Egypt Independent 2012.Dec.06

Published by Al-Masry Media Corp

Issue no.30 6 December 2012

LE5

2 News Briefs

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6 December 2012

Morsy on the road

America listens

Presidential spokesperson Yas-ser Ali on Tuesday denied that President Mohamed Morsy’s visits abroad were changed because the countries he is visiting object to the constitutional declaration passed by the president on 22 November, in which he claimed sweeping powers for himself. “We did not receive any official remarks on the declaration from the United States or the European Union,” Ali said in a statement, calling on the media to be accurate in covering news. Turk-ish state-run Anadolu news agency said Morsy is visiting Washington after he participates in the celebra-tions of the second anniversary of the Tunisian revolution at the invitation of Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki on 17 December. A presidential delegation is cur-rently arranging the visit with US officials in Washington.■

The US ambassador to Egypt learned of the anti-Mohamed Morsy opposition’s position on the constitutional referendum scheduled for 15 December in a meeting with leaders of the liberal Wafd Party, the party’s vice president said Sunday. Wafd Party head Al-Sayed al-Badawy told Ambassador Anne Patterson that the referendum is a “catastrophe because there is no consensus on the constitution between all polit-ical forces,” party Vice President Ahmed Ezz al-Arab said, adding that the ambassador listened, but did not comment. “Sadawy also warned of a revolution of the hungry.”■

Yasser Ali

Al-Sayed al-Badawy

Another protester dies

Ahmed Naguib

Another protester was announced dead Sunday at Helal Hospital in Cairo after being injured dur-ing clashes between protesters and security forces on Mohamed Mahmoud Street near the Interior Ministry. Clashes had erupted on 20 November at Mohamed Mah-moud Street while protesters were commemorating the 2011 clashes that had flared up in the same area. The recent violence had killed one person and injured 310 before the death of Ahmed Naguib, 18, according to the Health Ministry. The hospital’s director, Mahmoud al-Shennawy, told state-run MENA news agency that Naguib had been receiving treatment at the intensive care unit, but died from his injuries Sunday.■

Back on air

Strike in the air

More resignations

For the sake of direction

Two secular human rights activists resigned from the National Council for Human Rights Monday to express their opposition to President Mohamed Morsy’s decision to put the recently drafted con-stitution to a public referendum. Leftist activist Wael Khalil and rights activist Ahmed Seif al-Islam described the constitutional declaration as “cata-strophic,” and added that staying on the council was impossible, as the president himself and other institutions controlled by his party were commit-ting violations. Last week, the deputy head of the council, Abdel Ghaffar Shokr, and board member Mohamed Zaraa resigned in protest of the Muslim Brotherhood’s dominance over the organization.■

Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb described talk shows aired on satellite channels as “lacking di-rection and not leading to meaningful conversations.” In a press release Tuesday, Tayyeb said, “most talk shows lack direction. They start with introductions that don’t lead to meaningful conversations, and this is the fault of both the interviewer and interviewees.” The heated political debates between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsy have been heavily featured on evening talk shows, and have escalated in the last two weeks. Tayyeb stressed that dialogue between political and social groups in the country is the only means to achieve stability.■

EspionageProsecutor General Talaat Ibrahim Abdallah on Tuesday re-ferred a complaint accusing former presidential candidates and politicians of spying and inciting the overthrow of the government to the State Security Prosecution for investiga-tion. Hamed Sadeq, a lawyer who filed the report, accused former presidential candidates Amr Moussa and Hamdeen Sabbahi, Constitution Party leader Mohamed ElBaradei, Wafd Party President Al-Sayed al-Badawy and Judges Club head Ahmed al-Zend of espionage and sedition. Sadeq claimed that Moussa met with former Israeli Foreign Min-ister Tzipi Livni and agreed with her to fabricate internal crises, and that all of the politicians named in his complaint then met at the Wafd Pary headquarters to implement the “Zionist plot.”■

Wael Khalil

Ahmed al-Tayyeb

Chief vs. syndicate Journalists Syndicate head Mamdouh al-Wali threatened Tuesday to resort to the judiciary to resolve the dispute between him and a number of board members. The Journalists Syndicate board decided Friday to hold an emergency meeting to take disciplinary action against Wali for attending the Constituent Assembly’s voting session on the final draft of the constitution. Earlier the board had decided to withdraw Wali protesting its unbal-anced formation. Wali accused some opponent board members of being politically motivated against him.■

Mamdouh al-Wali

Hamdeen Sabbahi

A controversial television program hosted by Salafi preacher Khaled Abdal-lah will return to the airwaves on the privately owned Al-Nas channel, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled Monday, overruling a previous court order banning the program due to Ab-dallah’s foul language. On 3 November, the Administrative Court ruled to ban Abdallah’s program for 25 consecutive

days. The Salafi preacher has stirred several major controversies over the last year. Most recently, he attacked liberal and secular groups on his show in the course of Saturday’s pro-Morsy protests at Nahda Square near Cairo University. Abdallah also said media workers “hate God’s law,” and that reform advocate Mohamed ElBaradei “came with Ameri-can support.”■

Employees of the Egyptian Airports Company closed Terminal 2 in Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport Monday, demanding that their salaries be raised and that the company be purged of corruption. Airport sources said arrivals were transferred to Termi-nal 1. State-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported that 40 employees went on strike. Meanwhile, Wael al-Maadawy,

chairperson and CEO of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airport and Air Navigation, said he would hold discussions with the striking workers over their demands to reach a settle-ment that would please all parties, and persuade the employees to resume work. The Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh is a main destination for beach tourism.■

Apolitical sermonsThe Endowments Ministry ordered its preachers na-tionwide not to express their stance on the 22 Novem-ber constitutional declaration, which gave President Mohamed Morsy’s decrees immunity from judicial challenges. Ministry spokesperson Salah Abdel Qawy told Turkish news agency Anadolu that the ministry has decided to ban discussion of the constitutional referendum, the president or any other political issues or parties, saying the new measure aims to preserve mosques’ independence and neutrality. The decision came after increasing concerns about preachers affili-ated with the Muslim Brotherhood using mosques as platforms to defend Morsy and attack his opponents. Media outlets reported that an imam of a mosque resigned in Alexandria after the ministry pressured him to announce support for Morsy’s decisions.■

3News6 December 2012

Show of forceMarch to presidential palace seen as momentum for civil groups

By Heba Afifyhousands marched to the presidential palace in He-liopolis Tuesday, chant-ing against President

Mohamed Morsy, demanding a retraction of the constitutional dec-laration and scrapping the rushed draft constitution, which will be put to referendum on 15 December.

Protesters gathered en masse around the walls of the palace, spraying graffiti denouncing the president and the Muslim Brother-hood after spilling in from marches to fill up the wide street in front, and swarming around the usually quiet district.

Tahrir Square was also packed with protesters, while a march splin-tered off to the Maspero state TV building, as large protests erupted in Alexandria, Upper Egypt and the Red Sea, raising the same demands.

Empowered by the show of force, the National Salvation Front, a co-alition of various secular groups, issued a statement giving the presi-dent an ultimatum to comply with demands by Friday or face another wave of protests, a strong indication of how emboldened these groups have become.

Since Morsy issued a constitu-tional declaration two weeks ago giving himself sweeping powers, revolutionary civil groups have come together, along with previ-ously fragmented segments of so-ciety, demonstrating a kind of unity and efficiency that have been sorely absent from the political scene in the past two years.

With Islamists losing ground, and civil groups gaining momentum in their own right, the ability to mo-bilize massive street action, which used to represent a considerable gap between the two sides, has been more or less equal in the past weeks.

After Morsy’s declaration, the formation of the National Salva-tion Front brought together figures which the public has for months been urging to unite and lead the revolutionary path, including Nobel Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi.

They claim to have learned their lesson after their fragmentation cost secularists the presidential election, as well as the parliamentary elec-tions before it, thus leading to their feeble presence in the Constituent Assembly — all of which leads back to the current impasse.

After being handed the contro-versial draft of the constitution Sat-urday, Morsy said it would be put to a referendum on 15 December, thus escalating the standoff and upping the demands of the non-Islamist groups, who now want a new and more representative assembly to be formed to draw up a new draft con-stitution.

While this scenario seems far-fetched, opponents of the draft constitution are mulling their op-tions. Some have already begun campaigns for a total boycott, while other see it as counter-intuitive, and say that if judges will supervise, it is wiser to mobilize for a “no” vote.

The National Salvation Front and other civil groups have not yet de-

termined whether they will boycott the referendum altogether to show their rejection of the entire process through which the constitution was drafted, from the formation of the Constituent Assembly to the timing of the referendum.

Some say boycotting may be a waste of the civil groups’ newfound credibility, but civil powers are hoping they won’t have to make this choice. heir plan is to escalate protests until Morsy heeds to their demands.

If the size of street protests can serve as any kind of measure, a “no” vote may gain significant support — maybe more than those who rejected the March constitutional referendum conducted under the then-ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which came into power after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.

However, at the same time, and as evidenced by a mass rally in Giza by Islamists in support of Morsy and his decisions last Saturday, the “yes” camp also has broad support.

New facesMostafa Kamel al-Sayed, political science professor at Cairo Univer-sity, attributes the vigorous street presence of civil groups to their newfound unity, as well as a seg-ment of society that has so far been inactive among revolutionary ranks.

“They succeeded in attracting the so-called silent majority, not the kind of people who are typically po-litically active,” he says.

Indeed, in the absence of Islamist groups, the size of opposition pro-tests has been significant due to the presence of a new kind of protester — one vehemently against the threat of any limitations on personal freedoms. Among them are those

staunchly opposed to the Brother-hood, but they are also accompa-nied by others who voted for Morsy or have so far supported the Broth-erhood, until this recent juncture.

Sayed says some of the people who made the revolution happen and then stayed home for the most of the past two years are now back in the street after sensing that their own interests are in danger.

“They antagonized the middle class, which has responded mas-sively to the call of civil forces,” he explains, but adds that the appeal of recent opposition protests goes beyond the middle class, especially as the deadlock is prolonged and Morsy makes no attempt to con-cede.

“There’s a feeling that what Morsy did was unwise because they can see the damage to the economy and the effect on political stability. They wanted him to come to some sort of compromise,” says Sayed.

Yet given the numbers at the Islamist-dominated rally Saturday, Morsy may feel he has enough sup-port to stay the course.

Still, civil groups say it’s not a game of numbers.

Mahmoud Afify, spokesperson of April 6 Youth Movement, says the diversity of protesters in Tah-rir Square gives it more legitimacy than those who rallied for Morsy,

all of which are aligned with one political current.

“The issue is not about who can mobilize more ... Tahrir protests comprise all sectors of society. This is what gives our protests legitimacy and credibility,” he says.

State institutions’ supportDuring Tuesday’s March to the presidential palace, the reaction from Central Fecurity Forces cre-ated a stir.

Stationed around the palace early in the day, closing it off with barbed wire to prevent protesters from get-ting close, security forces suddenly retreated as marches advanced toward the palace, allowing dem-onstrators to surround it, chanting against Morsy and spray painting the walls.

A video later emerged of Morsy rushing from the palace in his car, surrounded by protesters shouting, “Here is the coward.”

For months, speculations have loomed that the new power of Morsy and the Brotherhood is not backed by the muscles of the Inte-rior Ministry, which is said to reject the new rulers and, if Tuesday is an indication, may not move to protect the president from his opposition, experts say.

Due to the perceived stance of state institutions against Morsy, he is obliged to compromise with his opponents, Sayed says.

“There’s a new balance of forces now. He cannot count on the police to protect him. The Muslim Broth-erhood cannot protect him on its own. He is now at the mercy of the Armed Forces, which are crucial for his political survival,” he adds.

However, this is conditional on

Morsy’s ability to appease the pub-lic.

The draft constitution includes contentious articles that protect the military from budgetary over-sight, one of the demands of the revolution, as well establishing the possibility of trying civilians before military courts, despite a two-year campaign fighting this precise prac-tice.

Sayed likens the situation to the SCAF’s decision to dethrone Mubarak when he failed to contain the 25 January 2011 uprising. The new defense minister appointed by Morsy after he wrestled back power from the military council, Abdel Fa-tah al-Sisi, has pledged that his loy-alty is to the people.

“It’s a signal that if he wants to re-main in power, he has to accept the will of the people,” says Sayed.

On a bolder and more public scale, the judiciary has been openly defying Morsy after denouncing the constitutional declaration as a blatant infringement on judicial in-dependence.

“Morsy is in a critical situation, and if he reads it correctly, he will realize that there needs to be a dia-logue with national leaders to reach an agreement — not further divide people into two teams, risking a civil war,” says Hassan Abu Taleb, expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

After proving that they can hold their own against the Brotherhood on the street level, the next test will be whether civil groups can realize satisfactory results in the upcoming referendum, and, later on, in parlia-mentary elections.

Islamists have dominated every single election in the transition pro-cess. In March last year, they suc-cessfully mobilized for a “yes” vote on the constitutional referendum, convincing a large sector of vot-ers that a “yes” vote was the pious choice.

The same tactic will likely be employed this time around, but with the added value of having the elected president’s blessing on the draft, as well as selling it as the way to stability and economic recovery.

Kamel, however, says this time, the situation is different.

In March, both the SCAF and Is-lamist groups mobilized for a “yes” vote against civil groups, which had not yet organized in parties. Now, the Islamist current finds itself alone in promoting the constitution.

Kamel is also counting on people not fall into the same trap twice.

“There is a new wisdom in the street — they won’t be fooled again with promises of stability and use of religion,” he says.

Abu Taleb argues that the Broth-erhood has lost a portion of its elec-toral power over the past two years.

Many of those who voted the Brotherhood into Parliament and the presidential post based their de-cision on a moral image, wanting to give a chance to the previously op-pressed group to realize their prom-ises.

“Now it has become clear to all Egyptians that Morsy is a president only for this group, and that the Brotherhood cares mostly about its interests,” says Abu Taleb.■

There is a new wisdom in the street; they won’t be fooled again with promises of stability and use of religion

The issue is not about who can mobilize more ... Tahrir protests comprise all sectors of society. This is what gives our protests legitimacy and credibility

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Protesters took to the presidential palace to object the constitution.

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4 News6 December 2012

Divided judgesThe judiciary isn’t showing a unified stand on the supervision of the referendum

By Omar Halawa“The stock market makes LE8 billion in profit following news of the judges supervising the referendum,” read a headline in the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice news website Tuesday.

The news piece goes on to describe a state of optimism amongst investors who are hopeful that stability will reign following a 15 December referendum on the finalized draft constitution. The piece further celebrates the fact that judges will oversee the referendum, which comes at the heels of open-ended dis-putes between the judiciary and President Mohamed Morsy.

Morsy has angered judges with a consti-tutional declaration issued 22 November which immunized his decrees from judicial oversight, and also protected the Islamist-controlled Constituent Assembly from judi-cial dissolution.

The Freedom and Justice Party website celebration follows the Supreme Judicial Council announcement Monday that it del-egated judges and members of the Public Prosecution to supervise the referendum, in fulfillment of Article 39 of the 30 March 2011 Constitutional Declaration. The declaration is the document through which the country is currently constitutionally managed, and which stipulates judicial oversight over elec-tions and referenda.

Divided judiciaryThe country’s judiciary is largely divided into five different authorities: the Supreme Con-stitutional Court, the Public Prosecution and regular judiciary (primary and appeals courts and the Court of Cassation), the State Coun-cil, the State Cases Authority and the Admin-istrative Prosecution Authority.

While the last three authorities have shown initial support to judicial oversight of the ref-erendum, the position of the bulk of the regu-lar judiciary remains ambiguous.

Divisions have marred the judiciary, es-pecially following the statement by Ahmed al-Zend, the head of the Judges Club, an-nouncing that judges would boycott the ref-erendum until Morsy’s constitutional decla-ration is canceled.

Work in several courtrooms and prosecu-tions across the nation has been halted fol-lowing the call for strike by the emergency General Assembly of the Judges Club presid-ed by Zend, in protest at Morsy’s declaration.

“The majority of those polled from mem-bers of the Public Prosecution refused to par-ticipate in overseeing the referendum. Ran-dom samples were taken that showed 2,039 refusing to participate and 226 agreeing, and the results revealed that nearly 90 percent of the judges polled in courts across governor-ates refuse to oversee the referendum,” Zend said Tuesday.

This branch of the judiciary contains no less than 12,000 judges.

Meanwhile, judges clubs affiliated with courts outside Cairo have said the Cairo Judges Club’s call for boycotting the referen-dum is not binding, because judges are free and should not be dictated to. They also said that every Judges Club is autonomous and has to take its own position.

Gamal Eid, president of the Sohag Judges Club, describes Zend’s statements as inaccu-rate. The General Assembly for the governor-ates’ Judges Clubs has not actually convened, he says.

“The position of the Cairo Judges Club is not binding on anyone, and every judge has their personal orientations. I assure that there is disagreement around whether to oversee among primary courts and appeals courts in the different governorates. I sense that the majority agrees to oversee the referendum, which doesn’t mean those judges are affili-

ated with the Muslim Brotherhood or any-thing, but that it’s their personal choice,” he adds.

Legal experts see that the anti-referendum campaign led by Zend, who is known to be a supporter of former President Hosni Mubarak, is part of a continued battle against some figures supporting judicial indepen-dence, such as Hossam al-Gheriany, presi-dent of the Constituent Assembly and former president of the Supreme Judicial Council, as well as Ahmed Mekky, the current justice minister.

Mekky, who is now part of the ruling appa-ratus, had revealed violations of former Presi-dent Hosni Mubarak’s regime in previous elections and criticized Zend for supporting it.

However, Abdallah Fathy, deputy of the Judges Club and vice president of the Court of Cassation, says Zend’s account is correct.

“This referendum kills legitimacy, because [the constitution] lacks consensus from the people, so how can we as judges oversee it? I hope that the judges respond to the call to boycott as they did to the strike. Lack of a clear stance by judges weakens our position in confronting this illegitimate regime,” says Fathy.

Judges Clubs act as syndicates whose presi-dents and board members are elected by a general assembly made up of judges from the different authorities that the clubs represent. A club cannot oblige its members to do any-thing, because the Judicial Authority Law doesn’t penalize judges if they refrain from overseeing the elections, as this is an addi-tional task.

Meanwhile, judges differ over the judges clubs’ authority to take positions on oversee-ing the referendum, with some saying that only the general assemblies of the respec-tive authorities are entitled to determine the judges’ position.

Magued Shebeita, a judge in the State

Council and its representative in the Con-stituent Assembly, says the judges clubs’ de-cisions are not binding on its members. He adds that the Supreme Council of the State Council already submitted to the Justice Min-istry a list of 1,000 judges from 2,500 existing judges in the council to supervise the refer-endum.

He expects that members of the State Cases Authority and the Administrative Prosecu-tion Authority will follow suit.

“The Supreme Council is the legal repre-sentative of the State Council. The decisions of the [ Judges] Club can be motivational by means of showing solidarity with forces against the draft constitution. The referen-dum is a national duty that we cannot let go of. We cannot strike and ignore the law that stipulates judicial oversight. This would rid the constitution of its legitimacy,” says She-beita.

Different motivationsThe Supreme Judicial Council announce-ment Monday was followed by statements by boards of the State Council, which is the umbrella for the administrative judiciary and the High Administrative Court, as well as the Administrative Prosecution Authority, which looks into cases where state institutions are party, and the State Cases Authority, which represents the official body of state attorneys. The statements positively responded to the council’s delegation and assigning judges to supervise the referendum.

Some analysts argue that, for the three authorities that issued statements assigning judges to oversee the referendum, there have been several favorable allocations for them in the draft constitution that entice them to perform their oversight duties. These alloca-tions include the expansion of their authori-ties and functions, and the granting of legal immunity to the State Cases Authority and the Administrative Prosecution Authority,

which was not present in the outgoing 1971 Constitution.

Constitutional law expert and former Con-stituent Assembly member Gaber Nassar sees a connection.

“The Constituent Assembly saw several discussions for months about the position of these judicial authorities in the constitution, such as the State Cases Authority and the Ad-ministrative Prosecution Authority. I see that a lot of the members of both these authorities will participate in the referendum on the con-stitution after the addition of articles that ex-pand their authorities in the new draft. Their thank-you note to the ruling Islamist current, which also controlled the Constituent As-sembly, is to supervise the referendum,” he says.

After two months of protests at the Con-stituent Assembly by members of the State Cases Authority and the Administrative Prosecution Authority, Articles 179 and 180 came out in a way that respond to their de-mands after they were initially ignored.

For example, in Article 179, the State Cases Authority was granted the technical supervi-sion of more than 120,000 lawyers and legal researchers working in the bureaucracy. The article also empowered the authority to as-sign legal experts to civil and commercial dis-putes in which the state is party, which was previously reserved to the court.

The addition of both those authorities in the new constitution gives them immunity, as well as all rights granted to judicial authori-ties.

Ashraf Mokhtar, vice president of the State Cases Authority, defends the authorities’ po-sitions. “What was added in the constitution will only serve justice. The current stipula-tions will alleviate courts in cases in which the state is a party, and these cases are in the hundreds every year and take years to be set-tled. Supreme Council left it to the members of the authority to decide whether they will participate in the referendum or not. Where is the deal?” asks Mokhtar.

Ahmed Galal, spokesperson of the Ad-ministrative Prosecution Authority, defends them as well.

“The constitution is done and will be pre-sented to the people. The new position of the authority has been accepted there and cannot be removed, regardless of talk about the pres-ence of a deal,” says Fahmy.■

This referendum kills legitimacy, because [the constitution] lacks consensus from the people, so how can we as judges oversee it? I hope that the judges respond to the call to boycott as they did to the strike

Ali

El-

Mal

ky

Sparks have flown regarding the judiciary’s role in the most recent constitutional crisis.

5News6 December 2012

Watchdogs in crisisMedia screams foul at executive authority backlash

By Omar Halawahen thousands of pro-testers who belong to the Islamist current rallied Saturday at Cairo Univer-

sity to support President Mohamed Morsy’s constitutional declaration, they raised banners and chanted ac-cusations against the media for mis-guiding viewers and constantly criti-cizing the president.

On Sunday a�ernoon, Information Minister and Brotherhood member Salah Abdel Maqsoud referred Hala Fahmy, a presenter of a state TV show called “al-Dameer” (Conscience), for investigation.

�e broadcast of Fahmy’s show was halted a�er she brought out a burial shroud on air and said she did not mind dying if that is the price to pay for criticizing the president and the constitution, which she said sup-presses freedoms and treats Egyp-tians as slaves.

Around the same time, news circu-lated of the presidency �ling a lawsuit against Mahmoud Saad, prominent presenter on al-Nahar satellite chan-nel, and Manal Omar, a psychiatrist who appears regularly on his show.

Omar had appeared on the show on 23 November to analyze the presi-dent’s personality, diagnosing him as a “psychopath” for issuing a constitu-tional declaration that immunizes his decisions against legal challenges.

On Monday, Presidential Spokes-person Yasser Ali con�rmed that they were seeking legal action against the episode, which was “humiliating” to the president.

Both Saad and Fahmy say it is not out of the ordinary to tackle the hot topics of the hour on their programs. �ey say the regime’s response is a form of muzzling opposing views on state television as well as private channels.

“�ey have decided to get rid of all the opposing talk shows on private satellite channels. �is is laughable, and it’s also a form of terrorism,” Saad tells Egypt Independent.

Further, the 22 November consti-tutional declaration introduced the Revolution Protection Law, which rights experts say contains an article that �agrantly violates freedom of expression. Article 4 of the law de-lineates six chapters from the Penal Code as charges that would be re-ferred to the newly established prose-cution and specialized courts, includ-ing insulting the president, a public employee or a judge, or obstructing tra�c.

Even before the recent actions against media for speaking out against the constitutional declara-tion, separate cases have also raised red �ags for the future of media free-doms.

Last month, the Information Min-istry cut the satellite feed to the pri-vately owned satellite channel Dream TV, claiming the closure was due to procedural issues and had nothing to

not publishing their Tuesday edi-tions, while four satellite channels planned to go dark the following day.

�e striking outlets say the dra� constitution represses freedoms and includes no provisions to uphold me-dia independence or to prohibit the imprisonment of journalists.

Fahmy says it is clear that state me-dia is su�ering just as much as private media.

“�ere are a�empts by those in power to suppress the state media and force it to serve the interests of one political faction,” Fahmy says.

�is week’s cases follow a series of recent incidents in which media per-sonnel have come under �re for the elusive charge of insulting the presi-dent, a kind of accusation that some fear will be further cemented if the dra� constitution, which will be put to a referendum on 15 December, is passed.

Article 48 of the constitution allo-cates for freedom of expression, but limits it to the con�nes of principles of state and society, national security and public duties.

As a collective response to the de-velopments in the media landscape, 11 private newspapers protested by

They have decided to get rid of all the opposing talk shows on private satellite channels. This is laughable, and it’s also a form of terrorism

A number of media personalities have faced accusations of insulting the president.

W

Ikhwan mediaCritics say Brotherhood using Mubarak-era propaganda

By Mai Shams El-DinOn its front page on 28 November, the newspaper that bears the same name as the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party, Freedom and Justice, led with the headline: “Revolutionaries, feloul and street vendors present in Tahrir Square.”

�e paper’s coverage of the mass protests against the 22 November constitutional declaration issued by the president, granting him sweeping powers, was criticized for be-ing a biased portrayal of the opposition.

Some likened the discourse from Brother-hood media to state-run media’s propaganda under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, with protesters labeled as traitors peddling foreign agendas during the 25 January upris-ing.

�e headline was emblematic of the Brotherhood media outlets’ beli�ling of the massive opposition it is now facing from civil and non-Islamist groups and citizens.

In its a�empt to discredit opponents and renewed street action against the ruling pow-er, Brotherhood media have focused on the

presence of feloul, a reference to remnants of the former regime, among protesters.

�e contentious declaration has spurred a vicious media war between both sides. Ultraconservative Sala� religious channels have also dedicated their programs to sup-port Morsy, further widening the ri�.

Freedom and Justice has come out staunchly in defense of Morsy’s declaration, namely the part that immunizes his deci-sions, by citing examples of similar tactics in Egypt’s history as well as from abroad

Ahmed Ghanem, managing editor of Free-dom and Justice, tells Egypt Independent, “We only said the truth. For the �rst time, remnants of the old regime were heavily present in Tahrir Square.”

“Some of the revolutionaries accepted the existence of former regime remnants only because they oppose the Brotherhood. �is opposition is no longer a genuine move-ment,” he claims.

�is very notion of a “genuine opposition” was reiterated by Ikhwanweb, the o�cial English-language website of the Brother-hood.

Established in 2005 by the group’s deputy supreme guide, chief �nancier and business tycoon Khairat al-Shater, Ikhwanweb’s stat-ed mission is to “present the Muslim Broth-erhood vision right from the source and re-but misconceptions about the movement in Western societies.”

By virtue of being in English, its audience is mostly Western and is followed closely by diplomatic circles. Readers who follow both the English and Arabic messages say the English takes a noticeably more diplomatic approach.

But amid the current political stando�, the website’s o�cial Twi�er account, for example, has come out swinging. Its mes-sages seemed to deny the sizeable turnout of anti-Morsy protesters, and labeling protest-ers who simply despise the Brotherhood as “feloul.”

“We respect opposition right to protest [sic], but it’s clear that political aspirations and ideological di�erences with Ikhwan is spirit of Tahrir today,” one tweet read.

“When ordinary Egyptians across the na-tion see pro-Mubarak felools protesting in

Tahrir along with Islamists’ rivals [sic], they know this isn’t Jan25,” read another.

�e account further challenged secular groups by promising a bigger turnout in ral-lies to support Morsy.

A source inside Ikhwanweb declined to comment.

Media analyst Yassir Abdel Aziz says both secular and Islamist media are being mis-used to serve particular political agendas, straying from the basic principles of journal-ism.

“�e turbulent political situation as well as the deep state of polarization has turned the media into a tool to fuel the war,” Abdel Aziz says.

Ghanem, however, denies any interfer-ence from Brotherhood leaders or party of-�cials in the newspaper’s decisions, adding that their policy is set by the editorial team.

Abdel Aziz says both sides are no longer objective.

“�e liberals abused the broad media platforms they have, and the Islamist media failed to preserve the morals and ethics they call for in their propaganda,” he says.■

do with content. Media observers, however, say the

decision was a politicized reaction to the channel’s acerbic criticism of the Islamist current. �e administrative judiciary ordered Dream TV back on air until the case �led by the channel’s administration against the ministry is reviewed.

State TV’s Fahmy claims to have re-ceived calls from Ismail al-Sheshtawy, chief of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, asking her to host leaders from the Brotherhood and its political arm, the Freedom and Jus-tice Party, on her weekly show — a request she rejected.

Her show focuses on social issues, not politics, and Fahmy says the inci-dent with the burial shroud may have prompted the information minister to use it as an excuse to take her o� the air.

State-run TV was slammed for being the mouthpiece of the former regime and, more furiously, for its bi-ased coverage of the 25 January revo-lution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. �e practice of beli�ling the protests was a policy that largely continued under the subsequent rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

Fahmy says the same policy of wooing the regime in power contin-ues. Even though several top leaders in the media are not Brotherhood members, they are toadying up to the Brotherhood minister by presenting the group in a favorable light.

As for privately owned media, Saad says the ba�le has other dimensions.

“Why is the presidency suing the channel, while I, as the presenter of the show, choose my guests?’’ asks Saad who at one point supported Morsy’s presidential campaign.

“�ere is only one answer: �ey want to [indirectly send a] warning to other presenters and the channel’s administration that they will be sued if they criticize those in power,” says Saad.■

�is piece was translated by Dina Zafer.

6 News6 December 2012

Formalizing the informal

By Jano Charbel

truggling with increasing unemployment, an estimat-ed 5 million Egyptians have long resorted to becoming

self-employed street vendors, and make up a significant portion of the country’s vast informal busi-ness sector.

Unable to create enough jobs for the hundreds of thousands enter-ing the job market annually, the state has failed to properly regu-late, monitor or leverage the in-formal sector, which makes up an estimated 40 percent of the gross domestic product.

Economists think the in-formal economy makes up between 25–60 percent of the GDP — about US$218 billion, ac-cording to the World Bank — although most estimates are around 30–40 percent.

Millions of street vendors, left to fend for themselves, are con-stantly confronted by the state in nationwide crackdowns attempt-ing to abolish their work. Thou-sands of vendors are now organiz-ing a trade union to protect their rights and interests.

Whether they will be allowed to formalize their work is unclear. The government has not reacted favor-ably to vendors’ presence in Cairo.

Ousted President Hosni Mubarak, as well as his succes-sor, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and the transition Cabinet of former Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri, all unsuccess-fully sought to limit the spread of street vendors.

Breaking the lawState officials have openly and re-peatedly highlighted the perceived problems associated with street vending, from causing traffic con-gestion to tarnishing “the civilized image” of streets and squares, ru-ining public sanitation, damaging tourism, and incurring losses in state revenue as a result of untaxed and unregulated trades.

The trade has become more vis-ible, particularly in Cairo after the 25 January uprising, with street vendors increasingly stationing themselves in and around the epicenter of the protests, Tahrir Square, to capitalize on the pres-ence of hundreds of thousands in one place, as well as to cater to their needs.

In the past few months, the Trade, Interior and Justice min-istries, along with governorates and the Chambers of Commerce, have coordinated crackdowns and “cleanup operations” — as state media refers to them — against street vendors in Cairo, Giza, Daqahlia, Mansoura and Alexan-dria.

During his term, Ganzouri had produced a draft law criminal-izing this unlicensed profession with a prison sentence of up to three months and a fine of up to LE1,000. Since last month, Justice

lates regu- la-tions including the pro-hibition of licensing to convicted con artists and vendors with contagious diseases.

Furthermore, the law prohibits the sale of counterfeit products, along with food and beverages, as they would not be protected from con-tamination.

Law 33 also prohibits vendors from peddling to customers on public transport, from displaying merchandise outside shops and stores, and from disturbing the peace in the neighborhoods where they operate.

If licensed, vendors are legally entitled to establish their stalls within souqs or designated mar-kets and zones for such small busi-nesses.

But the absence of designated markets in Cairo has resulted in an increasing number of street vendors being scattered across the city’s sidewalks and spilling onto the streets.

Under President Mohamed Morsy, the government has pro-posed a relocation of these vendors from the center of Cairo to satellite cities, including 6th of October, 15th of May, Obour and Sheikh Zayed.

But these far-flung cities are not the target market, and are difficult to reach since they are not con-nected to the city’s public trans-portation system. It is simply, ven-dors argue, a way of isolating them.

“We won’t accept being exiled from Cairo. We are not thugs, nor do we seek to tarnish Egypt’s repu-

tation or image,” Ramadan al-Sawy, an elderly street vendor

who works on downtown Cai-ro’s bustling Qasr al-Nil Street,

says.Meanwhile, and in the ab-

sence of solutions, the state’s sole resort seems to be confis-

cation of merchandise. Juice vendor Wael Ashour says

every street vendor has lived through the experience of having their merchandise confiscated by local authorities.

“You have to chase after the po-lice and municipal authorities to reclaim your confiscated goods. If you’re lucky and are able to find them, then you must pay a fine be-tween LE70 and LE250. Even after paying, you often find that many of your goods have gone missing,” he says.

Ashour’s brother, Bondoq, la-ments the old days. “Although there was a lot of corruption dur-ing the days of Hosni [Mubarak] and just as many crackdowns, we made more money because cus-tomers had more money to spend.

“Under Morsy, we’re still subject-ed to crackdowns, but there’s not as much money going around. Liv-ing expenses keep rising, and con-ditions are getting worse for us.”

Organizing and unionizing Sawy is attempting to organize his fellow vendors into an indepen-dent trade union.

“We now have nearly 4,000 signatures of notarization from vendors, in Cairo and other gover-norates,” Sawy says. “However, the [manpower] minister is resisting

the recognition of our union, and is re-fusing to recognize any new unions.” But regrdless, they

have started rent-ing a space on Sherif Street in downtown

Cairo to use as their headquarters.

While they have yet to meet, Sawy says the independent street vendors’ union seeks to protect their rights and interests, to orga-nize vendors into zones, and pro-vide health and social insurance for members.

If they have a union — thus, in a way, formalizing their trade — ven-dors would be willing to pay taxes and cleaning fees in exchange for the right to work in peace without being harassed by security, Sawy says.

“This will directly benefit us and the government, instead of our hav-ing to pay off police with bribes,” he says.

Sawy’s effort is not the first of its kind. In May 2010, under the auspices of the state-controlled Egyptian Trade Union Federation, the General Union of Commerce Workers announced an initiative to unionize street vendors nation-wide.

The commerce workers’ union claimed it had established seven regional vendors’ unions in Cairo, Ismailia, 6th of October City, Lux-or and Banha. This general union had also claimed a membership of about 10,000 street vendors.

But Sawy says the general union’s initiative did not establish union committees — only loose leagues.

“As street vendors, we weren’t informed of its objectives or func-tions. This initiative has fizzled out,” he says.

This time around, he argues, “we’re organizing genuinely repre-sentative trade union committees, entities that are entirely indepen-dent from the state.”

The initiative was launched just

over a month ago, with the assis-tance of lawyers from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. Sawy is collecting more notarized signa-tures and drafting the union’s by-laws with other members.

Union organizer and EIPR lawyer Ahmed Hossam says vendors from downtown Cairo, Helwan, Giza, Suez, Alexandria and Assiut are in-terested in joining.

However, Manpower Minister Khaled al-Azhary, a Muslim Broth-erhood member, “is resisting the official recognition of new unions, be they independent or even state-controlled,” Hossam says.

“Very few vendors were ever in-terested in joining the state-

controlled union back in 2010. These so-called

vendors’ unions were paper-based,

not street-based unions,” he ex-plains. The indepen-

d e n t union’s objectives, Sawy says, are organizing street ven-dors, collective bargaining with the state, and designating and establish-ing markets for vendors.

“We seek to organize ourselves and stand up against the law that is being drafted against us. We won’t accept the imposition of LE5,000 fines, or the imprisonment of ven-dors for half a year,” Hossam says.

Moreover, the union will seek to set standards, and address and limit violations.

Integrating the tradeInstead of outlawing the trade, ven-dors argue the government should tax them, and are willing to cooper-ate as long as they have designated spaces to work freely.

Selling bags and luggage on the busy streets of Attaba in Cairo, Has-san Atef expresses such willingness.

“I am willing to pay rent, taxes and utilities if they [the govern-ment] would only provide me with a marketplace where I can make a living without being chased and ha-rassed by police,” Atef says.

On Azbakiya Street nearby, Ga-mal Awad, a used clothes vendor, echoes that sentiment.

“Just give me a reasonably priced and strategic spot that I can rent, even if it is only one square meter. Then I will happily pay rent and taxes, and would also like to pay in-surance for both me and my shop,” he says.

He thinks the government could reap billions annually if it would help establish such areas. But in-stead, Awad says, vendors pay thugs protection money for “the so-called ‘rent of their street.’”

Many have not managed to find another job, and for them, this is the only way to earn an honest living.

“Other than being a street vendor, what other employment opportu-nities do I have? Nothing,” cigarette vendor Mohamed al-Ruby says. “What am I to become — a pick-pocket or a swindler? I don’t have what it takes to become a criminal, nor would I like to.”■

Street vendors mull forming union to combat state crackdowns

Under Morsy, we’re still subjected to crackdowns, but there’s not as much money going around. Living expenses keep rising, and conditionsare getting worse for us

Just give me a reasonably priced and strategic spot that I can rent, even if it is only one square meter. Then I will happily pay rent and taxes, and would also like to pay insurance for both me and my shop

SMinister Ahmed Mekky has re-portedly been working on a more severe draft law that would stipu-late maximum imprisonment of six months and fines of up to LE5,000 for unlicensed street vendors.

But criminalizing street vending goes back a long way.

The law concerning crimes of street vendors, Law 33/1957, identifies a street vendor as an unlicensed trader who does not work in a fixed location or shop. This law allows such vendors to obtain licenses, yet stipu-

7News6 December 2012

Hands off

By Jano Charbel

“Don’t go there” and “Stay out for your own safety” have been the menacing messages from alarmist male protesters with which many women are welcomed into Tahrir Square, the cradle of the Egyptian revolution.

The reason: rampant cases of sexual harass-ment, assaults and even rape of women in and around the square.

Seen as a way of deterring women from par-ticipating in protests, sexual harassment has be-come a focus for activist groups, filling the gap of inaction by the state.

“Harassers are not allowed entrance” was the message hung up by some of these groups in the square. But the problem is bigger than ban-ners.

The problemTahrir, which was the focal point of the upris-ing that deposed Hosni Mubarak last year and remains a central gathering point for major pro-tests since the 25 January revolution, has been plagued with numerous incidents of sexual ha-rassment and physical assaults against women, including female protesters, journalists and passers-by.

These cases appear to be perpetrated by in-dividuals as spontaneous outbursts of mob violence, and organized harassers working in tandem to assault females in the square.

Dina Farid, founder and coordinator of the Banat Misr initiative, says “there is a concerted effort to scare away people from the square — especially female protesters.” The group has reported about a dozen cases of sexual harass-ment or assault within just three days.

“We have reported both individual [and] isolated acts of harassment and organized mob harassment,” Farid says, clarifying that mobs of harassers act in groups to encircle and assault females.

Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment Coor-dinator Aalam Wassef also suggests there is a deliberate attempt to scare women away from the square.

“Harassers are targeting women with the in-tent of making the square feel threatening and unsafe,” he says, adding that organized harassers also seek to tarnish the image of Tahrir Square.

“Some cases of harassment are spontaneous, like the everyday cases of harassment against women that take place across Egypt’s streets,” Wassef says.

However, many cases of mass harassment are attributed to “mob mentality,” or, in some cases, “mobs that work in coordination to collectively harass women.”

“In previous occupations of Tahrir Square, we’ve noticed that coordinated and organized mobs of harassers often carry weapons with them. They are quite likely paid and armed to do so,” Wassef says.

He comments that organized acts of sexual harassment or assault were utilized against protesters during the rule of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and presently under the regime of President Mohamed Morsy.

Reem Labib, another volunteer from Opera-tion Anti-Sexual Harassment, also sees a con-spiracy in the widespread harassment in Tahrir.

“Egyptian women are subjected to harass-ment on a daily basis, yet organized harassers in the square utilize violence to target not only women, but also the revolution. They use both physical and psychological violence against protesters in the square,” Labib says.

In her film “Sex Mobs and Revolution,” film-maker Ramita Navai reveals that harassers hailing from a low-income Cairo neighbor-hood were previously paid by men tied to the Mubarak regime to disrupt protests, and that they are still paid to do the same. But they re-fuse to identify who is paying them now.

Perpetrators’ use of arms is further fueling suspicion about conspiracy, while the victim can be a mother, a veiled or a conservatively dressed woman.

“Some of the [group] harassers apprehended

have been found to be carrying knives, while others have been found with drugs and pills,” says Farid.

Mohamed al-Azaly, lawyer and volunteer with Banat Misr, says that “while some have been found carrying drugs, most of the harass-ers are sober and are well aware of the acts they are committing against women.”

“It doesn’t make a difference whether a wom-an has her hair uncovered, or is wearing a hijab or even a niqab,” Azaly says. “All these women have been harassed here in the square.”

He says he had helped pull out two women donning the full face veil from a collective as-sault against them in the square.

“They were a mother and her daughter, both of whom were dressed in conservative Islamic attire, and nonetheless they were attacked,” Azaly says.

“Many of the women harassed have violently had their clothes ripped off in these assaults,” Farid adds.

SolutionsOver the course of the past week, three volun-teer groups have emerged in Tahrir to patrol and protect women and girls from sexual ha-rassment and assault in and around the square. Their work includes both prevention by moni-toring and protection by helping out victims and intercepting the attackers.

The first to make its appearance was Banat Misr Khatt Ahmar — literally translated as Egypt’s Girls Are a Red Line — which has been involved in monitoring incidents of harassment around downtown Cairo since the Eid al-Adha holiday in late October.

Banat Misr resumed its operations, this time exclusively in Tahrir, on 29 November. The group has about 30 members, including males and females, all of whom wear white T-shirts with the group’s logo clearly emblazoned on them.

There are clearly more male volunteers in this group than females. The female volunteers are said to be more involved in the counseling and psychological assistance of women subjected to harassment or assaults in the square.

Azaly explains the group’s tactics in weeding out harassers from the square.

“Together, we rush to the scene of the harass-ment. We form a cordon around the harassers and pull them out. We then take them to our

tent, where we have them call their parents, or wives if they are married, to come claim them from the square.”

Azaly adds that if the harassers do not coop-erate, they send them to Qasr al-Nil Police Sta-tion, and that most of these harassers are “either released the same day, or are held in detention for a day or two.”

“As of yet, no victims have been willing to press charges against their harassers — perhaps from fear of stigmatization, a drawn-out judicial process or other considerations,” Azaly con-cludes. “We hope that women will be willing to follow through with these legal steps against their harassers. If so, then the harassers may tru-ly be held accountable and brought to justice.”

Farid says they take photos of the perpetra-tors to identify them in the future, and to keep them away from the square, but says they have not taken down their names or personal ID in-formation.

The Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment group, also known in Arabic as Quwwa Ded al-Taharosh, made its first appearance on 30 November, when protests returned to Tahrir Square after Morsy’s controversial constitu-tional declaration, through which he claimed additional powers for himself. Mosireen, a revolutionary media collective, and other vol-unteers established the group.

Consisting of 30-some members, Opera-tion Anti-Sexual Harassment also wear white T-shirts or sweatshirts with a red logo read-ing “Against Harassment” on the front and “A Square Safe for All” on the back. It uses the same group tactics employed by Banat Misr in weeding out harassers.

Wassef says this group reported about five cases of harassment on its first day alone.

Both Banat Misr and Operation Anti-Sexual

Harassment have provided the public with so-cial networking sites and telephone hotlines through which people can report cases of ha-rassment or assault and other related informa-tion.

A third volunteer group known as Tah-rir Bodyguards could not be reached for comment. It has been reported that this group has built wooden watchtowers from which to monitor incidents of harassment within the square.

Protesters have climbed these watchtowers and protested from above, yet no volunteers could be seen on these towers.

Wassef explains that there should be wariness about the terminology in use, which reflects the depth of the problem. He explains that the word taharosh, or sexual harassment, has replaced the much milder word, mo’aksa — roughly translated as heckling or chiding — to describe “these unwelcomed actions” against women and girls.

In his group’s experience, there are several degrees of sexual harassment, ranging from ver-bal to touching or groping, stripping and other forms of violent action, as well as rape.

“Rape does not necessarily involve penetra-tion with the harassers’ genitals. Rape can be perpetrated with fingers or other objects,” Was-sef explains.

Nonetheless, many activists continue to use the term “sexual harassment” as opposed to “sexual assault,” even when describing cases where women have been physically or sexually attacked.

But other than volunteer-based initiatives to combat sexual assault, more wide-ranging ac-tivities are needed to end this plague.

Wassef thinks the state, through its Egyptian Radio and Television Union, could be the most effective in combating sexual harassment.

“If only they’d launch anti-harassment ads, public service announcements, documenta-ries and awareness-raising programs, then we would have a very effective tool with which to confront harassers,” says Wassef. “Yet the au-thorities lack the will to do so.”■

Banat Misr’s hotlines can be reachedat 012-8034-4414 or 010-1687-6333.

Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment’s hotlines can be reached at 011-5789-2357,

012-0239-0087or 010-1605-1145.

Initiatives grow fighting sexual harassment in Tahrir and elsewhere

Harassers are targeting women with theintent of making the square feel threatening and unsafe

8 Economy Briefs6 December 2012

Egypt's wheat quantities have been unaffected this year.

Lights-out law postponed A government decision to close shops at 10 pm has been postponed indefinitely. The regulation was scheduled to take effect Saturday, but unrest has prompted the government to delay its enforcement, Local Development Minister Ahmed Zaki Abdeen said Friday. An informed ministry source also told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the Cabinet is considering canceling the decision altogether over concern about public outcry and the consequences the Interior Ministry might face when police enforce the closing time. The decision was announced in Octo-ber as an energy-saving measure under the pressure of repeated power outages in many governorates, the anonymous source said, describing the decision as “not studied at all.”■

Ready for marketThe Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority said Monday that it is drafting a new law that would allow the use of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, in financing private-sector activities. The Finance Ministry is preparing a similar law for public-sector finance, the authority said. The author-ity, which supervises the non-banking sector, said the new draft includes 30 articles regulating the issuance and trading of sukuk, and expanding the scope of activities that can be financed by Islamic bonds. Finance Minister Momtaz al-Saeed said last month that the government was preparing a law that would permit the adoption of Islamic bonds.■

Wheat aplentyAbbas al-Shennawy, head of the services sector at the Agriculture Ministry, said Sunday that 1 million fed-dans, the remaining amount of wheat to be cultivated in Egypt this year according to national targets, could be planted between 1 and 20 December. As of Sunday, 2.2 million feddans have been cultivated, Shennawy told Al-Masry Al-Youm. On Saturday, a wheat supply monitoring group said Egypt has enough strategic wheat reserves to last until May. Ahmed al-Rakiaby, head of the committee and of the Holding Company for Food Industries, said wheat quan-tities have not been affected by Egypt’s ongoing political strife. He added that there are plans to increase the supply as a result of current international prices.■

Dispute resolution windfall

French invasion

The government has resolved disputes with 46 companies, gaining about LE20 billion for Egypt, Prime Minister Hes-ham Qandil said during an economic conference Monday, while adding that boosting investments and developing legislation, laws and the financial sector are at the top of the government’s priori-ties. “Democratic Egypt offers great op-portunities for investors. Now they can invest in an unprecedented atmosphere of transparency. On the other hand, there are some challenges still facing us. We are determined to face and overcome them,” Qandil said during the opening of the 16th annual African Stock Exchang-es Association conference. Two weeks ago, the government announced its plan for social and economic reform, which Qandil referenced in his speech, saying, “The program includes resolutions and other plans in consideration to deal with challenges we’ve been facing.”■

The French retailer Carrefour has begun negotiations to acquire Metro Markets Trading and Distribution, the retailer owned by the Egyptian Mansour Group. Mohanad al-Adly, director general of Metro Markets, said the negotiations are still underway, but that the deal is defi-nitely taking place. Adly told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the acquisition would include supermarket chains Metro and Kheir Zaman, which employ 6,300 work-ers nationwide. Sources at the Egyptian Council for Commercial Centers said the completion of the acquisition would mean that Carrefour’s share of the retail market, through malls and chains, would increase to more than 60 percent, point-ing out that more than 20 percent of retail sales in the domestic market are made by modern chains. The Emirati Al-Futtaim Group has the right to manage and operate Carrefour chains in most Middle Eastern and North African countries.■

Ahmed Zaki Abdeen

Saudi help

Aging bonds

Market gains despite protests

Hammered by fees

Stock indexes jumped collectively Tues-day after an intense round of purchases by foreign and Arab investors, despite the “Final Warning” marches that headed to the presidential palace to reject the constitutional declaration and the draft constitution. The main index, EGX 30, which tracks the performance of the top 30 companies, rose by 3.4 percent gaining 167 points and stopping at 4,991

points, prompted by transactions valued at LE380 million. The EGX 70, consisting of small- and medium-sized shares, rose by 2.7 percent, while the EGX 100 rose by 3.1 percent. The color green covered the trading screens again, as 143 securities rose and only 13 went down. The market capitalization gained LE8 billion, making LE347.4 billion, compared with LE339.4 billion Monday.■

The Industry and Trade Ministry is planning to raise fees on iron imports to protect local industry, Minister Hatem Saleh told Al-Masry Al-Youm Monday. Local factories suffered last year, incur-ring losses as electricity and gas prices went up. The new fees of LE300 per ton would raise the price of steel imports from LE3,900 to LE4,200 per ton.

“Competition protects consumers from price increases,” Saleh said, adding that he would not hesitate to use the antitrust law if consumers were adversely affected by the new fees. Steel traders opposed the new fees, saying it is a practice of the former regime, which at times levied such high fees that prices were pushed to as much as LE10,000.■

Prime Minister Hesham Qandil attended the final signing ceremony of three loan agreements granted to Egypt, totaling US$230 million, from the Saudi Fund for Development. The money would be put toward several development projects, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported Monday. The agreement was signed by Youssef al-Bas-sam, vice chair and managing director of the Saudi Fund for Development; Ashraf

al-Araby, planning and international coop-eration minister; and Mohamed Bahaa Ed-din, water resources and irrigation minister. The loan is likely part of a promised $1.5 billion aid package from the Gulf nation, which Egyptian leaders announced in November. Saudi Arabia’s economic invest-ments and aid to the country have picked up since President Mohamed Morsy’s visit, his first international trip, in July.■

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The Saudi Fund for Development is loaning Egypt US$230 million.

Moh

amed

Mar

ouf

Stock indexes jumped in spite of large demonstrations.

Momtaz al-Saeed

The Finance Ministry has sold LE500 million in three-year treasury bonds, due to mature on 9 October 2015, the ministry announced Monday.Bidding on seven-year treasury bonds, due to mature 13 November 2019, was canceled in Monday’s sale. The ministry posted on its website that the average cost of return for the bonds after three years is

14.113 percent, while the maximum return can reach 14.17 percent and the minimum return 13.9 percent. Based on the current year’s budget, Egypt would need to borrow LE135 billion to cover its budget deficit. Many of the new bills and bonds being sold by the Finance Ministry are generating rev-enue to pay off old government securities whose maturity is overdue.■

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9Economy6 December 2012

ised, Boamah con�rmed, as it is more focused on a country’s long-term eco-nomic health.

“We take a longer-term view,” he said. “But of course, there is a sense of urgency.”

He said the bank is also looking at giving the country a signi�cant capital increase, though it is still being ap-proved by bank o�cials.

�e development bank’s approach seems to be indicative of the bold nature of African investors, demon-strated by the delegates’ willingness to a�end the conference at Cairo’s Four Seasons Hotel in Garden City, located just meters away from where violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces took place days ago.

Unlike investors from other parts of the world, an African investor might be more accustomed to seeing business opportunity amid political chaos.

Onyema said that from what he had seen during the trip, he was optimistic about Egypt’s future.

“We’ve certainly stated our sur-prise that things aren’t as bad as they seemed in the international media,” he said. “As the political system se�les down, I think Egypt will bounce back be�er than ever.”

For some of Egypt’s funding part-ners, the current political circum-stances remain worrying.

�e Europeann Bank of Recon-struction and Development (EBRD), like the African Development Bank, has also helped consult Egyptian o�-cials on the country’s economic plan. �e bank is compelled by its laws to ensure its clients are abiding by demo-cratic principles.

“We, because we are the only [inter-national �nancial institution] that has a democracy mandate, are watching this very closely,” said Erick Berglof, chief economist at the ERBD. “We have some concerns about [Morsy’s] expansion of powers.”

Should Morsy take more authori-tarian actions, Egypt would only be playing into the negative stereotype of many African countries — of wide-spread poverty and dictatorships.

�is would run counter to Qandil’s plan for Egypt and the rest of the continent, of homegrown economic growth and a new public image for Africa.

“We should work together to change the negative perception of our communities,” Qandil told the delegates.■

Africa rising

By Maggie HydeAs Egypt struggles to recover from a period of political tumult and a two-year economic downturn, the country’s market o�cials are looking south and west to their rapidly grow-ing African neighbors to inject new capital into the market.

Amid a politically turbulent week bookended by large-scale political protests, a group of African market leaders and Egyptian o�cials gath-ered in Cairo this week to discuss how they can foster greater coop-eration between the Cairo stock ex-change and its counterparts around the continent.

“�ere’s a tendency on this conti-nent to think of FDI [foreign direct investment] as coming from outside Africa,” said Jean-Louis Ekra, chair-man and president of the African Export-Import Bank. “We need to rethink that.”

Egyptian o�cials thanked many of the African investors and market o�-cials for coming to Egypt despite the atmosphere of uncertainty.

“I thank you for your bravery in coming,” Prime Minister Hesham Qandil said in his address. “You are seeing history in the making.”

Qandil told a�endees that this week’s dra� constitution, approved by the Constituent Assembly under the auspices of President Mohamed Morsy, was “a crucial step in the dem-ocratic process,” which would be “the end of the transitional period.”

�e conference was sandwiched between two large-scale protests. On Saturday, supporters of the president gathered in front of Cairo University to demonstrate their approval of the expansion of powers and the consti-tution dra� the assembly approved the day before.

�e dra� was approved by the as-sembly in an uncharacteristic burst of productivity over three days, tak-ing place a�er the withdrawal of Christian and liberal representatives, and the passing of the consitutional declaration which had given the as-sembly an additional two months to continue the dra�ing process.

On Tuesday, the last day of the con-ference, protesters marched to the presidential palace to express their opposition to Morsy’s expanded powers and the dra� constitution.

But Qandil emphasized the relative stability of the country, saying inter-national media can o�en make events

A group of A�ican market leaders and Egyptian o�cials met to discuss economic cooperation.

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said, Nigerians were caught o� guard. “We were all surprised when the

subsidy was removed,” he said. Egypt’s government should do a

be�er job at communicating to citi-zens when, how and why subsidies are being removed, he said.

“�ere needs to be accountability,” he said. “People will then be more ac-cepting of the cuts.”

But to his knowledge, Onyema said, no Egyptian o�cials have con-sulted with Nigeria experts on the ma�er.

A long-term approach Egypt was one of the founding mem-ber countries of the African Develop-ment Bank, which was launched in 1963 to contribute to the economic development and social progress of African countries.

�e bank has helped fund some of Egypt’s extensive infrastructure and irrigation projects.

Most recently, the bank helped review the economic plan Morsy’s Cabinet submi�ed to the Interna-tional Monetary Fund two weeks ago and is one of the complemen-tary funders that will be providing the government budget support this year, Boamah con�rmed to Egypt In-dependent.

Some have speculated that Morsy’s expanded powers and the dra� con-stitution’s approval by an unrepresen-tative assembly could jeopardize the supplementary loans from various international �nancial institutions and countries that the government is expecting this year.

In a statement last week, IMF spokesperson Wafa Amr said the fund would still consider giving Egypt the planned $4.8 billion loan as long as assurances from “Egypt’s bilateral and multilateral partners regarding their expected provision of program �nancing will be forthcoming.”

�e African Development Bank, which is one of the partners, will not be withdrawing the funds it prom-

seem more widespread and danger-ous than they are. Rather, he said, it was a great time to start investing in Egypt.

“Investors can now invest with an unprecedented level of accountabil-ity and transparency,” he said.

Trajectory of growthRelying on African capital instead of European, American or Asian inves-tors would be a huge departure from Egypt’s economic policy, which is largely still tailored to a�ract mostly European foreign investors.

But it would coincide with Africa’s rapid trajectory of growth. When most of the economies around the world hit the brakes following the international �nancial crisis of 2008, many African markets continued to surge forward, experiencing growth rates of 5 or even 10 percent of gross domestic product.

“A third of African countries will grow at or above 6 percent [this year], with some of the fastest grow-ing ones buoyed by new mineral exports and by factors such as the re-turn to peace in Cote d’Ivoire, as well as strong growth in countries such as Ethiopia,” World Bank Vice Presi-dent for Africa Makhtar Diop said in an October World Bank statement. “An important indicator of how Af-rica is on the move is that investor interest in the region remains strong, with US$31 billion in foreign direct investment �ows expected this year, despite di�cult global conditions.”

How Egypt �ts into the continent’s growth is yet to be seen, but, accord-ing to an economic plan released by the Egyptian Cabinet last week, which Qandil summarized at the conference, the Egyptian economy should be experiencing a growth rate of 7 percent, on par with some of its southern neighbors, by 2022.

And more Sub-Saharan business opportunities would de�nitely help Egypt out of its �scal hole. �e Euro-pean �nancial crisis shows no signs of

le�ing up soon, and Europe’s inves-tors are unlikely to take a risk on a still-transitioning Egypt while things are less than stable at home.

“�e integration of our economies is absolutely critical,” said Charles Boamah, �nance vice president at the African Development Bank.

Mohamed Omran, executive chair-man of the Egyptian Exchange, ex-pressed the same sentiments.

“Alone we can do so li�le, together we can do so much,” he said.

African business could help �ll that vacuum, and further coopera-tion would encourage innovation, streamline production and shipping processes, which would likely lead to gains for all parties involved.

“Exchanges are driven by skills,” said Oscar Onyema, chief executive of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. “As global portfolio handlers increas-ingly allocate more funds to African markets, the more connected they are, the be�er you have the network e�ect.”

Common perilsIn addition to investments, other Af-rican markets have something very valuable to o�er Egypt: experience.

Many of the continent’s largest markets have revolutions, wars and massive transitions in their recent histories, and their market o�cials can give advice on how to minimize the impact of the transition on the economy.

South Africa, with the continent’s largest stock market by volume, went through the process of rewriting a constitution less than a decade ago. Nigeria is in the middle of li�ing its fuel subsidies, a move that Egyptian leaders have also just embarked on, with more subsidy cuts planned by the end of the �scal year.

Onyema said Egypt could learn from Nigeria’s mistakes.

When Nigeria took the �rst step toward removing their expansive fuel subsidy program last year, Onyema

Can Egypt capitalize on its neighbors’ growth?

There’s a tendency on this continent to think of foreign direct investment as coming from outside Africa. We need to rethink that

10 World Briefs6 December 2012

A new, government-friendly parliament is set to take office after elections Saturday, which saw record low turnout, Reuters reported. Participa-tion in the last three polls was about 60 percent, and on Saturday, only 40.3 percent of voters cast their votes, according to the information minis-try. More than half of the incoming 50 MPs are new to the assembly. Kuwaiti women won just three seats. The opposition had refused to partici-pate after a new voting system was put into place, which they said would prevent the majority they had in February from returning to the legislature. The opposition includes Islamists, tribal figures, leftists and liberals. The parliament can question government officials and legislate, but the emir, from the ruling Sabah family, has the final say in state matters.■

Kuwait electionRecord low turnout in Kuwait’s parliamentary elections

Build, baby, buildIn a letter to the United Nations, Pal-estinians said Israel was behaving “in a rogue, hostile and arrogant manner,” referring to the Israeli government’s decision to built 3,000 new homes for settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Reuters reported. Some 500,000 Israelis already live in the West Bank alongside 2.5 million Pales-tinians. The expansion of settlements

came after the UN General Assembly upgraded Palestine to a “non-member state” from an “observer entity.” The change in status potentially enables Palestinians to access the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes war crimes. The letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon accused Israel of planning to commit further “war crimes.” Israeli Prime Minister Benja-

min Netanyahu may have expanded settlements ahead of Israeli elections on 22 January, in an attempt to shore up support from the right, Gideon Rahat, a Hebrew University political scientist, told Reuters. Netanyahu’s biggest threat in the poll, Tzipi Livini of the centrist Kadima party, said the settlement move “isolates Israel and encourages international pressure.”■

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Ras-mussen told reporters Tuesday that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be “completely unacceptable,” and that such use would trigger an immediate reaction by the international com-munity, Reuters reported. His warning comes af-ter US government sources said intelligence sug-gested regime forces were preparing the arsenal. US President Barack Obama directly addressed

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, warning him of consequences if chemical weapons were used. Reuters reported that Western military experts said four suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria could produce mustard and sarin gas. The Syrian government has rebel advances in areas surrounding Damascus, as well as an assault on the airport that forced flights to turn around in mid-flight.■

Sunni and Alawi fighters in Lebanon’s second city, Tripoli, clashed Tuesday, killing one and wounding another three, Reuters reported, citing residents. The city has been a fault line between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime, and the tension is most pronounced in the neighboring areas of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen. Residents said that on Monday night, fighters fired rocket-propelled grenades in the neighborhoods, which are predominately Sunni and Alawi, respectively. Fighting escalated Tues-day morning after Sunni gunmen approached

Alawi shops. Further Lebanese entanglement in the war raging next door came into the limelight after Saudi pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat pub-lished an interview with a Lebanese MP, Okab Saqr. According to AFP, Saqr, who belongs to the anti-Syrian March 14 political alliance, had been implicated in arms deals to Syrian rebels in a series of wiretapped phone calls reported on by pro-regime outlets. In the interiew, Saqr confirmed that it was him in the recordings, and absolved March 14 leader Saad Hariri of any involvement in the arms deals. ■

Chemical weapons in Syria

Lebanon’s Tripoli

Bashar al-Assad

Saad Hariri

AFP

11World6 December 2012

They tell me I was born in Cairo. They say Israel is only the place where I live, and for them I am an Egyptian

a really strong force pulling me toward the place I came from, I wanted to go there and see my house,” he says excitedly.

His voice fills with frenetic energy when he re-members the temporary shift of the Israeli border.

“I wanted to take off my uniform and put on Egyptian clothes to reach Cairo. It was unbeliev-able, like a dream. I was going crazy,” he recounts, discussing a tormenting moment of being both the enemy and its adversary in a single shot.

But Cohen and his family relate to Egypt as a house of memory rather than an incubator of iden-tity.

He says he feels he belongs to the Middle Eastern region more than to a specific country.

“I have an Oriental mentality, but I cannot con-sider myself Arab. We are Jews, and this is our iden-tity. I like Arab music, the mentality and attitude, but I do not describe myself as Arab,” he explains.

Cohen does not consider himself Arab, even though he comes from an Arab country.

“For Jews today, the word Arab refers to Muslims and Christians. I have an Arab heritage, of course, but my identity is Jewish. For the moment we, the Jews, accept to be Jewish as a nationality and as a race,” he says.

He says he would not go back to live in Egypt. “It is impossible for an Israeli because no one

would rent me a flat. It’s not because I am Jewish, it is because I am an Israeli,” he says.

That said, cultural affinity with Egypt’s memory drives many of the Cohens’ daily life habits in Is-rael.

For one, they like to mingle with Israelis of Pal-estinian descent, commonly known as the Arabs of 1948.

“I used to go to Arab villages and have coffee, to chat in Arabic and feel connected to people who are similar to me in their culture and language,” ex-plains Mary.

She captures the complexity of her past in Egypt past and present in Israel.

“I love Egypt very much, even today. Now I am afraid to go there even though I really want to. My life, home and heart are in Israel, but I have strong feelings and emotions related to the memories in Egypt,” Mary Cohen points out.

Cohen’s Egyptian friends living in Cairo tell him how they feel about his identity.

“They tell me I was born in Cairo. They say Israel is only the place where I live, and for them I am an Egyptian,” he says.

His sister echoes that feeling.“Egypt is where my life began; it shaped my men-

tality and who I am. The combination of Jewish and Egyptian roots merged during my childhood. These are the Egyptian memories I carry with me,” she says.■

Between past and presentA Jewish family recounts their memory of Egypt and life in Israel

Jew hailing from Egypt, as opposed to elsewhere in the Arab world.

“Egyptian Jews consider themselves higher-class immigrants than Jews from other Arab countries. When they say they come from Egypt, you can feel the pride in their voices,” says Yuval, an Israeli with Eastern European roots.

Now that he is settled in Israel, Cohen often thinks of Egypt.

Since he left Cairo at age 14, he has visited some 30 times. In the past two years however , he has not travelled to Cairo because of the rising tensions with Israel.

“My friends are afraid to meet me, and they would certainly not travel to Tel Aviv to see me,” he says.

When he is in Egypt, he says, he feels as if he never left.

“It was as if I had stayed to live there all these years. Everything looks the same, only dirtier and more crowded,” he says, smiling.

During the 1973 war, Cohen was one of the sol-diers who came almost 100 kilometers diistance from Cairo.

“I could not believe I was so close to Cairo. I felt

I have an Oriental identity, but I cannot consider myself Arab. I like Arab music, the mentality and attitude, but I am not Arab

Cohen’s mother went from being a madame in Cairo to being a servant in Israel.

There was a sense of pride in being Egyptian Jews.

By Muriel Espositoami Cohen takes his phone out and tries to call his friend Hussein, who lives in Cairo. Hussein does not answer on his home num-ber. It is a holiday in Cairo — he is probably

out with his relatives to celebrate. Calling Cairo is an index of Cohen’s past mixed

with his present. He is an Egyptian Jew living in Israel. He was born in Egypt in 1943, in the neigh-borhood of Haret al-Yehud in Old Cairo, and like many, had to flee during war between the two countries.

“I went to school between Ataba al-Khadra [the Green Square] and Al-Azhar. Now the square is not green anymore, it’s just a square,” says Cohen, re-membering his school days. Cohen and his siblings were raised in an area where most residents were Muslim.

The former British colonial city of Aden, in to-day’s Yemen, was where his father was born. He im-migrated to Egypt at the end of the 19th century to work in the tailoring business; he passed his British citizenship on to his children while raising them in Cairo.

Zionist ideology was very much present in the Cohen family. When Cohen was a child, they would gather in front of the radio to listen to the news coming from the newly created Jewish nation. Like other Jews who resided in Arab countries, Co-hen’s family never thought of leaving Egypt despite the creation of the state of Israel.

“Despite our sense of belonging, Jewish people as a minority were always afraid in Cairo. We tried to keep quiet, not to attract attention. We were try-ing not to make noise,” he says.

After the 1956 tripartite aggression on Egypt, insults and threats to Jews became more frequent, especially in Muslim neighborhoods such as Al-Azhar, where the Cohen family used to live.

But a general resentment toward foreigners resid-ing in Egypt began to grow after 1956.

“We were not sent away or harassed because we were Jewish, but because we were foreigners. A big percentage of the Jews present in Egypt had a for-eign nationality, and consequently, many of those who became refugees were Jews,” Cohen points out. “We had Egyptian nationality, but they took it away and forced us to leave. People called us ‘Brit-ish Zionist Jews’ — it was a very hard time,” Cohen explains with a melancholic tone.

“We were given one week to leave the country. Egyptian police stayed outside our door and did not allow us to leave the house. They closed my fa-ther’s shop and put him in jail for two days,” he says.

Cohen explains how their Muslim neighbors went to the Mugamma, Cairo’s administrative hub in Tahrir Square, to try to prolong their stay.

“We stayed another two months in Cairo, then we left on a boat to England,” he says.

After disembarking in the Greek port of Piraeus, Israeli immigration officers were waiting for Jewish families.

“They asked us why we were going to London and proposed we go to Israel instead. They offered us a house and a new nationality. And we accepted,” Cohen recounts.

The arrival in Israel was shocking for the Cohen family. They all had to share one room, they had no running water or jobs, and they had left their be-longings behind.

In Egypt they were rich and part of the high so-ciety of Cairo. In Israel, they were no one — just another refugee family.

“My mother went from being a madame in Cairo to being a servant in Israel. It was a disaster,” Cohen recalls.

As his sister Mary explains, “It was too much for my father to take. The transition was a big shock. He also had diabetes. He passed away shortly after we arrived in Israel.”

For the Cohen family, the integration process into Israel was difficult. Israel was founded by Ashkenazi Jews, and there was little space for Jews from Arab countries. Cohen’s mother focused her resources into giving them a good education in Is-rael. It was the only way up for non-European im-migrants.

Meanwhile, there was a sense of pride in being a

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12 Focus File6 December 2012

Demand: Freedom and rightsArticle 4 grants Al-Azhar a consultative position after much controversy over the authority it would get in defining the prin-ciples of Sharia. The contention pertained to the fact that the principles of Sharia — which, according to Article 2, are the main source of legislation — cannot be solely de-termined by a non-elected body.

Al-Azhar’s grand sheikh is appointed from among the senior scholars of the es-tablishment, and the constitution protects his position from dismissal. Meanwhile, the fact that the article on Al-Azhar’s role and its formation remained in the chapter on general principles is still questionable, since it could have been added to the chapter on authorities and establishments.

Article 10 has been contentious, as it gives the state the power to preserve the “genuine nature” of the Egyptian family and its moral values. Article 11 further empow-ers the state to safeguard ethics and moral-ity. These articles give leeway to the state to intervene in private lives, monopolize the meaning of moral values that are naturally dynamic, and eventually turn the constitu-tion into a document of identity.

Article 35 creates an exception to ar-rest, inspection and detention by the state through a court order to cases of flagrante delicto, the definition of which remains loose. Similarly, an exception to the invio-lability of private homes is established for “cases of immediate danger and distress,” the definition of which is also vague.

Article 43 has been criticized for limit-ing the state obligation to establish places of worship to divine religions, excluding followers of other faiths that indeed exist in Egypt, such as Bahais.

Article 44, which prohibits the insulting of prophets, is seen by critics as a limitation to freedom of expression.

Article 47, which provides for access to information, restricts the realm of informa-tion to state-held information, as opposed to the private sector, for example, as Amr Gharbeia of the Egyptian Initiative for Per-sonal Rights notes. The use of terms like national security and breach of privacy, without adding a public interest overriding stipulation, is considered fair space for ille-gitimate exceptions to the right to informa-tion.

Article 48 has raised concerns over the level of exceptions to the freedom of the media. While it allows for freedom of ex-pression, it limits it to the confines of prin-ciples of state and society, national security and public duties, among other things. The spirit of limitations is extended to Article 49, which imposes legal regulation over the establishment of radio stations, television broadcasting and digital media, as opposed to the establishment of printing presses, which only requires notification.

Article 53 limits the representation of trade unions to one union per profession,

which counters the ongoing surge in inde-pendent unions established in parallel to of-ficial ones, which have been criticized for being controlled by the state.

Article 56 does not grant an automatic right for Egyptians abroad to participate in elections, as it is limited by legal regulation.

Article 70 prohibits child labor before passing the age of compulsory education in jobs not fit for their age. The two-pronged limitations of this article are that it would seem to lower the age of adulthood to 12, while it is 18 in different Egyptian laws, and that it would open up the possibility of child labor as long as the job fits his or her age, as opposed to categorically prohibiting it.

The age of children is not determined any-where in the Constitution — even in other stipulations pertaining to children.

Article 76 raises concerns because the constitution is deemed a reference for pe-nalizing crime, as opposed to solely the Pe-nal Code, which may be conducive to the use of the principles of Sharia in deciding the penalty.

Article 81 of the chapter on guarantees on freedom and rights limits the definition of freedoms and rights to the principles es-tablished in the first section of the consti-tution, titled “The State and Society.” This section is marred with terminology deemed elusive, and its articles establish the state’s authority to intervene in private lives on the basis of its responsibility to preserve moral-ity.

Article 145 prohibits the ratification of any treaty if it contradicts the provisions of the Constitution. This raises concerns about treaties already ratified by Egypt, de-spite lobbying by organizations such as Hu-man Rights Watch to stipulate the incorpo-ration of ratified treaties into Egyptian law.

Article 199 empowers the police to pre-serve public morality, which could poten-tially conflict with liberties.

Article 215 establishes the National Me-dia Council, the responsibilities of which include the preservation of “societal prin-ciples and constructive values,” besides its mandate to ensure the freedom of the media. Again, the elusiveness of notions of values and principles raise concerns about how they may act as limitations to freedom of expression.

Article 219 has raised eyebrows and is widely described as the constitution’s compromise to the long debate over Sharia stipulations in the constitution. The article specifies the principles of Sharia and its jur-isprudential and fundamental basis as being enshrined in Sunni schools of thought, or madhabs, adding additional limitations to the rather elusive Article 2, which gener-ally sets Sharia principles as the source of legislation.

Demand: Social justiceArticle 14 limits the stipulation on a maxi-mum national wage by stating that exemp-

A revolution’s contract?The draft constitution contains more controversies than promises

By Lina Attalah

fter long hours of article-by-article voting on the Egyp-tian constitution by the Constituent Assembly, the draft was passed in the early hours of 30 November. The draft

was then submitted the next day to President Mohamed Morsy, who announced that it would be put to a referendum on 15 De-cember.

As the standoff escalates between secular and civil groups on the one hand and the presidency with its supporters on the other, the conditions under which the referendum will be held remain unclear.

The draft itself follows a tumultuous and unresolved writ-ing process, with many non-Islamist members of the assembly quitting in objection to the non-representative nature of the document. More than 22 members of the 100-strong assembly

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13Focus File6 December 2012

tions would be regulated by the law. Economist Ahmed al-Naggar also charges

the article with not setting a standard re-lation between minimum and maximum wage. He critiques it for stipulating that wages should be connected to productivity, when productivity is also controlled by such factors as modern equipment, over which a worker should not be held responsible.

Naggar also criticizes Article 15 stipulat-ing social justice in the context of agricul-tural land ownership, because it does not set a ceiling to how much agricultural land one can own. These limitations seem to be glossed over amid wide belief that the con-stitution has some favorable allocations for both farmers and workers.

Article 26 is charged with leaving the identity of the taxation system deliberately elusive, and not setting up general prin-ciples pertaining to the connection of taxes to income.

Article 18 stipulating that natural re-sources belong to the people is equally criti-cised by Naggar for being vague about the revenues of natural resources like oil and natural gas.

Alternatively, Naggar explains that the constitution should stipulate that revenues coming out of these resources go into na-tional projects that raise the gross domestic product and per capita income.

Demand: Limiting executive and presi-dential powersArticle 93 gives the president and the Cabi-net the right to demand the secrecy of cer-tain parliamentary sessions, which are oth-erwise required to be open sessions. While the article says the assembly decides on whether the demand will be met, it doesn’t specify how this decision will come about, raising fears about executive interference in the legislative branch of government.

Article 104, which explains the dynamics of lawmaking between the Parliament and the president, is generally criticized for not empowering Parliament to overturn a presi-dential veto on laws by limiting the vote on the vetoed law by a two-thirds majority, and for not being a simple majority.

Article 105, which allocates for MPs’ rights to address questions and receive an-swers from the prime minister and Cabinet ministers, does not specify mechanisms and deadlines for the process. Similarly, Article 109, which gives citizens the right to ad-dress complaints to the Cabinet through Parliament, also does not specifically out-line the process through which they can do so.

Article 114 establishes a minimum num-ber of members for the House of Represen-tatives, but does not establish a maximum number, which is criticized as possible manipulation by the president’s party. The same criticism, voiced by political analysts with the think tank Democracy Reporting International, is leveled at Article 128, per-

A revolution’s contract?The draft constitution contains more controversies than promises

withdrew, including church representatives and liberal and left-leaning party figures, among others.

Several of the articles passed have been a matter of contention, raising concerns among experts in the corresponding fields. Egypt Independent spent some time deciphering the different disputed parts of the draft, and found that many of the essential demands and aspirations of the 25 January revolution are not met through this contract.

In sum, the current draft is criticized for not bearing enough safeguards to uphold freedoms, bestowing too many authorities upon the president in a way that disrupts the division of pow-ers and does not provide for the much-hoped-for independence of the judiciary, nor the end of the military’s exceptional status. Limitations are often spelled out through elusive terminology or through the use of legal regulation to determine a right with-out specifying enough balancing acts in the draft.

taining to a minimum number of members in the Shura Council.

Article 139 threatens the House of Rep-resentatives within Parliament with disso-lution if it fails to approve on the Cabinet platform presented by the president. The president would have to appoint another prime minister from the party with the most representation in the House of Rep-resentatives if the first Cabinet’s platform is rejected.

In case the second one is rejected as well, the People’s Assembly would choose a prime minister within 30 days; if it fails to do so, it gets dissolved. The threat of disso-lution is seen by analysts such as those with Democracy Reporting International as po-tentially pressuring the house into accept-ing the Cabinet platform.

Article 202 expands the powers of the president by giving him the power to ap-point the heads of independent authorities and monitoring bodies, which is considered executive control.

Demand: No special treatment for the militaryArticle 197, which establishes the National Defense Council in which the military bud-get is discussed, does not expand upon the process of majority voting that will guide the council’s decisions. This is particularly relevant given the formation of the council, which consists of seven civilian members, while the other eight members are from the military, giving it the majority by default.

Article 198 raised eyebrows after exten-sive campaigning against the trial of civil-ians before military courts. The article es-tablishes the possibility of trying civilians before military courts if the crime “harms the Armed Forces,” the definition of which is left to the law.

Demand: The independence of the judi-ciaryArticle 171 creates an exception to the openness of court sessions by stipulating that the court might render a session closed to preserve “morals and public order.”

Article 176 vaguely states that “the law” would govern the appointment of the head and judges of the Supreme Constitutional Court, but also leaves open the possibil-ity of non-judicial authorities appointing them. Similarly, Article 187 leaves gover-nors’ selection to the law, not resolving the question of whether they would be appoint-ed or elected.

Article 231 reverses the previous SCC ruling on the unconstitutionality of the elections law, which stipulated that two-thirds of Parliament members are elected through electoral lists, while one-third of seats are reserved for independent candi-dates. A similar reversal is also established in Article 232, which reinstates the Politi-cal Isolation Law for former regime figures, which was previously reversed by the SCC.■

14 Opinion6 December 2012

What’s behind Israel’s Pillar of Defense? By Mohamed Hosny

ow that it has ended with a truce, maybe it’s time to understand the logic behind Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense.

In fact, the operation elicits more questions than answers. The besieged Gaza Strip is too weak to pose a threat to Israel. Reports pro-duced by Israel’s security agency, Shin Bet, point out that more than 160 missiles launched from Gaza in October barely injured two Israelis and three foreign workers. So why did Israel need this war?

In January, the Israeli foreign ministry said the political stalemate would trigger a third uprising, whether that was incited by the Palestinian Au-thority or not. Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Min-ister Ehud Barak warned of the repercussions of stalled negotiations.

Fearing an imminent uprising, the Israeli army called for increasing the number of work permits granted to Palestinians who work in Israel, but the government did not respond adequately.

Gaza has become a problem for Israel, which has to allow the entry of international assistance and perhaps make further concessions. Ehud Eilam, an expert on Israeli national security, says Israel should support Hamas even at the security level to be able to stand in the face of other factions and prevent a possible popular uprising.

Hence came the last military operation.The goal of the operation is to impose new con-

ditions for negotiations. Cello Rosenberg wrote in Israeli daily Ma’ariv that the battle will only come to a decisive end at the negotiating table. He ar-gued that a logical initiative proposed by Israel would guarantee a long-term truce and would be well-received by Egypt and Arab countries.

If the negotiating table is the objective behind the military operation, then there is no partner other than Hamas, at least in Gaza, and there is no broker better than Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

Shlomi Eldar, Israeli Channel 10’s Arab affairs specialist, says Hamas is satisfied to be in power and has left other factions to carry out limited and calculated operations. He thinks Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh is pragmatic, and even his strong-man, Ahmed al-Jabari — the Hamas military chief who was killed by Israel at the start of the recent

campaign — opened dialogue with Israelis under Egyptian sponsorship.

Meanwhile, Egypt under Brotherhood rule has become an important player, particularly for Israel.

Yehuda Belinga, a specialist in Egyptian and Syr-ian affairs at Bar-Ilan University, has said, “From his position of authority, [President Mohamed] Morsy sees what he never saw from any other,” adding that “even if Morsy gave fiery statements, he would still keep contact with Israelis and pres-sure Hamas to push for a cease-fire.” And that was exactly what happened.

The Israeli military operation cost a lot. The di-rect cost of the war is estimated at 3 billion shek-els. The cost of building one iron dome is US$200 billion, and there are plans to have 13 of those built. The cost of a fighter jet is $15,000 per hour. The cost of deploying 40,000 reserve soldiers is $760,000.

Furthermore, the operation’s indirect costs in-clude the losses incurred by southern towns — which were estimated at $20 million in five days — lost tourist arrivals and compensation the Is-raeli government is expected to pay to Israelis.

The war has also caused the stock market to go down. Experts say uncertainty about the future is prompting investors to leave, and the value of the shekel to drop.

Despite all this, Israel launched its offensive without hesitation. This is because, from the Israe-

li ruling establishment’s point of view, the strategic benefits of war are much higher than the econom-ic losses. The US also accepts the same logic.

It is no secret that assistance from the US helped launch the high-cost military operation. Israeli intelligence sources say Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched National Secu-rity Adviser Yaakov Amidror to Washington on 9 November, where he met Tom Donilon, the US president’s national security adviser.

Amidror was given the green light to strike Hamas, provided he coordinated with the White House at the military and political levels.

The simple reason for US encouragement to Is-rael is that the operation would pile indirect pres-sure on Iran and would be cheaper for the US than launching its own operation.

Another, less strategic factor played a role in launching Pillar of Defense. It’s that Netanyahu wished to win votes, as he thought a successful short operation would secure more votes for Li-kud and the nationalist right-wing party Yisrael Beiteinu.

The same scenario has been repeated several times, the last of which was peration Cast Lead. At the time, Ehud Olmert, former prime minister, miscalculated his moves, allowing others to take over.

However, Ma’ariv columnist Amon Lord thinks Netanyahu and Barak have managed the situation well, for they have given everyone the impression that they are seeking appeasement, all while not allowing Hamas to escalate. And the whole story ended within a few days with a truce.

Operation Pillar of Defense testifies to Israel’s main strategy toward Gaza: deterrence, through short, calculated, periodic wars. This is a strategy of failure. It only defers the explosion.

A third intifada is on the agenda. Nobody knows when and how. But it can safely be said that the current situation is inherently unstable and unsus-tainable. ■

Mohamed Hosny is a writer and researcherspecializing in Israeli history and politics.

He is a PhD candidate at Ain Shams University. This piece was translated by Dina Zafer.

From the Israeli ruling establishment’s point of view, the strategic benefits of war are much higher than the economic losses

The elephant in the room By Amr Adly he state has been suffering a chronic

fiscal crisis at least since the mid-1990s. Following a brief period of monetary and fiscal discipline under

the aegis of the International Monetary Fund stabilization package, the budget deficit started to pick up. Egypt’s structural problem had to do with declining revenue as a percentage of the gross domestic product versus increasing ex-penses.

Ousted President Hosni Mubarak could man-age this crisis through heavy domestic borrow-ing.

However, two years of political turmoil that appears to be ongoing have turned many of the country’s chronic and long-term problems into pressing and urgent ones that need to be treated sooner rather than later.

One may safely state that the current situation is similar to that of the late 1980s. A large budget deficit, an enormous public debt and a serious shortage of foreign currency, together with a de-teriorating balance of payment, are issues now, as they were then .

One single difference stands out, which is that the bulk of Egypt’s current debt is domestic rather than external. Another important differ-ence is that Egypt won’t be bailed out this time, as it was in 1990, when the Paris Club arrange-ment relieved Mubarak of 50 percent of external debt.

Similar to the earlier crisis, the IMF rides to the rescue with a loan, this time of US$4.8 bil-lion. An initial agreement was concluded more than two weeks ago, and a final one is expected to be signed and ratified by President Mohamed Morsy, who happens to hold both legislative and executive powers.

The president is set to conclude the loan agreement this month, and the first tranche is expected to be released in January. The govern-ment seems to be in a rush. Contrary to what seemed to be the original plan, the president did not wait for the election of a parliament.

Last year, deficit mounted to more than 11 percent of the GDP, which is alarming. The current fiscal year is expected to end up with a deficit that ranges between LE170 billion and LE200 billion, or 13–14 percent of the GDP.

Hence, it seems that the government could no longer wait for the next fiscal year to take action, as that would have meant a bigger defi-cit and thus tougher economic measures in the following year. According to the brief program recently released by the government, auster-ity measures are likely to ensue as of January, in the form of slashing energy subsidies and raising revenues via further taxation — mainly indirectly, through the imposition of a value added tax.

The part on currency devaluation is also ambiguous. The IMF statement held that the exchange rate policy should be managed in a way that supports export competitiveness and foreign reserve accumulation. Both goals can only be served through devaluing the pound, as already declared by the IMF in more than one instance.

Accordingly, it appears that the fiscal crisis has proven to be too urgent to wait for any political maneuvers related to the constitutional draft or the parliamentary elections, and that is why the president has decided to bear the risk of taking the austerity measures in the immediate term.

The big question is whether the nascent politi-cal system can support such measures. Egypt is

going through tumultuous times, the security apparatus is in shambles, social and economic protest did not cease after Morsy was sworn in, and the political scene is characterized by deep divisions and mutual mistrust.

Liberalizing energy prices, devaluing the pound and imposing indirect taxes are all mea-sures that will force the broadest base of Egyp-tians to pay the whole cost of the economy’s readjustment. Such measures will by no means be popular, and are likely to lead to the eruption of riots, given the rising trend of social protest, the recurrent violent outbursts and the political opportunism of the opposition.

The president has neither a carrot nor a stick. The new leadership has inherited an empty trea-sury in a way that renders the delivery of side payments impossible in the short term. To the contrary, the government is more likely to take from ordinary Egyptians, than give.

As for repression, it does not seem to be a ten-able option, given the problems that the police still face and the army’s aloofness toward the Brotherhood. Meanwhile, the way the constitu-tion drafting has been handled so far does not indicate that any consensus building over the tough fiscal and economic measures will be hap-pening any time soon.

The economy is indeed the elephant in the room. Given the fragility of the political regime and its inability to tackle the country’s pressing problems, the recent unraveling of state finances will possibly trigger a chain reaction that may re-shape the political arena altogether.■

Amr Adly is director of the Social and Economic

Justice Unit at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. He has a PhD in political economy.

The president has neither a carrot nor a stick. He has inherited an empty treasury. The government is more likely to take from ordinary Egyptians than give

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15Opinion6 December 2012

After Morsy delivered his decree, numerous political groups called for protests in Tahrir. Going through the throngs of crowds that had descended upon Tahrir and around it, it struck me: None of it had to happen

By Paul Sedrahe lines are now drawn. Five months ago, when Mohamed Morsy presented him-self to Tahrir as a revolutionary, there was still room to conceive that he might take

up the principles for which hundreds of Egyptians had given their lives since 25 January 2011 — bread, freedom and social justice.

When he claimed that he was an Egyptian just like the Egyptians in the square, and that he derived his authority only from the people, there was still room to conceive that Egypt was finally on a starkly different path from that of the prior 60 years.

At that time, back in June, the president was given a remarkable opportunity. Despite the enormous challenges that the country faced and still faces, not least in the economic sphere, he had received a mandate from the people — the first democratic mandate that Egyptians have had the opportunity to deliver in their lifetimes.

With this mandate, he was empowered not merely to appoint a new government, but in an im-portant sense, to forge a new polity — to cultivate, alongside Egyptians, a new relationship between the people and the political realm.

Much to his credit, the president succeeded in largely extricating the military from governance and thus fulfilling one of the central demands of the revolution. This was substantive change, and a stark reversal of course for a government that had, for 60 years, remained led by military men.

One can well understand the frustrations that the president faced in dealing with the courts. In particular, the decision of the Supreme Constitu-tional Court to dissolve Egypt’s first democratically elected parliament seemed regressive in the face of the movement toward popular sovereignty.

That the court was populated by appointees from former President Hosni Mubarak’s era hardly gave one confidence that the best interests of revolution-ary Egypt motivated the decision.

Further, the failure of the prosecutor general and

this past week. Despite the fact that the revolution seems forever on the president’s lips, the principles of the revolution weigh very little on his decision making. In handing down his constitutional dec-laration, the president professed that he sought merely to “protect” the revolution.

But of course, in making his rule immune to oversight from all who might challenge and criti-cize him, he made himself no less a dictator than Mubarak was.

The president insisted that the declaration was only a temporary measure. And we have now dis-covered why: The Constituent Assembly would press ahead to pass the existing draft constitution, approving article after article with each passing minute.

This draft constitution, written behind closed doors with the input of scarcely the 100 members of the assembly, let alone the millions of Egyptians who made the revolution, would be presented to the nation as a fait accompli. And the president would stake his reputation on the document, de-claring that if Egyptians rejected the constitution in the referendum he had set for 15 December, this would constitute a rejection of his rule.

The lines are now drawn. Five months ago, Morsy presented himself to Tahrir as a revolutionary. Now, we know better.

Now we know that he is not committed to the change that millions of Egyptians demanded in the revolution. Now we know that his idea of sov-ereignty is much like Mubarak’s, and a world away from the truly popular sovereignty of which he spoke on 29 June.

The only way to redeem this constitution-writing process is to vote “no.” The only way to make this constitution-writing process worthy of the revolu-tion that made it possible is to vote “no.”■

Paul Sedra is an associate professor of history atSimon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.

Redeeming the revolution

It does not have to be like thisess than two weeks ago, President Mo-hamed Morsy issued a decree that made his decisions immune from judicial over-sight. The decree also protected the Con-

stituent Assembly from being disbanded by the judiciary.

In so doing, he set in motion a political po-larization that is expected to only deepen in the coming days. With an impending referendum on a draft constitution that was rushed through in a matter of hours, that polarization is set to be with Egyptians for a very long time to come — but it does not have to be that way.

Outside observers wonder: What happened? Two years ago, Egyptians from all walks of life and backgrounds protested together in Tahrir Square to bring down then-President Hosni Mubarak. Over the past two weeks, many of those same Egyptians were in that same square, but the target of their protests is aimed at someone who repre-sents a lot of other people who were also in that square over the 18 days. What happened?

Bringing down Hosni Mubarak, it seems, was the easy part. Building a national project that could tie society at large together, bridge over gaps and prevent widespread polarization — that is a lot harder. And really no one in Egyptian po-litical leadership has developed such a project.

There could have been one. The same forces that called for people to descend to Tahrir to protest Morsy’s decree could have easily been partners in an effort to manifest his intention to cleanse the judicial system from regime holdouts. But they weren’t. Why?

It is, unfortunately, all too simple. The Muslim Brotherhood remembers decades of persecu-tion and oppression within Egypt. The last two weeks has shown them only one thing: Opposi-tion to the Brotherhood is at best misguided, and, at worst, is motivated by a desire to roll back the clock, annul presidential elections, install Mubarak’s prime minister Ahmed Shafiq as presi-dent, and persecute the Brotherhood again.

That sense of historical memory and concern overwhelms any impulse to build consensus —

By H.A. Hellyer

Now we know that Morsy is not committed to the change that millions of Egyptians demanded in the revolution. Now we know that his idea of sovereignty is much like Mubarak’s

regrettably, at a time when Egypt’s transition needs it more than ever.

For the opponents of Morsy, the world looks somewhat different. Yes, there are plenty of peo-ple who oppose him because he is a member of the Islamist movement. Indeed, there are many in the square who were opposed or indifferent to the revolution, and supported Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq. Undeniably, there are elements of the “deep state” that have a pro-Mubarak agenda, so one needn’t think such ele-ments exist only in Morsy’s imagination.

But it’s not all about reactionary anti-Islamism. Many within Egypt’s opposition not only voted for Morsy in the presidential election for the sake of the continuation of the revolution, but indeed, many of them defended the Brotherhood under Mubarak. Such people have little to do with “rem-nant figures of the former regime” — it is because of that staunch revolutionary attitude that such figures dared not enter, and others were cast out by the square.

For these revolutionaries, Morsy may very well do objectively good things without judicial over-sight, but his powers in this regard are still be-yond the norms of democratic process, and they

are bound by principle to oppose those powers. Again, it did not need to be like this. To carry

out this decree, for example, Morsy might have developed a consensus with other political groups, but he did not have consensus from even within his own Cabinet.

Instead, he seems to have viewed the move as a necessary, almost existential move to defend himself, and in such a struggle, building consen-sus is hardly a priority.

The distrust and paranoia does not end with the decree, unfortunately. Morsy decided to push through a draft constitution in response to the protests, the idea being that once the draft was passed in a referendum, Morsy’s extra-presiden-tial powers would be relinquished.

His opponents, however, only viewed the move as even more illegitimate than the decree. An as-sembly that was overwhelmingly Islamist has rushed through a document in a matter of hours to a referendum. That document, if it passes, will define Egypt’s political rules for a long time.

Again, it did not need to be like this. The Con-stituent Assembly could have been more repre-sentative. Morsy could have brought together other political groups, or even just the other for-mer presidential candidates, other than Shafiq.

They could have formed an assembly that was far more representative of Egyptian society, to-gether, and in so doing, created a process that all Egyptians had a stake in.

There is a way out of this. The Brotherhood might win a referendum on the constitution, and consider it a victory not only for the draft, but for Morsy’s decree and his presidency thus far. But such a victory would come at a cost, for the para-noia and distrust would not simply remain, but increase exponentially.

None of that is to the benefit of Egypt’s transi-tion — it only makes it more precarious. There is another way. It does not have to be like this.■

H.A. Hellyer is nonresident fellowat the Brookings Institution and Institution

for Social Policy and Understanding.

T the judicial system as a whole to deliver what the families of the revolution’s martyrs could regard as justice only heightened these frustrations.

Nevertheless, in spite of the apparent resistance from the courts, and in spite of the skeptics who doubted the Muslim Brotherhood’s capacity to rule, the all-important opportunity to forge a new polity remained, and there was no venue more im-portant to this task than the Constituent Assembly.

In contrast to Egypt’s past constitutions, drafted behind closed doors to contain rather than pro-mote political participation, this was a constitution that might finally have meaning and impact.

But rather than foster a national dialogue about the central issues this constitution would address — the bounds of Egyptian citizenship, for instance — debate was vouchsafed exclusively to the mem-bers of the assembly.

Leaks and rumors emerged at times from the deliberations, but there was no sustained effort to engage Egyptians about what they wanted in their constitution.

As a result, in the place of a potentially trans-formative and indeed revolutionary constitution-drafting project, Egyptians were left as spectators of a process that remained deliberately opaque throughout.

If the president indeed believed he was an Egyp-tian like all the rest who were in Tahrir on 29 June, when he took his memorable symbolic oath of of-fice, and if he believed the people were the only source of sovereignty in Egypt, one wonders why he failed to spearhead this national dialogue him-self. Why not lead Egypt through a constitution-writing process that would transform the country as much as the revolution had — a process that would value the contributions not merely of the “expert” or the “technocrat,” but of the countless Egyptians who had confronted Mubarak in the streets in January and February 2011?

Regrettably, we got the answer to this question

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16 Environment6 December 2012

In Brief

By Rana Khaledfter decades of drought and high temperatures, Gebel Elba National Park witnessed, for the first

time in its history, hail precipita-tion that covered its desert plain last week.

Some researchers argue that this new phenomenon raises an important climate change mes-sage, posing a challenge for ecolo-gists and meteorologists.

Hail is a form of precipitation that falls from the sky as pellets of ice, ranging in size from pea-sized to the size of grapefruits in the most extreme cases.

Gebel Elba National Park stretches from 50 kilometers north of Shalateen all the way south to the Sudanese border, and extends westward roughly 100 ki-lometers into the Eastern Desert.

Ali Hamed, one of Gebel Elba’s leading researchers who moni-tored the hail, says the area suf-fered from drought for over 20 years, which led to the displace-ment of large numbers of animal species, including tigers, and threatened the region’s plant life.

“The ice pellets covered more than half a [kilometer] in Aicuan Valley in the southwest of Halaib, whereas smaller quantities fell in scattered areas in Marquan and Al-Shalal valleys,” he says. “The hail precipitation damaged the tree leaves and the grass, and broke shrub branches in the area. In addition, about 20 goats and sheep died as a result of this unex-pected weather.”

Hamed stresses that the park administration, in coordination with the social affairs and local

Understanding the reasons be-hind it would, he says, help un-derstand how it will affect the weather during the coming years.

“We can’t judge anything now,” he says. “As a part of our program for studying Gebel Elba’s climate through monitoring rains and weather temperatures, the hail-fall case was recorded as a ‘phe-nomenon’ that we plan to moni-tor and study.”

In his opinion, the hail high-lights the need to shift attention in the discourse on climate change from northern to southern Egypt.

“Most studies on climate change only focus on the Delta region, although Egypt’s south needs to be monitored closely as well. In the past, we used to have savannah forests in the south, but over time, climate change has turned them to dry deserts,” Ghazali explains.

He says he hopes the hail sig-nals the end of extensive drought periods in the Eastern Desert.

“I hope that it indicates the comeback of rainy weather that might turn the area into green pastures, as it used to be,” he says.■

Hail in Gebel Elba surprises rangers, expertsA

Hail covered the desert plain last week for the first time in its history.

Most studies on climate change only focus on the Delta region, although Egypt’s south needs to be monitored closely as well. In the past, we used to have savannah forests in the south, but over time, climate change has turned them to dry deserts

Ali

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Fathy al-Shazly, director of the North Coast Central Demining Unit of the Planning and International Cooperation Ministry, an-nounced that mines had been removed from 21,500 acres of land in El-Alamein, out of a total 190,000 acres that should be cleared at

a later stage. The governor of Matrouh, Gen-eral Ahmed Helmy, submitted a proposal to allocate 3,050 acres of the land cleared to establishing an international medical center treating people injured by landmines in the governorate.■

Cleaning up GizaGiza Governor Ali Abdel Rahman announced his plan to improve the governorate sanitation system by building two new intermediate waste treatment facilities in Marioteya and Gezira al-Warraq, on about 4,200 square meters of land. Both stations will be environmentally certified, he said, and will gather, compress and weigh waste before sending it to the Shabramant landfills, in cooperation with the Environment Ministry. In addition, he said the garbage-filled areas under the Marioteya and Oraby bridges are to be turned into green spaces.■

More mines have been removed from Egypt’s northwest coast.

New clean-up initiatives.

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Millions for Sinai CanalThe Salam Canal will have the capacity to ir-rigate 400,000 acres of land in North Sinai by 2015, Water Resources and Irrigation Min-ister Mohamed Bahaa Eddin said. This will

contribute to improving the exploitation and management of water resources, increasing agricultural production and accelerating Sinai development by creating investment opportu-

nities. At the end of his visit, Bahaa Eddin an-nounced that his ministry had allocated LE384 million for digging wells, building reservoirs and completing the canal infrastructure.■

Demining El-Alamein

Pilot projectfor pollutionAyman Abdel Moneim, Health Ministry under-secretary in Monufiya, announced that the gover-norate was selected to im-plement an integrated anti-pollution program. The project is planned to be generalized for the rest of the governorates after eval-uation of this pilot project. An extensive meeting was held between the Health Ministry Central Depart-ment for Preventive Affairs and Endemic Diseases and representatives from development, agriculture and veterinary authorities to lay the foundations for cooperating and finding solutions for eliminating various pollution sources. These range from garbage, rodents and pesticides to water pollutants, whether invasive crustaceans or aquatic plants.■

administration, intend to com-pensate for all the damages and provide help for those who were affected by the hail.

Usama Ghazali, former head ranger of Gebel Elba National Park, asserts that this curious case deserves to be studied in depth.

17Environment6 December 2012

By Justin Shilad

he Middle East and North Africa region would seem to naturally ben-efit from a large-scale push toward renewable energy infrastructure.

Egypt in particular was hit hard by power outages during the past summer, while fuel subsidies eat up large chunks of the budget.

The Desertec Industrial Initiative is at-tempts to develop renewable energy in the region through a far-reaching project to turn local countries into energy exporters.

Yet the project still seems to be try-ing to find its footing, as major indus-trial backers recently withdrew their support, and governments remain skit-tish about spending money to develop solar and wind plants in other countries. Meanwhile, other renewable energy projects have taken a more piecemeal and grassroots approach to renewable energy development. But this also highlights the lack of action on the part of authorities in the region.

Both approaches, different as they may be, point to a significant question: Is renewable energy development in the region feasible without a long-term vision and significant investment from local governments?

Today North Africa, tomorrow Europe?Desertec CEO Paul Van Son says the proj-ect — initially involving Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and several European countries — envisions regional countries building wind and solar energy infrastructure to meet their own energy needs, and produc-ing enough to export to Europe as well. Egypt was also slated to have a key role in the project, though thus far its involvement has not extended beyond the planning phase. But the project appears to be stumbling. The BBC reported on 19 November that two ma-jor industrial backers, Siemens and Bosch, were pulling out, and the same report also said the Spanish government had refused to sign an agreement to build solar energy plants in Morocco.

According to Reuters, Bosch said that “eco-nomic conditions [do] not allow a continua-tion of its membership.”

Van Son says Siemens’ withdrawal is a re-sult of them getting out of the solar energy business altogether, describing the current

climate as “very tough.” Siemens could not be reached for comment, though a Reuters report confirms that Siemens is indeed exit-ing the solar industry.

But such obstacles have not stopped the project from at least initially getting off the ground in North Africa, Van Son says.

“Each country is just starting. it’s about three years into the project, and we’re seeing different implementations in the countries,” he says. “Morocco was the first — they’re currently building wind and solar plants.”

He adds that the project has been “taking off ” in Algeria as well, where new facilities are quickly being built.

Van Son also says the project is now more focused on North African countries’ domes-tic energy needs as well. He acknowledges that countries in North Africa would have to make significant investments.

“For Spain, there would be no costs in-curred,” he says. “For North African govern-ments, it would depend on the types of proj-ect they had and their energy needs.”

The most important thing for North Afri-can governments to do is to build, maintain and operate the systems, Van Son says.

“We also foresee a lot of split-off local in-dustries devoted to maintaining and devel-

oping the equipment, and this will require more education and training of labor,” he adds.

For Van Son, the payoff from educating and training workers for these new industries outweighs the potentially steep up-front in-vestments.

“We definitely see this as a major source of new employment in the future,” he says. And Van Son is also undeterred either by the pullout of Siemens and Bosch, or the reluc-tance of European governments to sign on to the project.

“Partners in our initiative come and go. We regret these companies [leaving] us, [but] it has no impact on our work, which is en-abling a market for renewable energy from the deserts of MENA,” he says.

A ‘granulated’ approachAhmed Zahran, head of the Egypt-based so-lar energy firm KarmSolar, is wary of the size and scope of Desertec’s approach.

“I think it’s better to start with small, granu-lated projects rather than big mega projects,” he says.

Zahran also has his own take on industrial backers pulling out of the project.

“I don’t know why Siemens pulled out, but it’s not insider information. Any company doesn’t want to spend a lot of money on something that doesn’t bring in any income,” he says.

Zahran goes on to cite a rash of short-comings with the project, but he takes issue with its entire approach in trying to make North African countries energy exporters. “The kind of project you need has to meet lo-cal needs. You can’t create a project that only benefits neighboring countries,” he says.

Zahran instead advocates a “disconnected development” approach. KarmSolar is de-veloping small-scale solar energy projects

off-grid. “We believe it is this kind of projects that

will spur renewable energy development,” he explains.

Zahran says that most economic develop-ment in Egypt is happening in the tourism and agricultural sectors, and much of this de-velopment is also happening off-grid, which itself is dependent on gas and diesel fuel.

KarmSolar’s approach is based on the as-sumption that the Egyptian government does not have the resources or the compe-tence to adequately develop renewable en-ergy infrastructure.

“[The government] never takes serious initiatives in trying to develop renewable energy infrastructures. They only develop a couple of wind farms solely based on grants,” he says.

Even developing a wind farm is an exercise in frustration, Zahran says. “You have to go through the New and Re-newable Energy Authority. You can only get premium land through NREA, but right now NREA does not have the legal structure to get land to private investors.”

So while KarmSolar approach may seem more focused and in tune with lo-cal needs than that of Desertec, it also shows that a successful renewable energy project seems to need to have as little to do with local governments as possible. “If you are dependent on government pro-cesses and structures being resolved, you just have to wait,” he says.

Different approaches, same problemThe varied approaches that Desertec and KarmSolar take are an indicator of how much untapped renewable energy potential there is within the region. Local energy needs are acute, and large-scale projects depending on government agreements and major backers seem to be a risky bet.

Yet the more focused approach of Karm-Solar also indirectly highlights how local governments have largely abdicated their role in developing solar infrastructure. Developing renewable energy in the region requires significant investment and a long-term, innovative vision. But with the current political instability and economic clouds over the region, both of these are in short supply.■

Falling off the gridCan local and regional projectshelp renewable energy go mainstream?

T Is renewable energydevelopment in the region feasible without along-term vision andsignificant investment from local governments?

Local energy needs are acute, and large-scaleprojects depending on government agreements and major backers seem to be a risky bet

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18 Culture6 December 2012

Sometimes deliberate mysteriousness makes the viewer feel like the artist is putting you in your place

In ‘17 and in AUC,’ a soundproof room of aone-waymirror was constructed for a performance in which, for 14 evenings, Khan reminiscedabout being a student atuniversity

Navigating Hassan Khan’s survey at SALTAn epic mystery, with clues

By Jenifer EvansSTANBUL — Artist, musi-cian and writer Hassan Khan’s selected survey exhibition at SALT is like a mystery scat-

tered with various cryptic clues. It feels like a frustrating but at times very intriguing epic mystery written by someone with a strong sense of wonderment and curios-ity about what on earth he might come up with next.

“Chapter II” (2007) appears to be the first page of the second chapter of a rather worn book, and was perhaps originally made for Swiss art institution Shedhalle. The page starts with an autobiographi-cal anecdote and ends with a cut-off sentence: “I knew that my narra-tive for the Shedhalle piece was on its way; the striving for a moment, a flicker that takes itself outside of constraints the moment that is be-yond translation that lies bey-”.

Khan’s works are characterized by an idiosyncratic internal logic, the presence of which you can feel, but whose details you can only guess at. On the one hand, the process of making the work feels impor-tant because it is often hinted at — through autobiographical elements and explanatory texts in the work, and labels next to it. On the other hand, the process is obscured, and it seems the artist wants the work to stand alone — so the viewer may feel frustrated at not being able to figure out how the work ended up looking like it does.

The 52-minute, four-channel vid-eo installation “The Hidden Loca-tion” (2004) is set mainly in Cairo (where the artist lives and works) and shot in a low-budget documen-tary style.

In one of the work’s very di-verse parts, a man acts the role of a misogynistic insurance sales-man interacting with people. In another, Khan interviews a friend about class and kitschy furniture. In a third, young people appear to undergo corporate training. In a fourth, container ships slowly move into the frame and out the other side.

The whole piece was shaped, ap-parently, by rules the artist devised, and the label says that the “hid-den location” is to be found at the points in between each part.

Sometimes deliberate mystery makes the viewer feel like the art-ist is putting you in your place. It also means the work is difficult to criticize: For all you know, it could be perfect.

In “17 and in AUC” (2003), a soundproof room of a one-way mirror was constructed for a per-formance in which, for 14 evenings, Khan reminisced about being a stu-dent at the American University in Cairo.

In another work, two pieces of paper of the same size and shape are pinned to the wall, one above the other. The lower piece is white except for a single stamped sen-tence in red ink explaining the crowded image above: “I scanned all 271 printed illustrations in the 1981 edition of The Hamlyn Chil-dren’s History of the World, which I had owned since I was 8, and then used Photoshop to make one com-posite image.”

In “Photographs of statues

owned by the artist,” large framed photographs of antique-looking statues Khan had since he was 14 have had their shadows removed. The piece was made in 2010, but the word “artist” in the title, the blurb says, was struck through in early 2012. This decision is, again, pointed to, but not explained.

The effect of these semi-auto-biographical works is one of self-aware, paranoid narcissism playful-ly complicated by alienating rules and withholding information. The book version of “17 and in AUC,” a transcription of everything he said in the performance, is almost impossible to read because there is no punctuation.

Certain works that deal with Egypt but are not obviously auto-biographical include some that are gripping or emotive, where your thwarted curiosity about how and why the work was made is over-shadowed by the impact of the final product.

In two, Egyptian music plays an important role. One of these, “Jewel” (2010), has met enormous enthusiasm, having been shown in several places in Europe and the US.

The video starts with blue glit-terings in the dark, out of which a fish, shaking like a belly dancer’s cleavage, crystallizes into a pattern of lights on a rotating speaker. The rest of the film consists of a pan out from this speaker, in front of which two men, looking at each other, dance nonstop to celebratory Up-per Egyptian mizmar music with a powerful electronic beat laid over it.

One is an unshaven middle-aged man wearing a leather jacket over a large untucked white shirt, and the

other is younger and clean-shaven, wearing crisp but cheap-looking smart clothes. Both are unnaturally intent, never tempted to smile or look at their (invisible) audience.

In “Jewel,” the enigmatic quality of Khan’s work becomes something emotional, dark and mysterious, al-most spiritual. Dance scenes can offer a fantasy element to the audi-ence.

At SALT, people could be seen moving quickly toward the sound of the video with smiles of antici-pation. But the work is tragic as well as exuberant.

In “The Twist,” a work from 2011, five quite quiet, nostalgic short stories center around protagonists who each have something special about them — you feel they could have been or were once great — but are overwhelmed by lost glory,

disappointment or failure. There are also 10 objects, which the artist had made in Egypt and which also contain a beauty combined with roughness and uselessness.

At SALT, the texts were written in large letters high on the wall, with the objects below on a shelf, but there is a also a book version called “The Agreement,” which al-lows you to read the texts more comfortably and privately, and makes the relationships between specific texts and objects closer.

All the works in the exhibi-tion are meticulously presented. In “Chapter II,” for example, the framed page is lit by a projected rectangle of light exactly the same size as the frame. With “Jewel,” the huge carpeted room in which the video is shown looks a lot like the room in which it was shot, and the wall behind the dancers has the same dimensions as the screen, which in turn is similar to the wall behind the screen.

The growing greenish spot of light on the men in the video is echoed by the screen’s glow in the room. All of this helps give the

work a cohesive, inevitable feel. And the sound system is fantastic.

Unlike any of the galleries in Cairo, SALT is massive, and there’s a lot of money behind it. The re-sulting polish and spaciousness framing the works gives them an authority and status that exhibition spaces in Cairo cannot provide.

Accompanying the sense of cu-riosity about himself in Khan’s work is a sense that he consciously makes his production appear well-established and self-reliant.

In “Evidence of Evidence I” (2010), 26 details from his previ-ous works are reproduced as grainy, black-and-white, handmade inta-glio prints. They look like they are from some old textbook, and this shift in medium historicizes the de-tails, fixes them in your mind.

“Banque Bannister” (2010) is a freestanding copy of an oversized, ornate brass bannister that is in front of Banque Misr in Cairo. Its label says it was the bannister’s “confident aesthetic” that attracted Khan’s interest, and that the copy “defies structural logic, floating in-dependently, refusing to acknowl-edge the laws of gravity.”

Aspiring artists could learn from Khan. You can make a work of art using any system you want to set up, based on any notion, however whimsical. You can stubbornly avoid trying to please the audi-ence. The process may sometimes be more interesting than the end product, but on the other hand, the end product might be great.

These factors are what can make contemporary art exciting. Giving your work a confident aesthetic is key to convincing your audience not to dismiss it.

It would be nice if some of these works could be shown in Egypt, partly because they are interest-ing and difficult, and in some cases great. There are a couple of works that I would like to show to my hus-band, because he thinks contem-porary art is rubbish, but he can’t leave the country.■

“Jewel” (2010) is among Khan’s more accessible works, drawing an ever-growing audience at exhibitions.

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In “The Twist” (2011), each object corresponds to a story.

19Culture6 December 2012

Bands to watch

By Maha ElNabawi

It’s easy for underground musicians to feel misunderstood in Egypt — and especially so if you’re a female, ex-heavy metal drum-mer who is dedicated to creating a unique hybrid of Arabic, indie pop-rock music that’s void of explicit politics.

Known mostly for her brief stint in the all-female heavy metal band Mascara, and her off- and on-screen contributions to Ahmad Abdalla’s documentary-styled film “Micro-phone,” Maii Waleed may just be one of the more exciting talents in the sounds of Egypt’s underground.

In short, Waleed’s sound reflects a whim-sical journey into the many melancholies faced by Egypt’s modern-day youth. Her lyrical content seems to heavily draw from autobiographical romantic turbulence or various existential crises, making her music perfect for those many pontificating loners.

Waleed’s first foray into music was at the age of 15 in her native town of Alexandria. After dabbling with piano, choir and a mu-sical poetry group in high school, Waleed eventually found herself veering away from an institutionalized musical education, and taking up instead a more do-it-yourself ap-proach to making music.

“I took some piano lessons as a kid, but quickly realized that I preferred learning music on my own in a way that could fit with my interests,” explains Waleed. “I started by writing lyrics when I was 16, and then began teaching myself the guitar — I wanted to be on my own, rather than relying on other people to play the chords properly, or wait-ing around to see if they are in the mood or not.”

By the time Waleed was 17, she began joining and forming several bands with oth-er friends within Alexandria’s emerging un-derground music scene in the early 2000s. This list of bands includes Nail Polish, Grin, Sameka, Telepoetic and the more widely known ensemble Mascara.

While in Mascara, Waleed played the drums and keyboard, and was also a lead vocalist, but eventually left the band in 2008 due to creative differences, thus beginning her solo career.

Singing predominately in Arabic, Waleed’s music has also been used in the soundtracks of short films such as Emad Maher’s “Neon Lamp” and Islam Kamal’s “Shali,” in addition to Abdalla’s “Microphone.”

“Working on ‘Microphone’ was an inter-esting experience because I worked both on camera and as an assistant director,” says Waleed. “Mascara was featured prominently in the film, and at the time, their bassist, Perry Moataz, was unavailable, so I acted in her place.”

Later in the film, Waleed also appears as

herself in an interview with the smarmy state employee. In this scene, as part of her bid to obtain a permit to perform in a government-backed concert, she performs a version of her song “Trash and Nostalgia” on the ukulele.

But Abdalla was not the only one to catch wind of Waleed’s talents; along the way, she was introduced to the venerable Lebanese musician and producer Zeid Hamdan, who expressed interest in her music. In 2010, Waleed was invited to participate in the an-nual Red Bull Music Academy in Beirut, and it was then that she and Hamdan began lay-

ing down the foundation for her debut EP.“I wanted to work with Hamdan because

he has a very open and unique approach to music. He is highly professional, but at the same time, he makes the entire process fun,” explains Waleed. “I always had the fear of get-ting serious about something I did for fun and never thought I would take my music professionally, but Hamdan has such a great understanding of what underground music really is, and how to properly position your music and image — so it was very easy to work with him.”

The album is tentatively scheduled to drop

before January 2013 under Hamdan’s label Lebanese Underground, and promises to offer a fresh take on Arab collaborations within the indie-pop subgenre.

In the past year, Waleed has released sev-eral self-produced tracks on SoundCloud, an online audio distribution platform. Her music is something of an overlooked gem, but that is often the case for those musicians working to create new subgenres, particu-larly in Egypt, where your standard Tamer Hosny pop ballads still rein king.

Her stream-of-consciousness narratives seem to be guided by an emotional imme-diacy, whether it is butterflies or heartache, social commentary or metaphysical conun-drums. In “Trash and Nostalgia,” Waleed’s sonorous, yet gentle voice glides beautifully within a soft drum line, and a basic guitar riff — but what stands out is the panning tech-nique used on the vocals, which allows her voice to softly wave in and out throughout the song.

“The sound I find myself going for usually evokes a spacey sort of atmosphere — now I like to blend the vocals with the music, rath-er than having the vocals overtop the music. Basically, I’m learning to treat my voice as an instrument,” explains Waleed.

Her melodic sensibility, mixed with the vocal and guitar doubling, is quite a rarity among other female Egyptian singers, who rarely deviate from the classical Arabic reg-istrar and Oriental sound. Her dream-like song titled “Monday” pulls directly at the heart of anyone who has ever felt the painful confusions of a relationship nearing its end.

Earlier this year, Waleed created and re-leased her first music video with the help of her friend and fellow musician, Moataz, who plays bass guitar in the song. The black-and-white, split-screen video reflects Waleed’s free spirited, pop-rock nature as she dances along to the visually evocative lyrics.

While Waleed’s music continues to garner a digital following, she still faces challenges when it comes to live performances, stating, “I struggle to play live shows here [in Egypt] because the audience often has a hard time accepting something new or different — most still do not know how to appreciate new music that doesn’t include a big show and dance within the performance. But I remain hopeful as the scene and audience continue to grow.”

Regardless, Waleed is certainly turning heads and ears as she continues to develop her musical career. Unlike many of her peers, Waleed’s music has a sound entirely her own — her music is fantastically origi-nal, but at the same time, her often vague or melancholic lyrics and dream-pop sensibil-ity are the perfect example of just how well Western sounds can fuse with Egyptian sen-timents.■

Maii Waleed introduces Arabic dream pop

Waleed’s melodic sensibility, her careful choice of lyrics and musical beats are quite a rarity among female Egyptian singers.

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I always had the fear of getting serious about something I did for fun and never thought I would take my music professionally

A dash of culture■Two Ptolemaic statues discovered in FayoumAntiquities Minister Mohamed Ibra-him Ali announced Monday the dis-covery of two unique sandstone statues carved in the shape of lions at the an-cient Ptolemaic city of Dimeh al-Sabaa (Dimeh of the Lions) in Fayoum. The statues were found by an Italian expe-dition from the University of Salento, Lecce, and are believed to have been used to decorate the top of temples the same way the Greeks and Romans dec-orated their temples in Upper Egypt. The statues are about 1.6 meters long,

0.9 meters deep and 0.8 meters high, with detailed features of a lion’s head and body.

■Artists boycott Cairo Film FestivalSeveral Egyptian filmmakers an-nounced over the past week that they would boycott the 35th Cairo Inter-national Film Festival. Wael Omar, di-rector of the documentary “In Search of Sand and Oil,” withdrew from the festival. They intend to protest the bru-tality with which security forces dealt with protesters in clashes around Tahrir Square during demonstrations com-

memorating the Mohamed Mahmoud martyrs, who died in clashes around the downtown street last year. They are also protesting the constitutional dec-laration issued by President Mohamed Morsy on 22 November. Others, such as award-winning filmmaker Ahmad Abdalla and director Omar El-Zohairy objected to the Culture Ministry’s he-gemony over this year’s edition despite a recent decision to give civil society organizations a greater role, as well as to continued practices of focusing on big names rather than offering a platform for experimental filmmakers.■Wael Omar’s film “In Search of Sand and Oil”.

20 Life & Society6 December 2012

Irada wall artModernizing Islamic art for your home

By Heba Helmyor the team at Irada, it’s all about adding that spiritual touch. Through Islamic art inspired wall decals quot-

ing verses from the Quran, the Hadith and Islamic poetry, they hope to bring a little of the divine into ordinary homes, office spac-es and even mosques.

“We noticed that most decora-tions in residences focused on being a type of artwork, modern or classic, but not enough on how to really create a kind of art that served its purpose — day in and day out. What we found in many traditional Islamic art pieces is that — despite their beauty and elegance — most quickly reced-ed to the background and were usually ignored by most after the initial viewings,” says Besim Bruncaj, Irada marketing and art director.

“How often do you stop and re-flect on the artwork in your home after the initial week or two after purchasing?” he asks. “What we found was that the answer for most was ‘once in a blue moon.’”

Modern art, he says, tends to be a bit bolder and can attract atten-tion day after day, but most pieces are created by artists untrained in the classical tradition, and who lack the skill to create beautifully balanced artwork.

“Anyone who compares books of modern Arab and Islamic art with books of classical art from the periods of classical Islamic civilizations will quickly notice a lack of the divine presence in the work as most modern artwork lack the elegance, grace, form, rhythm, proportion, balance and other classical principles of rich Islamic art,” Bruncaj says.

Irada seeks to combine the best of both worlds: the beauty of clas-sic Islamic art with the bold maj-esty of most modern art. The wall decals are made of a special kind of vinyl adhesive that is incredibly thin, with a matte texture. The cal-ligraphy appears as if it painted directly on the wall, but can in fact be removed without damag-ing the paint.

Irada, based in Jordan, was of-ficially launched one year after composing small-scale artwork in 2009.

Bruncaj and his team made their first wall art for a summer study program at the offices of SunniPath. Bruncaj then started collecting ideas, when a friend, Abdel Rahman Ashraf, persuaded him to collaborate to establish the company. Since its establishment in late 2010, they have slowly built up a catalog, and improving business operations.

Before deciding on a name for the project, they did extensively research, looking for a word that reflected the message they want-ed to convey through their work.

“We chose the word Irada be-cause it means to strive for some-thing one desires or wants. Or, in a spiritual context, it is about striving for the divine. So, it in-dicates what we are after — art-work that redirects one’s purpose

but Islamic quotes might make some non-Muslims customers feel uncomfortable,” he says.

If it is for your own interior de-sign decision, however, 52-year-old Omima Hazem believes that the decals would act as a gentle reminder of her religious beliefs.

“Most people are used to hang-ing Quranic verses on the walls of a home. So, introducing the idea in innovative styles would surely provide a sense of tranquility and look attractive as well,” she says.

Though the company is located in Jordan, Irada welcomes orders from around the globe.

In an attempt to widen its cus-tomer base, Irada is looking into displaying in galleries and poten-tially opening up stores within the next two years.

“For the time being, we have opened up options for wholesale as a first step, until we are ready for opening up stores, but most likely we will just set up some franchises in different countries,” Bruncaj says.

“We are passionate about our artwork and still have quite a number of pieces we feel need to be completed before we turn our energies to marketing. We are driven by the concept that in today’s world, focusing on excel-lence in your products is the only way to true, long-term growth.”

A vast majority of Irada’s cus-tomers come from the US, UK, Canada, and Singapore, Ashraf says, pointing out that these are also countries with a large base of online Muslim shoppers.

After achieving success abroad, Irada is taking the next step to en-hance its status in the Middle East market, including Egypt.

“We are now slowly expanding to the Middle East market and Egypt is definitely a country that we would love to spread our art-work to, especially with the grow-ing interest in religion nowadays,” Ashraf says.■

knowledge from others.Wall stickers for Islamic occa-

sions, including Ramadan and other holidays, are also produced by the company. Since these art-works are seasonal, customers are recommended to place them on a canvas, so that they can take them down and put them back up.

Mostafa Sabry, an owner of a household appliance store, ex-presses his interest in the holiday-themed decals, but has some con-cerns over Quranic verses.

“Ramadan and Eid decals give a pleasant atmosphere to the place,

Despite its special emphasis on Islamic-themed artwork, Ira-da makes a variety of different themed artworks for customiza-tion production, as they receive requests from non-Muslims as well. The team is currently work-ing on a calligraphy piece for a Christian family that moved abroad and wants all of their names in one artwork for their home. Another piece, designed for the Cambridge Inter-faith Program’s office, features a Jew-ish, Christian, and Islamic quote pertaining to taking wisdom and

and increases one’s yearning to be with Allah,” Ashraf explains.

Irada’s most in-demand themes, according to Bruncaj, tend to be the same kind that Muslims have conventionally looked for to adorn their homes. He gives as an example “Ayat al-Kursi” (the verse of the throne), and the fatiha, “In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate.”

Kufic and Thuluth script are the two most popular calligraphic forms. But there is a wide array of other script styles, designed in Arabic or English in various sizes and created by a team of calligra-phers, artists, illustrators and de-signers.

Tailor-made designs are also provided for customers, but that requires a longer waiting period to obtain a unique artwork. Al-though the custom designs are much pricier — since the com-pany has to recover all of its costs in a single sale — many custom-ers choose this option because they want a specific saying or an original design. Ashraf counts a custom six verses from “Surat al-Nour” (the verse of light), which was designed for a mosque in the US, among the company’s most distinguished orders.

Irada seeks tocombine the best of both worlds: the beauty ofclassic Islamic art with the bold majesty of most modern art

The wall decals often feature quotations from the Quran, Hadith and poetry.

Irada combines classic Islamic art with modern art.

Irada’s wall art seeks to inspire spiritual thinking.

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21Life & Society6 December 2012

Voices from the couchCairenes get up and head out to the streets

They look so fresh, like we did back in January, but it’s good to add numbers. We’ve lost a lot of people because the process has taken so long and has been so depressing

By Nevine El Shabrawyezb al-Kanaba, or the so-called “Couch Party,” refers to the silent majority of Egyptians — those sit-ting on their couches, the churning

Tahrir Square roundabout lit on a screen in front of them, leftover dinner on the table.

It seemed that almost the entire country was couch-ridden until only two years ago, but this revolution has brought “Couch Party” members off of their cushions and onto the the city’s streets. It is their participation in the protests against President Mohamed Morsy’s most recent constitutional declaration that has been most visible, as their lifestyles threat-ened, they come out in droves.

“I only came out to Tahrir this year,” says Ibrahim al-Sayed, 34, who thinks the enemy has become clearer. “I couldn’t really relate in January 2011 because I believed that the regime had taken things too far, but that the extent of the protests was extreme.”

Sayed spent the night in Tahrir Square Fri-day night and just stopped by home to change before heading back.

But not all of the kanaba folk are in support of the changes that Egypt has undergone in the past two years.

“If only I had gotten up to say my opinion,” says Karim, 56, “maybe someone would have listened and realized that trusting the Muslim Brotherhood was a bad idea.”

But learning to speak up and believe you can make a difference takes a mind shift.

Amira Saber, a psychotherapist and child psychologist, says the kind of passive aggres-siveness rampant in Egyptian culture comes from inherited and ingrained suppression.

“Our parents were suppressed, and we act

that way too, even if we’ve had the freedom to express ourselves,” Saber explains.

“We’ve really come together this time around,” says Samira Hashem, with a crowd of young, college-aged youths around her.

Hashem explains that last year she was in school, and leaving the “kanaba” wasn’t even an option. “I kept hearing that people would go out and lie to their parents, but my parents are too strict — they would have known.”

The couch-folk of Zamalek headed out in

full force recently, with designer bags and large sunglasses, but thankfully opted for flats instead of heels. All the same, they received a good welcome from the activists who have called Tahrir Square home for the past two years. Some, however amongst those reflected on their unease at the fact that their long-standing activism is now associated with the silent majority, who may well not share the same politics.

“I felt right at home on Friday the 23rd,” says

HPakinam Samir, referring to demonstrations the day after Morsy’s constitutional declara-tion. “We arrived with a group and stayed for hours listening to speakers and reading signs.”

Samir thinks it was the president’s usurpa-tion of power that really added to everyone’s drive to hit the streets.

“It’s strange to see these people here,” says Amir Seif, a Tahrir Square regular who braved the Qasr al-Nil Bridge on 28 January and has scars on his arm from the Mohamed Mah-moud Street clashes last November. “They look so fresh, like we did back in January, but it’s good to add numbers. We’ve lost a lot of people because the process has taken so long and has been so depressing.”

But not everyone has made it off the couch. “It’s hard to head out in full force when you

have children,” says Riham Salah. “I’m afraid I’ll get arrested — then who will take my kids to school the next day?”

“I can’t leave my children,” says Noura Sa-bry. “But I try to do my part in the streets by responding to harassers and cops when they step out of line.” Sabry is vocal on Facebook, and goes to Tahrir Square when the violence has ceased.

For others, the issue is the videos of harass-ment on YouTube — women being almost stripped down by a group of guys rumored to be standing near Hardee’s.

“My husband passed through Tahrir Square the other night and had to join with a group of men to rescue a woman who was being stripped,” says Salah.

“Just the idea that Hezb al-Kanaba is a hezb is enough,” says Sabry. “A party of people who fight their battles on Facebook, over coffee at the club and in the streets of their everyday lives are still fighters.”■

22 Travel6 December 2012

South AfricaThe magic of safari

By Amany Aly Shawkyside from the busy streets of Cape Town and the hustle and bustle of Jo-hannesburg, South Africa

has a different face to show to ad-venture lovers and safari buffs. Up north near Nelspruit, on the border with Mozambique, lies Kruger National Park and Sabi Sand Game Reserve, nature’s gift to humanity.

The scenery in this heavenly part of earth is breathtaking. Hun-dreds of acres of manmade forests and Jacaranda trees, with their vibrant lilac flowers, decorate the roads. A 100-square-kilometers home for all types of grazers, predators, birds, and reptiles, Sabi Sand offers a less restric-tive environment for thrill lovers than Kruger. Uncovered cars are allowed entry, and vehicles are not restricted to the roads and can venture into the bush, unlike Kruger, which has more restric-tive rules.

Both parks have a wide range of affordable camps and luxury lodges, such as Imbali Safari Lodge in Kruger, Rhino Post, Hamilton Tented Camp, Jock Sa-fari Lodge, and the very touristy Kruger Camp Lodge. As for Sabi, visitors can stay at Sabi Sabi, El-ephant Plains Lodge, Tydon Tent-ed Camp, Nottens Bush Reserve, Leadwood Lodge, and Savanna Game Lodge. A night might cost up to 18,000 rand (LE6,000).

In both reserves, the day starts around 5 am with a morning safari that takes three to four hours. At that time of day, grazers like impa-las, kudus, bushbucks and water-bucks are in plain view. On a lucky day, you may stumble upon a herd

of cats wandering around looking for breakfast. Giraffes, monkeys and baboons can be easily spot-ted during the wee hours of the morning.

Elephants are at ease and fairly mobile, especially on the main roads. Although rarely violent, males can be quite destructive when in must, the mating period. During an elephant charge, one must look at the ears. If they are flapping outwards, there’s no need to worry; just stand still until the animal walks away. But, if the ears are pressed against the animal’s head, the behavior is certainly aggressive, and one must flee im-

mediately.Cats are different, and rarely at-

tack vehicles. “For a cat, the pas-sengers are part of the vehicle and the car is not food,” says Lyam, a ranger at Tydon Camp. However, at all times passengers should re-main seated inside the vehicle.

“A standing passenger will be automatically read by the animal as a threat and the possibility of an attack may rise,” adds the 26-year-old ranger.

The second safari of the day starts at 4 pm and ends around 7 pm. The night drive gives the pas-

sengers the chance to see noctur-nal animals such as wild rabbits, impalas, giraffes, and possibly leopards, although the big cats are elusive and rarely spotted in the open. Hyenas are more active at night and are usually spotted wan-dering alone, looking for food. Many lodges and camps arrange “sundowners” for their guests, a small picnic with drinks for guests to enjoy during sunset.

Many tourists opt for a bush walk. The bush walk is a chance to get closer to the animals but — of course — the risk is greater, and an armed ranger accompanies walkers at all times. These are usu-ally arranged in advance and take place early in the morning.

Camping is also an activity of choice for safari-goers. At Kruger, camping is available throughout the park, and campers can hike around freely to get a better feel of the wildlife. But, these camping trips are usually fully booked at least a couple of years ahead.

For those staying in South Af-rican lodges and camps, dinner is served around 8 pm. South Afri-can food is superb, and the meat is juicy, tender and flavorful. Bo-botie is a national dish, and in-cludes meat, vegetables and nuts. South African stew is usually con-sumed at the end of the week and contains chopped meat, zucchini, carrot, potatoes and sweet potato. The dish takes about three hours to cook, and is usually prepared by the man of the house. Chutney and garlic bread are famous South African side dishes.

All camp and lodge residents are advised to walk around with flash-lights after sunset, as scorpions may be on the loose. Flip-flops are not advised.■

Many tourists opt for a bush walk. The bush walk is a chance to get closer to the animals but the risk is greater, and an armed ranger accompanies walkers at all times

By Amany Aly Shawkymhlanga Rocks Holi-day Resort is a small village 15 minutes from Durban Airport on

the east coast of South Africa. Umhlanga is known for its long promenade, lighthouse and modern-looking pier.

The name means “place of reed” in the Zulu language. The small village is known for its sugar cane fields; in the 19th century, the British brought in a work force from India to work in the fields, resulting in a large Indian population in the area.

Options for accommodation range from apartments and luxury hotels, to bed and break-fasts and self-catering lodges. Marine Drive is full of options, including the Beverly Hills Ho-tel, Cabana Beach Hotel, Oyster Box and Termok Marine Hotel. For restaurants and cafés, head

to Chartwell Drive, where Bar-Ba-Coa offers the best steak in town. For fish, Cape Town Fish Market in Gateway Mall is the place to go. Ocean Basket offers fish with the flavorsome tastes of India, and is highly recom-mended. For junk food, Wimpy and KFC are the only options available. For Indian cuisine head to Kashmir, but be careful, as the food is very spicy.

The small village has the big-gest shopping center in the East Coast. Gateway, a pleasant mall full of South African brands, furniture outlets and lavish res-taurants. End your shopping spree and head to Tasha’s for a quick savory bite. The show at the Barnyard Theater, inside Gateway, starts at 8 pm. There the musicals are exciting and the setting is original and com-fortable, and be sure to order a drink and a light meal while you enjoy the show.■

Postcard from Umhlanga RocksThe jewel of the sugar coast

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If an elephant’s ears are flapping, they may come towards you but are not meaning to charge.

The Oyster Box Hotel is located near the lighthouse.

Grazers like zebras can be seen out in the morning.

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23Listings6 December 2012

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appropriation of artists as cata-lysts for urban regeneration by real-estate developers seeking future gentrification. Panelists include filmmaker and Cimate-que co-founder Tamer El Said, artist and founding member of the Contemporary Image Collective Heba Farid, and the CEO of Al-Ismaelia Real Estate Investments Karim Shafei.

8 December, 6 – 9 pmGoethe Institut Kairo 5 Bustan St., Downtown, Cairo02-2575-9877www.goethe.de/kairo

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Special Focus on PhotoCairo 5 ‘More out of curiosity than conviction’Curated by the Contemporary Image Collective, PhotoCairo returns in its fifth edition with a large-scale contemporary art project in downtown Cairo that explores the notion of paradigm shift, as well as an exciting program of events. ■ ExhibitionThis year’s exhibit involves international and local, emerging and established artists, who explore the ability of art to trigger affective responses within the viewer.The exhibition continues until 17 Decem-berTownhouse GalleryHussein al-Ma’mar Pasha St., off Mah-moud Basiony St., Downtown, Cairo02-2576-8086www.thetownhousegallery.comContemporary Image Collective22 Abdel Khalek Tharwat St., Downtown, Cairo

010-1173-8115www.ciccairo.comMahmoud Basiony shopfrontMahmoud Basiony St., Downtown, Cairo

■ The Edge of The ImageThis screening and discussions program curated by Tamer El Said observes filmmakers’ attempts to deal with the technological transitions of the medium throughout the history of cinematic language. On 6 December, Youssef Cha-hine’s 1970 “The Choice” will be shown. And after the weekend “Summer 70” by Nagy Shaker and Paolo Isaja (1970) will

be screened on on 9 December followed by a discussion with the director. Said Marzouq’s 1971 “My Wife and the Dog” will be shown on 10 December, and a version of the same film accompanied by a new live soundtrack composed by Mahmoud Refaat will be shown on 11 December. This will be followed by an open discussion titled “How do we use the image?”6, 9 – 11 December, 8 pmCimateque19A Adly St., 5th floor, Apt. 28, Down-town, Cairo2395-1386, 010-0027-7964

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First ever translation slam

‘The End’

‘Instant Like Nescafe’

Pioneered by PEN, Cairo is host-ing its first ever English-Arabic translation slam, where esteemed translators Adam Talib and Randa Abu Bakr will take on the task of translating the same text and discussing it with the audience.

7 December, 3:30 pmBritish Council in Egypt192 El Nil St., Agouza, Giza021-9789

Screened as part of the 35th Cairo International Film Festival, “The End” is set in Casablanca in July 1999 and explores the uncertainty among young Moroccans about their country’s future when long-time monarch Hassan II was on his deathbed.

6 December, 1:30 pmCreativity Center TheaterCairo Opera House Grounds, Gezira Borg, Zamalek, Cairo02-2737-0603, 02-2735-0911www.cairoopera.org

This familial autobiographical book by Zeinab Atik consists of 100 tales that have been picked from a lifetime spent with chil-dren and grandchildren.

9 December, 7 pmDiwan Bookstore159, 26th of July St., Zamalek, Cairo02-2736-2582www.diwanegypt.com/en

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‘On Photography’

Artists as urban catalysts in downtown Cairo

This interactive exhibit is an exploration of the history of studio photographic practice in Egypt. Tributes to well-known and forgot-ten photographers are exhibited alongside oral histories describing the practices of some of the “Last Studios.” The state of the profes-sion will be discussed through the juxtaposition of these works with that of contemporary practitioners and artists. Questions of tech-nique, style and the market will be explored through the forms and mediums of the works. Viewers are also invited to participate in the production of photographs through the “Living Studio,” a working photographic studio that hosts invited practitioners.

Until 16 DecemberStudio Viennoise7 Champollion St., Downtown, Cairo010-2036-4646

This panel discussion explores the role that artists and arts organizations are playing in the development of down-town Cairo through a direct dialogue between representa-tives of Al-Ismaelia Real Estate Investments, The American University in Cairo, artists and cultural organizations. The panel re-examines the classic

‘Invisible Hands’

Alexandria Streets Project: Cairo Remix

In their debut public perfor-mance, this new band from Cairo presents a unique brand of folk psychedelic rock, sung in Arabic and English. The band members include Alan Bishop, Cherif El-Masri and Aya Hemeda.

6 December, 8:30 pmAl-Nahda Association for Culture and Science15 Maharany St., off Ramsis St., Fagalla, Cairo02-2592-0909www.elnahda.org

Sound artists and curators Berit Schuck and Julia Tieke pres-ent a sonic map of Alexandria, remixed by Cairo-based artist Ismail Hosny. The map was created as part of the Alexan-dria Streets Project and blends electronic music with a selection of short audio pieces.

8 December, 8 pm100Copies Music Space22 Talaat Harb St., Downtown, Cairo010-0059-2998, 02-773-8760www.100copies.com

‘A Handel Evening’

The Cairo Choral Society is led by John Baboukis, director of the music program at the American University in Cairo. It will give a performance titled “A Handel Evening” with pieces by George Frideric Handel including Water Music, Chandos Anthems 4, 6 and 11, and Hallelujah.

6 December, 8 pmAll Saints Cathedral5 Micheal Lotfallah St., Zamalek, Cairo02-2738-0829

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