Bad connection

A dispute between police and villagers over the erection of a mobile phone tower ignited unprecedented clashes. Mohamed El-Sayed visited the hapless village

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The alleyways of Kafr Turk, a small village located 80km south of Giza, are shrouded in sadness. The once tranquil village, home to about 7,000, is still reeling from deadly clashes that took place at mid-day one week ago, claiming the life of one and injuring 23 others when police and townspeople came to blows following a dispute over the construction of a mobile phone tower. On 25 January, several thousand residents assembled to protest against an attempt by a mobile company operator to erect the tower on agricultural land. The plot, owned by Adli Yakan, is located on the wayside of the main road to the village, but villagers concerned about possible health hazards -- led by school teacher Ahmed Abdel-Aleem decided to obstruct the construction.

Company workers carrying out the work contacted the police, which resulted in the quick arrival of three central security trucks to the site. According to most residents who spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly, police officers asked people to leave but they refused because they believe the telecommunication tower is a health hazard. Consequently, police fired tear gas at the crowds but to no avail; villagers responded by hurling stones at the police, who in turn began using live ammunition.

The episode lasted a little over half an hour, resulting in the killing of Ahmed Himdan, 17, and 23 injuries -- seven residents and 16 police. According to many eyewitnesses who spoke to the Weekly, the bullet that killed Himdan came from the gun of a police officer. When it was over, more police enforcements and armoured trucks hurried to the village, along with ambulances to carry the injured to Al-Ayyat Hospital. Meanwhile, the erection of the tower was halted indefinitely.

Abdel-Aleem was arrested, along with ten others, but he maintained that he did not incite people to riot. He was briefly released by the Southern Giza prosecutor for one day and detained again on Monday for further investigation. But the incident left villagers in shock that police opened fire at the crowd in the first place. "Police forces are not authorised to shoot protesters, it's illegal," objected Sheikh Himdan, the father of the deceased. "Most of the injured were passersby and had nothing to do with the dispute."

Officer Mahmoud Ali, head of the police forces who was injured in the clashes and who is blamed for shooting Himdan, told the press he "tried to convince the crowd to leave, but more than 5,000 villagers surrounded us. I got orders from my superiors to deal with the situation."

Villagers were adamant to prevent the construction because they are certain of the health risks of having a mobile phone tower so close to their homes, because it would expose them to harmful radio waves. "The company tried several times in the past to erect the tower, but we prevented it every time because we know for sure that it is harmful to our health," said young Himdan's uncle, who sought anonymity. "In the past, it tried to plant the tower on another villager's land, but we convinced him to refuse."

Yakan, who agreed to have the tower on his land, was described as "a hateful figure in the village who doesn't care about our health," according to one resident who preferred to remain anonymous. "That's why we used force to prevent the erection of the tower on his land." Residents also accused Yakan of abusing his brother's authority -- who is a police general. "We knew from an informed security official in the Giza Investigation Department that Yakan's brother used his connections to send police forces to the village on that day to frighten people away from the tower site," revealed one resident. Yakan is said to have left the village before the clashes began.

For his part, Minister of Telecommunications Tareq Kamel explained that the erection of such towers is subject to previous consent by the ministries of health and environment. "A protocol signed by the ministries of telecommunications, environment and health stipulates that radio frequency waves coming out from these towers are measured before licensing," Kamel told Egyptian TV on Monday. The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) is responsible for issuing licences and solving such conflicts. He added that the distance between residences and the tower should be more than six metres.

Kamel admitted that there were "a limited number of towers" which proved to be harmful to people's health, but they were removed after residents complained. To assure people, the minister stated that there is a mobile phone tower constructed in front of his office at the Smart Village, in the Sixth of October City. "I also ask people to call the NTRA if they feel that these towers are harmful to their health," he urged.

The Weekly contacted NTRA for comment on the dispute, but there was no response. Also, no official from the mobile company was available to give a statement on the Kafr Turk incident.