Issue No. 603
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12 - 18 September 2002 Issue No. 603 Home news |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Egyptian message
"EGYPT is going to the United Nations with the message that it supports peace, justice and stability," Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told reporters a day before travelling to New York to attend the meetings of the 57th General Assembly. Maher is scheduled to deliver Egypt's statement to the UN session tomorrow, reports Soha Abdelaty.
Maher's 10-day trip to New York will include meetings with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as attendance of the Quartet meetings to discuss the Middle East. Maher will be joined at this second meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, by his Saudi and Jordanian counterparts.
The UN meetings come at a time when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called for a nullification of all previous agreements between the Palestinians and Israelis. Sharon wants to return "to the age of chaos and lawlessness", Maher commented. "What is odd is that we hear no voices. We only hear the voices loud and clear every time the issue is about another country [other than Israel]."
This year, however, the possibility of an attack against Iraq is likely to share the limelight with the Middle East conflict. "There is increasing international pressure, coming from inside the US and Britain, that confirms the necessity of action through the UN and this is what we call for," said Maher on Sunday. Action taken against Iraq cannot be "unilateral acts that violate the Charter and are considered interference in [Iraq's] domestic affairs", he added.
While in New York, Maher will also be attending the ministerial meetings of the Arab foreign ministers, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Group of 77. Maher will also consult with the foreign ministers of the remaining four permanent members of the Security Council, namely, China, Russia the United Kingdom and France, as well as a group of European and Arab ministers.
Israeli consulate closed
THE ISRAELI Consulate in Alexandria's upper class district of Kafr Abdu in Rushdi, was suddenly shut down last week, reports Fatemah Farag. The closure, however, was anti-climactic, as it seems that it was not a result of the demands made by the Alexandrian public to shut down the consulate and deport the consul. Short official statements released on the subject said that the Israeli government had decided to shut it down on grounds of financial viability.
Situated in a pleasant square in front of the British Consulate, the building that once housed Israel's Alexandria representation stands out as an eye sore: the only high rise amidst the villas. Security officers, whose base is the patch of garden in the middle of the square, were on the alert for anyone asking questions. "If you want more information, you should go to state security. All we know is that they left," one officer told Al- Ahram Weekly.
The consulate had been a target of popular wrath against the Israeli government since Israel launched its Defensive Shield operation in which it reoccupied the entire West Bank starting 29 March. Alexandria had been the site of some of the fiercest anti-Israeli demonstrations.
A court case had been filed by 25 lawyers, members of parliament, civil servants and university students at the Administrative Court in Alexandria demanding the immediate closure of the offending consulate. The case was rejected by the court in May on grounds of lack of jurisdiction.
Whatever the real reasons for the closure, Mohamed, a driver working for the owners of the one the villas in the neighbourhood had only one comment to make: "Good riddance".
Defending Iraq
THE BAR Association on Monday witnessed the launch of a popular campaign against a possible attack on Iraq. More than 120 intellectuals, activists and politicians from across the political spectrum held a press conference at the syndicate's downtown headquarters to announce the launch of a campaign "of resistance" against the US administration's planned aggression on Iraq.
The campaigners comprise of a mosaic of Nasserists, Marxists, Islamists, public figures, members and representatives of trade unions and various professional syndicates. According to Ashraf Bayoumi, a former UN official and one of the founders of the campaign, this group of people view themselves as "defenders of the national security of the country".
As is the case with numerous "popular" entities that form in Egypt, this one has no legal status and is an extension of the Palestine solidarity activism that evolved following the eruption of the Intifada two years ago. The group also exists outside the framework of recognised partisan or profession-related activism. "We have our differences," Bayoumi told Al-Ahram Weekly, "but this isn't about discussing and agreeing on ideological matters... We are all anti-Zionist, anti-imperialist, pro-democracy and against government corruption. Despite our differences, we are benefiting from each other and we are expanding."
A statement issued Monday by the "Popular Campaign of Resistance against US Aggression on Iraq" said not only is Iraq being threatened, but the entire Arab nation could be in danger.
The campaign statement said that the aim of the US aggression is to use Iraq as a launching pad for a broader plan to fragment and dominate the Arab nation and undermine its future. "The Bush administration's goal is to divide Iraq and transform it into a US protectorate by installing a puppet regime that promotes global and corporate interests, allowing the US to have direct control over Iraq's wealth."
It continued, the US administration is keen to use its control over Iraq to impose "an American-Zionist 'solution' to the Palestinian problem. To ensure the US's absolute control over the entire Arab nation, the Bush administration will impose its strategic ally, Israel, as the regional power."
"We cannot isolate the situation in Iraq from what has been happening in Palestine, the partition plan for Sudan or the intellectual intimidation in Egypt," Bayoumi argued, adding, "it's important to tie these issues together. But we are focusing on Iraq now because it is currently at the forefront."
The statement issued by the campaign called on "the Arab people" to participate in its activities. "If all efforts to avert aggression fail," warned the statement, "we can expect that popular action will escalate and threaten American interests throughout the Arab world. We consider our confrontation of this aggression to be a human, religious and national duty."
Bayoumi said, "We will broaden our activism and we warn the government not to stop us like they did [with Palestine solidarity demonstrations last spring] when a student was killed and others lost their eyesight [owing to bullets fired by anti-riot police], because this isn't against the government, although we oppose it on many, many issues."
Another road tragedy
SEVENTEEN Egyptians drowned and 36 were injured on Monday when two buses travelling in opposite directions collided, causing one of the vehicles to plunge into a Nile canal in southern Egypt. An unidentified number of missing people are also feared dead.
The crash happened at about 4pm near the village of Al-Fant, 160 kilometres south of Cairo, in the Beni Suef governorate.
Around 45 people were on a Cairo-bound bus from Minya when it crashed head-on with a similar one.
The accident is the worst in almost a year. Late last October, 14 people, 12 of them schoolchildren, drowned when their bus plunged into a canal near Esna, 750 kilometres south of Cairo.
MTF countdown
EGYPT'S third annual Mediterranean Travel Fair (MTF) will be held from 17 to 19 September at the Cairo International Conference Centre, reports Rehab Saad.
According to MTF officials, about 30 countries will participate in the event. The fair, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Atef Ebeid and Minister of Tourism Mamdouh El-Beltagui, is organised by the British company Reed Travel Exhibitions, part of Reed Exhibitions, one of the world's leading exhibition organisers.
The event is sponsored by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, the Egyptian Tourist Authority, the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers, the Egyptian Travel Agents Association, the Egyptian Hotels Association and EgyptAir as well as a number of private sector companies.
According to Matt Thompson of Reed Travel Exhibitions, MTF 2001 proved an outstanding success with an increase in both exhibitors and visitors. He added that the demand for travel and tourism within the region, and particularly in Egypt, continues to grow. "From the developments in Marsa Alam and Port Ghalib to new resorts at Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada, Egypt, our host, recognises the importance of tourism and has invested a great deal in its development."
A full educational seminar programme will run alongside the exhibition. Seminars will include topics like marketing travel in Egypt to American associations and corporations, using technology to target the American meetings and incentive market, eco-tourism and e-travel.
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