An Egyptian court on fire. The fires are said to be efforts to destroy evidence of crimes implicating the Mubarak government., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Egypt opposition condemns Brotherhood's planned Friday demo
Ayat Al-Tawy, Thursday 18 Apr 2013
Ahram Online
Opposition parties criticise planned Friday rally by Islamist groups to demand 'purge' of Mubarak-era judges, accuse Muslim Brotherhood of attempting to undermine Egypt's 'respectable' judiciary
Egypt's largest Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, has announced plans to stage mass rallies Friday to lobby for a "purge" of the Egyptian judiciary. Secular forces plan to head to iconic Tahrir Square to press for other demands.
Several political groups announced that the Tahrir protests were geared towards voicing anger at the release without bail of deposed president Hosni Mubarak in the killing of protesters during the revolution case (Mubarak continues in detention, but under authority of a separate case), the detention of political activists, and call for the dismissal of Morsi-appointed Prosecutor-General Talaat Abdullah.
Groups that will protest in Tahrir include the National Association for Change, the Revolution Youth Union, the Youth for Justice and Freedom Movement, and the Egyptian Communist Party.
The Brotherhood, meanwhile, has listed tripartite demands for their planned rallies that will make Egypt's High Court in Downtown Cairo a main destination, as well as major squares nationwide. These include: purging state institutions of corrupt figures, recovery of Egypt's stolen funds, and holding to account those responsible for the killing of protesters.
"The Egyptian people made their great Revolution to achieve justice and to at last hold the corrupt accountable. If the judiciary cannot achieve justice, if the honorable judges fail to exact retribution on the criminals who killed our sons, assaulted our daughters and plundered our money and resources, evidently justice suffers a great imbalance," said Murad Ali, media adviser to the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) on Wednesday.
Several Islamist groups announced their intention to take part. These include the Salafist Front Al-Asala Party, Hazem Salah Abu Ismail's Al-Raya Party, Al-Watan Party, Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya's Building and Development Party, the Reform Party and the People's Party.
The SalafistEl-Nour Party– Egypt's second largest Islamist group after the Muslim Brotherhood–will not partake in the rallies, said spokesman Nader Bakkar via Twitter Wednesday.
"We will not take part in the Friday demo for fear of ploys by the revolution's foes that aim to incite chaos, violence and vandalism," said Galal El-Morra, secretary-general of El-Nour Party, in a Thursday statement, asserting his party supports the Brotherhood's demands, however.
The Islamist move to protest Friday has been slammed in some civil quarters.
Egypt's Free Front for Peaceful Change called off a planned Friday protest outside the public prosecutor's office at the High Court.
In a meeting held Wednesday, the movement lambasted what it described as the Brotherhood's constant attempts to trade on the goals of the revolution and "infiltrate" the ranks of genuine revolutionaries.
The front first called for the protest to condemn the ongoing detention of political activists as well as the court order to release former president Hosni Mubarak.
The April 6 Youth Movement, a leading force behind the 2011 revolution, also displayed reluctance to participate in the anti-judiciary protests.Among cited reasons are that the protests are called for by a group the movement says jeopardises the independence of judiciary and is using it to intimidate opponents.
Nevertheless, the youth group asserted it espoused the cause of overhauling the judiciary on condition that the restructuring comes from within the body and without intervention from the executive authority.
TheTaggamu Party, for its part, went so far as deeming calls for protests against judiciary "fascist."In a Thursday statement, the party said the move seeks to tighten the Brotherhood's rein on state institutions.
The liberalFree Egyptians Party,meanwhile, which is a member of the National Salvation Front (NSF) opposition umbrella group, condemned what it called "the fascist and vicious onslaught against the Egyptian judiciary."
In a Thursday statement, the NSF blasted what it described as Brotherhood attempts to spread its influence throughout all branches of the state and undermine Egypt's "respectable" judiciary.
It went on to accuse the Brotherhood, supported by President Mohamed Morsi, of attempting to take pre-emptive measures ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections, with the aim of expanding its influence over the judiciary and "putting the will of the people at risk."
In a separate move,Wafd Partyalso plan to stage protests Friday with a view to showing solidarity with Al-Azhar and the Egyptian Coptic Church, as well as promote unity between Egyptians following recent spates of sectarian strife.
Two protests are planned by the party: one outside Al-Azhar Sheikhdom in Cairo's Darrasa district, and the other at St Mark's Cathedral in Cairo's Abbasiya district. Both protests will be held in the afternoon under the slogan of "One Nation in One Home."
Later in the day, the party, which is one of Egypt's oldest liberal parties, is to hold a conference on the same cause. Present will be leading scholars of Al-Azhar and leading clerics of Egypt's Coptic Church.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/69563.aspx
Justice ministry blasts planned Friday rally for 'purge' of Egypt judiciary
Ahram Online, Thursday 18 Apr 2013
Ministry spokesman condemns Muslim Brotherhood's calls for Friday demonstration outside Egypt's High Court to demand purge of judiciary from Mubarak-era elements
Justice Ministry spokesman Ahmed Rushdy on Thursday slammed recent calls by political parties and groups – including the Muslim Brotherhood – to hold a Friday rally outside the High Court in downtown Cairo to demand the purge of Egypt's judiciary.
In a press release, Rushdy stressed the ministry's rejection of the planned protest, calling it "a form of aggression against judicial authority."
"Judicial independence doesn't only mean stoppingthe executive authority from pressuring the judiciary; it also includes defending the judiciary frompublic pressure and the influence of political groups," read the ministry statement.
The statement added: "The reform of constitutional institutions generally and the judiciary specifically will not come from outside by protesting and shouting, but rather from inside, according to rules and regulations as laid down by the law."
The ministry also stressed that its position remained unchanged regarding a proposed judicial authority law and calls to lower the retirement age for judges.
"The retirement age should not be used to realise political objectives, whether by raising it or lowering it," the statement read. "Any amendment to the judicial authority law should be made following negotiations with judges and should take their opinions into consideration according to the terms of the constitution."
The statement added that the justice ministry in January had sent a letter to the Egyptian Judges Club, regional judges clubs, the Supreme Judicial Council, the High Constitutional Court and all judicial agencies in Egypt to hear their recommendations regarding the law.
"The ministry is still awaiting their suggestions," the statement asserted.
The Muslim Brotherhood has called for a protest on Friday at the High Court in downtown Cairo both to demand a purge of the judiciary from Mubarak-era elements and to call on the Shura Council (the upper house of Egypt's parliament, currently endowed with legislative powers) to pass the proposed judicial authority law.
Among the proposed law's articles is one that would lower judges' legal retirement age from 70 to 60, which would effectively mean the retirement of some 3,500 judges.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/69584.aspx
Egypt's Brotherhood calls for 'judicial purge' at Friday rally
Sherif Tarek, Osman El Sharnoubi, Thursday 18 Apr 2013
Islamist group says judiciary must be 'cleansed of corrupt officials who are trying to stifle Egypt's progress'
Once again the Muslim Brotherhood is heading for a faceoff with Egypt’s judiciary.
The Islamist group has announced its intention to stage a mass protest on Friday calling for fundamental changes to the judicial system.
It is a move that some analysts say could further damage the Islamist group's relationship with the judiciary.
The Brotherhood, from which President Morsi hails, has named four demands it will call for during the "million-man" protest in front of the High Court in downtown Cairo and "all the squares in Egypt."
Topping the demands, which were published in a statement on Wednesday, is for the Islamist-dominated Shura Council (upper house of parliament) to ratify a new judicial authority law, which would "achieve independence for the judiciary."
The other three demands are:
Purge all state institutions of corrupt figures via the necessary revolutionary procedures.
Put on trial all those responsible for killing protesters (during and after the 2011 revolution), and likewise the former regime figures who ruined Egypt's political life.
Retrieve the funds stolen (by the Mubarak oligarchy).
On Tuesday, the parliamentary committee of the moderate Islamist Wasat Party, founded by Brotherhood defectors, called for the sacking of the government, especially the "incompetent" justice and information ministers.
The same committee also suggested the ratification of a new judicial law, which would see the reduction of judges’ retirement age from 70 to 60, something opposed by many judges.
Judges verses Brotherhood
On Thursday, the Freedom and Justice Party'sEzzeddin Al-Komi, deputy leader of the Shura Council human rights committee, told state news agency MENA that his party is studying the Wasat Party's judicial reform proposals.
"The next phase of Egypt’s progress on the path of democratisation must include many actions and draft laws that reform and improve the judicial system ... We call for a broad societal dialogue about these laws," said Al-Komi.
"Timely and fair justice is one of the objectives of the January 25 Revolution. But recent acquittals [of senior government officials accused of killing protesters and/or corruption] have shocked Egyptian society and caused frustration and disappointment.
They have made many people think seriously about the need to reform the judiciary."
Supporters of President Morsi accuse the judiciary of blocking vital reforms and being loyal to former president Hosni Mubarak.
On the other side, Judges' Club leader Ahmed El-Zend does not hide his fury towards the “ongoing attack on the judiciary."
The upcoming marches are an “illusion that will lead to nothing,” he said.
In telephone interview with Ahmed Mousa on Tahrir TV satellite channel, El-Zend stressed that “the judges will defend their independence to the last breath.”
The current administration is trying to “sabotage all the modern state institutions,” he added.
El-Zend said the Shura Council is “illegitimate and has no authority to pass any laws.”
The judiciary accuses President Morsi of attempting to retrain judicial independence and replace judges with Brotherhood sympathisers.
Thistug-of-war between the presidencyand the judiciary was triggered in late 2012 after a constitutional declaration by President Morsi gave him the power to sack the Mubarak-era prosecutor-general Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud and appoint Talaat Abdullah in his place.
Morsi had previously tried to remove Mahmoud by sending him to serve as Egypt’s ambassador to the Vatican, but had to backtrack when Mahmoud refused to move.
Morsi’s appointment of Abdullah via the constitutional declaration prompted hundreds of judges and prosecutors to protest outside the prosecutor-general's office to demand Abdullah’s resignation.
On 27 March, a court reversed Morsi's decision to dismiss Mahmoud and replace him with Abdullah. However, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which under the new constitution is responsible for appointing Egypt's top prosecutor, does not have the power to dismiss him. Abdullah therefore remains in the job. A final appeal will determine his future.
The constitutional declaration also made the Brotherhood-dominated upper house of parliament immune from dissolution by a potential court order, a fate which had befallen the lower house (People’s Assembly) which was dissolved by a High Constitutional Court (HCC) order in June 2012.
Morsi tried to reinstate the dissolved People’s Assembly, but his decree was overturned by the HCC two days later.
Brotherhood's Mahdi Akef "insults" judiciary
Earlier this month, a number of appeal court judges lodged a request with the SJC and Court of Cassation, calling for an investigation into former Brotherhood supreme-guide Mahdi Akef.
The judges asked for an impartial investigation into statements made by Akef in a recent interview with a Kuwaiti newspaper in which, the judges claim, Akef "insulted" certain judges.
"[Egyptian] judges are corrupt," Akef said in the interview. "They're the ones who dissolved [Egypt's] last parliament [last summer] … because they were afraid of the laws it would adopt.
"This is because the first law it was going to approve was one to retire some 3,500 judges aged over 60," Akef said.
He added: "In order to achieve Egypt's national revival, you must seek out those who support the notion of a renaissance. Then you find the court and the judges working together to dissolve parliament. Corrupt judges don't want Egypt's revival."
Akef’s statements came in the wake of a number of acquittals of Mubarak regime figures who were incriminated in corruption cases, such as Safwat El-Sherif, former secretary general of Mubarak's now-defunct National Democratic Party (NDP). It is also widely speculated that Mubarak will be released in the near future.
Critics believe the acquittals of Mubarak’s oligarchs show the judiciary is corrupt.
Popular Salafist preacher and head of the newly founded Al-Raya Party, Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail, has called on his supporters to join the rally on Friday, Al-Ahram’s Arabic news website reported. The largest Salafist party, Al-Nour, however, has said it will not take part.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/69521.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment