Issue No. 609
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24 - 30 October 2002 Issue No. 609 Home news |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
New turmoil at the Bar
No stranger to conflict, the Bar Association has been embroiled in a Nasserist-Islamist feud for the past three weeks. Mona El-Nahhas reports
The Bar Association has seen its share of political turmoil. For five years -- from 1996 to 2001 -- judicial sequestration delayed elections for the syndicate's chairman and council. Since February 2001, however, when elections finally brought Nasserist chairman Sameh Ashour and a council -- of which about two thirds belong to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group -- things have been relatively smooth.
Then, three weeks ago, a clash erupted between Ashour and the Islamist bloc in the syndicate's council. The root of the problem was the Islamist council members' decision to dismiss the current assistant treasurer, Khaled Abu Kresha, from his post, and replace him with Abdel-Salam Keshk.
According to the Islamist bloc, Kresha committed a financial violation when he increased the sum allocated for holding a conference in Hurghada from LE200,000 to LE800,000. During the council's 3 October meeting, Islamist member Bahaa Abdel-Rahman called for a discussion of the reasons behind the increase.
Arguing that this point was not included on the agenda, chairman Ashour said the matter should be discussed in another meeting. The Islamist members refused to delay the discussion, leaving Ashour no choice but to adjourn the meeting. Nine council members left with him, while the 13 Islamist members continued the discussion, ending it with a decision to remove Kresha and replace him with Keshk. They also sent letters to Misr Bank informing officials there of the change, but the bank did not acknowledge the council's decision since it was not signed by the chairman.
Ashour announced that any decision taken on 3 October was illegal, since the council's meetings have rules which should be respected by all its members. The syndicate would continue to be unified and independent, added Ashour, not allowing a certain party or group to interfere in decision-making.
For his part, Kresha described the incident as an attempt by the Islamist bloc to impose its control on the syndicate's affairs and marginalise the chairman's role in decision-making. Kresha described the council's decision to dismiss him as null and void. "It was passed after the syndicate chairman adjourned the session and left with nine members. I am still in the post, performing my role and signing financial papers. As to the increase in the conference's expenses, it was due to the increase in the number of lawyers who participated -- from 1000 to 3000," Kresha said.
Islamist council member Mohamed Touson defended the council's decision, saying it was passed with the majority of votes. "I do not believe," he said, "replacing the assistant treasurer with another as being an attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood to impose their control over syndicate affairs. What happened was nothing but an exercise of the council's normal role in supervision and administration." Touson indicated that the council intends to file a complaint against Misr Bank's chairman if the bank cashes a cheque bearing Kresha's signature.
Although attempts are now being made by prominent lawyers to contain the crisis, sources believe that the incident promises to be just the first in a series of clashes which may again lead the syndicate into renewed crisis.
Lawyers told the Weekly that if the Muslim Brotherhood manages to get its way, it will mean that they have imposed control over the syndicate's affairs, which will certainly not be tolerated by the government. If so, there will surely be attempts to undermine the Brotherhood's presence, which is exactly what happened when judicial sequestration was placed over the syndicate in 1996.
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