
The bodies of five Egyptians believed to be responsible for a violent bank robbery were discovered in a cave in the southern town of Sohag, the Interior Ministry said Monday. Twelve people were killed in November 2000, when armed robbers attacked the Sohag branch of the Al-Ahli Bank in the southern town of Al-Maragha, Sohag. The dead included three policemen, two bank employees and one of the assailants. Some LE1.3 million worth of currency was reported missing.
A ministry statement said the bodies were found during a raid on the cave by police special operations forces, but it did not specify how the men died or when they were found. The ministry said five automatic rifles, including one seized from a bank guard during the robbery, were discovered in the raid, along with almost LE500,000, $20,000 and 23,000 Saudi riyals, as well as other currencies. All bore the Al-Ahli bank stamp.
At the time of the robbery, officials had suggested that the men were affiliated with radical Islamist groups, which were strong in pockets of southern Egypt until the mid- 1990s. But the ministry said it was now closing the file on the case.
Fishing tragedy
Thirty-nine fishermen are believed dead after their ship, named Abul-Fawares, sank off the Red Sea coast on 11 January. The accident occurred south of the Suez Canal, in the oil-rich area of Ras Abu Bakr. Only two fishermen survived the trauma when they were rescued by another fishing ship. The Abul-Fawares had been at sea for seven days.
The ship went down about 32 kilometres off Ras Gharib, which is 267 kilometres southeast of Cairo. Rescue workers from the navy and from oil companies based in Ras Gharib managed to recover 34 bodies until Sunday. It was not clear what caused the ship to sink, but initial investigations indicate that it capsized due to high waves caused by rough weather. The fishermen were apparently asleep in the ship's lower deck.
Pushing the issue
The administrative court barred Gamal Amgad Mikhail, a Coptic Christian, from travelling to Israel as part of a pilgrimage in East Jerusalem. The Interior Ministry had refused Mikhail a permit last year, prompting him to file a case with the administrative court.
Citing the danger caused by Israel's "oppressive occupation" of Palestinian land, the court also noted that Pope Shenouda had banned Copts from making the pilgrimage to East Jerusalem so long as it remains under Israeli occupation. "It is the state's right to prevent citizens from travelling to a country where acts of killing, gunfire and explosions take place," the court ruling said.
Egyptians who try to travel without a special permit from the Interior Ministry risk being turned back to Cairo. In addition, Pope Shenouda has warned that those who violate his ban will be prohibited from taking holy communion.
Compiled by Shaden Shehab
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