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Watching you

A GROUP calling itself the National Apology Campaign (NAC) has launched a project aimed at monitoring the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. The group plans to use a web site called Shayfeen.com, which literally means, "we can see you", as its primary advocacy channel.

"The main goal is to encourage all Egyptians to take an active role in the coming elections and report any and all sorts of violations they might see in any part of the country," Ghada Shahbandar, one of the founders of NAC, told Al-Ahram Weekly. By doing so, noted Shahbandar, "we want to tell the government that we are watching them. We also need to eliminate the deep sense of fear among Egyptians, and give them confidence in their ability to make change come about."

The NAC was established in the aftermath of the 25 May referendum, when alleged supporters of the National Democratic Party (NDP) beat up and molested a number of women who were protesting the referendum in front of the Press Syndicate. Three housewives with no political affiliations founded the movement, which uses a white ribbon as its symbol. They are demanding an official apology for the violations, which they called "flagrant", and far removed from the cultural and behavioral norms of Egyptian society.

Shahbandar said the movement has found widespread support, and has thus "decided to take action on a wider scale, so that all Egyptians can take part in guaranteeing the fairness and integrity of elections, by keeping a close eye on how the process works".

Predicting the verdict

ACTIVISTS vowed to appeal to the International Criminal Court if investigations into complaints about female protesters being attacked by ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) supporters during the 25 May referendum, while security and riot police looked on, were not adequately addressed.

Essam El-Islambouli, one of the lawyers representing the female victims, said he expected the prosecutor to say that the attackers' identities could not be determined. "If the prosecutor disappoints us, we will take our case to the International Criminal Court, because the crimes committed are crimes against humanity," he said.

Another lawyer, Sayed Abu Zeid, said that three videotapes and 12 photographs of the assaults clearly show that security officials and NDP members were to blame. "The world saw what happened, and whoever is responsible will be stalked by international human rights organisations. They will never stay silent," Abu Zeid said.

The Arab Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, meanwhile, said that four female victims have faced threats and pressure by state security to withdraw their complaints.

EOHR wants monitors

THE EGYPTIAN Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) has demanded that international monitors supervise the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, to ensure they are fair. "We call for international supervision of the elections, and consider it part of the global democratic process," EOHR head Hafez Abu Saeda told a press conference on Monday.

International observers would bring credibility to the process itself, Abu Saeda said, and their presence should not be viewed as foreign interference in Egyptian politics. "It's not true that this supervision constitutes an infringement on Egypt's sovereignty, or interference in its internal affairs." Rejecting it means that the government intends to rig the elections, he said.

Abu Saeda also told the press conference that about 20 Egyptian human rights groups have already formed "an electoral controller" mechanism to monitor the elections, after obtaining governmental permission to do so.

The leftist Tagammu Party hailed the EOHR's call. Its secretary- general, Hussein Abdel-Razeq, said considering international supervision of elections interference in internal affairs was "strange", because "Egypt itself has participated in monitoring elections in several countries." He said the party would continue to pressure the government on the issue.

Also last week, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said the government would make its decision on the matter "at the right moment". According to the minister, "reactions in Egyptian society show that nobody accepts foreign monitoring."

Judicial independence

A CAIRO Institute for Human Rights Studies' (CIHR) roundtable delved into judicial independence's role in ensuring the integrity of elections, reports Sara Abou Bakr. The session emphasised the need for increased civil society efforts demanding judicial independence.

Fierce criticism targeted the minister of justice and the executive branch with interfering in every aspect of the judicial system. The most common refrain focussed on how the executive authority was trying to undermine the influence of judges by mandating that an election monitoring committee be made up of judges appointed by the government and public figures named by the ruling-party dominated parliament. Appeals Court Vice President Hisham El-Bastawisy said the NDP was being overly "fearful of judges monitoring the elections".

Others made calls for reducing presidential control over judicial institutions. Lawyer and Islamic thinker Mohamed Selim El-Awwa said, "countries can never be independent without [guaranteeing] the independence of their judges."

Brotherhood release

PROSECUTOR-General Maher Abdel-Wahed ordered 300 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group released this week, bringing to 437 the number of Brotherhood members and supporters released since last month's crackdown, during which more than 800 people were arrested.

The group scheduled for release this week includes doctors, engineers, lawyers and students arrested in different governorates while participating in demonstrations demanding political reform. The charges against them included belonging to a banned group, calling for demonstrations, and possessing leaflets meant to agitate public sentiments against the regime.

The arrests have caused a state of unrest at professional syndicates dominated by Islamists. Sit-in strikes were organised at the Bar Association, and both the Doctors' and the Pharmacists Syndicates, over the past two weeks. Doctors have threatened to stage a work stoppage at hospitals this week if the government does not respond to their demands to release their detained colleagues.

African-French rapport

FOREIGN Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said that it was essential for Africa to address cross-border problems like terrorism, organised crime, and drug trafficking. His remarks came during the French-hosted preparatory ministerial meeting for the Africa-France summit to be held in Mali in December.

The Foreign Minister said that Africa sees the French partnership as a means to confront such threats, and enhance security and stability. "Africa is always looking forward [to] French support of [such] pivotal issues [at] international forums." Abul-Gheit also highlighted the role the African Union continues to play in containing the continent's major problems.

The Africa-France meeting is part of a forum established in 1973 for discussing issues like economic and social development, human rights, and peacekeeping strategies.

Ghad on air

IN AN ATTEMPT to break the state's monopoly on the media, the liberal Ghad Party launched an Internet radio station last Thursday. Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ayman Nour said there would be no taboos when it comes to the new station's content.

Malak Ismail, who used to be the head of Egyptian TV's Channel 1, is running the station. Nour's wife, TV announcer Gamila Ismail, will be her deputy.

The channel is available 24 hours a day via the party's web site, www.el-ghad.org. It features a variety of political, economic and entertainment programmes, as well as coverage of national and international news. The radio station also plans to transmit at least six hours of its programming via satellite daily.

Nour described the station as a potential mouthpiece, not just for his party, but also for any political force aiming to propel comprehensive changes.

Following its foundation last October, the Ghad Party applied for an FM radio license; the government rejected the new party's request.