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1967 remembered

FOREIGN Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa today paid tribute to Egyptian, other Arab soldiers and civilians who died during the 5 June 1967 war against Israel.

Marking the 40th anniversary of the Arab defeat and the consequent Israeli occupation of large chunks of Arab territories, the foreign minister and the secretary-general expressed their respective commitment to continue to work to liberate Arab territories occupied by force and to secure the eventual establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In the Egyptian parliament on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the war, Abul-Gheit spoke of what he qualified as an unwavering Arab determination to retain East Jerusalem and to declare it as the capital of the future independent Palestinian state. Abul-Gheit stressed that 5 June was not only a day to remember the military defeat -- especially that in the case of Egypt the defeat was rectified by the 6 October victory in 1973 -- but also a day to remember the steadfastness of Arab peoples who are still struggling to liberate the rest of the occupied territories.

Moussa warned about the failure of the international community to rectify the injustice imposed on the Palestinians as a result of the Israeli aggression in 1967. He also warned Israelis that their failure to live up to the opportunity offered by the Arab peace initiative could mean that the Arab-Israeli struggle might reach "the point of no return".

Moussa paid special tribute to the heroic steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their continued struggle towards legitimate independence.

Forty years after the military defeat, Moussa said, the Palestinian cause remains a crucial issue for the entire Arab nation. He warned that stability shall never be established in the Middle East as long as the Palestinian cause remains unresolved and as long as Israel continues its destructive policies "that aim to quash the will of the Palestinian people."

Europeans calling

A SEQUENCE of visits by European officials to the region, including Egypt, seems to be in the pipeline. This week, Swedish and Greek foreign ministers Carl Bildt and Dora Bakoyannis were in town for talks with top Egyptian officials and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. Speaking to the press following their meetings in Egypt, both European ministers underlined the European Union's commitment to play a more constructive role to help settle the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Their visits coincided with a gathering of EU ambassadors to the Middle East in Cairo to discuss the prospects of a European contribution to stabilise the Middle East, either in relation to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon or Iraq.

Next week, Foreign Minister of The Netherlands Bernard Bot is expected in Cairo for a similar set of talks. In the words of one European diplomat, the visits also aim to explore ways of re-engaging Syria away from the isolation imposed on it by the US.

Message to ILO

AGAINST a backdrop of a continuing debate over a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that criticised Egypt for alleged discrimination against Copts in terms of job opportunities and professional promotion, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit sent a letter to the ILO director-general expressing Cairo's profound dismay at what the top Egyptian diplomat qualified as unfounded and unfair accusations.

Copts, Abul-Gheit stressed in his letter, are playing a central role in the promotion of the nation's interests and are treated on an egalitarian basis with Muslims as citizens of equal rights and duties.

Lebanon talks

EGYPTIAN President Hosni Mubarak and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora this week discussed the political developments in Lebanon during a telephone conversation in which Mubarak pledged Egypt's full support to the stability and security of Lebanon.

The consultations come at a time of growing Arab concern over the stability of Lebanon in view of the ongoing confrontations between the Lebanese army and Arab militant fighters holding up in Palestinian refugee camps.

Egypt is also hoping to lend support to the Lebanese government in its effort to persuade the political opposition to accept the UN Security Council resolution that has agreed to the establishment of an international tribunal to investigate the killing of former prime minister Rafik Al-Hariri despite the reluctance of the opposition to the internationalisation of the issue.

Egyptian officials say Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit is considering a trip to Lebanon to encourage all concerned political players in the country to work on a compromise to end the state of tension ongoing since the end of the Israeli war against Lebanon last summer.

Blood bag riddle

PROSECUTOR-General Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud on Monday found MP Hani Sorour, his sister, three employees of the Advanced Medical Industries Company (HAMIC), and two Health Ministry officials guilty of delivering contaminated blood bags.

However, the People's Assembly (PA) found Sorour, who is also CEO of HAMIC not guilty, sparking accusations of double standards being practised by the PA. Some observers felt that Sorour was even owed an apology after more than six months of investigation into the issue.

According to the prosecution, 300,000 blood bags as well as an anti-coagulation substance inside produced by the HAMIC did not meet international standards after they were found to contain bacteria. Some 16 Health Ministry officials are now allowed to travel after being banned for more than six months.

At a press conference, Ali El-Hawari, Egypt's attorney-general, said the prosecutor-general was not obliged to accept the results of the PA investigation committee since, according to Article 95 of the Egyptian constitution, an MP is not allowed to sell or buy products and properties to and from any government entity.

In October, the prosecutor-general submitted a request to the PA asking for the removal of parliamentary immunity from Sorour, who is also a member of the NDP. The request was based on a report that alleged HAMIC had delivered 300,000 blood bags to the ministry with serious technical defects, causing serious problems to blood donors as well as patients.

Abdel-Rahman Shahin, the official spokesman at the Ministry of Health, said Egypt's blood is 100 per cent clean and safe. He said only 37,000 blood bags of the total amount had been distributed to blood banks and hospitals. In July 2006, immediately after the ministry started receiving complaints regarding the blood bags, it stopped distributing the remaining quantity. "All the flaws discovered in the submitted blood bags do not affect by any means neither the blood quality nor its characteristics," Shahin added.