Egypt's new leader Field Marshal Tantawi says Mubarak didn't order shootings

Egypt's new leader Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi has publically stated, during a ceremony south of Cairo, that former president Hosni Mubarak never gave orders to shoot at protesters demanding his resignation.

Tantawi made the remarks a week after he testified in secret in Mubarak's trial. The former president is being charged with ordering the killing of anti-government demonstrators during the 18 day uprising, which resulted in his ousting.

It is destimated that at least 850 protesters were killed by security forces. Speaking about the issue, Tantawi said: "The armed forces fight for Egypt and not for just anyone, whoever it may be…I testified before God and I told the truth…Nobody asked us to open fire and nobody will open fire."

The court imposed a ban on the country's media thus allowing Tantawi's testimony, which took place on 24th September, to proceed in secret. His account is thought to have been vital in the trial of Mubarak, who denies the charges and could face the death penalty if convicted.

During the session, lawyers representing some of those killed said Tantawi gave evidence earlier than usual and left the courthouse without allowing cross-examination.

Mubarak's security chief Habib al-Adli and six top police officers are also on trial with the former leader. About 100 other officers charged with using deadly force are on trial separately.

Sources: BBC News, Reuters, AFP

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Egypt's former finance minister sentenced in absentia

The former finance minister Youssef Boutros Ghali has been sentenced in absentia to 30 years in jail on corruption charges and fined LE70 million — around US$11 million. In recent months he has been dividing his time between London and Lebanon, his wife's country of birth, and is on Interpol's wanted list.

He was convicted of squandering US$6 million in public funds and abuse of other funds that he had access to. He was also found guilty of using six luxury limousines for personal use which he took from the customs pound.

It is an extraordinary fall from grace for the man the foreign business and international financial community knew as YBG. They held him in the highest regard as a truly world class minister. He was happy to answer journalists' questions by SMS. He came from the most prominent Coptic political family in Egypt — his great grandfather had been prime minister under the British and his uncle a foreign minister of Egypt and UN secretary general. He was also chair of the IMF's policy advisory committee.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak's wife to hand-over $3 million worth of assets

The wife of ousted Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, has agreed to hand-over $3 million worth of assets to the State following an investigation over corruption charges. Suzanne Mubarak has reportedly agreed to give-up funds held in various bank accounts and a villa in Cairo.

The Mubarak family is under investigation for corruption and illegal acquisition of wealth during Hosni Mubarak's 30 year reign. The former president, who stepped down on 11th February, has also been accused of ordering the killings of anti-government protesters.

On Monday 16th May, the former first lady, aged 70, promised to hand-over both the money and the villa to the authorities. According to expert lawyer, Nasser Amin, by relinquishing her claims, she would be benefit from articles in the Egyptian law which allow those accused of making illegal gains to give them up in exchange for dropping the investigation.

Amin said: “The decision may not be accepted by society, who after a revolution, side with the idea of revenge. But from the legal point of view, this is in line.”

Both Hosni Mubarak and his wife are currently under detention in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. The former first lady is recovering from a "panic attack", which she suffered after being detained.

Sources: BBC News, AFP, Reuters Africa, RIA Novosti

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Egypt's former tourism minister sentenced to five years in prison

Egypt's former tourism minister, Zoheir Garranah, has been sentenced to five years in prison for squandering public funds. The country's criminal court also issued Garranah with a fine after finding the official guilty of allotting tourism licenses illegally.

Garranah is the second official to be given time in prison. The first, former interior minister Habib Al-Adli, was sentenced last week to 12 years after being found guilty for money laundering and profiteering.

News of the sentencing comes amid ongoing investigations of former government officials who had served under ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

Last week, Egyptian authorities announced that Mubarak himself would face the death penalty if found guilty of ordering the shooting of protesters during the uprisings that brought him down. It is estimated that at least 800 protesters were killed during the demonstrations which led to Mubarak's resignation on 11th February.

Sources: BBC News, AFP, Ha'aretz, Voice of America

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Ahmed Zewail appeals for help to fund Egypt's reforms

Egypt's most distinguished scientist who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1999, Ahmed Zewail, has appealed for help to fund Egypt's reforms. In an article in the UK's Financial Times, he said that Egypt needed to change not just its leadership but its entire system. Echoing the successive UN-sponsored Human Development reports, he says that what Egypt needs above all is a decent education system.

“The so-called 'Children of Facebook' who fomented the revolution know Egypt was once ahead of South Korea in scientific research and development. They know that in the 30 years Mubarak sat in his palace and Egypt deteriorated, China has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, sent astronauts into space, built mega cities and high-speed trains, and brought its students up to world standards. They ask why Egypt cannot do the same thing.”

He says this will all take time but it is imperative to start now. “Of Egypt's many problems, the three most urgent to address are governance, economy and education. The army's Supreme Council, now the ruling political entity, has to ensure swift political changes. Egypt badly needs national unity and reconciliation. But to take the critical long-term steps to transform society it needs financial support. While Egyptians themselves must fashion the new nation, they need help in rebuilding sustainable institutions. The place to start is with the pivotal project, 'renaissance in education and development', whose acronym is the first command of the Koran: read.”

He is now calling for a global partnership of private and government organisations to establish a fund to finance a revolution in education. This should be directed by a board of trustees from renowned Egyptians and world leaders in cooperation with the Egyptian government.

Such an effort, he believes, would need an initial US$1 billion from private and government sources. “Further funds could then come from other nations and be deployed by the World Bank, the Arab Bank and the Islamic Development Fund. Repudiation of debt will redirect national resources to this and other vital projects.”

The money he asks for does not seem very much. But, he is making his appeal to the donor community at a time when it feels stretched by financial pressures at home.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Egypt: Thousands demonstrate over appointment of Coptic governor in Qena

Thousands have been demonstrating on successive days about the appointment of a Coptic governor in Qena, south of Cairo. Protestors have blocked the main road and rail links between Cairo and Upper Egypt. The cabinet has called on the interior minister to intervene to restore order.

On 15 th April, the military-backed interim government appointed 20 new governors across Egypt to replace those who served under former president Hosni Mubarak. Among the new appointees was a former police general Emad Mikhail, who is a Copt . He replaces another Christian governor, Magdy Ayoub, who was regarded as ineffectual. Protesters have been chanting “We want a Muslim governor .”

The protestors have been led by radical Salafist Muslims who want a return to the ways of the past and have been bitterly opposed to the Coptic church. Qena, like other provinces, has a much higher proportion of Coptic Christians than the national mean of about 10 per cent.

Two Muslims were killed when a row over a speed bump in Minya province developed into a sectarian riot. A curfew has been imposed on the town of Abu Qorqas after a dispute between two families escalated into clashes between Muslims and Christians.

Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has issued new travel advice after the disturbances in Qena. “ We advise against all but essential travel to the city of Qena. There have been protests - some violent - in the southern Egyptian city of Qena and its surroundings districts. Reports on 18th and 19th April suggest the protests are sectarian in character. Road and railway lines through the Province have been blocked by protesters. You should check with the local authorities or your tour operator before travelling through the Province of Qena and consider alternative routes when using road or rail networks.”

The FCO also retains its standard advice that there “is a high threat from terrorism in Egypt. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in public places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers, such as hotels and restaurants.”

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Hosni Mubarak detained in hospital

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has been placed under detention in his hospital room. His two sons, Gamal and Alaa, have also been detained and will be questioned in due course.

The news has been greeted with cheers by the opposition leaders responsible for brining down Mubarak's administration in February. Egypt's prosecutor general has detained the former president and his two sons, ahead of the impending investigation. Mubarak is reportedly suffering with heart problems and is in an "unstable condition".

The protests in Egypt have continued with tens of thousans of protesters staging weekly Friday demonstration in Tahrir Square. The Egyptian people are demanding that Mubarak be put on trial for the deaths of their fellow protesters and alleged abuse of power during his three decade reign.

It is estimated that around 360 people have been killed during the protests and hundreds more injured. Opposition within Egypt, however, is primarily concerted with the Mubarak family's wealth and how it was obtained. Experts claim that most of it was acquired through corrupt business dealings; others suggest that Gamal and Alaa, used their political clout to pressured domestic companies into giving them shares without paying the market price.

Some opposition groups have expressed suspicions over the timing of Mubarak's heart problems as initial reports indicated he was well enough to undergo questioning. The former Egyptian leader has rarely been seen since his departure in February, and has reportedly been staying at his holiday villa in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Sources: BBC, The Guardian, Boston Globe

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

The MB remains the best organised of the opposition groups

Egypt is a very religiously observant country. But Egyptians practise their religion in different ways. There are different trends among the 90 per cent of the population who are Muslim which in recent days have clashed. Earlier in the year, there had been attacks on Christian churches. There have now been reports of the desecration of the shrines of Sufi saints, revered by millions in towns and the countryside. These Sufi practices, however, are regarded as un-Islamic and polytheistic by the more puritanical trend of Islamic thought now described as Salafist. Antagonism had long existed between the Sufi tariqas and the radical Salafists. But clashes between the groups, and fights among Muslims, had been rare.

The senior religious figure within the State structure, the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, appealed for restraint. “Calls that the shrines of the saints are against Islam stir up sedition among Muslims,” he said.

The Salafists have exploited Koranic satellite TV stations, some funded by Saudis, to propagate their vision of an Islamic world. And they have been entering more into the political arena. Salafists were active before the referendum on constitutional changes in declaring that a yes vote was a vote for Islam. And a Salafist sheikh evoked a word from the Islamic conquests in the years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad by calling the victory in the vote a ghazwah.

The best organised of the groups representing the Islamist trend remain the Muslim Brothers. They have successfully mobilised voters for previous elections and are set to do well in the elections in September. But they will be competing as much against the Salafists as against those secular voices who believe in a true separation of religion and politics.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

President Hosni Mubarak resigns

In a television broadcast on State TV, Egypt's Vice President Omar Suleiman delivered the news of President Hosni Mubarak's resignation, and said that the power will be handed over to the military.

The announcement came on the eitghteen day of protests in Cairo. Protesters responded to the news of Mubarak's departure with cheers and chants: “The people have brought down the regime."

Suleiman said Mubarak has handed the power over to the high command of the armed forces. He said: "In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country."

According to government officials, Mubarak has left Egypt and is in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he has a residence.

Sources: The Guardian, Egypt Daily News, BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Egypt: The outcome of the uprising remains unclear

Ten days after protests began, the outcome remains unclear. What is plain, however, is that Egypt has experienced an unprecedented eruption of popular protest against the 30-year rule of President Mubarak — and that the regime is prepared to fight back.

The protests were sparked by the so called 'Jasmine Revolution' in Tunisia, which led to the departure of President Zein el Abdine Ben Ali.

The authorities in Egypt were caught unprepared. The protests were orchestrated by young, internet-savvy activists using Twitter and Facebook and other social networking sites.

The authorities responded by cutting off internet access to the outside world and blocking mobile phone signals. Google reacted by creating a novel form of Twitter by the ability to leave voicemail. An ominous note came from Google which announced that one of its senior executives, an Egyptian, had been missing since the riots began.

By the end of the week, internet services were being restored.

The protestors came from a dozen different groups, mostly secular, but all in different ways calling for the end to what they called a corrupt and repressive regime.

The main opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, remained studiously silent at first, although there were Brotherhood sympathisers among the protestors from the outset.

It has played a shrewd political game positioning itself behind the scenes for a potential role in any future Egyptian government, particularly by backing Dr Mohamed El Baradei, the opposition figure who spends much of his time in Europe.

The group's manifesto is similar to that of most mainstream secular opposition, and contains no clear singular ideology. The group has said it does not believe in the concept of an 'Islamic State' but is working towards the formation of civil one, in which political forces work together regardless of political affiliations.

Two leading Muslim Brotherhood figures, Essam El Eyrian and Abu Fotouh, have said that the movement's goal has not been clearly transmitted to a global audience, creating moral panic in international diplomatic circles about the prospect of an Islamic takeover of Egypt.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2010 Menas Associates

Egyptian security forces on high alert as protest get backed by MB

Egyptian security forces have been put on high alert as thousands of anti-government activists prepare for another day of protests after Friday noon's prayers. The government has forewarned the protestors that "decisive measures" will be taken against those demonstrating in public, which the government has banned after Thursday's demonstrations in Cairo.

The government has also taken extra measures to prevent the demonstrations from going ahead, namely by blocking the use of internet across the country and effectively wiping Egypt off the global digital map.

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB), Egypt's leading opposition group, has said that it will support Friday's protests, and accused the government of engineering the digital disruption "to prevent the voices of the Egyptian people from reaching the world". Mohamed El Baradei, the country's main opposition figure, also said he would join in the protests. Returning to Cairo from Vienna on Thursday, El Baradei said:"I wish we did not have to go out on the streets to press the regime to act," adding that the government should "listen quickly, not use violence and understand that change has to come”.

The protests are expected to be the biggest so far. The government has upped its security measures, deploying an elite counter-terrorism force to key locations in Cairo, including Tahrir Square.

Shortly after Thursday's protests ruling National Democratic Party's (NDP) Secretary General, Safwat El-Sheri, said: "The NDP is ready for a dialogue with the public, youth and legal parties. But democracy has its rules and process. The minority does not force its will on the majority."

Sources: BBC News, Aljazeera, NPR, France24

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Man sets himself on fire outside Egyptian parliament

A man set himself alight outside the Egyptian parliament, in Cairo, in a copycat move mirroring the self-immolation of a 26-year-old Tunisian graduate Mohammed Bouazizi. Witnesses said that the man in question poured fuel over himself before setting himself on fire.

An unnamed government official told AFP that the man "stood outside the People's Assembly, poured fuel on himself and set himself on fire". He added that: "A policeman who was close by managed to extinguish the fire and the man was quickly taken away by ambulance."

The Egyptian man has sustained burns to his face and hands, but further details about his condition are unknown. It is believed that he did so as a stand against poor living conditions affecting most of the country's population. Bouazizi, who died in early January, set himself alight after Tunisian police took away his livelihood by prevented him from selling vegetables without a permit.

There have been no large scale protests in Egypt, but the people have voiced the same grievances in Cairo as they have done in Tunisia. The ongoing and increasingly violent protests across Tunisia, over unemployment, corruption and high food prices, have resulted in the resignation of Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Sources: AFP, BBC News, Guardian, Reuters

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Christian man shot dead by off duty policeman

An off duty policeman has shot a Christian man on a train in Egypt. It is unclear whether the killing was sectarian, but reports have emerged that at least five other people, four of whom are Christian, were injured in the attack which occurred on a train between Assiut and Cairo.

Eyewitnesses say that the gunman walked up to two groups of Coptic Christians, seated in close proximity, chanting in Arabic, "There is no God but God," and opened fire.

The shooter fled the scene of the crime shortly after the shooting, but was captured later. The suspect, identified as Amer Ashoor Abdel-Zaher Hassan, is a deputy policeman, who was travelling to Bani Mazar, in Menya province, where he works.

The Egyptian interior ministry issued a statement saying the officer, "opened fire on some train passengers from his pistol and ran away", but did not give motives for the attack.

The victim, a 71 year old Fathi Saeed Ebaid, was killed instantly, while his wife, a 61 year old, Emily Hannah Tedly, remains in hospital in a critical condition. The hospital, where the victims were taken, was blocked by dozens of Copts demonstrating against the shooting, until the police dispersed the protesters with tear gas.

The news of the latest attack comes 12 days after a bombing which killed 23 Coptic Christians outside the Two Saints Church in Alexandria. About 10 per cent of the country's 80 million residents are Coptic Christians, the remainder being Muslims.

Sources: BBC News, AFP, CNN, Reuters

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Egypt tourism down due to shark attacks

Tourism Minister Zuhair Garranah said projected tourist bookings in 2011 have fallen by two thirds because of the recent shark attacks near the beach and diving resorts around Sharm el Sheikh in the Sinai.

He blamed the saturation coverage by the international media of the attacks which killed a 70 year-old German woman. He also said that not many holidays which had been booked had been cancelled.

Garranah made his remarks to parliament a few days before t he governor of South Sinai General Abdel-Fadeel Shousha ordered the closure yet again of the majority of beaches around Sharm El Sheikh as a precaution against possible shark attacks. A number of diving beaches were exempted from the closure order including Naima Bay.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2010 Menas Associates

Conspiracy theorist believe the next Egyptian president will be Washington's man

It is widely believed by conspiracy theorists in the Middle East, and there are many, that the next president of Egypt must enjoy the blessing of the US. This is not a view that emerges out of the latest batch of cables from the US embassy in Cairo released by WikiLeaks.

What the cables reveal is the assessment of successive US ambassadors to Egypt that President Mubarak is someone who will not be pushed around on matters of human rights, democratisation or other aspects of how Egypt runs its affairs. And furthermore, that the successive ambassadors do not pretend to know who might be the next president after Mubarak. A number of names are put forward as possibilities: the president's younger son Gamal; the intelligence chief Omar Suleiman; the “charismatic” head of the Arab League, Amr Mousa [this was back in 2007]; or some unknown military man.

It has been said that President Mubarak will not step down but is more likely to die in office.

In addition, the previous US ambassador Frank Ricciardone suggests that the next president, whoever it might be, could have an "initial anti-American tone in his public rhetoric" to win over the Egyptian street."

The conspiracy theorists might be unwilling or unable to take the cables at face value. They will persist in their conviction that the next president of Egypt will be Washington's man. That is certainly not the view of Washington.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2010 Menas Associates

Egypt: NDP secures more that 80 per cent of the seats in second round

President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) has won 83 per cent of the seats in the second round of parliamentary elections. The two biggest opposition groups – the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and the liberal Wafd party – withdrew from the second round, alleging fraud and rigging in the first ballot.

International monitors and Egyptian human rights groups have called for the results to be annulled. The US and the EU have voiced criticism over the poll due to widespread violence and allegations of rigging, but Egyptian officials insist the poll was fair and free of government interference.

Figures released by the election commission show that NDP secure 420 of parliament's 508 seats, more than 80 per cent compared with 70 per cent in the last parliament. MB and the Wafd party boycotted Sunday's election following NDP's win of 209 out of 211 seats in the first round of voting. The results saw MB, the leading opposition group in Egypt, with 20 per cent of the seats, without any MPs in the new assembly.

The group has called on President Mubarak to void the new parliament and run a re-election, overseen by an independent adjudicator. The call was seconded by an Egyptian rights group, Independent Coalition for Elections' Observation.

Both rounds of the parliamentary elections took place amid clashes between voters and security forces, as well as reports of rigging and fraud. Hundreds of MB members were rounded up prior to the first round as part of a clampdown on the group by the government.

Amnesty International estimates that as many as eight people had died in election related clashes, with at least 17 arrested in the city of Mersa Matruh for protesting against the results in their governance.

Source: BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Egypt: MB to quit election

Egypt's main opposition party the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) says it is withdrawing its candidates from the election run-off, which will take place on Sunday 5th December. The group, who is banned from the election process but runs candidates as independents, failed to secure a single seat in Sunday's first round.

The group says the election was rigged in favour of President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) who won almost all the seats in the first round. A press release by the group said the election process was “scandalous" and marred by corruption and violence. MB's decision to quit the elections is expected to be confirmed by the group's leader Mohammed Badie.

Despite speculation to the contrary, Egyptian government has insists that the first round of votes was fair. The country's media has been instrumental in trying to discredit the government by running reports and testimonials of mass faked ballots and voters being intimidated at polling stations by security forces. Protests by opposition supporters have since erupted across the country.

The second round of voting is scheduled to go ahead on Sunday. Experts say that the turn out will most likely be in the 10-15 per cent region, the same as in the first round.

Source: BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Israel to build security fence along Egypt border

Israel is to build a security fence along its border with Egypt, according to Israeli press reports. They quoted Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cabinet Secretary Tzvi Hauser as saying that the security committee of the cabinet has already given its approval. Work on the project, with costs ranging from US$285 million to US$ 375 million, is expected to start next month.

There is already an extensive security fence along the border but because of its length across the desert, there are few border patrols on either side. It is not clear if what is planned is a wall made of concrete T-sections like the one separating Palestinian from Jewish areas in the West Bank. The Israeli media said the barrier, fitted with modern security systems, is designed to prevent Islamic militants, drug dealers, African migrants and asylum seekers from entering Israel from Egypt. According to Israeli estimates, some 1,000 migrants, mainly Africans, cross the border illegally each year.

"The problem of illegal infiltrators in the south presents a threat to the Jewish and democratic character of Israel," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by Haaretz. "The urgency of this problem requires close and focused treatment."

On 24th October, the Egyptian authorities found 55 Sudanese, including nine women and six children, in a container as it was about to cross into the Sinai. It is believed they were seeking to enter Israel illegally.

There are reports that security is being tightened at the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel under the Suez Canal that links the Egyptian mainland with the Sinai Peninsula.

Egypt allowed up to 300 activists from the Viva Palestina aid convoy to cross into Gaza after arriving at the north Sinai port of El Arish.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2010 Menas Associates

HRW calls on Egypt to stop shooting migrants

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Egypt to stop shooting foreign migrants who try to cross into Israel. It made its appeal on the day that Egypt became chair of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). HRW, based in New York, said that Egyptian border police have, since July 2007, killed at least 85 migrants trying to cross into Israel; none of them were armed.

"Egypt today becomes chair of the UNHCR's governing body, while back home it shoots unarmed migrants and blocks UNHCR's access to detainees seeking the agency's protection," said Joe Stork, HRW 's director in the Middle East. "To be consistent with its position as the executive committee's new chair, Egypt needs to put its own house in order."

Hisham Badra, Egypt's UN ambassador in Geneva, refuted the allegations. He said that Egypt's border with Israel in the Sinai is a highly dangerous strip of territory used by arms smugglers, human traffickers and terrorists entering or leaving Egypt. "Fourteen Egyptian border guards have been killed in recent years monitoring it," he said.

He said that Egyptian border guards had been given clear instructions not to shoot unless fired on. HRW counters that none of the Africans shot dead was armed or posed any danger to Egyptian border guards. The tough Egyptian line does not appear to have deterred migrants desperate to escape hardship at home. Hardly a week goes by without another incident.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2010 Menas Associates