Women unite for peace

MRS SUZANNE Mubarak on Monday announced the launch of the Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement in Geneva, Switzerland, Dahlia Hammouda reports.

The movement will rely on leading international women to promote peace and "establish connections with associations all over the world to do some networking", Mrs Mubarak told journalists at a press conference after the signing of the movement's charter.

Although the initiative was launched at the Women for Peace Conference held in Sharm El-Sheikh last September, Mrs Mubarak said the movement would deal with conflict prevention throughout the world, not only in the Middle East.

Mrs Mubarak said she would be counting on personalities who took part in the Sharm El-Sheikh conference, such as Queen Rania of Jordan, Ireland's President Mary McAleese, and Nana Rawlings, the wife of Ghana's former leader.

"It is not a first ladies' movement," Mrs Mubarak stressed, saying she wanted women at community level to be involved.

The Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement is a non-profit international association registered in Geneva, with chapters in many parts of the world and a permanent secretariat in Cairo. Its purpose is to reinforce the impact of the effective programmes, organisations and individuals working for a world of peace.

Stepping up EU ties

EGYPTIAN Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher led a delegation to Luxembourg on Monday for a two-day visit to discuss Egyptian-European relations and launch a new Egyptian-European dialogue, reports Soha Abdelaty.

"We will be discussing all aspects of the bilateral relationship between Egypt and Europe in light of the Egyptian- European Association Agreement ratified by the People's Assembly in April," Maher said on Saturday. "We will also be urging European parliaments to ratify it."

To date, of the 15 European states in the EU, only six have signed on. The European Commission is also expected to ratify the agreement.

According to the Greek ambassador to Cairo, whose country presides over the EU until next month, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou will urge all European states to fulfil Egypt's aspirations with regards to the agreement. Demosthenes Constantinou and 15 other EU ambassadors in Cairo met with Maher on Saturday to discuss Middle East peace, as well as the minister's trip to Luxembourg.

Asked by Al-Ahram Weekly why the ratification process by the European countries has not yet been completed, Constantinou said that it was only a matter of time. "We are 15 states, plus the commission, but we have more than 16 parliaments," the Greek ambassador explained. "This is a procedural question, not a question of principle, because we have all agreed to the ratification." Constantinou also said that it takes time for the finance ministers of each individual European country to study the agreement before giving the green light to the parliaments.

The agreement entails the establishment of a free trade area between Egypt and the EU. Upon ratification by the two sides, Egyptian industrial goods gain immediate access into EU markets, while EU products will gain the same privilege over a period of 17 years. Furthermore, the EU pledges to promote changes on the social and political front in Egypt.

Cheaper hospitality

THIS SUMMER, Arab travellers will be able to pay the same hotel rates and entrance fees for museums and ancient sites as Egyptian visitors, reports Rehab Saad.

Minister of Tourism Mamdouh El- Beltagui received this week the approval of Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni to charge Arab travellers to Egypt equal hotels rates and site entrance fees as Egyptians. Previously, Arab travellers used to pay the fees designated for foreign tourists.

Both the Arab Summit held in Beirut in March 2002 and the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism held in June in Alexandria had recommended action to boost the inter-Arab tourist movement.

"The Arab market is the second biggest tourist exporting market after Europe, representing 20 per cent of Egypt's total tourist movement," El-Beltagui said.

Egypt has been keen on catering to the needs of Arab travellers. It now offers apartment hotels and villas with certain specifications to provide privacy for Arab families. "Moreover, we have built more amusement parks, museums and floating restaurants that are frequented by Arab families," El-Beltagui said.

Policeman acquitted

A CAIRO appeals court on Monday acquitted a senior policeman, Hazem El- Derbi, and slashed down the jail term of his deputy, Ashraf Gohar, after both men appealed their convictions in the torture and death of a car theft suspect.

Both were jailed on August 2002 and have been serving three-year sentences for torturing two men at a Nasr City police station last year to force a confession. One of the men, Mohamed El- Husseini, died as a result, and the second was severely injured. The two suspects had allegedly been kept in custody at the police station during March and April 2001.

Gohar's jail term was reduced to one year with hard labour.

This was the latest in a series of cases in which policemen have been jailed for torture deaths in Egypt.