The attacks were popular domestically, so they did some more, and have continued
throughout the week striking Derna’s camps, claiming they pose a direct
threat to Egypt. Analysts, however, say this is really unlikely, and
that indeed these camps almost certainly have nothing to do with the bus
attack that preceded them.
Derna is well known as an Islamist hub, with a lot of small factions
starting up there. Indeed, the ISIS affiliate in Libya was located there
at one time, though that was years ago. If ISIS indeed did the bus
attack, and signs are that they probably did, it was likely Egypt’s own
ISIS affiliate, not Libya’s, and either way, they had nothing to do with
the Derna camps being hit.
Egypt has had long-standing problems with Islamist militant groups
attacking their Christian minority, and those attacks have almost
exclusively been homegrown. Reacting by attacking something in Libya was
a convenient distraction for the junta, and when the Egyptian public
started cheering their firm response, they just kept doing it.
At this point, however, Egyptian officials are freely admitting that
they are “not targeting specific groups” with their airstrikes in Derna,
and that they’re hitting random camps on the assumption that “all the
groups targeted have the same ideology” as the bus attackers, which is
good enough for them.
Indeed some analysts believe that Egypt’s junta, long keen on
exporting their style of government to Libya by backing Gen. Khalifa
Hafter, had been drawing up plans for attacks around Derna and other
Islamist hotbeds in eastern Libya long before the bus attack happened,
and this just served as a useful pretext to go ahead with them.
Egypt has banned
21 websites, including the main website of Qatar-based Al Jazeera
television and prominent local independent news site Mada Masr, accusing
them of supporting terrorism and spreading false news.
The
blockade is notable in scope and for being the first publicly
recognized by the government. It was heavily criticized by journalists
and rights groups.
The state news
agency announced it late on Wednesday. Individual websites had been
inaccessible in the past but there was never any official admission.
Reuters found the websites named by local media and were inaccessible.
The
move follows similar actions taken on Wednesday by Egypt's Gulf allies
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which blocked Al Jazeera and
other websites after a dispute with Qatar.
Qatar
said hackers had posted fake remarks by its emir criticizing U.S.
foreign policy but Saudi and UAE state-run media reported the comments
anyway.
An official from Egypt's
National Telecom Regulatory Authority would not confirm or deny the
blockage, but said: "So what if it is true? It should not be a problem."
Two
security sources told Reuters the 21 websites were blocked for being
affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood or for being funded by
Qatar.
Cairo
accuses Qatar of supporting the Brotherhood, which was ousted from
power in Egypt in 2013 when the military removed elected Islamist
President Mohamed Mursi following mass protests against him.
Ties
between Qatar and Egypt were badly damaged after Mursi's fall. Doha
welcomed a number of senior Brotherhood figures, although since then
Qatar has asked several to leave.
Mada
Masr, an Egyptian news website based in the country which describes
itself as progressive and has no Islamist or Qatari affiliations, was
also inaccessible.
Journalists at
Mada Masr said the website was publishing articles on Facebook for now.
It remains accessible outside Egypt or via proxy.
"Nothing
explains this blockade more than a very clear intention from the
authorities to crack down on critical media in ways that bypass the
law," Mada Masr Editor in Chief Lina Attalah told Reuters on Thursday.
The
website is registered in Egypt and its journalists are based in the
country, she said. No one from the government contacted the management
before or after the 21 websites went down. CLIMATE OF FEAR
Two other local websites,
including that of a print newspaper registered with the authorities,
were also down, as were several Brotherhood-affiliated websites and
Egypt-focused ones that publish from abroad. The Huffington Post's Arabic website also was inaccessible, although the international version could be accessed.
State
news agency MENA cited a senior security source as saying the websites
were blocked because they supported terrorism and that the government
would take legal action.
"A senior
security source said 21 websites have been blocked inside Egypt for
having content that supports terrorism and extremism as well as
publishing lies," MENA said.
Mahmoud Kamel, who sits on the board of Egypt's official press union, said was a clear attack on freedom of speech.
"This
move is unacceptable. We oppose all blocking of news websites but this
is unfortunately part of the general climate of fear we are experiencing
in Egypt," he told Reuters.
Egyptian
authorities have cracked down on the Islamist, secular and liberal
opposition alike since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, then the military
chief, toppled Mursi.
Since
then, hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested, including
journalists. Sisi told CNN in 2015 that Egypt has "unprecedented freedom
of expression."
*Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional reporting by Ali Abdelaty,
Eric Knecht and Ahmed Mohamed Hassan; Editing by Giles Elgood and Alison
Williams
Security forces dispersed a sit-in held by workers demanding
full-time contracts, as per a previous court ruling, at the privately
owned Tourah Cement Company in southern Cairo on Monday. They detained
22 workers during the dispersal, arresting 10 more that evening and
issuing warrants for an additional three.
Lawyer Haitham Mohamedein told Mada Masr that the 32 arrested workers
were detained overnight, and are currently being held at the Maadi and
Dar al-Salam police stations. They have been referred to trial, set for
May 28, on charges of assaulting a police captain, obstructing justice
and using violence to resist authorities.
The workers did not resist arrest or assault police, nor was the
sit-in dispersed violently, Mohamedein explained, adding that they
should not have been detained for peacefully demonstrating.
Dozens of police personnel, including Central Security forces, were
deployed to raid the sit-in on company grounds at 2 am Monday morning.
Mohamadein said they were deployed following allegations that the
protesting workers assaulted an officer. The lawyer asserted that the
sit-in was entirely peaceful and did not obstruct work at the company.
According to local news outlets
defense lawyers attending interrogations have also questioned the
allegations that the officer was collectively assaulted by the workers
as he allegedly showed no signs of bruising.
“There was no medical
report indicating that the officer had been assaulted, nor was there
even evidence presented to show that his clothes had been torn apart, or
anything of the sort,” Mohamadein added.
Several workers went to the prosecutor’s office after the arrests to express solidarity with their colleagues.
One of the protesting workers told
the privately owned Al-Mal newspaper on Monday that despite the arrests
the sit-in was ongoing. However, according to Mohamadein it was called
off after the second round of arrests as there aren’t enough staff to
stage protests between shifts.
A total of 75 full-time employees, all employed as security
personnel, have been protesting for 55 days demanding full-time
contracts, and the retroactive payment of wages. Some have worked full
time at the company for up to 10-15 years on temporary or part-time
contracts, which don’t carry the same benefits or employment rights as
full-time contracts, with wages calculated on a different basis.
The sit-in was initiated following the murder of a security guard at
the company earlier this year. He died during an altercation with
thieves on company grounds, however the board declined to provide his
family with compensation or insurance, claiming he was a part-time
employee.
It also follows the company administration’s refusal to uphold a
previous court verdict. The workers filed a lawsuit against the Tourah
Cement Company’s administration, and, in May 2016, a Cairo Appeals Court
ruled in their favor, determining that they were entitled to the
company’s profit-sharing scheme, healthcare and other employment rights.
There is a local workplace labor union for Tourah Cement Company
employees, affiliated to the state-run Egyptian Trade Union Federation
(ETUF), however without full-time contracts the protesting workers are
not eligible to join, Mohamedein said. He added that no local or ETUF
union members have expressed support of the workers.
A number of labor-related protests nationwide have been dispersed by security forces in the last few months.
In January, security forces forcefully dispersed a sit-in at the IFFCO Oils Company in Suez, and in April police arrested
16 protesting Telecom Egypt workers. In December 2016, police were
deployed to disperse two sit-ins at billionaire Nassif Sawiris’ companies — the Egyptian Fertilizers Company and the Egyptian Basic Industries Corporation.
In September 2016, police forces conducted dawn raids on the apartments of bus drivers who had been planning a partial strike, detaining six of
them. In May 2016, military police surrounded a sit-in led by workers
at Alexandria Shipyard Company, and imposed a lockout on the company.
Twenty-six of the civilian workers were subsequently referred to military trial.
Amnesty International issued a statement
in April denouncing Egypt’s “relentless assault on rights of worker and
trade unionists,” adding, “Demanding your labor rights and expressing
your grievances should not be a criminal offense.” The right to strike
and peaceful assembly are enshrined in both Article 15 of the Constitution and international human rights conventions that Egypt is party to.
In February, Human Rights Watch also issued a statement
criticizing security forces’ heavy handed response to non violent labor
protests, calling on Egyptian authorities to either drop charges
against detained workers, or change domestic laws restricting the right
to organize and strike.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (CNN) - Moments
after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi complimented President
Donald Trump on his "unique personality that is capable of doing the
impossible," Trump exchanged pleasantries back, praising el Sisi's
shoes.
"Love your shoes. Boy, those shoes. Man ... ," Trump said, as reporters were being escorted out of the room.
It's
unclear the exact shoe the Egyptian President was wearing, but appeared
to be black boots, similar to those Trump was wearing, but shinier.
The exchange wasn't observed by video cameras in the room, but was captured in an audio recording.
Trump
held meetings with several Arab world leaders Sunday morning, ahead of a
planned speech on confronting Islamist extremism and later a forum on
Twitter.
*Photos by Evan Vucci, courtesy of Associated Press
The move comes after a fisherman was killed by Israeli gunfire
Moamen Ghorab
GAZA CITY, Palestine
Palestinian
fishermen in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday staged a one-day strike to
protest the killing of a fellow fisherman by Israeli gunfire.
“The step aims to protest Israeli practices,” Nizar Ayyash, the head of the Gaza-based fishermen’s union, told Anadolu Agency.
On Monday, a Palestinian fisherman died of wounds sustained by Israeli gunfire off the Gaza coast.
Ayyash called on the UN to intervene to stop Israeli assaults against Gaza fishermen.
There was no comment from the Israeli military on the fisherman’s death.
According to the Gaza-based fishermen’s union, roughly 50,000 Gazans earn their living from fishing.
After
Israel’s devastating military onslaught against Hamas-run Gaza in
mid-2014, in which some 2,150 Palestinians were killed, Israel began
allowing Palestinian fishermen to ply their trade up to six nautical
miles off the coast of the strip, as opposed to three nautical miles
previously.
A few days ago, Israeli authorities increased the fishing area for Gaza fishermen to nine nautical miles.
Since
2007, Gaza’s roughly 2 million inhabitants have groaned under a
crippling Israeli blockade that has deprived them of many basic
commodities, including food, fuel, medicine and building materials.
*Photo by Mustafa Hassona, courtesy of Anadolu Agency
U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said on Monday that
heavy-handed security measures by Egypt were fostering the very
radicalisation it was looking to curb.
Egypt
last month was shaken by one of the bloodiest attacks in years when
Islamic State suicide bombers targeted two Christian churches, killing
45 people. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared a three-month state
of emergency hours later.
Zeid
condemned the church attacks at a news conference in Geneva but said
that Egypt's approach to combating Islamist militants was exacerbating
the problem.
"...a state of
emergency, the massive numbers of detentions, reports of torture, and
continued arbitrary arrests - all of this we believe facilitates
radicalisation in prisons," Zeid said.
She said "the crackdown on civil society" was "not the way to fight terror."
Responding,
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid called the remarks an
"irresponsible" and "unbalanced" reading of the situation in Egypt,
where society is targeted by "terrorist operations," according to a
statement from the ministry.
Abu
Zeid defended the emergency law as passed by an elected parliament
subject to "rules and restrictions" set out by the constitution.
"We
don't see the High Commissioner criticizing other states implementing
states of emergency that are dealing with similar conditions," the
statement said.
Sisi, elected in 2014 in part on a pledge to
restore stability to a country hit by years of turmoil since its 2011
uprising, has sought to present himself as an indispensable bulwark
against terrorism in the Middle East.
Rights groups, however, say they face the worst crackdown in their history.
"National security yes, must be a priority for every country, but again not at the expense of human rights,” said Zeid.
*Photo by Pierre Albouycourtesy of REUTERS **Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Robin Pomeroy
What does the cooperation Sisi called for in his Labor Day address mean amid a marked deterioration in labor rights and freedoms?
May 1, 2017
Jano Charbel
President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi presided over the state’s official Labor Day
commemoration on Sunday, organized by the state-controlled Egyptian
Trade Union Federation, delivering a 10-minute televised address from the luxurious Al-Massa Hotel in Cairo.
“Egypt
still expects much from its workers,” the president said, in one of
several statements emphasizing workers’ cooperation with the state.
What
Sisi did promise centered on increased foreign investment — a central
tenet of the government’s economic structural adjustment whose efficacy is contested —
saying that it would translate into increased employment opportunities
for Egypt’s youth and decent living standards for the country’s workers.
This is in addition to promising to recommence operations at hundreds of factories that have remained closed since 2011,
by allocating resources from the Tahya Masr Fund and to push a spate of
labor-related legislation — including the unified labor law, trade
union law, health insurance law, and social insurance law — through
Parliament.
Nonetheless, there is a more stark reality for Egypt’s workers. Parliament is stacked against labor interests and
the legislative body’s manpower committee is virtually controlled by
the ETUF, whose leadership has not been elected since 2011 and is
instead appointed by Manpower Minister Mohamed Saafan. Sisi and Parliament have extended the ETUF executive board’s terms of office several times, with the latest occurring in January 2017.
There
have also been severe crackdowns against labor movements, with police
and the Armed Forces jailing dozens of workers who participated in
industrial action, and the prosecution referring them to trial.
Simultaneously, the number of industrial protests has decreased to its lowest level in several years, falling from 1,117 strikes between May 2015 and April 2016, to 744 in the same period the following year.
To mark Labor Day, Amnesty International issued a statement on Sunday calling on the Egyptian state to end its “Relentless assault on rights of workers and trade unionists.” Human Rights Watch adopted a similar tone in a February statement, calling on Egyptian authorities to “Drop charges, change laws that restrict rights to organize and strike.”
The independent Egyptian initiative Democracy Meter issued its latest figures on
Sunday regarding the number, location and causes of labor strikes and
professional protests that occurred between May 2016 and April 2017.
According
to the institute’s tally, at least 151 workers, unionists and
professionals have been arrested, prosecuted or referred to trial over
the course of the past 11 months. During this same period, 2,691 workers
and professionals were dismissed from their jobs “for exercising their
right to protest.”
Cairo was the site of the most labor action in
Egypt over the past year, according to Democracy Meter’s figures,
tallying 151 initiatives. After Cairo comes the Nile Delta governorates
of Kafr al-Sheikh, with 68 initiatives, and Sharqiya, with 65.
While
the state’s austerity measures have worsened labor and living
conditions, workers efforts to push back have been curtailed, according
to Mohamed Awwad, the lawyer for the 26 Alexandria Shipyard Company
workers.
“Any worker who attempts to publicly demand their rights
these days usually thinks twice before doing so, as the state will
likely respond to peaceful protest actions with forceful and oppressive
measures,” he says.
Awwad says that 19 of the 26 shipyard workers
who are standing military trial have been persuaded to tender their
resignations in exchange for assurances that they would not be jailed
pending their military trial. Since the forced dispersal of the labor
protest at the Defense Ministry-owned shipyard in May 2016, some 1,000
workers of a 2,300-person workforce have not been allowed back to work
and are earning only half of their basic wages, according to the lawyer.
The
string of police crackdowns on labor strikes in the Suez Governorate is
symbolic, according to Ahmed Bakr, the secretary general of the
Independent Union of Workers at the IFFCO Oils Company. “[The crackdown]
aims to send a message to workers, that your protests or strikes will
be deemed illegal and the state will only uphold the rights of big
businessmen and investors.”
Bakr and all eight other members of
the Independent Union of Workers at the IFFCO Oils Company, in addition
to 12 other workers, stood trial in the Suez Governorate in January 2017.
They have since been acquitted of charges of instigating a strike and
obstructing production. However, the prosecution appealed the court’s
decision, a second trial was held March before the Suez Appeals Court,
which also opted for an acquittal.
“These labor rights (right to strike, and organize) are supposed to be safeguarded in the Egyptian Constitution.
However, the reality in Egypt is quite different,” says Seif, the son
of jailed PTA bus driver and independent unionist Mohamed Abdel Khaleq.
Abdel
Khaleq and his coworker Ayman Abdel Tawwab were held in Tora for nearly
seven months for planning a strike in September 2016, before being granted conditional release in March.
Per the terms of his release, Abdel Khaleq must submit himself to
Cairo’s Sharabiya Police Station two days a week, for nearly four hours
at a time. The PTA workers still face the possibility of trial.
Egypt’s
independent trade unions are organizing their own Labor Day conference,
which is scheduled for the evening of May 1 at the headquarters of the
Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS) in Cairo. The event
is being held under the title “Social Justice and Union Freedoms.”
Since July 2013, there have not been any Labor Day rallies, marches or public protests in Egypt.
