Egypt topped developing countries in arms imports in 2015 - Sisi continues to squander national budget

Mada Masr
US report: Egypt topped developing countries in arms imports in 2015

December 27, 2016

 
Egypt imported US$5.3 billion worth of arms in 2015, more than any other developing country, according to a report released this month by Congressional Research Service, a public policy research arm of the United States Congress.

Egypt also came second among developing countries in 2015 arms transfer agreements — agreements that were signed but not necessarily delivered — signing agreements worth $11.9 billion. Qatar ranked first, with agreements worth $17.5 billion.

According to the report, which traces arms sales to developing nations between 2008 and 2015, Egypt signed arms transfers agreements totaling $30 billion, coming third after Saudi Arabia and India.

Egypt ranked sixth among developing countries in total arms transfers agreements between 2008 and 2011, worth $8.6 billion. The US was the biggest arms exporter to Egypt in this period, with 79 percent of total arms transfer agreements, followed by China then Russia.

In the same period, Egypt’s actual arms imports reached $5 billion, the fifth largest among developing countries. Between 2012 and 2015, Egypt ranked fourth in arms imports at a total of $9.8 billion, preceded by Saudi, India and Iraq. The report indicates that Egypt’s arms transfer agreements for this period reached $21.5 billion.

Western European countries and Russia were major arms exporters to Egypt in this period, with 43 percent of agreements respectively, then came the US with 6 percent.

The report revealed that US and Russia were major arms exporters to developing countries in the period between 2012 and 2015, with 81 percent of the total arms transfer agreements.

In 2015 only, Qatar topped the developing nations signing arms transfer agreements with $17.5 billion, followed by Egypt with $11.9 billion, Saudi with $8.6 billion, then South Korea with $5.4 billion.

Arms transfer agreements signed by Egypt in 2015 represented 15 percent of total agreements signed worldwide, which reached $80 billion, according to the report.

But the database of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has shown that Egypt’s arms imports between 2011 and 2015 reached just $3.4 billion, ranking 12th worldwide.

A report published by London-based global analysis firm IHS Markit. indicated that Egypt’s military imports reached $2.268 billion in 2015, making it the world’s fourth-largest defense importer.

Egypt receives $1.3 billion in annual military aid from the US, and under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi it has also made major purchases from other exporting countries, including Russia and France.

High-profile deals include a 2015 agreement with France to purchase 5.2 billion euro worth of military equipment, including 24 Rafale fighter jets and a naval frigate, and a contract with Russian firm Rosoboronexport to buy 46 attack helicopters.

American researcher deported & banned from entering Egypt

Mada Masr
US citizen barred entry to Egypt due to 'national security' concerns

Friday, May 27, 2016

US citizen Ada Petiwala was refused entry to Egypt on Tuesday, after being detained and interrogated at Cairo International Airport, and was told she is banned from entering the country again as she is considered a problem for national security.

In a Facebook post published on Friday, Petiwala explained that she was detained and her passport was confiscated after it was initially stamped by the passport control office. Petiwala and her husband, who is an Egyptian national and was with her on a flight from France, were subsequently interrogated. Airport security asked Petiwala about her many previous visits to Egypt. She explained that she was the recipient of a Center for Arabic Study Abroad scholarship from 2013 to 2014 and later worked at Townhouse gallery.

When Petiwala stated that she is a New York University master’s student with a focus on media studies and Indian culture in Egypt, airport officials laughed at her in disbelief.

"I repeated again and again that the primary reason for my trip to Egypt was to spend time with my husband, whom I only can now see during my breaks from school. He does not have an American visa. I told these truths knowing full well that there is sensitivity and surveillance surrounding every single one of the institutions I have been affiliated with," she explained.

At 6:00 am, after several hours of interrogation, Petiwala said authorities decided to ban her from entering Egypt, citing national security concerns.

“Leave her here and go home and sleep because she’s not going to enter Egypt again," airport security told her husband, according to Petiwala.

Petiwala went on to describe the "humiliating treatment" she was subjected to by airport security officials. Despite having recently undergone a medical procedure that induces bleeding, of which she claims security officials were aware, she was mocked by security personnel, forced to carry her luggage to several detention centers throughout the airport and denied access to food, water and the bathroom as she waited to board a flight to Berlin.

When she was finally allowed to enter a bathroom before boarding her flight, she yelled at an officer who, in return, spat in her face.

"I have not found out, from any source of any kind, why I am not allowed in Egypt. I only recently read that the same day there were also foreign journalists detained and deported from Cairo. Today I filed a complaint ... at the Egyptian Consulate in Berlin to see if I can find another way in. It will make no difference. My own embassy said it is out of their hands. The police state will do its bidding. Violence in all forms is arbitrary," she concluded.

Petiwala and her husband were not available to comment on the incident.

A number of foreign researchers, academics and journalists have been recently banned from entering Egypt. On Monday, airport security detained French journalist Rémy Pigaglio for 30 hours upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, confiscating his passport and preventing him from contacting the French Embassy in Cairo, before deporting him to France.

Pigaglio is a correspondent for the French newspaper La Croix and was previously authorized to work in Egypt by the Egyptian State Information Services, which handles permits for international journalists in Egypt.

A study published by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) in February stated that the Egyptian state’s decision to ban foreign researchers from entering the country is largely based on their criticism of the government.

AFTE’s study, which is translated as Entry banned: On banning entry of foreign researchers and academics to Egypt, highlights a number of situations in which researchers have been prevented from entering the country due to their political views, including researchers Atef Botros and Michele Dunne, Tunisian writer Amel Grami and Human Right Watch officials Kenneth Roth and Sarah Leah Whitson.

World Landmine Awareness Day - Egypt maintains #1 rank as country with most landmines

Mada Masr
On world landmine day, Egypt maintains dubious top ranking for number of landmines in its soils

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Jano Charbel 

Egypt still has the most landmines of any country in the world, according to the independent nongovernmental organization the Landmine Struggle Center, with well over 21 million deadly devices hidden in its sands, down from an estimated 23 million.

The estimated figure includes un-detonated devices that remain concealed or buried in the earth. The majority are located in the Western Desert and date back nearly 75 years to World War II.

Egypt is littered with nearly 20 percent of all world’s landmines — globally estimated at 110 million — which continue to claim lives and limbs. The state may still be producing, stockpiling and perhaps even exporting its domestically made landmines to other countries.

While Egypt commemorated the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on April 4, paying tribute to thousands of landmine victims, it has refused to sign the UN’s Mine-Ban Convention since its introduction in 1997.

To commemorate the day, International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr launched the “Together for Egypt, Stop Landmines” campaign in Matrouh Governorate, which has the highest concentration of landmines in the country. Modest demining efforts are being planned, while thousands of pamphlets to raise awareness regarding the dangers of landmines are being distributed among schoolchildren and local residents.

This year Egypt has received international and private grants amounting to US$17.5 million, according to the state-owned daily newspaper Al-Akhbar — $12 million of which has been earmarked for mine-detecting equipment, while the remaining $5.5 million has been allocated to the assistance of landmine victims and their families.

Over the past few decades, Egypt has called for international assistance — particularly from the formerly warring parties of Germany, Italy and the UK — in its efforts to demine thousands of square kilometers which were littered with over 17.5 million mines during the World War II battles of Al-Alamein along Egypt’s border with Libya.

Some 5.5 million other mines were planted during the Egyptian-Israeli wars from 1956 to 1973 in the Eastern Sinai Peninsula, and along the Suez Canal and Red Sea, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and the Landmine Struggle Center  These mines were planted on Egyptian soil by both warring states.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry estimates that demining efforts from 1981 to the present have succeeded in removing nearly 3 million landmines, mostly from the Western Desert, thus reclaiming tens of thousands of hectares of land.

Official estimates suggest that hundreds have been killed and thousands of others seriously injured in minefields leftover from World War II, locally known as “hadayeq al-shaytan” (the devil’s gardens.)

While there are no definitive figures as to how many landmines and victims there are in Egypt, the Foreign Affairs Ministry reports there have been more than 8,313 documented casualties in the Western Desert alone since 1982, among both civilians and members of the Armed Forces. These are reported to include at least 696 fatalities and 7,617 serious injuries. Real numbers of casualties may be significantly higher, as many cases are not officially reported.

Mines have also killed and maimed scores of others along Egypt’s eastern border, although these numbers have not been recorded.

Among the most recent victims of landmines included two employees from the Antiquities Ministry who were killed on February 21 while conducting excavations around an archaeological site in the Suez Canal Governorate of Ismailia. A third employee was reportedly injured in this blast.

Apart from landmines dating to World War II, armed Islamist elements are currently involved in planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the northern Sinai Peninsula targeting police and armed forces.

Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that on March 21, one farmer was killed and another seriously wounded when their tractor drove over and detonated a landmine in Rafah near the border with Gaza and Israel. More recently, on April 2 the privately owned Al-Tahrir news site reported that a 9-year-old boy was killed in a landmine explosion in Rafah. A woman and man were also hospitalized the same day after having been seriously injured in two separate landmine blasts in the Rafah area.

Beyond the costly human toll, the presence of old wartime landmines of both the anti-personnel and anti-tank types continue to render thousands of kilometers of land unusable for agriculture, infrastructure development or petroleum and mineral prospecting.

According to the website of the State Information Service, Egypt faces numerous obstacles in its struggle to demine its lands. Chief among these obstacles is the very hefty price tag associated with de-mining. For instance, the clearing of Al-Alamein’s minefields is estimated to cost a staggering $20 billion.

Other factors hindering Egypt’s de-mining efforts include the loss or absence of maps indicating the locations of mines, although the UK has reportedly handed over maps of its World War II minefields.
There is also the gargantuan challenge of safely detecting mines that have gradually shifted over the course of decades — sunk deeper into the earth, covered by shifting sand dunes or washed away from their original locations.

The absence of roads leading to these minefields, along with a lack of mine-detecting equipment, compounds the difficulties associated with de-mining efforts.

According to the State Information Service site, several countries have contributed to Egypt’s demining campaigns with millions of dollars’ worth of funds and mine-detectors, including the UK, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the European Union.

The United Nation’s theme for April 4, 2016 is “Mine action is humanitarian action, because mine action saves lives.” Other than Egypt, the nations most affected by landmines include Iran, Angola, Afghanistan, Iraq and Cambodia.

As for the UN’s Mine-Ban Convention (Ottawa Treaty of 1997), to date a total of 162 countries have ratified it. However, Egypt is among a club of 35 states — including the USA, Russia, China and Israel — that has neither signed nor ratified the convention.

Citing security concerns pertaining to cross-border threats of terrorism and drug smuggling, Egypt continues refuse to join the convention. “Egypt believes the agreement is deficient, where it made no association between the disposal by countries of their stockpiles of mines, and the provision of assistance to countries in clearing mines from their territories,” said the State Information Service.

However, Egypt’s arguments regarding security concerns ring hollow in light of human rights reports indicating that it has in previous years and decades produced, stockpiled and even exported its domestically made landmines to several war-torn states, including Afghanistan, Angola, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iraq, Nicaragua, Rwanda and Somalia.

Details regarding Egypt’s production and exportation of mines are not made publicly available. However, officials have reportedly informed the UN that Egypt has refrained from producing or exporting anti-personnel landmines since the 1980s.

Merkel lends a hand to Sisi's propaganda machine

DEUTSCHE WELLE 

Opinion: Germany lends hand to Egyptian propaganda

June 3, 2015

Although human rights violations are out of hand in his country, Egyptian President al-Sisi has officially been welcomed in the German Chancellery in Berlin: Germany is sending the wrong signal, says DW's Rainer Sollich.

Rainer Sollich 

Nearly 40,000 people are imprisoned in Egypt for political reasons; death sentences are being issued as if they're going out of style. In just the past two years, Amnesty International has tallied more than 740 legally questionable sentences. The government has set its sights on Islamists, but they have also targeted liberal human rights activists and advocates of democracy - people who are hoping for support from Europe and who also deserve it.

It's sending the wrong signal for Egypt's autocratic President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is mainly responsible for the country's grievances, to be diplomatically received on a major international stage in Germany and not even forced to answer critical questions asked by his host. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has addressed human rights violations in talks and criticized the death penalty; however, given the gravity of the human rights breaches in Egypt, her demeanor has been unusually cautious. The German chancellor must ask herself why she even bothered to invite al-Sisi at this premature stage.

Merkel herself had originally stipulated parliamentary elections before they met. Elections are still nowhere near - and at this point, they would probably be neither free nor fair. Al-Sisi's government - by decree - brutally represses the majority of the public.

The president enjoys the support of state-managed or state-influenced media, which often strike an anti-European tone or unabashedly spread conspiracy theories. That's something Merkel did not comment on, at least not publicly. Germany has not openly demanded transparency after absurd prison sentences for two members of the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Cairo were repealed: Sisi must feel heartened.
 
DOES AL-SISSI REALLY STAND FOR STABILITY?

Egypt is, of course, an important country that cannot be ignored by Germany and Europe - similar to other major authoritarian regimes like Russia, China or Saudi Arabia. Cairo cannot be overlooked in the campaign against terrorism or the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean Sea or the many crises and deteriorating situations in the region. Europe, however, should closely examine whether Egypt can be of any help.

Because the opposite is the case. Unlike Tunisian politics, al-Sisi's domestic policy is not geared toward social reconciliation but instead has a polarizing effect and bears the risk of further escalation in his country. The repression of the Muslim Brotherhood and its diverse political divisions provide fodder for terrorist propaganda. Furthermore, al-Sisi supports politicians in Libya who rigorously reject a broad social dialogue, which includes moderate Islamists.

At home, the president's brutal crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood has also led to Egypt no longer being viewed as a neutral peace mediator by Israel since Hamas is part of the Muslim Brotherhood. This is not the way contributing to regional stability works.

There were plenty of reasons not to invite al-Sisi to Germany - or at least to postpone his visit. His trip could have been put off until his reform agenda went into effect or an election was scheduled.

Economically, al-Sisi is much more dependent on Germany than vice versa, but the leverage has gone largely unused even though human rights organizations in Germany and the opposition in Egypt are demanding more political pressure be put on al-Sisi. Despite any criticism that may have been expressed behind closed doors, al-Sisi will use the visit for propaganda purposes and claim success for himself.
 
TRUE TO DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES

At least someone has stuck to his democratic principles: Norbert Lammert, Merkel's fellow party member and president of the Bundestag.

He refused to meet with al-Sisi, pointing out the numerous human rights violations in Egypt. On the other hand, Volker Kauder, also Merkel's fellow party member and head of the Christian Democratic Union's parliamentary group, may just have flattered al-Sisi: He extolled the autocrat's sincerity on Egyptian TV, calling him "convincing" and "credible" - as if human rights meant nothing to Kauder and his party.

 Guess which of the two politicians was quoted extensively in Egypt state media?



*Photo courtesy of DPA

German Parliament rescinds invitation to meet with Sisi in June, cites human rights concerns

Mada Masr 

German Parliament rescinds invitation to meet with Sisi in June, cites human rights concerns

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

 
Head of the German Parliament Norbert Lammert canceled a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi scheduled for early June due to concerns regarding “the human rights situation in Egypt,” German newspaper Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday.

Lammert reportedly sent a letter to the Egyptian Ambassador in Berlin justifying rescinding Sisi’s invitation. In a statement issued by the German Parliament on Tuesday, Lammert criticized the current political situation in Egypt.

“Instead of holding the long-awaited parliamentary elections, we have been witnessing months of systematic prosecution of opposition groups, mass arrests, convictions to lengthy prison terms and issuing a shocking number of death sentences, including against former head of the Egyptian Parliament Saad al-Katatny,” he clarified.

Lammert’s statement emphasized that “since no efforts seem to have been made toward maintaining the peace in Egypt or towards democratic development,” he “sees no basis for a conversation with the Egyptian president.”

In response, Egypt’s Ambassador to Germany Mohamed Hegazy told privately owned newspaper

Al-Masry Al-Youm that the Egyptian side had not “requested” nor was it “looking forward to meeting with the head of the German Parliament.”

“The meeting was added to the trip’s itinerary by the German side,” Hegazy added.

According to Der Spiegel, the German Federal Press Office has yet to comment on whether Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with Sisi in light of recent developments.

Lammert’s decision is one of many reactions triggered by Saturday’s court decision sentencing Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood figures to death.

On Sunday, a US State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Guardian that the US is “deeply concerned by yet another mass death sentence handed down by an Egyptian court to more than 100 defendants, including former President Morsi.”

The European Union also criticized the court’s decision, adding that the “cruel and inhumane” penalty “stemmed from a flawed trial.”

*Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Deutsche Welle criticizes banning of Egyptian talk show

Daily News Egypt

DW criticises authoritative ban of Reem Maged’s show

Too early to tell whether partnership between both channels will continue, yet we support OnTV, DW AR spokesperson says

May 16, 2015

Menan Khater

  
German TV channel Deutsche Welle (DW) Arabic condemned the alleged interference of Egyptian authorities in banning a joint programme between the German channel and Egyptian private channel OnTV on Friday.

The weekly programme “Gama’a Moanath Salem” [Feminine sound plural], presented by Egyptian anchor Reem Maged, has only aired two episodes on both channels since 2 May, to feature success stories of Egyptian women in society.

The first episode featured folklore artist Shaheera Mehrez, while the second episode, aired on Saturday, featured Al-Masry Al-Youm photojournalist Eman Helal and her encounters with shooting and field reporting current events in Egypt from 25 January Revolution in 2011 to the dispersal of Rabaa Al-Adaweya sit-ins on 14 August 2013.

There is much ambiguity surrounding the ban’s real reasons, as well as uncertainty regarding the entity which ordered the ban. DW Arabic spokesperson Christoph Jumplet told Daily News Egypt: “I cannot really tell why the show was banned, ask the Egyptian authorities.”

He added: “It is too early to tell whether the partnership will continue between both channels, yet we support OnTV and we want to continue this programme.”

In an official DW Arabic statement Friday, the channel said: “This act is a blatant violation against press freedom in Egypt.” The statement added that the programme will continue airing on its channel and on the website every Saturday.

The banning has also stirred negative responses on social media platforms. Thousands of Twitter users, media personnel, and activists used a hashtag of the programme’s name to criticise the ban. “Reem presents a source of fear to the state dictatorship,” a Tweet read.

The show was considered a comeback for Maged on TV after an absence that lasted for nearly two years following the halt of her programme “Baladna b el masry” [Our country in the Egyptian way] on OnTV in 2013.

Maged is also a political advocate who took part in the “No to military trials” protest in front of the Shura Council in 2013. Earlier, she was accused of insulting judiciary on her show in 2012. She was also summoned by military prosecution, for previewing alleged military violence towards activists in 2011.

Arab leftists meet in Tunis to address their shortcomings & hopes

Mada Masr
The left of the Arab world

 

The region's leftists meet in Tunis to share concerns, hopes

 

October 13, 2014

 

Jano Charbel

 

 

Why is the leftist movement in the Arab World weak, divided and marginalized? Why have leftist movements not landed themselves in power in any country since the so-called Arab Spring? What hopes lie in store for them?

While leftists played an active role in the 2011 uprisings and in the events that led up to them, they have since been eclipsed by the better-organized political Islamists, military authorities, businessmen and members of the ancien régimes.

These were some the questions and thoughts put up for debate at the ¨Contemporary Leftist Politics in the Arab World” conference held in Tunis last Thursday. The event touched on what the broader leftist movement across the region has been grappling with as the possibilities of the 2011 uprisings continue to unfold.

The conference was organized by the Germany-based Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Tunisia. Named after the communist leader Rosa Luxemburg — who was killed alongside many of her fellow leftist insurgents in January 1919 at the hands of German troops following an attempted workers' uprising in Berlin — the foundation inaugurated its first office in the North Africa region on October 8.

The conference builds on two books published by the foundation this month in Arabic and English mapping out the different leftist movements in several Arab countries, while attempting to draw new lessons from past histories.

Speaking in Tunis, renowned Egyptian labor lawyer, human rights activist and former presidential candidate Khaled Ali declared, “The time for socialist politics is approaching.”

That statement, however, came against a backdrop of self-criticism that loomed behind many discussions at the conference.

Ali, the founder of the Bread and Freedom Party, said that the emergence of the left ¨depends on the ability to respond to the demands of the populace and the streets.¨

“We should overcome our infighting and schisms, we must move beyond talk of shortcomings and failures. Social and economic struggles lay ahead of us, therefore we must be prepared and organized. We must shirk violence, even if it is directed against us,” Ali said.

He added that there are ¨generational conflicts¨ between the political outlooks of younger and older leftists.

The Arab left ¨is stuck in an ongoing struggle between Islamist states and military states,” Ali continued. “Both sorts of states threaten to bury the peoples' revolutionary demands.”

He also slammed the position of some leftist figures and groups vis-a-vis the Egyptian military’s ascent to power over the past year.

“Some have chosen to side with [President Abdel Fattah] al-Sisi in hopes of wiping out Islamist politics,” Ali explained. “Others have sided with him in hopes of landing themselves in office, or winning parliamentary seats in the upcoming elections.”

Egypt’s problems were echoed by representatives of the leftist movement in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Bassem Salhy of the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) explained that the leftist movement there is fragmented amongst several small parties — primarily the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, small communist parties and the PPP.

“We've been seeking to unite our ranks for years, but have been unable to do so. Therefore, we are presently just seeking coordination amongst these different factions — for this is the least we can strive to achieve,” he said.

Echoing Ali’s thoughts, Salhy hoped that the Palestinian left will not be eclipsed by the Islamist Hamas Party and the liberal Fatah Party.

But unity is difficult to realize, he pointed out, "especially in light of the fact that the Israeli occupation is actively seeking to thwart efforts toward unity and reconciliation — even amongst Hamas and Fatah.”

“We need to step away from classical and outdated leftist politics. We need to move toward the politics of socialist renewal and reinvigoration,” Salhy concluded.

Another Egyptian socialist activist, Mohamed al-Agaty, argued that the left is not short of ideas — it just hasn’t been given a chance to implement them.

¨Many alternatives were proposed by leftist and progressive groups since the January 25 revolution, nearly all of which were ignored or sidelined,” Agaty said.

With the exception of a handful of elected parliamentarians and appointed ministers who served brief and interrupted terms, the Egyptian left did not succeed in influencing state policies.

However, participants chose to refer to their ¨shortcomings¨ rather than using the word “failures.”
Ahmed Abdel Hameed, a member of the Revolutionary Renewal Group, listed several reasons underlying those “shortcomings” in the Egyptian context, including a historical disillusionment with the politics of the Soviet Union and its subsequent collapse, ¨the rigid bureaucracy of old and new leftist parties alike, outdated classical centralism, the inability of leftist groupings to unite in viable political fronts or coalitions.¨

Leftists must learn from these mistakes and undo them if they seek to rise to prominence in the region, Abdel Hameed argued.

Despite these complications, Ali expressed hope for the new left in terms of their contemporary social, political and economic stances.

¨Leftist youth in Egypt have sided with recent student protests,¨ he pointed out, and the right to protest regardless of political allegiances. “Leftist youth in Egypt have taken an open stance against the new Protest Law, which greatly empowers the police, restricts the right to protest and the freedom of assembly."

But many at the conference contended that taking part in formal political processes is an important element for the success of the left.

Agaty said that the setbacks suffered by the Egyptian left were at least partially attributed to ¨repeated boycotts of elections and referendums that have kept leftists from interacting with voters and the general populace.¨

Egyptian leftists remain divided as to whether or not to run their candidates — or even to cast their ballots — in light of the draconian political conditions currently prevailing in the country.

State officials have still not specified the exact dates for Egypt's parliamentary elections, which are already overdue according to the provisions of the new Constitution.

Tunisian representatives at the conference appeared more determined with regards to fielding their candidates in their parliamentary elections, which are slated for October 26.

Leftists in Tunis, where a unified left-leaning coalition called the Popular Front has been gaining traction since 2012, appeared more united and prepared for these upcoming legislative elections.

A spokesperson for the Popular Front, Mawloudi al-Qassoumi, explained that this coalition initially included 11 constituent groupings, which have now dropped to nine, including Marxist and Nasserist parties, pan-Arab populists and others.

However, there are a host of other leftist, labor and communist groups which are not affiliated to this front, and which have already fielded their candidates.

¨The absence of a cohesive or unified left means a weakened stance, and an inability to realize the revolutionary demands of the populace,” Qassoumi said.

Despite their relative optimism with regards to the upcoming parliamentary elections, Tunisian leftists expressed concern that the Islamist Ennahda Party would win a majority of votes and seats.

¨We must move beyond sloganeering and merely chanting revolutionary demands,” Qassoumi urged.

“Otherwise, we shall continue to fail and lose opportunities to reach out to the general population.”

 

 

*Photo by Jano Charbel

 

 

Author's note: Amongst the most serious shortcomings/failures of leftist movements in the Arab world is their inability to coordinate with local labor movements, trade unions, farmers' organizations, student unions, neighborhood-watch committees, environmental activists, squatter communities, etc.

 

Nearly none of the participants at this conference in Tunis mentioned these civil society groups, nor did they mention their inability to coordinate with them. 

 

Most participants had state-centric outlooks and proposals - focusing on elections and representative democracy. Many of these participants spoke of leftist political parties, their role in parliamentary/presidential elections and "representative democracy." Nearly none spoke of direct democracy, or grassroots independent organizations.

2 Germans detained in Qatar for filming labor conditions at World Cup construction sites

The Guardian 

Qatar detained two Germans who filmed World Cup labour conditions 

Pair say they were detained for 27 hours after filming working conditions of labourers from balcony of hotel

Monday 14 October 2013

Louise Osborne and Owen Gibson

Two German broadcasters have said they were detained by Qatari police this month as they attempted to investigate the plight of migrant labourers building infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.

Peter Giesel, a film-maker and the head of a Munich-based production company, and his cameraman Robin Ahne were detained for 27 hours after filming the working conditions of labourers from the balcony of the Mercure Grand hotel in Doha.

The pair were following up on the Guardian's investigation into the conditions endured by many of the 1.2 million migrant workers who have flooded into the country to fuel a £100bn-plus construction boom before the football tournament.

"They said they just wanted to talk to us, but it wasn't clear about what," Giesel told the Guardian. "But the interrogations went on for several hours and then the security police got involved. They were talking about us sparking a riot by talking to the workers … and that's why we got detained and put in jail."

The pair, who say they were treated well while in custody, were told their equipment was being confiscated as they had been filming without permission.

"We went to the Nepalese embassy and it was flooded with workers trying to get their passports and documents back," Giesel said. "They tried to manipulate some of the footage and erase some. We weren't finished with the shooting in general, but afterwards I didn't have the nerve for it any more."

Documents obtained from the Nepalese embassy in Doha revealed last month that at least 44 Nepalese migrant labourers died between 4 June and 8 August, more than half from heart attacks, heart failure or workplace accidents.

International trade unions said up to 4,000 workers could die before a ball is kicked in 2022 if nothing was done to improve conditions for the workers, many of whom are heavily in debt and tied to their employers by law.

The Qatar 2022 supreme committee, which is overseeing preparations for the World Cup and has senior representatives from all the key government departments to ensure it is aligned with a parallel 2030 masterplan, has promised to take the issue of worker's rights seriously.

Before a key meeting of the Fifa executive committee in Zurich this month, the supreme committee chief executive, Hassan al-Thawadi, said the tournament would not be "built on the blood of innocents."

Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, said he would visit the recently appointed emir to discuss the issue, but drew criticism from campaign groups for promising that the World Cup would go ahead regardless and claiming there was "plenty of time" to resolve any problems.

The International Trade Union Confederation called the Qatari response to an international outcry over the issue "weak and disappointing."

Giesel and Ahne were seized and held on 3 October, at exactly the same time as Fifa's executive committee was discussing the issue in Zurich.

The pair were released after friends and family got in touch with the German embassy in Qatar, prompting the German government's human rights commissioner to get involved.

Giesel said they had been treated well and even invited back to Qatar. "They were explaining, saying we know everything's not right in our country," he said. "But I think I should go back one day, just to make sure they didn't fool around with us too much and that what's been said in public there is in some way true. I can't say I will go back, but I might go back."

The footage shot by the German broadcasters has been acquired by Sky Sports News.

Last week an 18-strong delegation from the Building and Wood Workers' International union claimed they had been denied access to a construction site when they stopped as part of a surprise inspection visit.

The group was attempting to examine conditions on a construction site at Lusail, an area 44 miles north of Doha where an entire new city is being built including the stadium that will host the 2022 World Cup final.

*Photo by Sean Gallup courtesy of Getty Images

Mass killings underscore urgent need to halt arms transfers to Egypt

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Recent bloodshed underscores urgent need to halt arms transfers to Egypt

20 August 2013

All governments must suspend the transfer of weapons of the type used by Egypt’s security forces in violent dispersals and unwarranted lethal force against sit-ins and other protests, Amnesty International said today.

The organization has analysed some of the transfers to Egypt in recent years – including tens of thousands of conventional weapons worth tens of millions of dollars. Among the countries supplying weapons and ammunition of the type used during the bloodshed on 14 August are the Czech Republic, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the USA.

The supplies include military firearms, shotguns, riot control launchers and corresponding ammunition and projectiles, as well as armoured vehicles and military helicopters.

“Weapons and equipment supplied irresponsibly to Egypt by a handful of countries are being used for excessive force and unlawful killings,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“Deliveries must be frozen until full, prompt and impartial investigations into the recent violence – and similar incidents over the past several years – have been carried out and their findings made public. How could any state continue to deliver equipment used to disperse demonstrations knowing full well the Egyptian security forces’ track record?

“No further weapons should be sent until the Egyptian authorities can demonstrate that the security forces will not use them unlawfully.”

Guns, tear gas, armoured vehicles and bulldozers were used by the Egyptian security forces – including riot police and members of the Ministry of Interior’s Special Forces – to clear encampments set up by supporters of Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo. As of Monday, the death toll had risen to about 900 protesters and bystanders, while on Sunday Egypt’s Ministry of Interior told Amnesty International that 69 members of the security forces also lost their lives. On Monday, an additional 25 conscripts serving in the riot police died during an armed attack in restive Northern Sinai.

“Enough is enough. How many people must die as a result of the use of excessive force by the Egyptian security forces before the world wakes up and stops fuelling such violence?” said Shetty. 

“The excessive and unwarranted lethal force seen this week is part of a pattern documented by Amnesty International for years. This is why enforcement of the global Arms Trade Treaty, adopted just a few months ago, is so badly needed.”

Amnesty International’s call comes as EU Foreign Ministers are due to meet in Brussels to discuss their response to the situation in Egypt. The organization calls on all EU member states to fully implement the EU's existing Common Position on arms exports, as well as the human rights provisions of the Arms Trade Treaty – which all EU member states have signed.

The organization is also calling on world leaders to refuse the export of conventional arms when there is an overriding risk the arms would be used to facilitate serious human rights violations – the litmus test contained in the global Arms Trade Treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly on 2 April 2013. All states should sign and ratify the treaty and implement its human rights provisions without delay


Background

Firearms and ammunition

Firearms and ammunition used by the Egyptian security forces include assault rifles and machineguns – weapons which members of the public are not permitted to own in Egypt.

Pistols, shotguns, and corresponding ammunition used by security forces most likely emanate from batch deliveries of hundreds or thousands of pistols or shotguns, or from hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of cartridges delivered in a single month. Such batches are more indicative of a government order than of sales to the general public.

According to Amnesty International’s research, in recent years the following countries have transferred weapons to Egypt of the type being used in the current crackdown: 

The Czech Republic sent 15,062 pistols to Egypt in May 2013. This appears to be part of a contract for 50,000 pistols announced that month by the Czech company CZ to equip the Egyptian police. Whether the remaining 34,438 pistols have been delivered is not known. The Czech Republic also exported a total of more than 3,500 pistols to Egypt in two shipments in February and July last year.

The USA reported exports of 1,524 military rifles and machineguns to Egypt between January 2011 and June 2013. In January 2012 the USA supplied Egypt with more than US$10 million worth of ‘Cartridges Not Containing a Projectile’, and sent a further US$1 million worth of ‘Parts of Cartridges’ two months later. It is likely that these shipments of components were made into ammunition in Egypt.

The USA also exported 2,050 pump-action shotguns in large batches to Egypt during 2011-2012. In July last year it delivered cartridges for rifles and pistols worth US$169,479.

Turkey reported an export of 14,406 pistols to Egypt in 2010. The following year, it reportedly made several transfers of shotgun cartridges worth a total of US$336,047.

From October 2011 to May 2013, Italy reported exports to Egypt of shotgun cartridges in large batches, worth a total of €562,231. It also reportedly sent 7,415 “pistols and revolvers” in April 2010 and significant exports totalling 1,607 single barrelled shotguns from 2009-11.

From 2011 to 2013, Switzerland reported exports to Egypt of small calibre ammunition (for pistols, rifles and machineguns) worth a total US$295,871.

Cyprus reported exports to Egypt between October 2011 and December 2012 of large batches of shotgun cartridges with a total value of €761,724.

According to official records in Egypt, in 2010 China supplied the country with military firearms worth $US100,831,

Germany also reported exports of 1,130 pistols or revolvers during 2009 and 2010 in sufficient batches to cause concern.

Similarly Spain reported a single export of shotgun cartridges in February 2013 worth €176,550 while South Korea reported exports of shotgun cartridges in 2012 worth US$450,965.

Armoured vehicles and other military equipment

As recently as January 2013, France supplied 47 Sherpa armoured vehicles to the Egyptian security forces, similar to the 20 vehicles it previously supplied. Many of these vehicles were seen last week being used to transport police and military personnel, and protesters pushed one off a bridge.

On 9 October 2011, several protesters were killed in Cairo when Egyptian armoured personnel carriers and cars drove recklessly and at high speed into protesters in an attempt to disperse a primarily Coptic demonstration.

Tracked armoured personnel carriers also used in the crackdown have included many NATO-standard type M-113. The Netherlands has previously delivered 105 variants of this vehicle (AIVF) while the US has supplied more than 250 of them through its massive military aid programme to Egypt.

Last week the Egyptian security forces also used a Boeing AH-64 Apache military attack helicopter to conduct surveillance over Cairo to facilitate command and control of operations, and used armoured Caterpillar D7R bulldozers to break up protests and smash through barricades. Both types of military equipment are made in the USA.

According to two research groups, TransArms USA and the International Peace Information Service, two vessels operated by the shipping company American President Lines (APL) docked in Damietta in Egypt in January this year after leaving US ports.

The research groups have obtained six bills of lading – documents used in the transport of goods by sea – for the ships. According to those documents, the cargo included parts and components for tactical and support vehicles, military Humvees (HMMWVs), armoured vehicles and tanks, helicopters and aircraft of various type, military electronic equipment and radars, various types of missiles, and various types of hazardous chemicals.

According to US State Department statistics, in 2011 the US government authorized more than US$100 million worth of arms sales to Egypt. This included some 73,000 items – worth in excess of US$1.7 million – listed as “toxic agents”, the category which includes tear gas. The USA shipped a similar amount of toxic agents to Egypt in 2010.

EU arms export licences granted in 2011 show that France exported €26.5 million of electronic components to Egypt, €25 million of arms-production equipment, €23 million of military aircraft and €21 million of bombs, rockets and missiles. Spain authorized the sale of €78.5 million of military aircraft and Germany gave permits for €57.3 million of military ground vehicles, €9 million of electronic equipment and €6 million of naval vessels.

 

*Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE, courtesy of AFP

Journalists detained, attacked amid unrest in Egypt

Committee to Protect Journalists

Journalists detained, attacked amid unrest in Egypt

New York, August 19, 2013--New York, August 19, 2013--Several journalists working for international media said they were assaulted or briefly detained over the weekend. 

The attacks and harassment came as Egyptian authorities publicly accused international journalists of distorting coverage of recent events.

The State Information Service, a government-run agency tasked with overseeing editorial content in the news, issued a statement on Saturday that claimed that international media were "conveying a distorted image that is very much far from the facts." On Sunday, Gen. Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi criticized the foreign media for failing to report objectively on the week's events that have left nearly a thousand dead and thousands others injured, news reports said.

"Recent statements by Egyptian authorities against the foreign media are deeply disturbing. Having successfully silenced many critical local news outlets, the government is now trying to harangue, harass, and intimidate international journalists into toeing the line," said Sherif Mansour, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa coordinator. "Furthermore, the government's shrill accusations of bias appear to be the basis for several civilian attacks on journalists."

Security forces over the weekend laid siege for 24 hours to Fateh Mosque in Ramses Square, which was being used by pro-Morsi supporters as a field hospital, according to news reports. Anti-Morsi demonstrators surrounded the mosque, heightening the tension amid country-wide clashes that left at least 173 dead over Friday and Saturday.

Security services on Saturday arrested two Turkish journalists--Heba Zakaria for the state-owned Anadolu news agency and Metin Turan for the public broadcaster TRT--during the siege on Fateh Mosque and held them at Tora prison, according to news reports. Zakaria was released after eight hours. Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said in a press conference that Turan would likely be freed today. It is unclear if Turan has been released.

Patrick Kingsley, a correspondent for The Guardian, said that he was detained multiple times on Saturday while covering clashes in Ramses square, according to news reports. He was first briefly detained at a local police station and released with "strict instructions to return to my own country," he said on Twitter. Later that day, unidentified assailants seized Kingsley, along with his phone and laptop, and took him to a police station, he said. From there, he said, he was taken to another police station, but released shortly after. His equipment has not been returned.

Security forces on Saturday detained Brazilian freelance journalist Hugo Bachega while he was covering the clashes in Ramses Square, and held him for seven hours, according to news reports. He was released after the Brazilian embassy in Cairo raised the issue of his detention with the Egyptian Ministry of Interior, news reports said.

Military soldiers detained a France 2 crew led by reporter Dorothée Olliéric near Fateh Mosque on Saturday and held the journalists for about 10 hours, the station reported. Der Spiegel's Matthias Gebauer said on Twitter that police arrested him in Rabaa Al-Adawiya on Sunday and held him for seven hours, accusing the Western press of biased reporting.

At least two other journalists remained imprisoned since their arrests on Wednesday. Al-Jazeera called on the Egyptian authorities to release its correspondent, Abdullah al-Shami, who was transferred to Abu Zaabal prison on Sunday after his detention was extended by 15 days, the network said today.

Mahmoud Abou Zeid, a freelance journalist detained on Wednesday, was also transferred to Abu Zaabal after his detention was extended by 15 days, Sara al-Sherif of the No to Military Trials human rights group told CPJ. No charges against the journalists have been disclosed.

Several journalists reported being attacked over the weekend. The Wall Street Journal's Matt Bradley and The Independent's Alastair Beach were attacked by protesters outside Fateh Mosque on Saturday, according to news reports. Beach was hit in the head with a stick and Bradley's notebook was stolen. The journalists escaped the assailants when soldiers pulled them into an armored personnel carrier, reports said.

Nancy Youssef, McClatchy's Middle East Bureau Chief, said on Twitter that she was covering the clashes in Ramses Square on Saturday when a police officer told protesters to attack her because she was American. She said she was roughed up before she managed to escape.

Annabell Van Den Berghe, a freelance journalist with the Belgian public broadcaster VRT, told CPJ that the radio crew was attacked in Ramses Square on Saturday. The crew was confronted by unidentified assailants who accused them of being American spies and said Western media were biased. The assailants beat the crew's fixer, but did not harm the journalists.

At least three journalists have been killed, and several detained, attacked, or obstructed from reporting on the recent bloody events in Egypt. At least five news outlets that were shut down in early July remain closed.
CPJ released a special report on Wednesday called "On the Divide: Press Freedom at Risk in Egypt." The report chronicles how both the Morsi administration and the current government have disappointed the high hopes for press freedom in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

Al-Jazeera bureau raided, journalists assaulted in Egypt

Committee to Protect Journalists

Al-Jazeera raided, journalists assaulted in Egypt

New York, August 16, 2013--Security forces raided and shut down the Cairo offices of Al-Jazeera Arabic following violent clashes that have swept the country, according to news reports. Multiple local and international journalists have also reported being attacked by security forces and protesters.

Egyptian security forces raided and closed Al-Jazeera Arabic's office late last night, the network reported.

Security forces ordered staff members at the office to leave the building and formed a cordon to prevent employees from re-entering.

"If they genuinely seek to establish democracy, Egyptian authorities must learn to tolerate all viewpoints," said

Sherif Mansour, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa coordinator. "We call on the government to reopen the offices of Al-Jazeera and allow all news outlets to operate freely."

Al-Jazeera's Egyptian affiliate, Al-Jazeera Mubashir, as well as several stations supportive of former

President Mohamed Morsi, was previously raided on July 3 moments after the Egyptian military announced his removal. Cameras and equipment confiscated in the previous raid have not yet been returned, Al-Jazeera reported. Al-Jazeera and its affiliates have been severely criticized by many Egyptians who accuse the network of pro-Morsi bias.

The state-run Ahram newspaper reported Thursday that authorities are meeting next week to discuss the withdrawal of Al-Jazeera Mubashir's license in Egypt.

Several Al-Jazeera staff are in detention or facing litigation. Photographer Mohammad Bader has been detained since July 15 on charges of weapon possession. Al-Jazeera has denied the charges against Bader.

Authorities have not disclosed the whereabouts of correspondent Abdullah al-Shami, who was detained on Wednesday. Bureau Chief Abdel Fateh Fayed and broadcast engineer Ahmed Hassan have been accused of threatening national security in their news coverage and are under investigation.

Several local and international journalists faced harassment while reporting on the ongoing clashes across Egypt in the aftermath of the bloody raids against pro-Morsi sit-ins on Wednesday.

"Journalists are in more danger than they were under Hosni Mubarak in terms of both legal and physical threats," said CPJ's Mansour.

Police confiscated the equipment of Egypt Independent's Tom Rollins as he was reporting near Ramses Square, the journalist told CPJ. The equipment of freelance journalists Cliff Cheney and Jared Malsin was stolen by unidentified youth, the journalists both said on Twitter today. The journalists were unhurt.

Al-Hayat independent TV network said on Twitter that its crew was attacked by apparent Morsi supporters and their broadcast equipment seized while journalists were covering demonstrations in Nasr City today.

The independent Al-Fagr paper reported that one of its correspondents, Fathallah Radwan, had been assaulted in Aswan on Thursday. A third paper, Al-Youm Al-Saba'a, said that its reporter, Hossam Khairallah, had been beaten and detained for an hour by who it said were Morsi supporters while covering a pro-Morsi protest in Alexandria on Thursday. Khairallah said his pictures were deleted from his cell phone.

A news crew for the German public broadcaster ARD was assaulted by civilians in the Alf Maskan area of Cairo on Thursday, as they were conducting interviews on the situation of Egyptian Christians, news reports said.

Press freedom has reached a nadir in Egypt this week, with at least three journalists killed, several journalists detained, and numerous journalists injured while reporting on this week's bloody events. At least five news outlets that were shut down in early July remain closed.

CPJ released a special report on Wednesday called "On the Divide: Press Freedom at Risk in Egypt." The report chronicles how both the Morsi administration and the current government have disappointed the high hopes for press freedom in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt: Unjust verdict in trial of rights NGOs

Human Rights Watch

Egypt: Unjust Verdict in Rights Workers’ Trial

Pardon Convicted Employees, Amend Law Regulating Independent Groups

June 5, 2013

 

(New York) – The Cairo Criminal Court’s conviction of 43 nongovernmental organization (NGO) workers on June 4, 2013, violates the right to freedom of association. The convictions are based on a repressive law governing organizations as well as penal code provisions that are not compatible with respect for fundamental rights. The court convicted the 43 activists on charges of operating unlawfully in the country and receiving foreign funding without permission.

The verdict was handed down on the same day the Shura Council started to debate the presidency’s new draft law on nongovernmental organizations. The Egyptian president could address the violations of human rights raised by the investigation and trial in this case by pardoning those convicted, and amending the proposed new law regulating independent groups to bring it in line with international standards, Human Rights Watch said.

“These are unjust convictions based on an unjust law,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These workers for independent organizations should never have been charged in the first place. What’s particularly disheartening is that the new draft NGO law the Morsy government has proposed reflects the same suspicion of independent organizations that was the driving force behind the trial.”

The convictions violate basic internationally protected rights and the rule of law, Human Rights Watch said. The workers for these nongovernmental organizations have paid the price of a political disagreement between the Egyptian and US governments.

The investigation of the groups on trial, along with dozens of other Egyptian human rights organizations not registered under the Mubarak-era Law 84/2002 on Associations, was initiated by the international cooperation minister, Faiza Abul Naga, in the summer of 2011, when Egypt was under military rule. The trial opened in March 2012 against Egyptian and foreign staff of four US organizations and one German organization.

The court sentenced five of the workers to two years in prison and eleven others to a one-year suspended sentence. Those sentenced to two years are: Egyptian nationals Yehia Ghanem, Sherif Mansour, and Mohamed Abdelaziz; Robert Becker of the US; and Christine Baade of Germany. In addition, 27 defendants were tried in absentia and the court sentenced them to five years, an automatic conviction because they were not present during the trial.

Under the Law on Associations, the court also ordered the seizure of all assets and closure of all branches of the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, Freedom House, the International Center for Journalists, and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The convicted workers may appeal the conviction before the Court of Cassation on the grounds that there has been an error in law, and seek a retrial. The president also has a discretionary power under the constitution and the code of criminal procedure to issue a pardon.

The workers were charged under article 98(c)(1) of Egypt’s penal code, which states: “Anyone who creates or establishes or manages an association or organization or institution of any kind of an international character or a branch of an international organization without a license in the Egyptian Republic shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of not more than 6 months or with a fine of 500 EGP [US$82].” The defendants were also charged under the penal code with receiving funds without authorization, which can carry a penalty of up to five years in prison.

In January 2012, Human Rights Watch submitted a legal brief to parliament urging members to amend the repressive legal framework of the Mubarak era including the Law on Associations and penal code provisions on association. The Mubarak administration used these provisions to imprison peaceful political opponents. It arrested thousands of members of the officially banned but tolerated Muslim Brotherhood, which renounced the use of violence in the 1950s, on grounds of “membership in an illegal organization” (article 86 of the penal code) simply for expressing views sympathetic to the Brotherhood.

Under international law, membership of an unrecognized association cannot in and of itself amount to a crime. The one limitation is if the association openly calls for violence. The wording of article 98 of the penal code is particularly broad and includes language that criminalizes legitimate nonviolent political activity and organizing. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Egypt has ratified, prohibits broadly worded bans on nonviolent political activity.

The notorious 2002 Law 84 on Associations impedes the right of Egyptians to operate independent associations. It gives the government broad leeway to refuse or withhold licenses and to otherwise intervene in the registration, governance, and functioning of nongovernmental organizations.

The Egyptian presidency published its latest draft of a new law to regulate nongovernmental groups on May 29 and submitted it to the Shura Council for further debate. Despite some improvements compared to previous drafts, the May 29 draft falls far short of meeting Egypt’s international human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said.

It would reinforce and formalize state control over nongovernmental groups by empowering the government to deny them access to both domestic and international funding. It would also give the authorities complete discretion to object to activities of Egyptian and international organizations, including human rights groups, that document or criticize rights abuses by the government.

The presidency’s new draft law does not include additional prison sentences, but article 70 incorporates the penal code provisions by stating in the first sentence “without prejudice to any harsher penalties in the penal code or any other law.”

“If President Morsy wishes to distance himself from the legacy of this politically motivated trial, he should amend the new draft NGO law in line with international standards instead of pushing through a law which would allow the government to control and block independent organizations.” Whitson said.

 

Egypt's Dictator Morsi Cannot Escape Protesters

REUTERS
Egypt's Mursi can't escape protesters

Unprecedented strikes & protests across Europe

Agence France Presse

Workers launch southern European strikes

November 14, 2012

Workers across southern Europe yesterday launched an unprecedented string of strikes to battle austerity cuts, paralyzing factories and grounding more than 700 flights.

Unions called general strikes in Spain and Portugal, the first such action across the Iberian Peninsula, along with temporary walkouts in Greece, the epicenter of the debt crisis, and Italy.

It was the first time workers had agreed on simultaneous strikes in four European countries, said the European Trade Union Confederation, which organized the “Day of Action and Solidarity.”

“In some countries, people’s exasperation is reaching a peak,” confederation general secretary Bernadette Segol said.

“We need urgent solutions to get the economy back on track, not stifle it with austerity. Europe’s leaders are wrong not to listen to the anger of the people who are taking to the streets,” she said.

Spain, the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy where one in four workers is unemployed, was holding its second general strike in eight months to protest draconian budget cuts.

In the main squares of Madrid, the main unions strung up banners declaring: “They are taking away our future.” They deployed pickets overnight at airports, markets and bus and railway stations.

“We are launching a day that will be a milestone in the history of European unionism,” said Ignacio Fernandez Toxo, head of the country’s largest CCOO union.

“It is a strike against the government’s policy of unemployment, misery and to stop this path toward the precipice,” he said.

Police set up metal barriers at an access road to parliament in Madrid, where activists called an evening rally.

Strikers froze factories, including Volkswagen’s car plant in northern Navarra and a Ford plant in the eastern Valencia region, Spanish media said. Buses and trains ran with sharply reduced schedules.

In neighboring Portugal, Lisbon’s metro service was out of service, while ferries across the River Tagus and trains across the country ran skeleton services.

Hospital staff joined the action, with up to 90 percent of staff reportedly abiding by the strike call.
Portugual’s unions have called marches and rallies in about 40 towns and cities against the government’s austerity policies.

Legislation in both Spain and Portugal require workers to provide a minimum service in essential industries, but airlines canceled many domestic and international flights.

Greece is the epicenter of the eurozone’s debt crisis, but its unions are focused on the national crisis and its protest is limited to a three-hour work stoppage and a rally in Athens.
Italian unions have also called a four-hour walkout.

Union-led rallies were also being held in support of the day of action in France, Belgium and in Poland, where workers decry “social and wage-dumping” in their country.

In Germany, viewed by many in southern Europe as the paymaster behind the austerity drive, the union federation DGB has called protests across the country, including in Berlin and Frankfurt.

“For now it is mostly people in southern Europe suffering from a crisis they are not responsible for, but the consequences will surely be felt in the rest of Europe,” it said.


*Photos courtesy of REUTERS/GETTY IMAGES

Photos: Murals & Graffiti on Berlin Wall - East Side Gallery

German & Swiss comrades against the wall.


Mural depicting East German jumping the Berlin Wall during the Cold War era.


The Emperor standing amidst his industrial pollution.


Best buddies. Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev and East German President Erich Honecker, mouth-to-mouth kissing.


Bring down geographic, cultural and ethnic barriers.


The iconic Trabant, East Germany's (only) car during the Soviet-era.


Not sure what this Turco-Arabic looking piece is supposed to depict or mean? I like the smoke and the dog.


Artwork inspired by Pink Floyd's 'The Wall.'


Multicultural and multi-ethnic art - people of color.


An anti-militarist message of tolerance, freedom and respect.


Contemporary abstract art - Japanese sector of Berlin.


Ray Charles and other celebrities featured in this colorful and intricate mural.


I interpret this mural as meaning - run & hide from the shackles of the church.


Soviet nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov; In memory of his bravery and human rights activism.


Doves of peace flying away with the Brandenburg Gate.


Get Human... Save Our Earth!


A gate within the Berlin Wall. Color and contrast.


Comic depiction of conditions at 'Checkpoint Charlie'