No dispute

EGYPT dismissed reports on Sunday that Israel had taken control of a maritime "triangle" on the borders between the two countries at the Gulf of Aqaba, reports Soha Abdelaty . The controversy began after an article appeared in the Israeli daily Yediouth Ahranaot claiming that Israel had placed the area under Israeli sovereignty. Diplomatic sources said on Sunday that they have received assurances from the Israeli Foreign Ministry denying these claims. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry had asked its embassy in Tel Aviv to inquire into the matter, which resulted in a confirmation to Egyptian authorities in Cairo that the Israeli government has not embarked upon such a step.

The Israeli paper had also claimed that the maritime triangle has been a matter of dispute between the two countries since the signing of the 1979 peace agreement. Former assistant foreign minister for US affairs, Ihab Wahba, however, told Al-Ahram Weekly that "the only area in dispute between the two countries was Taba, and we resorted to international arbitration to resolve that." Referring to the "triangle" issue, Wahba, who was present at the 1979 peace negotiations, said he had "never heard of that before".

Visit pending

FOREIGN Minister Ahmed Maher confirmed on Monday that there were no new developments related to the invitation that had been proffered to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to visit Egypt. Maher insisted that Egypt's position on the issue remains the same. "As previously announced, the timing of the visit has not yet been scheduled," Maher said. It depends on the Israeli government's "positions", as well as "developments" on the ground, said the minister. President Hosni Mubarak extended the invitation to Sharon shortly after he won the elections in January.

Protests continue

AS A US-led war against Iraq seems ever more imminent, student anti-war demonstrations are picking up speed at universities across the nation, with an estimated 20,000 students participating in protests. Students demonstrated Monday at universities from Egypt's remote southern provinces, as far south as Aswan and Assiut, to the northern Delta provinces, and the capital, Cairo.

Students at the University of Menoufiya in the Delta burned effigies of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and American President George W Bush. Menoufiya students also carried a coffin with "Arab summit" written on it, a sign of grave discontent with the results of an Arab League summit concerning Iraq that took place earlier this month.

About 5,000 students protested in Assiut and a similar number gathered at the Cairo campus of Ain Shams University, where students burned American and Israeli flags. The protests were confined to the university campuses, and students dispersed peacefully afterwards. Alexandria University students, meanwhile, said that two of their colleagues were arrested following a demonstration on Monday.

On Saturday, some 200 women from the Women Against War group marked Women's Day with a protest in front of downtown Cairo's Arab League headquarters. The women dressed in black and carried banners reading, "Women say no to invading Iraq, no to occupying Palestine."

Although public demonstrations are prohibited by the Emergency Law which has been in force since the assassination of President Anwar El- Sadat in 1981, they are generally tolerated on university campuses and outside mosques. The Emergency Law was extended for another three years last month.

In another development, authorities freed 12 people who were arrested last month for taking part in anti-war demonstrations, including veteran political activist Kamal Khalil. The arrests had sparked criticism from human rights watchdogs like Amnesty International, which expressed concern over "the detention of people who were taking part in peaceful demonstrations", and accused the Egyptian authorities of seeking to deter other such protests against US-led war threats.

More arrests

EGYPTIAN police have arrested 15 people accused of belonging to the banned Jihad group. The men -- who were arrested in the northern Mediterranean city of Alexandria on 6 March -- allegedly had weapons in their possession as well as leaflets calling for the overthrow of the regime. The accused will be referred to the State Security Court, but no specific date for the trial was set.

Police had reported the arrest in early January of 43 members of Jihad, charged with plotting attacks on Western interests and political figures. Jihad was responsible for the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat.

Compiled by Shaden Shehab

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 13 - 19 March 2003 (Issue No. 629)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/629/eg4.htm