MAY 2 - Protest for an Adequate Minimum Wage

The Struggle for an Adequate Minimum Wage in Egypt

Support the struggle in Egypt for a realistic monthly minimum wage; in demand of LE 1,200 -the equivalent of a mere $US 218/month.

A popular protest is to be staged outside the Council of Ministers, in Downtown Cairo - Hussein Hegazy Street, on (Sunday) May the 2nd - starting from 3pm.

This is a campaign not only for the rights of blue-collar workers, but also for professionals, white-collar workers, employees, civil servants, farmers, peasants, and wage laborers in the informal sector of the economy.

This is a common struggle for working-class people from all sectors of the economy; for the socio-economic rights of each individual who toils for their monthly wage/salary.

This is a struggle to enforce the Administrative Court ruling (No. 21606, issued on March 30, 2010) which stipulated that a new minimum wage must be set in light of rising living expenses.

The current minimum wage in Egypt has been set, since 1984, at an unrealistic LE35 per month (equivalent to a pathetic $US 6 per month.)

A Little Justice Goes A Long Way from 2maystrike on Vimeo.

YOUR SOLIDARITY IS REQUESTED!

Egypt Sentences 26 Members of "Hezbollah Cell"

BBC News
Egypt sentences 'Hezbollah cell'
Wednesday, 28 April 2010

An Egyptian court has convicted 26 men of planning terrorist attacks on ships and tourist sites.

The 22 men given prison sentences - some with hard labour - were accused of working for the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah.

Sami Shihab, a Lebanese citizen who Hezbollah had confirmed was a member, was given a life sentence.

The sentences were issued by the State Security Court in Cairo and cannot be appealed, reports say.

Another four men, who are still on the run, were convicted in absentia.

The sentences on the other defendants ranged from six months to 25 years.

'Intelligence'

Last year Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah confirmed Shihab was a member of the group and in Egypt to help its Palestinian allies Hamas get weapons across the border into the Gaza Strip.

But Egypt said it was holding the group on suspicion of planning attacks.

Prosecutors said Hezbollah had told the men to collect intelligence from villages along the Egypt-Gaza border, tourist sites and the Suez Canal.

The group had received equipment from Hezbollah, and had also been tasked with spreading Shia ideology in the predominantly Sunni country, the Egyptian government said.

At the start of the trial it was reported that at least one of the accused said he had been tortured while in Egyptian custody.

Hezbollah has said the charges are politically motivated and in revenge for the movement's stance on Egypt's support for the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Hezbollah supports Hamas - the Islamic movement which controls the coastal enclave - and has strongly criticised Egypt for not opening its border with Gaza to relieve the Israeli-imposed blockade on the territory.

***
Agencia AngolaPress
Egypt verdicts political and unjust: Hezbollah
4/29/10

BEIRUT - Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah described as "political and unjust" the verdicts that Egypt passed on 26 men it convicted of planning attacks and who it said were linked to the Shi'ite Muslim guerrilla group.

The case, which first came to light little more than a year ago, has highlighted Sunni Arab concerns about the rising influence of the Iranian-backed Shi'ite group.

Egypt's emergency state security court sentenced the men -- who included Lebanese, Palestinians, Egyptians and a Sudanese -- to jail terms from six months to life, while some were convicted in absentia.

Last year, Nasrallah confirmed that one of the men, known as Sami Chehab, was a member of Hezbollah but denied the man had committed any crime.

He said Chehab, who was sentenced to a 15-year jail term, was only helping to equip Palestinians in their fight against Israel and that no more than 10 people had cooperated with him, rather than the 26 Egypt accused.

Egypt's relations with Hezbollah, a powerful political and military group that is now part of Lebanon's government, have been strained since the group called Cairo a "partner in crime" with Israel against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

System Change, Not Climate Change

Grist.Org
Bolivia ‘people’s conference’ - system change, not climate change
DOWN WITH CAPITALISM
25 Apr 2010

Tina Gerhardt

COCHABAMBA, Bolivia -- A fundamental critique of capitalism as the source of climate change pervaded the People's World Conference on Climate Change, from the opening speech of Bolivian President Evo Morales on Tuesday to the final declaration agreed upon Thursday.

On the first day, as 15,000 people from 125 countries gathered for the summit, Morales laid out his view bluntly: "Either capitalism lives or Mother Earth lives."

"The main cause of climate change is capitalism," he continued. "As people who inhabit Mother Earth, we have the right to say that the cause is capitalism, to protest limitless growth. ... More than 800 million people live on less than $2 per day. Until we change the capitalist system, our measures to address climate change are limited."

Bolivia's lead climate negotiator, Angelica Navarro, echoed Morales' points: "You cannot create a climate market to solve climate change. You have to address the structural causes. These causes are not only to be measured in terms of greenhouse gases. They are trade, finances, and economy."

The conference ended on Thursday -- Earth Day -- in Cochabamba's downtown stadium, with world leaders and delegates presenting a final declaration that broadly outlined a path forward for addressing both the impacts of climate change and the economic and political structures that have brought it about. That statement will now be taken to the U.N. ahead of the next big international climate conference, COP16, to be held in Cancun, Mexico, at the end of the year.

The Bolivian government laid the groundwork for the declaration with a set of four demands: climate reparations from developed countries to developing countries; an International Climate Justice Tribunal; a Universal Declaration for the Rights of Mother Earth; and development and transfer of clean technologies. The final statement called for creating a multilateral organization to fight climate change and protect climate migrants; ensuring that knowledge related to technology transfer not be privatized; and acknowledging and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples.

The conference sought to avoid the backroom deals and lack of transparency that plagued the U.N. talks in Copenhagen in December. "That is not democracy. That is not the U.N.," Navarro said of the Copenhagen process. "For months, we were discussing our proposals with other countries. They did not listen. What we want in Bolivia is a true and participatory democracy. If the governments do not come up with a plan for climate change, the people have to lead with a plan."

The "people's conference" invited civil society into the process, creating a bottoms-up rather than a top-down approach. Seventeen working groups met over the course of the three days, and dozens of panels and countless informal strategy sessions were held too. The working groups had varying degrees of success. Some reached agreements that supporters can organize around and push for at future U.N. climate meetings.

The forest working group rejected the U.N. REDD program (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), arguing that by using market mechanisms to offset carbon emissions, it allows companies to speculate and get around actual carbon reductions.

The working group on climate refugees drafted a statement that was included in the final declaration, calling for protections for the hundreds of millions of people expected to be displaced by rising sea levels, droughts, floods, and dwindling water supplies. In his opening address on Tuesday, Morales had called for borders to be opened to climate refugees.

The conference also provided a boost to the climate-justice movement, giving advocates an opportunity to network, organize, and share stories about local and regional environmental and indigenous struggles.

But there was also dissent at the conference. Various organizations and an unofficial 18th working group focused on the discrepancy between Morales' rhetoric on behalf of Mother Earth and his policy of resource extraction, emphasizing the environmental degradation brought about by mining and oil and gas drilling. Revenues from natural gas help to keep Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, afloat. Eduardo Gudynas has referred to this policy as the "new extractivism" of Latin America.

Oscar Olivera, who was active in organizing the "water wars" against privatization in Bolivia 10 years ago, argued that there are currently two kinds of movements: those on the inside of the government and those on the outside. He said, "Social movements in Bolivia are fragmented not because of ideological reasons but because of cooptation by the government. One of the characteristics of this government is that there is not room left for autonomous spaces, for grassroots organizing. Until 2004, the people of society in Bolivia were very strong and organizing horizontally. The issue of land distribution is not solved. Despite the rhetoric, oil and gas have not been nationalized."

Still, most conference attendees rallied together around the main anti-capitalist message: to solve climate change, we must stop the push for unlimited growth that capitalism is based on. This is well summed-up by a slogan that got attention in Copenhagen and even more traction in Bolivia: "System change, not climate change."

Lebanese March for Secularism

BBC News
Young Lebanese demonstrate for secularism in Beirut
Sunday, 25 April 2010

Natalia Antelava in Beirut

"Sectarianism kills" and "We are for civil marriage, not civil war" read the colourful banners at Sunday's protest in the centre of Beirut.

Hundreds of young Lebanese gathered to march for secularism in a country that lives under a deeply divisive sectarian system.

Being Lebanese in Lebanon comes second to being a Christian or a Muslim, Shia or Sunni, Orthodox or Catholic.

There are 18 official religious sects and 18 sets of rules, one for each of them.

Because there is no civic code, the law on personal status varies from one community to another. Registration of deaths, births, marriage and inheritance is all handled by religious authorities.

The peculiar result of this arrangement is that different Lebanese end up with different rights.

Muslims, for example, cannot adopt children, Maronite Christians cannot get divorced and it is impossible for many people to marry someone from a different sect.

"This horrible system is ruining our beautiful country. I am here because I want to defend my basic human rights," said Lama, one of the demonstrators.

Lebanon's political system, too, is divided along sectarian lines.

All government institutions have to fill posts according to a sectarian quota, and since gaining independence in 1943 the country's president has always been a Maronite Christian, its prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of its parliament a Shia Muslim.

'Immense social pressure'

But power-sharing failed to prevent a devastating civil war that began in 1975 and lasted for 15 years.

The Taif Accord, the peace deal which finally ended the fighting in 1990, called for the abolition of sectarianism. But since then politicians have done little, if anything, to bring change.

It was a Facebook discussion that gave birth to the first ever public march against the system.

The movement began a few months ago when a group of young friends angrily discussed a decision by a Muslim cleric to ban a rock concert in Beirut.

"We were talking about how fed up we were with this system. Then someone suggested that we should march for secularism," says Kinda Hassan, one of the organisers.

"We set up a Facebook group and the very next day we had 1,000 members."

The number has been growing since.

Ziad and his wife Reine say they joined the movement because the Lebanese system had failed them.

They come from different religious backgrounds and, since civil marriage is not permitted in Lebanon, they could not get married.

"Our families fought each other in the civil war and then I had a big fight about my relationship. The social and family pressure is immense," Reine says.

Ziad and Reine eventually flew to Cyprus, where they registered their civil marriage. But not everyone in Lebanon can afford an overseas trip and many relationships break up because of the social pressure.

"That's what keeps the society so split, so divided. And its also unfair. I don't want to be associated with my sect, I want to be Lebanese," says Kinda.

But not everybody in Lebanon thinks that the system should change.

Supporters of this unique arrangement say it gives all religious communities a voice. Without it, Lebanon's fragile and deeply divided society could simply fall apart.

"I feel this system helps me to preserve my tradition, my heritage," says Dima, a young political science student at the American University of Beirut.

"I will never marry anyone outside my sect and I don't think anything will change because there is no way in Lebanon that a Christian from the north, for example, will ever allow his daughter to marry a Shia Muslim from the south," she adds.

Many times over the years, this extremely complex, delicately balanced and fragile society has proved resistant to change.

Organisers of the Beirut March say they know that creating a country where one's religion is no-one's business will be a long and possibly painful process, and that their protest could only be the first step.

***

DPA
Thousands of Lebanese march against sectarianism
Beirut - Around 3,000 Lebanese on Sunday took part in a peaceful rally demanding the abolishment of sectarianism in the Lebanese political system.

Politics in the country are based on sectarian divisions and parliament seats are allocated according to religious affiliation.

Sunday's rally, which was organized by an independent organization called "Laique Pride," marched towards the parliament in central Beirut.

Demonstrators distributed red roses to passers-by, while others chanted "we want to live together in a religion-free Lebanon."

"Lebanon's sectarian system contradicts the charter of human rights ... Manipulating religion for political purposes is not acceptable," Kinda Hassan, one of the organizers, told the German Press Agency, dpa,

"The sectarian political system we are living under today should gradually evolve to include secular representation inside the government," Hassan said, adding that she did not expect changes to be made overnight

Lebanon is considered liberal in the Middle East, but religion still plays a key role in the tiny country, which has more than 18 different religious communities.

Under the Lebanese system, the president has to be a Maronite Christian, the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim and the prime minister a Sunni Muslim.

Seats in government and parliament are equally divided among Christians and Muslims.

Many Lebanese human rights groups have been calling for a secular state since the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, which killed more than 150,000 people.

"We want civil marriage, not civil war" read one banner carried by the demonstrators.

In Lebanon civil marriage is not accepted by major religions.

"If two people from different religions decide to get married they have to go to Cyprus to get a civil union," said Hassan.

Read also:
TIME - In Lebanon, a Campaign to Get God Out of Politics

***

Demonizing Egyptian Metalheads

AL-MASRY AL-YOUM
The ongoing demonization of Egyptian Metalheads
Fri, 23/04/2010

Jano Charbel


Ever since its introduction to Egypt, heavy metal music and its fans have been perceived by many as being westernized, disturbed, dark or evil. “Metalheads” or “headbangers," locally known as shabab el-metal (metal youth), or mateela (roughly: metalists), have often been associated with alcohol and drug use, addiction, extramarital sex, orgies, sexually transmitted diseases, aggressiveness, Zionism, Satanism, animal sacrifices, and other vices.

In January 1997 these claims culminated in the arrests of nearly 100 metal fans. While such wholesale crackdowns may have decreased, and while metal is said to be on the rebound, its fans still report incidents of detention and harassment at the hands of authorities.

The Facebook group Against Heavy Metal Persecution In The Arab World was recently established as an awareness-raising forum for the regional metal scene. The group's mission statement says:

Our purpose is to raise awareness concerning the persecution and arrest of heavy metal fans and musicians in the Middle East. By bringing enough support to this cause, we hope to bring change that will allow us to have the freedom to play and listen to the music we love without fear of harassment, intimidation and arrest. We love our countries and our families. We mean no harm to anyone. Our only crime is playing and listening to what many other people reject. We are law-abiding, good citizens who only ask to be treated fairly and equally, instead of being questioned and harassed.

Al-Masry Al-Youm could not reach the Interior Ministry's media spokesperson for questions regarding the emergency law (in effect since 1981) to find out whether or not this law allows arrests based on a person's attire or musical preferences.

Metal fan “Bulldozer” told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he was arrested with eight other black-clad metal fans in October 2005. Having attended a metal concert earlier that night “we were hanging around on the street outside the venue. We weren't causing any problems, nevertheless a police patrol pickup truck stopped in front of us, and rounded us up.”

“Bulldozer” added “they arrested us and took us to Qasr el-Aini Police Station where we were questioned for two hours. The interrogating officers kept asking us: why are you dressed like this? Do you worship the devil? Do you sacrifice cats? Along with other absurd questions.” He concluded that the Egyptian media was responsible for distorting the image of metal fans.

Media stereotypes have arguably misled many Egyptians into making this association. Movies including "el-Agenda el-Hamra" (2000) and "el-Qatl el-Laziz" (1997), while not focusing directly on metal fans, portrayed them as dangerous, promiscuous motorcyclists who abuse drugs and share needles. Sensationalist articles, caricatures and talk shows may have bolstered such stereotypes.

In February 2010, Journalist Wael el-Ebrashy's talk show “Al Haqiqa” (The Truth) hosted Tuhami Muntasir, former advisor to Egypt's mufti. Muntasir argued that Egypt's metal scene was “a Zionist-funded activity, with funding possibly coming from Cyprus or Israel.” He added the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion serve as the governing constitution of this conspiracy to control the world.” Similar allegations against Egyptian metal fans were recently made on other talk shows this year. Such claims have vehemently been denied by metal fans.

Metal fan Omar “Caesar” Mostafa argues that the Egyptian state, having crushed an armed Islamist insurgency in the 1990s, “sought to show the populace that they lived under a righteous, moral, and faithful authority; it used metal fans as scapegoats to prove this point.”

Caesar added that there are some bad apples amongst Egyptian metalheads. “Some metal youth do drugs; but this is common amongst many musicians and fans of different musical genres–not just metal.” He went on to say that there are some black metal bands abroad that incorporate Satanic lyrics in their songs, but “very few youth in Egypt, less than a handful, describe themselves as Satanic. Typically it's only a brief phase that some disturbed youth go through as a means of rebellion, or to gain some attention. But they aren't genuine Satanists, and they quickly grow out of this phase.”

The heavy metal sound originated in the UK during the late 1960s with the band Black Sabbath. It is a hard and loud sound generally characterized by distorted electric guitars (which are often down-tuned and plugged into effects) backed up by crashing drums. Keyboardists and vocalists-who typically use singing techniques such as screams, shouts, and grunts-are commonplace in metal bands.

Metal quickly spread across Europe, the USA, and then around much of the world, spawning countless local acts. Numerous genres of metal emerged, and are still emerging. Metal made a big breakthrough in the Arab World between the late 1980s and early 90s. Hundreds of metal bands can be found from Morocco to the UAE. Some metal musicians from this region have incorporated Arabic musical scales and instrumentations into their sounds. Other metal fans have adopted conservative elements into their metal attires–including the hijab (headscarf); while males may grow religiously inspired beards, or prayer marks on the foreheads.

In Egypt, and the rest of the Arab World, metal bands are an exclusively underground phenomenon. As of yet, this music has not made it into the mainstream music scene of any Arab country. Local metal bands perform covers or originals, primarily sung in English. There are far fewer Arabic language metal songs.

Drummer Nayyer Osama, from the progressive metal band Anarchy said “playing metal is a productive release of energy. It occupies youths' time and may very well keep them from using drugs, harassing girls on the streets, or other sorts of mischief.” Osama added “some metal youth may indeed use drugs, and some may chose to partake in extramarital relationships–but these are personal decisions. It's not metal that makes them do so.” He said he hadn't encountered, or even heard of any Satanic Egyptian headbangers.

Peter Ayman, lead guitarist of the soft metal band Diminished, said “metal is the most stereotyped form of music in this country.” He added “elsewhere in the world there are some Satanic metal bands, but there are also religious metal bands out there."

*Photograph by Hossam El-Hamalawy

See also:
Heavy Metal Islam

Egyptian Metal Bands

Ethereal Credence (Black Metal)

SCARAB (Death Metal)

Crescent (Blackened Death Metal)

ODIOUS (Melodic Oriental Black Metal)

Grave Solace (Ambient Atmospheric Funeral Doom Metal)

Konzaross (Psychedelic Melodic Dark Music)

Dark Philosophy (Black Metal)

Beyond East (Extreme Oriental Metal)

MystiriuM (Death Metal/Black Metal)

Eight Protests in Downtown Cairo

A total of eight separate demonstrations were staged today outside Parliament, the Shoura (Consultative) Council, and the Council of Ministers.

These included a protest led by April 6th Youth, and ongoing demos by: employees of the Information Decision Support Centers, workers from the Nubariya Company for Agricultural & Engineering Services, employees from the Agricultural Land Development Authority, workers from the Egyptian Company for Telephone Unit Production, Tanta Flax Company workers, Salemco Textile Company workers, and disabled persons.


*April 6 Youth Lead Protest Against Ruling MPs Calls for Shooting Demonstrators


Around 100 opposition and human rights activists, led primarily by the April 6 Youth Movement, protested outside parliament today.


They chanted "shoot us!" Along with slogans against the NDP's Member of Parliament Hassan Nash'at el-Qassas who called on police to open fire against non-violent protesters.

*Employees of the Information Decision Support Centers


Some 2,000 employees from the state-run IDSCs protested outside parliament for their fourth consecutive day.


An effigy of an employee - dubbed "martyr of the system" - was hung from a street lamp-post.


*Employees from the Nubariya Company for Agricultural & Engineering Services


Around 100 workers and engineers from the Nubariya Company continued their sleep-in protest outside parliament. With the closure of his company, the owner has rendered these workers jobless for the past 25 months.

*Employees of the Agricultural Land Development Authority


Some 50 employees and workers from the Agricultural Land Development Authority - affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture - continued with their sleep-in protest outside parliament for their 25th day.

*Workers from the Egyptian Company for Telephone Unit Production


Around 50 workers from the privatized Egyptian Company for Telephone Unit Production continued with their demonstrations and sleep-in for their second day. They have not received their wages in over four months. Workers chanted slogans against the Jordanian investor who purchased the company from the Egyptian state and is now seeking to liquidate it. Workers carried a cardboard coffin symbolizing the death of the company and their livelihoods

*Workers from the Tanta Flax & Oils Company


Some 75 workers from the Tanta Flax Company protested and slept-in outside the Council of Ministers today for their fourth consecutive day. These workers, unlike the others, were besieged by an exceptionally restrictive police cordon. Police officers harass all journalists and activists attempting to photograph or speak with these workers.


*Salemco Textile Company Workers


Around 100 workers from the private sector Salemco Textile Company protested outside the Shoura Council. Today was the third day of their sleep-in protest.

*Disabled Persons


Approximately 50 disabled persons and their family members continued to demonstrate and sleep-in outside parliament for their 69th consecutive day. One of these protesters collapsed owing to fatigue and was rushed off to a hospital via ambulance. One protester screamed "we are collapsing on the sidewalk one by one, what are you for oh government? Are you waiting for us to die here?"


*Family Protest

(This would be a ninth demo)
Outside parliament a disgruntled father and mother took their three children to protest against "the government's dismal failure in its public educational policies."

Egypt: MP Calls for Protesters to be Shot

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Egyptian politician calls for protesters to be shot
20 April 2010

Amnesty International on Monday condemned comments by an Egyptian MP and member of the ruling party who urged the police to shoot protesters that have been calling for political reform over the last several weeks.

"I don't know why the Interior Ministry is so lenient with those who break the law," National Democratic Party (NDP) representative Hassan Nash'at el-Qassas is reported to have said on Sunday in reference to protesters.

"...Instead of using water hoses to disperse them, the police ought to shoot them; they deserve it."

The remarks were made during a parliamentary meeting, at which human rights violations committed by the police against protesters were being discussed.

More than 100 people have been arrested and dozens injured in a violent crackdown on recent protests in Egypt.

"These outrageous comments are a clear incitement to excessive force and potentially unlawful killing of protestors," said Amnesty International.

"Such a statement must be retracted immediately, to avoid giving carte blanche to security forces already known for their record of abuse as well as to avoid encouraging further abuse against protesters who are peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly," said Amnesty International. "The parliament should ask for accountability, not condone brutality."

A series of protests took place in early April following demands for political reform in the lead up to the legislative elections due in May, June and November this year.

The protesters were calling for an end to the state of emergency which for 29 years has been used by the government to curb protests, freedom of expression and violate other human rights.

Protesters Share Lost Faith in Egyptian Goverment

AL-MASRY AL-YOUM
Common denominator: Protesters share lost faith in govt
Mon, 19/04/2010

Philip Rizk

On 19 April, the streets of Cairo were once again lined with sit-ins. Within a 1km radius, six different groups--bereft of confidence in those appointed to represent them--staged protests in an effort to air their grievances.

TANTA FLAXS AND OILS

One sit-in cannot even be seen because it has been cordoned off by large numbers of security forces.

On Sunday, State Security personnel completely surrounded roughly 70 workers, sealing them off from the many other sit-ins taking place nearby. Al-Masry Al-Youm was prevented from reaching the site, but was later able to talk to one of the sit-in organizers.

“There is a continuous delay; they keep changing the agreement," Hisham Okal, member of the Tanta Flax workers union, explained. "The factory owner wants neither to operate the factory nor pay us our retirement packages.”

On 23 February, an agreement was struck between Tanta Flax and Oils factory representatives, government labor officials and the factory's Saudi Arabian owner. According to the terms of the deal, the factory would be liquidated, unpaid salaries paid out, and all workers provided with retirement packages based on the length of their service tenures.

“I have no faith in the People’s Assembly--it always votes in favor of the NDP [President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party]," said Okal. "The government's deceptive promises towards workers will only continue.”

SALEMCO FACTORY

Around the corner, outside the Shura Council (the consultative upper house of parliament), Salemco workers found themselves in similar dire straits.

On 14 March, employees of the Salemco textile factory returned home in smiles. A victory had been won--or so they thought.

The first aspect of the agreement that worker representatives signed with the factory owner was the payment of January salaries. The factory owner had already tried to short-change the workers: a few days after the agreement was reached, owner Mohamed Abdel Halim tried to force workers to sign a document stating that they had received their salaries in full, although LE150 had been subtracted from each laborer's wages.

Workers refused to agree to the cuts to their already meager paychecks. Frustrated, they again hit the streets.

“All these issues are mere words on paper,” said union head Subhi Khattab. "It's the same for the workers of the Amonsito factory, Tanta Flax, the Nubareyya company and Salemco."

STATE-RUN INFORMATION CENTERS

For employees of state-run information centers, the situation is no different. At their sit-in, they explained how earlier promises made by officials had come to nothing. The group ended a previous strike 15 days ago, but, unable to claim any victories, it too has returned to the streets.

“Two weeks ago, Speaker of Parliament Fathi Surour stated his commitment to solving our problem in 15 days,” said Al-Shazly Mostafa. “But we're back today since nothing has been solved.”

The equation is a simple one, according to Mostafa: “We're here to stay until they do something for us.”

NUBAREYYA COMPANY

The situation endured by employees of the Nubareyya Agricultural Services and Land Development Company has involved even more deception.

“Today we're calling for our rights," Said Mostafa, one of the company’s 230 employees, told Al-Masry Al-Youm. "Even though this is also our factory, we haven't been paid in 20 months.”

In April 2008, Egyptian-American dual national Ahmed Diaa el-Din Hussein, who owns a 75-percent stake in the company, abruptly decided to terminate all company operations.

When the government privatized the firm in 1997, workers were given 10 percent of the shares. They later managed to purchase a further 10 percent with a loan that they are currently paying back with interest earned from their 20-percent stake. Therefore, Hussein's unilateral decision to halt operations has not only led to unpaid wages, but has also placed workers' corporate investments at risk.

“Can you imagine 20 months without pay?” asked Mostafa. "We also lack health insurance. Our situation is like the siege of Gaza."

Since the company has halted operations, seven workers have died leaving nothing behind for their dependents in the way of pensions.

According to Nubareyya employees, Hussein Megawir, president of the state-run Egyptian Trade Union Federation, is collaborating with the company owner.

“We have appealed to everyone: the ministry, the courts, the public prosecutor,” said one frustrated employee. "This is a political problem. The owner wants to be given land in exchange for restarting company operations."

According to Nubareyya engineer Gamal Ahmad Kamal, company employees have three basic demands: payment of unpaid wages, the relaunch of operations, and for the government to appoint an intermediary to negotiate between employees and owner.

Workers say the Egyptian-American company owner once told them, “I am the government. I have US citizenship and can therefore do whatever I want.”

For these workers, the government has failed utterly to either represent them or act in the capacity as impartial mediator. The fact that these workers own significant shares in the company does not appear to have improved their position.

THE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED

Wesam Eid Hassan is among the group of physically-challenged people now into its 77th day of a sit-in at the gates of the Egyptian parliament building.

According to Hassan, the government has failed to implement a law calling for government support of physically-challenged citizens.

“We have the simplest of requests: government financial support in the purchase of apartments,” Hassan said.

He went on to explain that their sit-in was not merely for the purpose of presenting demands. He and his colleagues also hope to eventually establish a network of physically-challenged citizens that can work together to protect the rights of the country's physically challenged.

AGRICULTURE MINISTRY

Sharing the sidewalk with the Nubareyya workers is Gowahir Mukhtar el-Agami, a female laborer at the Agriculture Ministry’s land improvement authority.

“We've been here for 21 days without anyone meeting with us or addressing our grievances,” el-Agami told Al-Masry Al-Youm. “I had to bring my children because I've been here without them for three weeks.”

“I call on the president to get involved in our case,” said Omar Fawzi, another ministry employee. "Because so far, ministers have only made statements while nothing has happened--and we're left here on the sidewalk."

The Agriculture Ministry provides only temporary work contracts to these laborers. Protestors informed Al-Masry Al-Youm that their monthly incomes ranged between LE60 and LE100. Like so many others, these workers lack even the most basic employment benefits, including health insurance, bonuses and paid vacations.

All groups of protesters share one thing in common: a strong sense of having been abandoned by the government.

“The minister lied to us, so she can stay home," Hisham Okal, member of the Tanta Flax workers union said, referring to Minister of Manpower and Immigration Aisha Abdel Hadi. "She has nothing to do with us.”

Manpower Ministry spokesman Ibrahim Ali was not available for comment.

Reuters quoted Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohie Eddin at a 6 April press conference as saying that the protests were simply the result of issues arising from the “management of some companies.”

Since 2004, the investment minister has pushed for economic "reforms" entailing the sell-off of public-sector enterprises and government support for the private sector. The rights of workers, however, have not represented a policy objective, critics complain. Rather, in hopes of attracting greater foreign investment, the government has accepted exceptionally low standards in terms of investor responsibility for labor forces, while failing entirely to monitor work conditions.

“No one is pressuring the investor," said Salemco worker Abdel Sadiq Awad. "Investors can do whatever they want whether I stay on this street or die.”

At the press conference, the investment minister said: “It is not really part of a trend. Workers have their own demands and when some sort of solution for employer and worker is reached, these protests do not develop further.”

The problem is, solutions are not being sought because the government is failing to penalize investors for breaking agreements reached with employees.

The reason workers and everyday Egyptian citizens are protesting is because they alone are paying the price for economic policies by which the government has failed to support workers and farmers while backing investors to the hilt.

Four Demos Outside Parliament

Four different demonstrations were staged outside parliament today. These demos were staged by employees from the Information Decision Support Centers, the Agricultural Land Reclamation & Improvement Apparatus, the Nubariya Company for Engineering & Agricultural Services, and disabled persons.

The Information Decision Support Centers


Around 2,000 workers from the IDSC converged upon parliament today where they chanted for the fulfillment of unmet demands. Nationwide, there are some 32,000 employees of the IDSC - which is affiliated to the Ministry of Local Development. Since most are employed with temporary work contracts their wages range from LE 99 to LE 149 (only $US 18 to $ 27) per month.

Temporary work contracts deprive employees of their right to periodic/annual bonuses, the right to establish local trade union committees, and the right to receive insurance coverage,the right to a pension upon retirement, amongst other rights. It is on this basis that IDSC workers are demanding full-time contracts, an adequate minimum wage, health and social insurance, and the establishment of trade union committees.


Hundreds of IDSC employees had demonstrated and slept-in outside parliament for nearly two weeks, until March 31, when the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Local Development called on them to call off their demo - promising to meet their demands within 15 days.


The IDSC employees returned in force today (some with their family members), 16 days later, and called for the fulfillment of their demands. They announced their intention to sleep-in outside parliament until they receive written pledges from the respective authorities.

The Disabled


Around 50 disabled persons demonstrated outside parliament today for their 65th consecutive day. They have been demanding basic housing units, employment opportunities, (as stipulated by the law - 5% quota for disabled employees,) and/or kiosks from which to generate income for themselves and their families.

These people with special needs have been complaining about mistreatment from the Ministry of Health (immediately outside of which they are demonstrating) which prevents them from using their rest rooms, and filling-up their water bottles.

A disillusioned demonstrator shouted "I will boycott the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections; and I call upon the more than five million disabled persons in this country to do likewise."

This marginalized group of individuals is currently working on establishing a league for persons with special needs in order to protect and promote their rights.

The Agricultural Land Reclamation & Improvement Apparatus


Around 50 employees and workers from the Agricultural Land Reclamation & Improvement Apparatus, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture, demonstrated outside parliament for the 20th consecutive day. Nationwide, there are approximately 1,930 workers from this apparatus who are employed on temporary work contracts; On this basis they have been unable to establish local union committee committees.

These workers' and employees' monthly wages range from LE 60 to LE 100 (only $US 10 to $ 18,) while full-time workers at this apparatus are said to earn LE 500 - LE 600 per month (only $US 90 to $ 109,) Moreover, they complained that insurance premiums are docked from their pathetic wages, yet they are not covered by any insurance plans.

They are thus demanding full-time contracts, increased wages, periodic and annual bonuses, health and social insurance coverage, trade union committees, and pension plans upon retirement. This lot of employees said that they have received no replies regarding their demands from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Manpower, or from members of parliament.

The Nubariya Company for Agricultural & Engineering Services


Nearly 100 workers, employees and engineers from the Nubariya Company (a private sector company) protested outside parliament for their 12th consecutive day. The company owner has ceased operations for the past 24 months - leaving a total of 217 workers jobless.

The Ministry of Manpower provided these workers with assistance payments (amounting to each worker's basic wage) for a period of seven months. The last time these workers received such assistance was seven months ago. The ministry has not moved to call for the liquidation of the company nor for the compensation of these workers.

These employees had demonstrated outside parliament from March 1 - 4, having called of their demo after receiving pledges from the ministry that it would intervene for the resolution of their crisis. They resumed their sleep-in demo upon realizing that the ministry did nothing.

Some workers announced that they would go on hunger strike if the ministry does not heed their demands for compensation and early retirement packages.

Egyptian Police Assault Pro-Democracy Protesters

AL-MASRY AL-YOUM
Another protest met with violence
Tue, 13/04/2010
Lina Attalah



Protests erupted on Tuesday outside the Supreme Judicial Court in downtown Cairo, with demonstrators demanding constitutional amendments and an end to Egypt's longstanding state of emergency. Organized by different political opposition groups, Tuesday's protests followed larger demonstrations on 6 April, during which more than 100 activists were arrested by police.

“Today’s protest exploits the momentum gained by the establishment of the National Association for Change (NAC), which served to stir up the stagnant water,” George Ishaq, spokesperson for the pro-democracy Kifaya movement, told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

The NAC was recently founded by Mohamed ElBaradei, former International Atomic Energy Agency director and would-be presidential candidate, who, since returning to Cairo in February, has embarked on a political campaign for constitutional change.

“Down with the emergency law!" leftist activist Kamal Khalil shouted to the crowd. "Down with military tribunals!”

According to Mohamed Waked, an activist at the Cairo-based Center for Socialist Studies, the overall number of demonstrators fluctuated throughout the duration of the protest. “We began with about 50 people," he said. "When the demonstration reached its peak, we were about 300.”

Witnesses said on Twitter that they saw police using unwarranted violence against protesters. According to the Front for the Defense of Egypt’s Protesters (FDEP), police beat up some demonstrators and detained one activist.

Nevertheless, the protest continued into the afternoon for a full three hours. “I saw a lot of persistence," said Waked. "At one point, protesters attempted to break the police cordon and begin the march, but they were immediately stopped.”

“I saw two cases of people fainting after being beaten up by police," Mohammed Fattah of the liberal Ghad Party told Al-Masry Al-Youm. "One of them was punched in the nose. I also saw an asthmatic man from the 6 April movement being strangled by policemen.”

According to an FDEP press release, 6 April activist Bahaa Saber was beaten, put in a taxi and taken to an unknown location by police. Fattah says that that he saw the son of Ghad Party leader Ayman Nour being pulled down to the ground and beaten.

"The Egyptian government acts as a role model to the rest of the region," said Ishaq. "If police hadn't cracked down on protesters as they did, the Kuwaiti government would not have deported ElBaradei supporters."

Earlier this week, the Kuwaiti government arrested and deported 21 Egyptian pro-ElBaradei activists on charges of illegal assembly.

Yet despite the heavy-handed police response, Waked was encouraged by the fact that Tuesday's protest attracted a number of passers by. “It was one of the rare protests in which bystanders constantly gathered next to the demonstration," he said. "In some cases, police had to dismantle these informal gatherings.”

Commenting on the "momentum" referred to by Ishaq, Waked expressed the belief that much of the public was readier than ever to take to the streets. “People no longer want to hear words," he said. "They want action.”

*Photo by: Mohamed Abdel Ghany

***
The Daily News Egypt
Egyptian Police Clash with Kefaya Protesters

Kuwait: Stop Persecuting Egyptian Opposition

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Kuwait: Stop Persecuting Egyptian Opposition
April 10, 2010

Kuwaiti State Security Arrests, Deports al-Baradei Supporters to Egypt

(New York) – Kuwait’s State Security forces should stop arresting and deporting expatriate supporters of Egyptian opposition candidate Dr. Mohammad al-Baradei, Human Rights Watch said today. Kuwait should immediately release all remaining Egyptian detainees and allow those deported to return to their homes in Kuwait.

Following the arrests of three Egyptian citizens on April 8, 2010, Kuwait security forces detained over half of approximately 30 people who met on April 9 to discuss the arrests, and deported as many as 21 Kuwaiti residents with Egyptian citizenship, over a period of 48 hours.

"Kuwait is enabling Egypt’s repression by harassing al-Baradei supporters,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Kuwaitis should be asking why their security services are harassing Egyptians seeking reform at home, instead of protecting domestic security interests."

Mohammad Farrag Mohammad al-Farghally, Tamar Farrag Mohammad al-Farghally, and Tariq Tharwat – Egyptian citizens detained on April 8 after they attended a small meeting of Baradei supporters at a local café – have not returned home or seen their families since late that night. Amira al-Farghally, Mohammad’s wife, told Human Rights Watch that four men in civilian clothing escorted her husband, in handcuffs, to their home around midnight on April 8. The officers stayed only a few minutes, seizing campaign t-shirts that pictured al-Baradei and the Egyptian flag with the slogan ‘Min agl it-taghyeer’ (For Change).

“When I asked them why they were arresting him, they said, ‘don’t worry yourself; we are just taking him to [the] investigations [department]; he will be back soon insha’allah,’" she said. “I am alone here in Kuwait, with just my 10-month-old son.

On the evening of April 9, a group of approximately 30 individuals met in front of the Sultan Center supermarket and restaurant in the Salmiya area to discuss a response to the first three arrests. The National Association for Change, a group formed by al-Baradei, posted the meeting and details on its website; participants had not met each other before. According to one attendee, state security officers suddenly converged upon those assembled, seizing between 15 and 20 of those present.

“They asked us why we were standing here. We said that we came here according to what we read on the internet, on Dr. al-Baradei’s website,” the attendee told Human Rights Watch. He said that when those assembled told the security officers, “We are just sitting; we will go now,” they said, “It is forbidden to stand like this.” He said that then they started to take people away.

Kuwait’s Minister of Interior, Sheikh Jaber al-Khaled al-Sabah, told Human Rights Watch on April 10 that those arrested and deported broke Kuwait’s laws on public gathering and slander by criticizing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

“They are visitors in Kuwait, and we look at them as visitors in Kuwait. When somebody breaks the law, he has to go back to his country,” al-Sabah stated. “We don’t allow demonstrations in this country.”

Article 12 of Kuwait’s 1979 law concerning public gatherings prohibits non-citizens from participating in processions, demonstrations, or public gatherings in Kuwait. Mahmoud Samy, one of those arrested on April 9, told Human Rights Watch that he was the first of those detained to be released. Security officers permitted him to return home early on April 10, around 1 a.m. local time.

“They mentioned that I might have to be transferred back to Egypt,” he said. Samy has lived in Kuwait for over ten years. “They told me that it is against the law for more than 20 people to assemble in Kuwait without applying for a permit. They said that the others would be gradually given their freedom, but some of them might have to be taken away from Kuwait.”

On April 10, the government deported 17 Egyptian citizens back to Cairo, including Tamer Farrag Mohammad al-Farghally.

“Kuwait only selectively enforces its restrictions on freedom of assembly, which in any event violate a basic human right to freely assemble and express views,” said Whitson. “By deporting longtime residents and members of the business community, the Kuwaiti government is discriminating against Egyptian residents, depriving them of their homes and jobs in just one day.”

More than 250,000 Egyptian citizens currently live and work in Kuwait.

Al-Baradei, the Egyptian former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, formed the National Association for Change in March, and Facebook supporters for his potential presidential campaign swelled to more than 200,000. Egypt’s presidential elections are scheduled for September 2011. The attack on al-Baradei supporters in Kuwait follows this week’s brutal attack by Egyptian security forces on a demonstration in Cairo, including the beating and arrests of more than 90 demonstrators who were demanding an end to Egypt’s security laws.

Black Sabbath - War Pigs

Vietnam - War Pigs

Iraq: Leaked Evidence of US War Crimes

ALJAZEERA
US Military 'Cannot Find Iraq Tape'
08 April, 2010



The US military has said it cannot find its copy of a video showing two helicopters involved in a deadly attack in Baghdad in 2007.

The classified video footage filmed from a helicopter gunsight was released on Monday by Wikileaks, a group that publishes anonymously sourced documents on the internet, and has led to renewed questions about the attack.

US military lawyers are also reviewing the video and, depending on their findings, could reopen an investigation into the incident, Pentagon officials told the Reuters news agency.

The leaked footage that has been widely watched online around the world is the latest twist in a three-year saga that has raised questions about the US rules of engagement in battle and the safety of journalists covering wars.

Two Reuters journalists were among the 12 people killed in the July 12, 2007 attack.

Captain Jack Hanzlik, a spokesman for US Central Command, said on Tuesday that the military has not been able to locate the video within its files after being asked to authenticate the version published by Wikileaks.

"We had no reason to hold the video at [Central Command], nor did the higher headquarters in Iraq," he said in an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press.

"We're attempting to retrieve the video from the unit who did the investigation."

Footage reviewed

US defence officials meanwhile said lawyers at Central Command have been reviewing the footage to see whether the rules of engagement were followed.

"We're looking at a reinvestigation because of a question of the rules of engagement," an official told the Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity.

He said lawyers would be examining whether the actions depicted in the video were in parallel with the rules of engagement in effect at the time.

But on Wednesday Central Command said it has no immediate plans to reopen an investigation into the incident, amid appeals by rights groups for a renewed probe.

"Central Command has no current plans to reinvestigate or review this combat action," Rear Admiral Hal Pittman, the director of communications at Central Command, which oversees the war in Iraq, said in a statement to Reuters.

Pentagon officials have said detailed rules of engagement are generally kept classified to avoid tipping off adversaries about US tactics on the battlefield.

Some international law and human rights experts who have watched the video say the Apache helicopter crew in the footage may have acted illegally.

They raised concerns about how the helicopter pilots operated, particularly in firing at a van that had apparently arrived on the scene after the initial attack to help the wounded.

'Appropriate' action

Transparency advocates have questioned the withholding of the video from the public, even though the Reuters news agency requested a copy through the Freedom of Information Act after watching it in an off-the-record meeting with the military in 2007.

The two Reuters employees killed in the attack were photographer Namir Nour El Deen, 22, and his assistant and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40.

An internal US investigation concluded that the troops had acted appropriately, despite having mistaken the camera equipment for weapons.

David Schlesinger, Reuters' editor-in-chief, said: "I would welcome a thorough new investigation. Reuters from the start has called for transparency and an objective inquiry so that all can learn lessons from this tragedy."

Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane reporting from Washington, said one of the recommendations in the military investigation report was for the tape to be kept for training purposes.

"Technically they were supposed to keep a copy... they just can't seem to find it right now," she said.

Intense debate

Our correspondent said US television networks have also begun playing the tape, which had mostly been ignored until now, and she said that if domestic US media kept up the pressure the military may decide to reopen the case.

The video been widely viewed online, with a version on Youtube watched 4.1 million times, and has sparked an intense debate over US forces in Iraq and the actions of the troops who opened fire.

US military officials have said they believe the video is authentic.

The video was taken by the tactical unit that operated the helicopters, only identified as a "1st Air Cavalry Brigade", which reported to the Multinational Division in Baghdad.

The video includes an audio track of the conversation between the helicopter crew, and many who have seen it have been shocked at the images and at some of the fliers' comments.

It includes audio of troops calling to "light 'em up!" and referring to the men as "dead bastards".

"Clearly, it is unflattering to the military, but that is not justification for withholding it," Steven Aftergood, an expert on government secrecy with the Federation of American Scientists told The Associated Press.

No Repeat of Kyrgyzstan Uprising in Arab World?

THE GUARDIAN
No repeat of Kyrgyzstan in Arab states
Friday 9 April 2010

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi

The events that unfolded in Kyrgyzstan in the past few days have demonstrated how seemingly entrenched regimes can be in fact on the cusp of a coup d'état. Arabs have followed the events in Kyrgyzstan with wonder. But why isn't the same happening in their own countries?

The former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiev shares much with leaders from the Arab world. He had "won" an election held in 2005 with a 90% margin after the ousting of the former dictator merely replaced one totalitarian leader with another. More than a dozen Arab countries share similar stories of those who launched coups against a former monarch or president only to install themselves as rulers until they die.

While it is no secret that most Arabs aren't content with their regimes very few speak out in private and even fewer do so in public, for fear of retaliation. For a long time mosques served as the only venues where ideas could be exchanged without prying eyes, but that is no longer the case in a post-9/11 world.

The reason why Arabs are not more vocal about change in their countries varies from state to state. In the wealthy countries of the Gulf a sense of apathy can be felt that may be associated with materialism. Noam Chomsky associates excessive capitalism that followed the second world war in the US with apathy and fragmented societies.

I believe the same argument could be applied to the citizens of the Gulf states. After all, the Gulf states have been racing against time to develop and promote capitalism, from the $60bn planed economic mega-cities in Saudi Arabia to Kuwait's $23bn cash bailout for its indebted citizens.

Already Gulf citizens enjoy some of the highest per capita GDP in the world with Qatar leading the way at an estimated $121,400 per citizen while other Gulf states are not far behind. It is also not uncommon to read every once in a while a proclamation from a Gulf leader that the state has a duty to create jobs for the youth. Perhaps a successful "jobs for apathy" policy?

On the other hand are states that have largely been affected by former Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser's policies from financing coups to encouraging dissent including Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and until recently Iraq. In all cases corrupt leaders were replaced by equally corrupt leaders, so Arabs were back at square one.

In these less-wealthy states the opposition movements have floundered and have proven that they are either unable or unwilling to first and foremost instil good governance in themselves before they attempt to govern a state. The opposition movements' leaders have in most cases served in their positions for decades, appointed relatives to high ranks within the movement or demonstrated unrealistic expectations with regard to dealing with others – whether within the country or internationally – thereby leaving themselves largely without power or integrity.

On a ground level these states have perfected the notion of a police state. Rather unlike North Korea and China, they maintain the facade of democracy just enough to win praise or a blind eye from western leaders who are less inclined to host the opposition movements than they are the Dalai Lama, for instance. .

The common thread among so many of these states citizens is probably hopelessness. The closest Arabs reached to overthrowing a corrupt regime, at least in principle, was when the people of Lebanon rose up against a Syrian-backed regime in 2005's "cedar revolution" – only to install a Saudi-backed regime in its place. Five years after the Lebanese uprising the "leaders" of that movement have learned the lesson of Middle East politics and can been seen today visiting Damascus to apologise and ask for forgiveness from the Syrian regime. It is not unreasonable for Arabs to feel hopeless when a change can only mean more of the same.

In several corrupt countries – such as Egypt – western backing for the government's clampdown against opposition figures falls under the argument of "the devil you know".

Who would risk a repeat of the Hamas scenario where the corrupt leaders of Fatah were voted out by the Palestinians and replaced by Hamas political novices? Arabs have now learned that by punishing their corrupt leaders and "doing the right thing" they can pay a heavy price.

Between bribing citizens with cash and jobs, and threatening them with draconian martial laws, it is unlikely that we will be seeing even a colourless revolution in the Arab world in the foreseeable future.

What Arabs have now is the ability to vent their anger online equally against their leaders and their opposition movements in the hope that one day that some article or tweet that they post will capture the imagination of a young Arab somewhere who will think to himself: "Enough is enough".

Egyptian Police Violently Disperse Pro-Reform Protest

The Associated Press
Egypt police violently disperse pro-reform protest
April 7, 2010

PAUL SCHEMM (AP)

CAIRO — Egyptian police on Tuesday beat and dragged off protesters to disperse a gathering of a few dozen in downtown Cairo calling for constitutional reforms and fairer presidential elections.

Several dozen protesters managed to briefly assemble in front of the upper house of parliament chanting "freedom" and calling for changes in the constitution before plainclothes police and anti-riot squads attacked them.

Plainclothes officers dragged demonstrators out of the crowd and threw them into waiting trucks. Young women among the protesters collapsed on the ground, weeping after they were attacked and their friends were taken away.

Police later pursued smaller groups of protesters through Cairo streets, knocking them down and arresting them if they attempted to chant. A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to talk to the media, said around 60 people were detained.

Demonstrations are illegal under Egypt's three-decade old emergency law. Media crews were also attacked and photographers' cameras were confiscated.

"It is an insulting image for Egypt," opposition politician Ayman Nour said about the heavy security presence ahead of the rally. "Hundreds of soldiers are denying the right of a few dozen citizens trying to express their desire to amend the constitution."

When Nour tried to leave his downtown office to join the demonstration, riot police stopped him and arrested several of his supporters. Nour, who came a distant second in 2005 elections to President Hosni Mubarak, recently announced his campaign program for the 2011 presidential race.

Nour is not actually eligible to run this time around, because he was convicted of forging party documents after the last election — charges he says were trumped up.

Tuesday" he protest was organized by the April 6 youth movement that calls for political reforms and backs the unofficial candidacy of former U.N. nuclear watchdog chief and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohammed ElBaradei. He did not attend Tuesday's protest.

ElBaradei has made constitutional changes to allow fairer elections the centerpiece of his recently announced reform movement. His return to Egypt and his call for an open political process has galvanized the country's scattered and divided opposition. ElBaradei is also not eligible to run for president under the current constitution.

Mubarak has ruled Egypt since 1981 and only introduced multi-candidate presidential elections in 2005. His ruling party has kept a stranglehold on the country's politics.

The government had banned the Tuesday protest, warning in a written notice against disturbing traffic and peace.

Security forces were especially sensitive to members of the media attempting to record the demonstration and went after them. Several heavyset plainclothes policemen tackled and beat an American freelance photographer when he tried to take pictures of the rally, taking his camera and briefly detaining him when he asked for it back.

Plainclothes officers also converged on a man filming the events and when he wouldn't surrender his video camera, hauled him over an iron traffic barrier and slammed him to the ground.

The April 6 youth movement was formed through online social networking sites such as Facebook, taking its name from a general strike it organized in 2008. It periodically organizes pro-reform protests.

Egypt is to hold parliamentary elections this year and presidential elections in 2011. Amendments to the constitution passed in 2007 restrict candidates to the presidential election to only a few members of approved political parties.

Workers Protest for an Adequate Minimum Wage

Around 300 workers, employees and labor activists gathered outside the Council of Ministers in Downtown Cairo today - April 3 - where they protested in demand of an adequate monthly minimum wage - amounting to LE 1,200 (only $US 218.)


An Administrative Court ruling issued on Tuesday - March 30 - stipulated that the government must raise the monthly minimum wage in light of rising living expenses.

Workers and activists chanted for the implementation of this ruling, with the specification that the monthly minimum be raised to LE 1,200. They also chanted against privatization, lay-offs, the Mubarak regime, and against the corrupt policies of the yellow state-controlled Egyptian Trade Union Federation.


Slogans described the ETUF as being "a den of thieves" which engages in "public theft." Worker-activists called for the establishment of independent trade unions, along the lines of the Real Estate Tax Authority Employees' Union - the country's first free union since 1957.


Workers from the Mahalla Textile Company, the Tanta Flax Company, the Real Estate Tax Authority Employees' Union, the Public Transport Authority, the Egyptian Company for Telephone Units, postal workers and railway workers, amongst others, voiced their numerous grievances.

Similar protests are planned for April 6th and May 1st.

Egypt: The Struggle For A Realistic Minimum Wage

AL-MASRY AL-YOUM
Egyptian workers rally for national minimum wage
Fri, 02/04/2010

Hossam el-Hamalawy

A coalition of labor groups and NGOs will be demonstrating tomorrow 11 AM in downtown Cairo, calling for raising the national minimum wage.

The national minimum wage in Egypt is LE35 a month, and remains unchanged since 1984. Labor activists want the government to raise it to LE1,200.

In a statement signed by more than 10 groups, the government was accused of "impoverishing the population" by the privatizing factories and social services, and called for a protest in Hussein Hegazi Street, facing the ministerial cabinet headquarters.

Signatories include the Mahalla textile workers, the independent union of property tax collectors, postal labor organizers, train drivers, and a group of human rights NGOs, including the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR).

"This is a message to the ruling National Democratic Party and the government that the labor movement's demands must be met immediately," said Khaled Ali, the labor lawyer who directs the ECESR. "Raising the national minimum wage is a demand that has no party, no ideological color. It's simple: the Egyptian people cannot continue living with those ridiculous level of wages."

Last Tuesday, the country's Administrative Court ruled that the government must set a minimum wage in line with rising prices of basic commodities," without defining a figure.

The court order came following a lawsuit by the ECESR against the president and the prime minister, requesting that they narrow the gap between wages and soaring prices. The center provided the court with economic studies to support their request, mainly conducted by celebrity economist Ahmed el-Naggar.

"The ruling recently must be taken seriously by the government, and it has to be implemented," said Ali. "Tomorrow's protest is about making sure this happens."

Egypt has been embracing a strong wave of industrial actions since December 2006, when Ghazl el-Mahalla, the largest textile mill in the Middle East, with roughly 24,000 workers in its factories, went on strike for three days over unpaid bonuses. Workers in the textile mill had called for a strike over several demands in April 2008, including raising the national minimum wage to LE1,200. The strike was aborted by the police, while the town erupted in a two-day uprising amid bread shortages.

Saturday's protest comes on the heels of continued protests and sit-ins in downtown Cairo, in the area surrounding the parliament. The sidewalks have seen sit-ins by textile workers, civil servants, housing demolition victims, and people with special needs demanding housing and access to government jobs.

***

حكم تاريخى بإلزام الحكومة بوضع حد أدنى عادل للأجور فى المجتمع

ECESR — Tue, 03/30/2010

المركز المصرى للحقوق الإقتصادية والإجتماعية

قال المركز المصرى للحقوق الإقتصادية والإجتماعية لقد حصلت الطبقة العاملة المصرية على حكم تاريخى يلزم رئيس الجمهورية ورئيس الوزراء والمجلس القومى للأجور بوضع حد أدنى عادل للأجور فى المجتمع، وقد قدم المركز ضمن مستندات الدعوى دراسة للباحث الإقتصادى أحمد السيد النجار أوضحت إمكانية زيادة الأجور فى المجتمع من خلال الموازنة الحالية للدولة، ودراسة أخرى من مركز المعلومات ودعم اتخاذ القرار أوضحت التطور التاريخى للحد الأدنى للأجر فى مصر والذى توقف رسميا عند 35 جنيه بموجب القانون 53 لسنة 1984.

لقد ترافع المركز المصرى للحقوق الإقتصادية والإجتماعية عن ناجى رشاد القيادى العمالى بمطاحن جنوب القاهر والذى قام برفع الدعوى مطالبا بتنفيذ نصوص الدستور المصرى والإعلان العالمى لحقوق الإنسان، والميثاق العربى لحقوق الإنسان، والعهد الدولى للحقوق الإقتصادية والإجتماعية التى تضمنت أحكاما بضرورة وضع حد أدنى للأجر يضمن للعامل وأسرته حياه لائقة و كريمه، كما أوضح المركز أن قانون العمل 12 لسنة 2003 أنشأ مجلس قومى للأجور من مهامه وضع حدا أدنى للأجور على المستوى القومي بمراعاة نفقات المعيشة وبإيجاد الوسائل و التدابير التى تكفل تحقيق التوازن بين الأجور والأسعار.، وهو النص الذى أهملت الحكومة تطبيقه عن عمد لذا طالبنا فى المحكمة بوقف تنفيذ القرار السلبى بالإمتناع عن وضع حد أدنى عادل للأجور .

وبعد أن تداولت الدعوى بالجلسات لمدة قاربت على العام أصدرت محكمة القضاء الإدارى حكمها بوقف تنفيذ هذا القرار السلبى بما ترتب عليه من آثار أخصها إلزام المدعى عليهم بوضع حد أدنى عادل للأجور.
هذا وسوف يحصل المركز على نسخة من الحكم لتقديمها لمجلس الوزراء يوم 3 ابريل فى التظاهرة التى دعى إليها المركز مع العديد من القوى العمالية والحقوقية للمطالبة بوضح حد أدنى للأجور فى المجتمع.


30 مارس 2010

***

This is a struggle of Egyptian working-class people demanding a minimum wage of LE 1,200 - a mere $218. The monthly minimum wage set by the Egyptian State has not increased in nearly three decades. It is set at LE 35 - a pitiful $US 6.26 per month.

Sustaining a family/household on less than LE 1,200 is simply unrealistic in our day and age - especially in light of increasing living expenses.

The monthly minimum wage in Poland is equivalent to $US 602. While in Hungary it is around $375, and in (fellow "Third World" country) Ecuador $233 per month. Raising wages to LE 1,200 ($ 218) is a very reasonable and just demand.

It is a basic right which must be won - by all sectors of the labor force, for all sectors of the labor force.

JC