Al-Ahram Weekly | Egypt

		8 - 14 August 2002 Issue No. 598 Home news	Current issue Previous issue Site map
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Recommend this page

Downsizing peace-keepers

EARLIER this week, the US, Egypt and Israel began formal talks aimed at sharply reducing military participation in peace-keeping forces in Sinai. The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO), which has been stationed on the border of Egypt and Israel for 20 years, comprises troops from 11 countries. Washington intends to reduce their number to approximately 900 from the 1,900 currently in place. "We intend to make a substantial reduction, but as part of a consultative process," US Undersecretary of Defence Douglas Feith told reporters on Friday. He had just come out of a meeting with military officials from Egypt and Israel. More meetings between the three countries and MFO representatives are expected in the coming weeks.
On Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said that Washington is not sending any "political messages" with this move, since it forms part of a "restructuring of the US military and its missions abroad". At the same time, Maher noted that the reduction in US peace-keeping forces "does not diminish the US's commitment to peace between Egypt and Israel".
The MFO was created in 1982 as a confidence-building measure in support of the 1979 peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. "Both Israel and Egypt express their understanding of the competing requirements faced by US forces around the world, especially in light of the war on terror," said a joint statement issued by the three countries last Thursday. The statement continued, "The United States reaffirms -- and Egypt and Israel acknowledge -- its commitment to continued support for Egyptian-Israeli peace, and for the MFO as a force contributing to the broad objectives of enhancing and sustaining regional security and stability."
Feith declined to give an exact figure for the number of US troops leaving their Sinai posts for the US's war on terrorism. "We are not talking about ending US participation in the MFO," insisted Feith. "No decision has been made on the exact nature of the cut." However, according to some reports, US contribution to the MFO could eventually be reduced to 50 soldiers.
Liberation Party trial

TWENTY-three Egyptian men and three Britons have been charged with trying to reactivate an illegal group and belonging to a group working against the state. The suspects were arrested in April, and were ordered to stand trial on Sunday. Prosecutor-General Maher Abdel-Wahed said the defendants were charged with being members of the banned Islamist Liberation Party.
Egyptian authorities said the 26 men tried to revive the group in several Arab countries and had been receiving funds from sympathisers in Britain, Germany and Austria.
The chief suspect among those accused, computer engineer Alaaeddin Abdel-Wahab, allegedly joined the party in 1983, and began to spread its ideas in publications and over the Internet.
The accused will stand trial in front of a state security court in accordance with emergency law. If found guilty, they will face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison with hard labour.
On Monday, British consular officials visited the three detained Britons. They found them "a little bit depressed", although "physically, their conditions [of detention were] fine," said Irfan Siddiq, an embassy spokesman.
The Liberation Party was founded by Palestinians in 1952 and has been accused of a number of terrorist operations by foreign governments. Membership in the organisation is illegal in a number of countries. The group seeks to restore the caliphate through military coups across the region. The movement spread to several Arab countries, including Egypt. It was disbanded there following an attempted coup in the 1970s, and no further activity was evident until recently.
Members of the party in the UK have denied it is a terrorist organisation. They cited the group's convictions, which condemn the use of violence or armed struggle against a regime as a violation of Islamic Shari'a.
Manhunt!

THE SEARCH for a man accused of providing fake identification to two of the 11 September hijackers has spread to the Middle East, where authorities are monitoring airports in the hope of intercepting him. The suspect, Mohamed El-Atriss, left the United States for Egypt just before a raid on his home and businesses on 31 July. It was unclear whether he had fled, or gone on a business trip, unaware of the probe. According to the FBI, an investigation determined El-Atriss had given phoney IDs to Khaled Al-Mihdar, who was on the airliner that crashed into the Pentagon, and Abdel-Aziz Al-Omari, who was aboard one of the planes that hit the World Trade Centre.
Authorities have charged El-Atriss with conspiracy, and the manufacture and distribution of phoney documents. They said the naturalised American citizen sold hundreds of fake licences, identification cards, auto titles and even licence plates.
Officers who raided El-Atriss's businesses and his Union Township home were told by his employees that he had gone to Egypt. Three workers at his stores were arrested during the raids and charged with conspiracy and manufacturing and distributing fraudulent documents.
Meanwhile, investigators are trying to find out why the suspect wired thousands of dollars from his businesses to the Arab National Bank in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. According to a police affidavit, investigators determined that El-Atriss made large transfers to the bank in January and February.
Deadly heat

EIGHT Egyptians and a British tourist have died in southern Egypt from sunstroke, as a result of a devastating heat wave. The British woman, 64, died on Sunday, while on a tour of Pharaonic sites in Luxor's Valley of the Kings on the western bank of the Nile. The eight Egyptians died in the province of Qena during the past week, where temperatures hit 48 degrees Celsius.
Meteorologists announced highs of 44 degrees in Cairo and 48 degrees in Luxor, the worst levels Egypt has seen in at least a decade.
Compiled by Shaden Shehab

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