Egyptian military forces attacking an anti-coup encampment in Nasr City, Cairo. Many were killed and injured on August 14, 2013., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
State of emergency: What does it imply?
Ahram Online, Wednesday 14 Aug 2013
The state of emergency declared by Egypt's interim presidenct for a period of one month gives executive powers to restrict freedoms and order adminstrative detentions
The state of emergency declared by the Egyptian presidency on Tuesday, which is to last for one month, brings into effect the emergency laws of 1958.
Egyptians are aware of the effects of emergency laws due to the laws being in effect in Egypt for over 4 decades, used by former presidents to crack down on their political opponents.
The state of emergency was declared after nationwide clashes between supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and police which have left over 95 dead nationwide according to official sources.
Emergency laws allow the president to suspend the use of certain civil laws in periods of internal disasters or conflicts, such as the Criminal Procedures Law, allowing him to order the arrest of citizens without court order.
The law also allows the confiscation or suspension of publications, the prohibition of public gatherings, restraining the freedom of movement and enforcing opening and closing times for shops and carrying out forms of surveillance on citizens.
The president also ordered the army to take all necessary measures to preserve security.
Gamal Eid, rights lawyer and director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) told Ahram Online that declaring a state of emergency was required to justify the army's deployment.
Eid says the move gives legal cover for ordering the army to restore security and added that a detailed decree will be issued later stipulating the state of emergency, which is coupled with a curfew.
A state of emergency was in place in Egypt from 1967 to 2012, which was only lifted for a brief period of less than two years in the 1980s.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/79036.aspx
Egyptian Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei resigns
Ahram Online, Wednesday 14 Aug 2013
The vice president for foreign affairs and former Nobel peace laureate resigns, citing today's violence
Egyptian Vice President for Foreign Affairs Mohamed ElBaradei, announced his resignation in a letter to the interim president on Wednesday, according to Ahram Online sources.
The decision to start the operation to forcefully disperse the sit-ins were taken jointly by the police and military leadership without prior notification of the Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi or the vice president for external relations, these sources told Ahram Online.
ElBaradei's resignation comes after scores were killed in a crackdown by security forces on loyalists of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
ElBaradei earlier demanded high-level assurances that the operation would not step away from the boundaries of law and according to two sources “threatened to resign if the death toll among the protestors proved to be high”.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/79042.aspx
Government counts on popular support in fight vs Brotherhood: Sources
Despite misgivings by western diplomats over decision to disperse sit-ins, officials tell Ahram Online they will prevail over Brotherhood and the world community will come around to support their actions
Dina Ezzat, Wednesday 14 Aug 2013
Hours after the start of the security operation to force the dispersal of two Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo and Giza, government officials assess that things are, by and large, going according to plan, with the aim still to end the operation late Wednesday — possibly late evening.
Egypt's presidency declared at 4pm Wednesday a state of emergency in Egypt to last for a month, and followed this decision at 5pm with a declaration of a 7pm - 6am curfew.
The president ordered the army to take all necessary measures to preserve security.
The evening to dawn curfew will be enforced in some governorates such as Cairo and Giza, areas that have seen some tough clashes between Muslim Brotherhood members, security forces, groups of thugs and citizens.
The operation that started at dawn Wednesday, coming after the end of the Muslim holiday of Eid El-Fitr, had all but been pre-announced earlier in the week by Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi who had said that force would be used, if need be, to disperse protesters after the holiday.
The sit-ins at Rabaa Al-Adawiya in Nasr City and Al-Nahda Square in Giza had been ongoing for six weeks.
Vice President for International Affairs Mohamed ElBaradei had also suggested a resort to “use of force within the limits of law” to end the sit-ins should political mediation fail.
During the last few days there were some hopes for a political settlement between authorities and the Muslim Brotherhood to end a political crisis that started with the ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July.
According to identical accounts from official and independent political sources, mediation broke down when Muslim Brotherhood strongman Khairat El-Shater, under custody on criminal charges, allegedly threatened “violence” if the demands of the Muslim Brotherhood leadership, including a safe exit for Morsi and El-Shater, were not accommodated. This account is contradicted by Muslim Brotherhood sources who say that the “military” were not interested in reaching a deal and were only making a semblance of pursuing one.
The decision to start the operation to forcefully disperse the sit-ins was taken jointly by the police and military leadership without prior notification of the prime minister or the vice president.
VP ElBaradei reportedly demanded high-level assurances that the operation would not step outside of the boundaries of law, and according to two sources “threatened to resign if the death toll among the protestors proved to be high.”
Meanwhile, ElBaradei and Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy have been making rounds of calls with concerned world capitals about developments on the ground and to assure key states of the commitment of Cairo to uphold human rights standards.
Cairo-based Western diplomats said they have not been able to get independent and accurate confirmation on the death toll, and that they are deeply concerned over developments.
“We all knew that an operation was possible, but it all depends on how things will unfold. We need to think of ways to move forward,” a western diplomat told Ahram Online.
On another front, Egyptian diplomats expressed “dismay” at what they said were “unfortunate” attempts by Ankara and Doha to refer developments in Egypt to the UN Security Council, adding that this effort was unlikely to succeed.
UN undersecretary general for political affairs Jeffery Feltman had been scheduled to arrive to Cairo in a few days. Other international envoys, including a delegation from the UN Human Rights Council, are also considering visits, according to UN sources in Geneva.
Government sources told Ahram Online they expect that the world would show interest in developments in Egypt, but they sounded confident that their government has nothing to worry about — especially in view of the alleged confiscation of arms and ammunition at both sit-ins.
For the most part, government officials are convinced that matters are under control and that normality will return in a matter of days — regardless of threats made by some Muslim Brotherhood leaders. These officials bank on the "wide public support," the government, army and security forces enjoy at the moment.
Egypt party chief sees no government resignations
Reuters, Wednesday 14 Aug 2013
Head of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party says dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins will not be followed by cabinet resignations
Nobody will resign from the Egyptian cabinet following the government's decision to break up Muslim Brotherhood protest camps by force, said the leader of the political party to which both the prime minister and one of his deputies belong.
Speaking after Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei quit in protest at the use of force that led to scores of deaths, Mohamed Abolghar, head of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, said he had confirmed there would be no resignations.
"Nobody will resign. I confirmed it," Abolghar said.
Both Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi and Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa El-Din are members of Abolghar's party. Diplomats said that they, like ElBaradei, had been pushing for a political solution to the standoff.
"I am confident that, by the end of the day, Egypt will have a better future. We will have a real democracy. The Muslim Brothers will join the process when they know there are elections," Abolghar said.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/79060.aspx
Egypt's new governor appointments draw criticism
Ahram Online, Tuesday 13 Aug 2013
Interim President Adly Mansour faces criticism for bringing Mubarak-era security officials back into the fold in governor appointments
New governor appointments in Egypt by Interim President Adly Mansour brought a wave of criticism from groups and activists who decried the appointments of mainly former security officials to the posts.
11 out of the 18 new appointments are former military officials and another 2 are ex-police generals. A further 9 deputy governors were also appointed.
Hossam Moenes, spokesperson for the leftist Egyptian Popular Current said on Twitter that the appointments don't "bode well."
Moenes described the move as a "continuation of the lack of transparency and a disregard for consultations and absence of standards which likens this government to its predecessors."
Mahmoud Afify, member of the 30 June Front – the front established after 30 June protests that led to former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi's deposition –expressed his disappointment with the new appointments.
"The current government is following in the footsteps of previous Muslim Brotherhood and Supreme Council for Armed Forces governments by overlooking revolutionary figures as options, said Afify.
"Without exception, all of the appointees never – not even for one day – sided with the revolution or change. The status-quo continues," he told Al-Ahram's Arabic news website.
After the army removed Morsi from power following mass protests against him, it appointed a government comprised of many members of Morsi's opposition – including Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi.
The army also offered prominent long-time liberal opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei the position of vice president, which he accepted.
The Salafist Nour Party spokesman Sherif Taha reacted similarly, telling Al-Ahram's Arabic webnews site that the appointments were "frustrating and disappointing."
The Salafist party had announced earlier on Tuesday that it rejected participating in current governorate posts, refusing any "unelected" positions.
Taha said that the move is a step towards "militarizing" the state, saying it was taken without consultation or participation from political forces.
Despite taking part in drawing the transition roadmap which the military sponsored after Morsi's ouster, the Nour Party repeatedly criticized the new government.
The Rebel (Tamarod) movement, which spearheaded the anti-Morsi protests that led to his ouster, stated reservations about the new appointments but stated it accepts them as part of the transitional process.
Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, one of the movement's founders, told Al-Ahram's Arabic news website that the movement's acceptance of the move isn't a compromise but a necessity to avoid opening multiple fronts of confrontation in the current phase.
He nevertheless added that he rejects certain appointments which are known to have been close to ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime, saying the movement has come out against the Mubarak regime and the Muslim Brotherhood – from which Morsi hails– and that standards which political forces put forth for the selection of the governors were ignored.
Abdel-Aziz said the priority is facing the war which he claims the Brotherhood is waging against the state and the people.
Anger at the deputy governor appointment
The appointment of former interior minister assistant Samy Sedhom as deputy governor of Sharqiya province caused an outcry by a number of activists, who accuse him of having had a prominent role in political repression during the Mubarak era.
Saying Sedhom was "responsible for torturing opposition activists in Mubarak's reign," activist Mona Seif of the No to Military Trials for Civilians Campaign condemned his appointment on her Facebook page.
"During the clashes in Mohamed Mahmoud, Samy Sedhom called us thugs. Over 70 martyrs were called thugs and now you're appointing him deputy governor. Why don't you give him the Nile Medal [Egypt's highest state honour]?" she implored.
Rights lawyer and activist Malek Adly said on Twitter that "the president should be aware that Samy Sedhom is only good enough for attacking girls during the judges independence protests in 2006 and killing revolutionaries in Mohamed Mahmoud in 2011.
Sedhom was the assistant of the interior minister in 2011, in which clashes between protesters and police in Mohamed Mahmoud street off Tahrir Square in November of that year left 10 dead.
Gamal Eid, rights lawyer and director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), also wrote on Twitter that Sedhom was behind the detention of and attacks on Mubarak's opposition.
"What will be the oath of the likes of Samy Sedhom: I swear to almighty God to carry out the job I excel at which is repressing revolutionaries and supporting the Mubarak regime," Eid said mockingly.
Days before his ouster, then-president Mohamed Morsi appointed 17 governors - 11 of them Brotherhood supporters - to head local governments.
These appointments triggered nationwide controversy as Morsi critics charged that the move was part of his attempt to "Brotherhoodise" the state apparatus.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/78974.aspx
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