DSE: Nabih Berri speaks on democracy, war, peace, and skiing

Nabih Berri speaks on democracy, war, peace, and skiing

By Liam Stack
First Published: February 26, 2007

BEIRUT: Nabih Berri is the speaker of the Lebanese parliament and a member of the Shia Amal party. Due to the complicated religious quota system within Lebanese democracy, he is currently a high-ranking government official as well as a leader of the opposition coalition that was behind several months of street demonstrations that have veered into violence.

He sat down with The Daily Star Egypt to discuss his views on democracy, Israel, and the best ski slopes in the Arab world.

DSE: Lebanon is often called the most democratic country in the Arab world, and has survived many crises. How strong is Lebanese democracy today?

NB: First, there is a historical mistake I would like to correct. Everyone thinks that Lebanon is the first democracy in the Middle East, but really we are the first democracy in the world. In Tyre there are ruins of an ancient parliament, and people even say that Jesus Christ gave lectures there.

But today, there is a problem with Lebanese democracy because it is a democracy based on sectarianism. This is the main problem in our country. We are a small country — there are only four million of us, but there are 18 different sects. And democracy is tied to those sects. We can’t have a president who is not a Maronite, a house speaker who is not Shia, or a prime minister who is not a Sunni. I’m sorry to say that even if a great man like Nehru was here in Lebanon, he could not be a leader of our country!

People always say there is more freedom in Lebanon, but less democracy. Despite the situation we are in, people will always love the democracy, free speech and opportunity we have in Lebanon.

DSE: How do you respond to calls for political reform coming from Europe and the United States?

NB: A lot of people today want to transfer the western model of democracy to the Arab world. But in my experience, democracy is a national industry. You find different versions of democracy in the US, with the Congress and the Senate, than you do in France and the UK. There is no question that there is democracy in all three countries, but if you look at each, not the same kind of democracy is practiced in each one.

To simplify even further, fashion in France and Italy are different from each other and from everywhere else. Designers have different ideas and tastes in each country. If you try to bring those tastes to Asia or Africa or even elsewhere in Europe, people will not accept them the same way.

Democracy is a national industry, so no one can interfere in the model of each country and try to impose the model they want.

DSE: What solution do you see to Lebanon’s current political stalemate?

NB: The Shia and Christian parties in the opposition want a national unity government, but the majority does not want that. From a democratic point of view they have the right to refuse as long as they are in the majority. But they don’t have the right to compel me to be in a coalition government with them.

When you make a coalition, you must give me my rights. Let’s use business as an example. If you have $100 and I have $50, we can form a business together but you must give me a third of the power. If you don’t want to do that, you can go into business by yourself and I will compete with you. The government wants Hezbollah, Amal and the Christian parties led by General Aoun to be with them in the government, but it does not want to give us our rightful share of power. We have 57 deputies out of 128 — that is more than a third, 44 percent. But they want us to have less than a third of the power. So we said no, we will go into the opposition. They are scared because we have the majority in the street and they know it.

DSE: Lebanon has played a role in the Arab-Israeli conflict for decades, often as a theater of war for third parties. How has Lebanon been put in this position? How can it get out?

NB: The first time Israel came to my country was in 1978. They came in with the excuse that they were after Palestinian fighters. They called their mission “the Litani Operation.”

America created UN resolution 425 and we accepted it. It called for Israel to withdraw from our country in March 1978. The first American troops came, and we waited for Israel to withdraw. For four years we waited, and then Mr Sharon came to Beirut. Maybe he lost his compass and got lost on his way out of the country. So we resisted. But they created that resistance, they created Hezbollah. Lebanon did not have Hezbollah before the Israelis came

We pay a big price to Israel. They don’t want Lebanon to be a center of banking or tourism. They don’t want Lebanon to be a window to the West. If you go down in the street, most people speak better English than I do, and also Arabic and French. Since the 1920s, the Lebanese have always had an open window to the West. But the Israelis don’t want that, they see the Lebanese as competition.

Why? Because if they have monuments there, we have monuments here. If they have a nice climate, we have a nice climate too. They have the beautiful sea, and we have the beautiful sea too. The one thing they don’t have is good skiing — and they stole the Shebaa Farms from us so that they could have good skiing too. They want to compete with us on everything. The Shebaa is the most wonderful place in all of the Middle East to go skiing.

DSE: After last summer’s war, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert said that he wanted to begin peace talks with Lebanon, but the Lebanese government refused. Under what conditions would Lebanon enter into peace talks and normalize relations with Israel?

NB: There is no way we will have relations with Israel. As long as Israel is occupying one inch of our territory, there is no way. We are very afraid. Some people say that Shebaa is a very small place. But let me ask you — if I am out of jail but my finger is still inside the cell, am I really free?

We have no ambitions or aggression towards others. We never imagined Israel would do what they did to us — in the south now there are more than two million unexploded cluster bombs. Every two days we have a human victim from these bombs, from the ceasefire until today. Even Unifil members are being injured.

We finally pushed the Israelis out of most of our country in 2000, but when they withdrew they kept the Shebaa. That’s why we will not deal with Israel. The government said this place is Lebanese, and Syria says this place is Lebanese. But the Israelis say no, this place is Syria. So now the Israelis want to defend Syria’s rights, at the expense of Lebanon. But if they really care so much, why don’t they return the Golan to Syria? Can you tell my one time when Israel has ever defended the rights of the Syrians? It is all a trick.

If Israel gives the Shebaa to the UN, we will accept that. But if nothing changes, we will resist and they will never know where we will attack next. We will accept it if Unifil puts their hands on this land, but we will keep our right to resist as long as Israel does not leave our country.

They should accept the Saudi plan from the 2003 Arab summit in Beirut. We offered them a full peace, and that is the door they can pass through when they are ready.

DSE: Marathon Trio runs through Egypt and Sahara Desert to raise water awareness

Marathon Trio runs through Egypt and Sahara Desert to raise water awareness

By Liam Stack
First Published: February 26, 2007

CAIRO: Ray Zahab admits that not everyone would share his idea of a good time. He and two buddies had just run across more than 6,400 km of Saharan desert from the Atlantic coast of Senegal to Egypt’s Red Sea.
The trek, during which they ran the distance of two marathons a day, took 110 days.

“It was a crazy idea,” says the 38-year-old Canadian athlete. “The funny thing is I’ve only been running a couple of years, and only ultra-running like this since 2004. I had come to parts of the Sahara before, but I’d only seen fractions of it. I said to myself ‘I wonder if anyone has ever run across it?’”

Until his amazing feat last week, no one had ever attempted the sprint.

Zahab and his friends — American Charlie Engle, 44, and Kevin Lin, 30, of Taiwan — jumped at the chance to do what has long been considered the impossible.

For 110 days, the three men woke up before dawn to run their first marathon before breaking for a lunch of tuna fish, pasta and vegetables. After a three hour siesta, they would embark on their second daily marathon before making camp for the night.

On average, they slept only five hour each night.

“All we thought about every single day was just getting to the next segment; we just wanted to keep going,” says Engle, a father of two and television producer from North Carolina.

“We averaged five hours of sleep every night for the entire trip. Psychologically, it was equally as hard as it was physically.”

But the trip was not just a bid to get their names in the record books. When they began to make plans for the expedition, the three men realized they had the chance to do something bigger. “When we came up with the idea, the original concept was to run across the Sahara,”

“We were just three buddies and we thought it was a very difficult and interesting thing to do. This did not start off as some huge humanitarian effort. But we realized that we had an opportunity to bring attention to something important.”

“We thought it was selfish not to help people if we could, and water is a problem that seriously effects people in their day to day lives,” he says. “Even for us, water played a big role in the expedition itself — without water we wouldn’t have made it.”

According to a 2000 report prepared by the UN-backed World Commission on Water for the 21st Century, half the world’s population lives in desperate conditions, without secure access to proper sanitation or clean, safe drinking water.

Of those, one billion have no access to clean water at all.

The problem is especially acute in the Sahara.

“The most persistent, strongest image I have of the trip is from Mali,” says Zahab. “We came to a very small village and in the center there was an open pit filled with very dirty, dark water.”

“All the drains and trenches in the village were emptying into this pit. In the middle of it there were three or four camels drinking and pooping in the water, and around them there were 15 or 20 people gathering up the same water.”

“And that was the water they were going to drink and use all day.”

To highlight the dire consequences of water scarcity, and carry grim stories like these beyond the far reaches of the desert, the runners teamed up with award-winning film makers James Moll and Matt Damon.

The film crew followed the three men on their trek across the desert, recording both the physical challenges of their adventure and the bleak poverty of the communities they ran through.

The rest of the world could read updates on the trip, and learn about the fight against extreme poverty, on the website of the team’s humanitarian organization, www.H2OAfrica.com.

After months of running across one of the world’s largest empty spaces, the bustling sprawl of Cairo came as a welcome shock to the system.

“We had been dreaming of Cairo for 108 days,” says Engle. “For us, Giza and the Pyramids signaled the end of our journey, even though we still continued on to the Red Sea. We were always looking for the pyramids!”

“Everyone understands that Cairo means traffic and pollution and lots of crazy things, just like other big cities,” he continued.

“Normally, as a runner, I would be repelled by that because you can’t move or breathe. In this case I was so excited. The elation of making it to Cairo far outweighed any of that craziness.”

“Cairo is a crazy city,” agreed Zahab, smiling. “It is pretty cool, but it is a crazy city. There is a lot going on. It is overwhelming, but finally being here is a great feeling.”

DSE: Experts sound alarm on human rights as PA debates 30 constitutional amendments

Experts sound alarm on human rights as PA debates 30 constitutional amendments

By Liam Stack

First Published: February 20, 2007

CAIRO: This week, members of the legislative and constitutional committee of the People’s Assembly (PA) will begin formally drafting more than 30 new amendments to the constitution, including controversial proposals on terrorism and the electoral process.

Human rights activists and legal experts are denouncing the proposed amendments, which, they say, will broadly expand state power and contribute to political oppression.

“We do not want the kind of democratic system that the regime wants to give us,” says Hisham El-Bastawisi, a prominent judge and leader of last spring’s judges protest movement. “Whenever they amend the constitution, they make it worse, not better. They are spoiling democracy as if it was food that has gone bad.”

In particular Bastawisi expressed concern over the proposal of an amendment to Article 88, which would strip judges of their authority to monitor elections and empower the regime’s state security apparatus to fill this role.

“Changing Article 88 will give the state security police the right to intervene in and control the election process,” said Bastawisi. “It will create an eternal state of emergency under the guise of a terrorism law.”

He added: “This amendment has no value. It will take us back to before the year 2000, when judges had no authority to monitor or prevent fraud in elections. We need a system that posts one judge at each ballot box, and we will not abandon this demand.”

The proposal of Article 179, which provides “constitutional protection of the measures used in government crackdowns against terror suspects,” has also drawn criticism from independent observers and human rights campaigners.

This new article was proposed by President Mubarak in a letter addressed to both houses of the parliament at the end of December.

In it, he requested legal protection for the state’s counter-terrorism measures as well as permission to violate articles of the constitution which guarantee basic rights, including Article 41, on arrest and due process; Article 44, on house searches; and Article 45, on the privacy of mail and other forms of communication.

"The President's proposal to extend constitutional protection to exceptional security measures, while depriving citizens of the same protection, is simply unacceptable," said Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). "Basic rights are protected by our constitution precisely in order to prevent impinging on them by excessive powers such as those proposed in the President's letter to parliament."

Bahgat fears that such an amendment would write the regime a constitutional blank check for abuse.

"Since the state of emergency was declared in 1981, retroactive judicial oversight provided by the emergency law has offered little protection against systematic violations of human rights at the hands of security officials. The proposed Article 179 will only sustain this atmosphere of impunity and even embed it in the country's constitution."

Human rights activists express particular concern over new anti-terror measures because of what they call the regime’s “broad and vague definition of terrorism.”

The EIPR argues that the constitutional definition of terrorism, outlined in Article 86, includes acts that could also be considered the peaceful expression of dissent, and which are protected by the constitution itself under the right to freedom of expression and assembly.

“This law threatens all of us, and we can all see that, even the man who sells fuul on the street,” warns Judge Bastawisi. “If you produce a TV show or sing a song or write an article that the state does not like, maybe you will be charged with terrorism.”

“This law will have the upper hand over all of our lives,” he continued. “They will be able to launch a terrorism case against anyone at any time, for any reason. If they think someone is a threat, or he is demanding human rights or democracy too loudly, they can take him to court as a terrorist. We should all be aware of the danger of this law.”

The government, on its part, has indicated a willingness to reconsider some of the proposals, but critics say the state is not willing to go far enough.

“The biggest problem in Egypt is not constitutional amendment,” says Osama Ghazali Harb.

Harb is a member of the Shura Council (the Upper House of Parliament), a former member of the ruling National Democratic Party, and founder of the new Democratic Front Party.

“This is a technical issue that could be fixed in a short time. The real problem in Egypt is that the regime does not have a genuine desire for change,” he says.

Bastawisi agrees: “The regime has indicated a willingness to make some minor amendments, but for them the state security law is untouchable and will never be cancelled or altered.”

“If these laws pass, then Egyptians will lose all hope for peaceful change and the peaceful transfer of power.”

DSE: Up close with warlord Samir Geagea

Up close with warlord Samir Geagea

By Liam Stack
First Published: February 16, 2007

Christian warlord Samir Geagea led the Lebanese Forces militia during the 15-year-long Lebanese civil war. At one time, it was the largest militia in the conflict. After the 1989 Taif Accord brought peace to the country, Geagea ran afoul of the government. In 1994 he was convicted of planning several assassinations during the conflict and sentenced to life in prison.

In 2005 Geagea was pardoned by the government that took power after the Cedar Revolution and today he is a leader of the March 14th Movement.

Geagea sat down with The Daily Star Egypt’s Liam Stack to discuss his time in prison and his views on Lebanon’s complicated politics.

Daily Star Egypt: What effect did the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on March 14, 2005 have on Lebanese politics?

The March 14th event changed the whole political situation in Lebanon. Before, Syria was the major player and the Lebanese state was its puppet. But during the 2005 parliamentary elections, after Hariri was assassinated, the March 14th movement won the majority of the parliamentary seats.

After that, Syria and its allies began to reconsider the situation in Lebanon and plan a counter-attack. First they assassinated George Hawi, the secretary general of the Lebanese communist party. Next they killed Sami Qaseer, an independent journalist. After that they booby trapped some Christian areas, and after that they tried to kill May Chidiac. Then they assassinated Gibran Tueni and most recently Pierre Gemayel, who was a cabinet minister.

They are planning a comeback, with an eye on strategic events in the Middle East. Their whole strategy relies on an American failure in Iraq.

DSE: Some say Israel is to blame for last summer’s war, other blame Hezbollah and still others say the conflict was orchestrated by Syria and Iran. Who do you think is responsible for last summer’s war between Hezbollah and Israel?

Syria and its allies thought they could use a war to turn the political situation in Lebanon more to their favor. Even today, they are always looking for ways to rebound from their losses after March 14th. They thought a conflict with Israel would help them do that, so they launched the July War by kidnapping some Israeli soldiers.

When Iran and Syria saw security Council Resolution 1701 [which called for the disarmament of Hezbollah], and the Cedar Revolution moving forward in a very favorable international climate, they used the July War as a counter-attack.

The tensions that we have in Lebanon right now are not a war of the poor versus the rich, or the haves versus the have-nots. It is not a simple matter of a few cabinet ministers more or less. This is a Syrian and Iranian counter-attack against the Cedar Revolution and the principle of a free and independent Lebanon.

DSE: Why were you put in prison?

Why was I put in prison? Because I killed people. As a matter of fact, we were in a war. I think that during war people kill each other, and I was put in prison because I was at war.

In reality, I was put in prison because I was in the opposition. The Taif Agreement was good for Lebanon, but Syria hijacked it and wanted to use it to its own advantage.

The situation had no rules, no boundaries. Syria could do whatever it wanted. I was offered a ministerial position in the first government formed after the war but I refused, but the government was controlled by Damascus and was not really Lebanese. The same offer was made to me in the second government.

When Syria saw that I was not willing to serve as a minister and that I did not comply to any of their incentives, and that I was committed to opposing what they were doing in Lebanon, they disbanded my party – the Lebanese Forces - and put me in jail. They took different events from the civil war – some true and some were not – and said they were putting me in prison because of them. I was sentenced to 5 life sentences, but it was later reduced to only one. Of that, I served 11 years and 3 months.

DSE: How were you treated in prison?

I prison I never saw any other prisoners, only the faces of the soldiers. I was not allowed a radio or a TV or any other Lebanese media. I was only allowed to read The Economist, the magazine, because it deals with economy and foreign affairs and it doesn’t really talk about Lebanese affairs. I was also allowed to read scientific magazines.

I asked them to allow me to do a PhD or some kind of degree – I was interested in history – but they would not allow me to study. Any time I left the cell, for example for an interview with my wife, I was blindfolded from the time I left the cell until the time I arrived wherever it was I was going. In 11 years, I was allowed to have 2 meetings with my family and 2 with my lawyers.

I was only allowed outside for 1 hour every day, although later I was allowed to have an hour and a half in the sun because my physician requested it, since I was diagnosed with osteoperosis. My cell was three stories underground and it was only 6 square meters. I was confined in a place where they tortured people so I heard them torturing people all the time, every day for 11 years.

DSE: How do you think that Syria manipulated the Taif Accord?

The Agreement said many times that Syria should withdraw to the Bekaa Valley in 1992 and after 5 years it should leave Lebanon altogether. But Syria never withdrew. It began to interfere with the state so much that it became a puppet state. If we asked the Syrians “why won’t you leave?,” they would say “we want to leave, but the Lebanese want us to stay. Ask the Lebanese, they say they are not ready or able to hold their country together.”

Syria killed President Mouawad [Lebanon’s first president after the Taif Accord] because he wouldn’t stuff the cabinet with pro-Syria ministers. After that, the Syrians wanted to have power over appointments. They interfered with everything.

The Accord said that all militias should be disbanded and their arms given to the government. At the time Hezbollah was nothing, it was the smallest militia in the country. The other militias all dissolved, but the government refused to dissolve Hezbollah or any of the militant Palestinian groups. The Syrians only dissolved the militias that were opposed to them and kept the ones which served their interests.

DSE: Dual Debates: Israel, Palestine and Polite Conversation

Dual Debates: Israel, Palestine and Polite Conversation

By Liam Stack

First Published: February 14, 2007

Sitting in a hotel bar in East Jerusalem, an Israeli peace activist named Nimrod casually remarked to me, “I wish that American Jews would take a more moderate approach to the conflict. Sometimes they are so nationalist, it just makes things harder.”

The comment elicited tired, knowing nods from the other Israeli journalists and human rights activists in the room.

“We don’t need any more people who are pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, we need people who are pro-solution,” agreed his friend, a young woman filmmaker. “A lot of the problems we face come from America, Europe and the Arab world. These are the people who fund this war.”

I was surprised by their comments. In the United States, comments like these were far beyond the realm of polite conversation, especially when in mixed company.

What I did not anticipate, on my second trip to Israel, was that comments like these are not so controversial inside the Jewish state itself.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has entered that holy trinity of un-discussable topics in America — sex, politics and religion — and is often more assiduously avoided than any of the others. Someone could take offense, someone else could be called an anti-Semite — a label that can stick with you for a long time. It’s best to just avoid the subject, or talk about today’s headline only with people who you know share your views.

In a country where almost every controversial political issue divides society roughly down the middle — with about as many people sympathetic to gay marriage, abortion rights, affirmative action or welfare as oppose them — it is striking how little space exists in the mainstream for criticism of Israel or Zionism.

Often, the only people who criticize Israeli policies without making nervous qualifications — “Israel has the right to defend itself, but…” — are those portrayed as completely out of step with the rest of America — leftist academics, young unwashed anarchists; and of course American Arabs and Muslims.

Recently, though, a bold bid to widen that space for dissent has come from an unexpected player in American society: Jimmy Carter, a highly respected, Nobel Peace Prize winning former President. His new book,

“Palestine: Peace not Apartheid,” has provoked heated charges of anti-Semitism from the leaders of America’s big Jewish organizations and a mass resignation of Jewish members of the advisory board of his Atlanta think tank.

He has responded to these charges in a dignified and calm way, appearing on popular political chat shows, writing on the opinion pages of the country’s largest newspapers, and delivering an address at America’s most prominent historically Jewish university.

But more than anything else, his response reminds me of my conversation with Nimrod and his friends in East Jerusalem.

“The many controversial issues concerning Palestine and the path to peace for Israel are intensely debated among Israelis and throughout other nations — but not in the United States,” Carter wrote in an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times. “For the last 30 years, I have witnessed and experienced the severe restraints on any free and balanced discussion of the facts. This reluctance to criticize any policies of the Israeli government is because of the extraordinary lobbying efforts of the American-Israel Political Action Committee and the absence of any significant contrary voices.”

He continued: “It would be almost politically suicidal for members of Congress to espouse a balanced position between Israel and Palestine, to suggest that Israel comply with international law or to speak in defense of justice or human rights for Palestinians.”

But in Israel, it is not so unusual for prominent Israelis to argue that their country must respect human rights and international law.

All in all, the debate inside the Jewish state itself is much more vibrant than what convention allows inside the United States.

Reading the opinion pages of the country’s major newspapers, one is struck by how many things Israelis say about their country’s policies that would be considered suspicious or downright offensive by many American Zionists.

While American journalists fall over themselves to use the most politically neutral terminology to describe what Israel calls “the security fence,” prominent Israeli journalists like Gideon Levy write in the pages of the Israeli press that “the apartheid wall” is both Palestinian’s “profound fear” and an “existential threat” to their society.

And Amira Hass, a highly respected contributor to Israeli daily Haaretz, writes that “the Palestinians, as a people, are divided into subgroups, something which is reminiscent also of South Africa under apartheid rule."

It is hard to imagine prominent American figures, or even the more crass talking heads on cable news, making statements like these without facing a flurry of stinging criticism.

But living in such close proximity to the conflict, Israelis can less afford the luxury of confined, polite conversation. Sitting in that hotel bar in East Jerusalem, it struck me how much Americans could learn from the Israeli debate.

DSE: Strike ends in Kafr El Dawwar, but problems linger

Strike ends in Kafr El Dawwar, but problems linger

By Liam Stack

First Published: February 11, 2007

KAFR EL DAWWAR: Thousands of factory workers and townspeople poured out of the Kafr El Dewar Textile Factory on Thursday afternoon, after negotiations by state-appointed union representatives and a host of government officials ended a 6-day strike in the impoverished delta town.

The workers whistled and clapping, throwing peace signs in the air and jubilantly shouting “God is great! There is no God but God! Mohammed is the prophet of God!”

The deal ended a protest that first began on Feb. 4 when more than 12,000 workers occupied the factory and staged a sit-in. They demanded better pay and an increase to their monthly meal allowance, which had stagnated at LE 32 a month.

In addition, they wanted a share of the revenue from the recent sale of company land, improved safety conditions in the factory, better medical care at the company hospital, and an end to a freeze on promotions which began in 1995.

They also demanded a bonus equal to 45 days pay, similar to one gained by workers in Ghazl el Mahalla textile factory in a watershed strike in December.

Workers also complained bitterly of rampant corruption and mismanagement at the plant.

“The bed sheets we make here cost LE 17,” said one worker. “The managers buy them here at cost and then turn around and sell them on the black market for LE 30 each. These men make a nice profit for themselves off of us, but it costs the factory a lot of money. They are so corrupt.”

The deal which ended the strike was reached at a meeting between a state-appointed local union representative and Minister of Labor Aisha Abdel Hady, Secretary-General of the government-backed General Federation of Trade Unions Hussein Meghawer, and the Governor of Beheira province.

The deal was announced to the workers by Beheira Governor Mohammed Shaarawy, who arrived at the factory to read the agreement to the gathered protestors.

According to the terms of the deal, the workers’ monthly food allowance will rise to LE 43 per month and the factory will review rules instituted in 1960 as well as health and safety conditions inside the plant.

An ambulance for the factory clinic, which workers charged contained no medicine and demanded bribes in exchange for allowing sick leave, is now expected to be provided by management.

Workers will not receive a 45-day bonus under the deal, but will get a sum equal to 21 days of wages. Most workers seemed not to mind.

“They did not give us the 45-day bonus, but they gave us something better — the meal allowance,” said a former protester.

“We’ll get LE 11 more a month. It’s a small amount but we’re happy with it. It will be retroactive, so we’ll get seven months worth of money.”

Workers pointed out that this lump sum is actually worth more money than a 45 day bonus.

The sit-in which began last week gained strength quickly and within a few hours was quickly joined by workers from each of the plant’s four shifts as word of the protest spread through the town.

On Tuesday, the protest abruptly became a hunger strike when state security teams barricaded the workers inside the plant and refused to let anyone enter to bring them food or medicine. Unwilling to leave, workers vowed to stay in the plant and not eat until their demands were met.

According to the Workers’ Coordination Committee, the factory workers responded to the state security escalation by “broadcasting an obituary for the chief of management and trade union committee and chanting slogans demanding the 45 days bonus like other companies.”

The workers rallied around the slogan “Strike until death. Strike until payment.”

In the end, though, they accepted the deal proposed by the state.

In December, more than 27,000 workers went on strike in Ghazl el Mahalla in defiance of their local union.

The strikers won a range of concessions from management and have now organized a campaign to impeach their local union representatives, threatening to form an independent union if their demands are not met.

If the Mahalla workers are successful in forming an independent union, it will be Egypt’s first since the 1957 formation of the General Federation of Trade Unions, the state body governing the country’s labor unions. The success of the Mahalla campaign has energized the Egyptian labor movement in recent months and inspired a string of wildcat strikes throughout the Delta.

On the sidelines of Thursday impromptu celebration, some workers were unhappy with the deal that ended the strike. Despite what some view as a victory for workers, complaints of state pressure, union corruption and low wages persist.

“We have union representatives who don’t know how to do their jobs,” said one angry man, reacting to the news that the union had cut a deal with the government.

“We didn’t choose these representatives; the government forced them on us. We have nothing at all to do with these union people.”

Another man told The Daily Star Egypt: “Myself, I make LE 290 a month. What does that do in this day and age? Why did we have this sit in? So we can get LE 11 more?”

“We get very, very low wages.” He said. “I want to ask President Hosni Mubarak, if you have any loyalty to your sons working in the factories, then look at us with a little mercy. Does he have no loyalty to us?”

DSE: Man allegedly abuse in video phone footage still in jail

Man allegedly abused in video phone footage still in jail

By Liam Stack

First Published: February 9, 2007

CAIRO: Ihab Magdy Farouq, a 19-year-old Imbaba resident, is currently incarcerated at the Al-Qata prison in Qalyoubia province, north of Cairo. According to the North Giza prosecutor’s office, his crime was petty theft and involvement in a street fight.

But according to his legal team, and human rights activists familiar with the case, Ihab is simply guilt of speaking out about his abuse in prison.

That abuse was captured on a camera phone and broadcast to the world last fall over countless blogs and internet video sites. “He is accused of four counts of theft and fighting, and we have appealed them all,” said his lawyer, Nov Fenari, who has been provided by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights. “But Ihab was a victim of torture. That is the real reason he is being held.”

The short video shows Farouq being struck repeatedly on the neck and face during questioning inside the Imbaba police station, as an officer shouts insults at him.

The video’s existence became widely known as it was passed between cell phones and posted on blogs. It has been viewed more than fifteen thousand times on the popular video site YouTube.

Farouq was first identified as the man in the film in a report published on Thursday February 1 by independent Arabic-language daily Al Masry Al Youm. The day the report appeared, Farouq was called in to the Imbaba police station for questioning.

Fearing for his safety, he instead fled his home in the sprawling slum.

According to human rights activists, after Farouq fled Imbaba police detained his father and wife, who were interrogated overnight. The next day, Feb. 2, the two were released and his brother Mohamed Magdy Farouq was detained. Fearing for his brother’s safety, Farouq returned home where he was arrested.

Farouq is being represented in court by a legal team from the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights. According to them, the three police corporals implicated in the abuse, Ahmad Abdel Fattah, Ahmad el-Wardani, and a third who goes by the alias Dahesh, have all been detained pending further investigation.

Their supervising officer, who filmed the abuse on his mobile phone, Lieutenant Kareem Abdullah Abdel Mohsen, has been transferred from Imbaba to another Cairo police station.

Ali Zalat, the investigative reporter who broke the story in Al-Masry Al-Youm, was also briefly detained and questioned over night last week in the Imbaba police station. He is considered a “witness” in the case, although it is not clear how the prosecutor will respond to the appeal or what new charges may emerge.

“These charges are all politically motivated.” Said Hafez Abu Se’ada, the Secretary General of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights and the lead counsel to Farouq.

“The police are punishing Ihab because he came forward to talk about being tortured.”

“If people know that this is what happens to those who complain about torture to the press and to human rights groups, then they will stop coming forward.”

Farouq’s lawyers complain that the veil of secrecy around the case is so prohibitive that not even they are able to know what is happening.

“We don’t know how much merit these charges have because until now we have not been allowed to see his files in the police station,” said Abu Se’ada. “Right now the charges are not clear. I don’t trust them, though. I think the allegations may have been made up by the police so that they can hold him.”

Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office says that their response to the lawyers’ appeals has been completed, but it will not say when the statement will be released.

Hafez Abu Se’ada expects Farouq to stand trial for the four charges some time in February, although a court date has not been firmly set.

“The torture investigation is ongoing,” he said. “But right now we are just trying to get him out of prison.”

DSE: Rights groups fear crack-down

Rights groups fear crackdown

By Liam Stack

First Published: February 1, 2007

CAIRO: Surrounded by more than 100 state security police, a crowd of 50 human rights activists gathered on the steps of the Press Syndicate to mark last week’s National Police Day with a protest against torture.

For the demonstrators, the holiday — a rarely celebrated commemoration of the police’s role in ending British rule — serves as a stark reminder of the abuse they claim still exists at Egyptian police stations.

“Celebrating Police Day has no meaning,” said the young editor of the watchdog website tortureinegypt.com. She did not want to be named, citing fears of a spreading crackdown on anti-torture activism.

“All the things the police did in the revolution happened a long time ago.”
She continued: “Years ago if you had a problem, you would happily go ask the police for help. Now when most Egyptians see the police, they are afraid. This is a big change.”

As the young state security soldiers looked on appearing bored at the small crowd of protesters, activists chanted slogans and held up signs denouncing torture and the emergency law.

“We organized this protest today to remind the police of the things they once did for our country,” said organizer Aida Seif El-Dawla, motioning to the line of riot police surrounding the demonstrators. “And to show them that we know what they do now.”

El-Dawla alleged that torture was widespread in Egypt and how when one person speaks out, it is easier for the second and the third and the fourth to follow suite.

“Recently many video clips of torture have been leaked as well. They have had a large effect. Images are very powerful,” she said.

For the past several weeks there has been a national uproar over a series of camera-phone videos purportedly taken inside police stations across the country showing citizens being tortured and abused by police officers.
The most high-profile video shows a Cairo mini-bus driver Emad Al-Kabir being sodomized with a broom stick by policemen as he lay screaming on the floor of an interrogation room.

In the video Al-Kabir screams for mercy as police taunt him with threats that they will distribute the video in his neighborhood to show family and friends that “when you lie with your wife there will be no difference between you.”

In Egypt, these clips were passed between mobile phones, downloaded them from websites like YouTube, and heatedly discussed in cafes across the sprawling capital.

“These videos have had a big effect,” says the editor of the anti-torture website.

“People are more aware of torture now and are more interested in keeping an eye on what the police are doing. People want to know what is happening behind the doors of police stations.” Magda Adly, the director of the Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence says that all Egyptians are potentially victims of torture.

“Make no mistake, police torture is a policy,” alleges Adly. “All the techniques are the same, from Alexandria to Aswan. They all use the same way of hanging, the same way of electrocuting their victims, the same way of beating.”

While activists are glad that allegations of torture by police have garnered attention in local and international media, they are concerned that this may provoke a crackdown by the state. Some fear it has already begun. Last week the office of the state prosecutor in Cairo began proceedings against Al-Jazeera producer Howayda Taha.

Taha, 43, had been filming a documentary about torture and now faces charges of defaming the state.
She stands accused of “practicing activities that harm the national interest of the country” and of “possessing and giving false pictures about the internal situation in Egypt that could undermine the dignity of the country.”

Taha was detained at Cairo airport en route to Qatar and was interrogated for more than a day about her work for the satellite channel. Police confiscated over 50 videotapes from her luggage, which are now being held as evidence in the case.

The official reaction to the torture controversy has been mixed.

The Associated Press reported that Interior Minister Habib El-Adly has said that many people are “upset about … some videos, newspapers and some critics who were trying to increase the view of police hostility. I consider this to be an intended unpatriotic campaign.”

Others take a more muted view. Hussein Amin, a member of the policy committee of the NDP and chairman of the department of mass communication at the American University in Cairo, disputes the claim that torture is systematic inside Egyptian jails.

“Is torture the norm? I don’t think so,” he says. “I think these are just things that come to our minds through the media and affect our perceptions of prisons and police officers.”

He says he has seen videos of interns being tortured in Abu Ghraib in Iraq as well as photos of political prisoners abused in Guantanamo.

“If the Americans treat prisoners this way, I think that Egyptians take that as a model.”

He contends that violence exists but questions whether it is really systematic: “That is the question. I do not think it is.”

Statements by the interior ministry suggest otherwise, say activists.

In a Jan. 17 interview with Arabic-language daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, General Ahmad Diaa, assistant to the interior minister, said: “The percentage of torture in Egypt over the past few months has been five out of every 1,000 detainees.”

Human rights activists balk at these statements.

“That is still thousands and thousands of people,” said blogger and activist Sherif Ahmed. "If they torture five of every 1,000 detainees — that is not a small number at all.”

DSE: Ghazl El-Mahalla textile workers say their protest is fueled by hunger

Ghazl El-Mahalla textile workers say their protest is fueled by hunger

By Liam Stack

First Published: January 31, 2007

CAIRO: Zein Al-Abdeen Zaki has worked at the Ghazl El-Mahalla textile factory in Gharbiyya Province, north of Cairo for many years and like most laborers in Egypt’s textile sector, his life has never been easy.
The 35-year-old father of four has struggled to support his family on LE 250 a month, but then disaster struck.
“I used to work in the production areas of the factory, but then I lost my fingers in an accident with one of the machines.” He says, displaying his left hand. Two of its fingers have been severed just above the knuckle.

“After that the bosses told me I could stay at the factory and work as a garbage collector, but they would only pay me LE 150 a month.”

“I am a married man and I have four children — two boys and two girls. The way they treat us, it’s not fair.”

In recent weeks, complaints of unfair treatment and corruption have galvanized the workers at Ghazl El-Mahalla, which — with 27,000 employees — is Egypt’s largest public sector factory.

In December the plant’s workforce went on strike to receive bonuses they say were promised to them as public workers according to Prime Ministerial decree 467, which guarantees a yearly bonus equal to two months salary.

Factory managers argued that the decree only applied to employees in ministries and public administration, not to public sector workers. The workers’ union representatives agreed. But the strike prevailed despite this united opposition, and a compromise gave the workers a bonus equal to one and a half months salary.

This week, workers from Ghazl El-Mahalla came to Cairo to present the General Union of Textile workers with a petition demanding the impeachment of their local factory union.

Organizers of this independent workers movement say that their petition, with 13,000 names, exceeds legal requirements which state that such demands be backed by more than 50 percent one of the workforce.

If the General Union does not allow a new election to be held, organizers say their followers will resign en masse and form a union independent of the General Federation of Trade Unions, a government-backed group. Worker leaders say this is an unprecedented challenge to the authority of the General Federation, founded in 1957.

“This is a legitimate demand,” Said Mohamed El-Attar, who has been chosen as the spokesperson of the workers movement.

“Our union is illegitimate. If our leaders are not impeached we will all leave the union and form our own … independent union. The constitution says we have a right to an independent labor union.”

“Our strike was home-grown.” He says. “We call it ‘the revolution of the hungry,’ because we all had a part in it. There are no leaders among us, it is just us workers. We are all leaders.”

Organizers list a host of grievances, chief among them low wages, corruption and vote-rigging within the union.

“Our salaries are very low,” says El-Attar. “The government is creating a huge gap between the classes within the public sector here in Egypt.”

“Our average salary in the textile factories is very low compared with other workers. The average salary in steel mills is around LE 4,000 a month. In the aluminum mills in Naga Hamadi the average salary is between LE 3,000 and LE 4,000. But for textile workers our average salary is between LE 150 and LE 250.”

Health care is also a major concern for the workers at Ghazl El-Mahalla. They charge that unsanitary working conditions contribute to health problems that their low salaries keep them too poor to adequately treat.

“We all have bad respiratory problems and head aches from breathing dirty, dusty air all day. This is becoming a very big health problem for us,” says El Attar.

“The salary we get is not enough to even cover daily food costs, let alone medicine. Management will tell you that there is a hospital at the factory that treats workers. True, the hospital is there, but it doesn’t even provide us with basic health services.”

A delegation of 200 workers presented their demands to the leaders of the General Union of Textile Workers in a tense Monday meeting at syndicate headquarters in Shubra.

Directly addressing members of the board, El Attar described what the workers see as the local union’s betrayal.

“We carried out a very civilized strike, similar to any democratic struggle happening anywhere in the world.” He told the union leaders. “We gave our management 3 days notice before the strike began and we did not accept any salary for those three days as a form of protest. We agreed to begin our sit-in on Thursday. It was a successful sit-in, but we never saw you there. You were sitting with management in their offices, and we didn’t see you once. In fact, we didn’t see a single person from our supposedly elected union for 3 days.”

“We workers put our faith in you and you tried to sell us out by siding with our enemies.” He said, to cheers from the crowd. “Now we are taking back that trust.”

Leaders of the General Union reacted with visible disbelief to the charges, as well as to the spectacle of being heckled by so many of their own members. They agreed to consider the workers’ demands and provide an official response by Feb. 15.

“I can’t just impeach someone from their job,” exclaimed Said Ghory, the Chairman of the General Union, to a cacophony of heckling from the audience. “Besides, how are you going to verify 13,000 signatures?” he continued. “Are you going to sit down with 13,000 people to verify their signatures? I will not go out and ask all these workers to verify their names, but we have our own ways of finding out who these people are.”

Ghory vigorously contested the workers’ account of the union’s role in the December strike and insisted the general union was the only body defending workers’ rights.

As the crowd booed him, he held steadfast: “We stood by your rights more than anyone else because this is our duty!”

But the workers are refusing to back down and are likely to raise their demands.

Outside the meeting, Ghazl El-Mahalla employee Mohamed Metwali Hegazi says the workers are united in seeking a change of the textile factory’s management and the representatives present at the workers syndicate.

“We have no say in the way things are run now,” he told The Daily Star Egypt.

“Everyone says we live in an age of democracy and citizenship. Well we have rights [and] Egyptian citizens must have a way to express their opinions.”

DSE: Mahalla textile workers demand union dissolved and greater independence

Mahalla textile workers demand union dissolved and greater independence

By Liam Stack

First Published: January 29, 2007

CAIRO: Over 200 workers from the Mahalla Textile Factory, Egypt’s largest, presented a petition to the General Union of Textiles Workers, demanding that their local factory union be impeached during a meeting yesterday at their headquarters in Shubra.

The workers called for new elections for their local factory union. If their demands are not met, they threatened to secede from the General Federation of Trade Unions, the umbrella organization which covers all workers’ unions. Representatives of the petition’s 13,000 signatories charge that the factory union — which supposedly represents workers in any dispute with management — with a host of abuses.

They claim the current union was both fraudulently elected and also conspired with management to abort their successful December strike, which energized the long-dormant Egyptian labor movement.

In December 2006, the factory’s 27,000 employees went on strike to demand their yearly bonuses, which traditionally make up the bulk of their annual salary. After five days the strikers compromised with management and received 75 percent of the demanded amount, although concerns over stagnant wages persist.

“The bonuses have not changed in 24 years,” said one worker, who preferred not to be named. “But prices have increased by over 300 percent since then. Our wages are not worth much anymore.”

“When will the National Council for Salaries and Wages convene again?” asked another, referring to the defunct body tasked with determining the country’s prevailing wages. “It is supposed to meet every three years, but it has not met since the 80s.”

This week’s stand-off is the first of its kind since the creation of the General Federation of Trade Unions in 1957. If the Mahalla workers succeed in forming an independent union, it would be the first in almost 50 years.

The General Union of Textiles Workers has agreed to review the Mahalla employees’ demands and provide an official response to them by Feb. 15.

“This is a legitimate demand,” said Mohamed El-Attar, spokesman for the Mahalla workers. “Law 35 obliges the state to respond to us. Section B of Article 26 entitles us to impeach our local union if we feel it does not represent us. This has never happened in Egypt before.”

According to Egyptian labor law, the leaders of any local union can be impeached if 50 percent of the workers plus one demanded it. The leaders of the Mahalla campaign claim their petition exceeds this demand.
Accusations that the local union plotted with management against the workers in December provoked a heated exchange inside the crowded hall.

“These are all lies! Lies!” shouted one member of the Mahalla Factory Union, to a foreign visitor.

“No they are not,” said El-Attar, responding directly to the Union leader. “Not one single member of our syndicate stood with us during the strike. You stood on the side of management. As our representatives you had an agreement with us, and you broke it.”

“Look at what happened at Tora Cement factory,” he continued, referring to the successful strike at Tora Cement factory in late December. “When the workers there went on hunger strike, eight members of the factory committee joined them and were sent to the hospital.”

“Their demands were met in 12 hours because their union stood by them. But when we had our strike, where were you?” he said, pointing at the local union leaders.

He added: “We want a union that really represents us. It’s simple. That’s our demand.”
The local union leader declined to make further comments to reporters.

The Mahalla leaders presented their demands to the panicked members of the General Union’s board in a similarly tense back-and-forth. In addition to accusations of fraud and corruption against their local representatives, they accused the leaders of the General Union of coercion by the state.

“You are all a part of the National Democratic Party!” shouted one worker, referring to the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) of President Hosni Mubarak, in power since 1981.

“I have no party affiliations,” said Said Ghory, President of the General Union of Textiles Workers. “But I do not want to speak for my colleagues.”

The other seven Union leaders sitting on each side of Ghory made no comment about possible political links.
Workers also charge that the General Federation of Trade Unions is cooperating with State Security to suppress their demand for an independent union.

They say two buses containing more than 300 more factory workers who planned to attend Monday’s meeting were barred from entering Cairo at a check-point outside Shubra, and that leaders from Mahalla received phone threats by police and security forces.

“I want to say this in front of the media: we are being intimidated by the labor union,” said El-Attar, to cheers from his fellow workers in the audience. “It is very important that no intimidation takes place during this process.”

Appearing visibly flustered during the meeting, Ghory denied one worker’s charge that the General Federation of Trade Unions is facing a crisis.

“There is no crisis here,” he exclaimed. “There is no crisis. I am here because I have a clear conscience. We live in a democratic country, workers have their rights, and there is no crisis in this union.”

DSE: Experts warn of “chaos” and “violence” in 2007

Experts warn of “chaos” and “violence” in 2007

By Liam Stack
First Published: January 26, 2007


CAIRO: Newspaper editor Ibrahim Eissa, Judge Hisham Bastawisi and politician Osama Ghazali Harb made dire predictions for the year 2007 at the Ibn Khaldun Center’s annual New Year’s event on Tuesday night.

Speaking to a crowded room of liberal Egyptian civil society leaders, politicians and foreign diplomats, the panel warned of a year full of confrontation, political crises, and potential chaos.

“In 2006 we saw the arrest of [former Al Ghad party leader] Ayman Nour and [MP] Talaat El-Sadat, as well as increased crackdowns on members of the Muslim Brotherhood, liberals in parliament, and intellectuals,” said Ibrahim Eissa, the Editor-in-Chief of independent newspaper El Destour.

Earlier this year Eissa was charged with “defaming” President Mubarak and faces a one year jail sentence, which is currently under appeal.

“I think these trends will continue,” He continued. “It is clear that the regime is completely autocratic, and we must take severe action against this autocracy. They oppress anyone who raises their voice.”

“The people who are managing these conflicts for the NDP are the worst people to be doing it. They are not talking about what is good for Egypt, they are taking a security stance against dissent.”

Osama Ghazali Harb, a member of the Shura Council and a former member of the National Democratic Party, says the current socio-political environment in Egypt has allowed decay to seep through.

Last year Harb resigned from the NDP to form a new party, the National Democratic Front. This week the NDF will apply for official certification from the government’s Party Commission this week.

Harb described the bleak life faced by most Egyptians and raged against what he sees as national decline.

“We lack basic educational services, health care and even adequate food security. We face disgraceful problems. Our blood banks are contaminated, we don’t have basic health care – we can’t even get organized to pick up garbage in the streets. Our country is full of disgrace and shame.”

“The real conflict in our country is between those seeking change and those opposing it,” he said. “Our fight is with despotism and this autocratic system. The rivalry that many feel between liberals and the Muslim Brotherhood is a trivial distraction – it is not the real conflict we face.”

The major debate of the year 2007, all agreed, will be over amendments to the Constitution. Parliament is scheduled to debate 34 amendments this year, but the most controversial is a proposed amendment to Article 88, which stipulates judicial oversight of elections.

The proposed amendment will reduce the supervisory role currently played by judges. The state argues that this will protect their dignity by shielding them from possible insult or injury at polling stations.

In place of judicial oversight, the proposed amendment establishes an oversight role for the powerful State Security police. Critics decry such a move as an attempt to expand the power of the state security forces and diminish the principle of independent oversight.

“Mubarak is paving the way for his son to inherit the throne, by using state security and other executive bodies to eliminate rivals,” said Judge Hisham Bastawisi, a leader of last spring’s Judges Movement.

“We will not allow the government to pass Article 88, which will create an eternal state of emergency under the guise of a terrorism law. We need a system that posts one judge at each ballot box, and we will not abandon this principle.”

Members of the panel warned of the potential for widespread unrest in the coming year.

They pointed to recent strikes by transportation workers in Mahalla and Alexandria as proof of rising discontent among the Egyptian poor and working classes, and warned that the amendment of Article 88 could act as a fuse for a wider crisis.

“If these laws pass, then we in Egypt will lose all hope for peaceful change and the peaceful transfer of power,” said Bastawisi.

Eissa agreed.

“When 27,000 workers in Mahalla go on strike under the banner ‘we are real men,’ that is a sign of change to come,” he said. “We are floating on a sea of corruption here in Egypt, and we have two choices — chaos and change. Nothing will remain as it is now for much longer.”

“If there is chaos it will destroy everything in its path, including us,” he told the audience, which was composed mainly of upper middle class liberal activists and foreign diplomats.

“If you remember the level of destruction and chaos that accompanied the two days of bread riots in 1977, you have an idea of the danger we face if we do not organize efforts to turn the potential chaos into productive change.”

DSE: The State of our Union is frustrating

The State of our Union is frustrating

By Liam Stack
First Published: January 26, 2007

You could see it in Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s eyes, sitting atop the rostrum behind George W Bush as he gave this week’s State of the Union address. The vacant stare. The idle scratching of her cheek. Even Dick Cheney spent most of the time looking at his feet. They had heard it all before. Everyone had heard it all before.

This week President Bush delivered the annual State of the Union address, and except for a few changes – he called for action against global warming after big business demanded it, he addressed Pelosi as Madame Speaker – most of what he said came as little surprise to most Americans.

He repeated the old uplifting slogans about the power of human freedom to vanquish terrorism; the feel-good, pop-psychology version of all that military equipment that he never bothered to give American soldiers in the first place.

When he looked in the cameras and told the folks at home that “what every terrorist fears most is human freedom…So we advance our own security interests by helping moderates and reformers and brave voices for democracy,” you could be forgiven for thinking America was back in the salad days of March 2003.

Back then the plan was to roll into Baghdad to the cheers of adoring crowds, stir up some democracy, and then maybe whip Syria and Iran into shape as an encore.

But the old plan didn’t work out so well, and in his third State of the Union since the war began Bush felt the need to remind his audience that “America is still a nation at war.”

After the events of the last few weeks, the war would be hard to forget.

The Bush team’s intransigence has recently been highlighted by the new “surge” plan, which was unveiled to a roar of bipartisan outrage, disbelief and criticism on Capitol Hill.

The plan calls for an escalation of the war by sending more than 20,000 new soldiers to Baghdad and Al Anbar province.

This escalation was announced just weeks after the Iraq Study Group, a panel of highly respected elder statesmen from both parties, recommended that America begin withdrawing from Iraq, and open talks with Damascus and Tehran.

It seems an American return to realism is not on the agenda, no matter how many people want it.

The surge has been highly controversial. According to polls conducted by The Washington Post, 61% of the country opposes the plan – including 94% of Democrats – and only 36% think it is a good idea. Just 40% of American think the Iraq war is even worth fighting, and 56% think their country is not winning in Iraq.

Both the President and his new Defense Secretary Robert M Gates have also said they believe that America is losing the war.

Given this, it is unsurprising that a great mood of anger, frustration and helplessness is settling in across many places in the United States.

The President’s cavalier flouting of both the Iraq Study Group and public opinion has inflamed widespread anti-Bush sentiment and given new life to caricatures of the commander-in-chief as a pugnacious child-emperor who does what he wants when he wants, no matter what advice he has received or the possible consequences of his actions.

For many Americans, it feels like their country is trapped in a horrible movie, and they can neither change the plot or the channel.

They vote for the Democrats, they respond to the opinions polls, and occasionally they send an email to their congressman or march in a protest. But for the last four years nothing has stopped this war from grinding ahead.

Watching the State of the Union, I was reminded of spending New Year’s Eve with my family. My middle aged relatives reminisced about the innocence and hope of the Irish Catholic neighborhoods of the Bronx in the early 1960s, and about their heartbreak at the Kennedy assassinations that sat at each end of that decade like bookends.

But despite all that, it was a simpler time then, they say.

“Back then we thought we were the good guys.” Said an old family friend. “But now we know better.”

Watching Pelosi stare into space and vacantly scratch her cheek, I could not help but wonder how many members of Congress felt the same way.

DSE:Saad Eddin Ibrahim and students return from political tour of regional hot-spots

Saad Eddin Ibrahim and students return from political tour of regional hot-spots

By Liam Stack
First Published: January 23, 2007

CAIRO: A delegation of students led by Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a once-imprisoned democracy activist and current professor of political sociology at the American University in Cairo (AUC), has returned this week from a field trip of a most unusual kind.

The much-publicized trip, alternatively described by Ibrahim as a “fact-finding mission” and “a study tour,” brought 20 Egyptian and foreign students to cities and hot-spots across the Levant for meetings and panels with decision makers, activists and other students. It has been covered widely in the Arabic language media.

This trip comes less than a year after Ibrahim’s last student delegation, which brought over 40 AUC students to Israel and Palestine to meet with members of Hamas and Kadima in the wake of last year’s Palestinian elections.

“Political scientists and political sociologists always say that when radical movements come to power, they become more moderate,” Ibrahim said of last year’s trip. “My students wanted to know if Hamas and Kadima would do the same. I said ‘I have no idea, let’s go find out.’ This year we wanted to take a trip again.”

This year the trip was expanded to include Lebanon and Jordan. The group wanted to learn about the health of civil society in the region, and to determine the capacity for democracy-building and conflict resolution.

“There was a great curiosity about both the situation within Lebanon, and the tension between Lebanon and Israel,” says Ibrahim, “Since they are just next door, I thought ‘let’s go find out, let’s be pioneers.’”

“These two groups, Hezbollah and Israel, they are taboos in Egypt, they are toxic. So we went to find out what the situation was.”

The delegation began its trip in Beirut. There students met political leaders such as President Emile Lahoud and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. On day trips they climbed through the craters of bombed-out south Beirut, and in the afternoons met with infamous figures including Christian warlord-turned-politician Samir Geagea and the southern regional commander of Hezbollah.

Ibrahim also had a private meeting with Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

“At the end of the showdown last summer between Israel and Hezbollah, we at the Ibn Khaldun Center did a survey of the 30 most popular Arab public figures in the news,” said Ibrahim, after his meeting with the Nasrallah.

He continued: “At the time Nasrallah came out at the top and Mubarak came in number 12. As you can imagine, my methodology was questioned and my results were called nonsense. Mubarak can never come in number 12 in anything.”

From Beirut the group traveled to Amman, where they met with advisors to King Abdullah II as well as the leader of the Islamic Action Front. In Israel and Palestine the students met with a wide range of figures including Israeli students and peace activists, Palestinian political analysts, leaders of the Fatah young guard and Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Eddin Al-Shaa.

For many, this was the highlight of the trip.

“Israel and Palestine stands out for me,” says Francesca Ricciardone, a second year MA student at AUC. “Everyone that we met, in every place that we went, emphasized the centrality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

“I have spent a lot of time studying the conflict in school. But to be there, and to go through the checkpoints and see the way that Palestinian mobility is controlled really shows you how Israel is not only stopping the Palestinians from forming a state but also how it is keeping them from maintaining their national ties to each other.”

Akshaya Kumar, an undergraduate from George Washington University who is studying abroad at AUC, agreed.

“What really sticks in my mind is seeing the reality of the Israeli Wall in the West Bank, and the check-points, and the way that policies are actually implemented.” She said, “When you read about them its one thing, when you see them it’s another. You can feel the tension between the communities. There is so much hatred and anger and inability to see people as people.”

According to Ibrahim, putting a human face on regional conflict is one of the main goals of these study tours.
“No matter how much brainwashing and animosity there is, human beings can always relate to one another as human beings.”

He says: “That is why I traveled to Israel, Palestine and Lebanon with my students this year with this second generation of researchers. Because we can’t make assumptions about anyone — Israelis, Palestinians, Hamas, Hizbullah — anyone.”

DSE: Downtown Beirut paralyzed by anti-government protest

Downtown Beirut paralyzed by anti-government protest

By Liam Stack
First Published: January 23, 2007

BEIRUT: The chic shops and eateries of Downtown Beirut have fallen eerily silent as opposition parties, led by Hezbollah and the party of Christian General Michel Aoun, have erected a sprawling tent city across the heart of this seaside capital.

The protestors demand the resignation of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora and the creation of a new government in which Shiite parties will hold veto power. The protest has crippled the city and driven scores of merchants out of business.

“Seniora is a thief and a liar!” exclaimed an energetic teenage protestor, offering coffee and cigarettes to a foreign visitor. “He learned all about how to steal and create a civil war from his friends in the White House.”
“He is a weak man.” Laughed another. “He cried on TV!”

For over six weeks, whole families of protestors have been camped out in the shadow of Beirut’s opulent government palace. Many are young people who leave the camp each morning to go to school and return in the evening for a boisterous rally that draws thousands. Vendors sell balloons and chicken shawarma. Men smoke shishas as their young daughters, draped in Hezbollah flags, dance to the militaristic music blared throughout the camp.

The protest has the atmosphere of a carnival, albeit one which demands the overthrow of the government.
Outside the campsite, in the near silent streets of downtown, a few merchants sit on the sidewalk outside their empty shops.

“No one comes to my shop anymore, or to this whole area, because of their campaign,” said a shawarma vendor, a member of the Druze sect. “They don’t like the government and they don’t like this country. They don’t like Lebanon. They like Syria and Iran, because they get so much money from them. But they won’t succeed. These people are nothing. Nothing.”

DSE: Demonstrators say judicial independence key to democracy

Demonstrators say judicial independence key to democracy

By Liam Stack
First Published: November 17, 2006

Cairo- Opposition group Kefaya called for a demonstration in support of judicial independence on Friday, to coincide with a meeting of the Judges syndicate. Only 30 people attended the demonstration.

“People are afraid,” said Kefaya member Ahmed Abdel Latif. “If we do anything, state security will come and attack us.”

The judges met to begin contentious discussions on the proper allocation of syndicate funds. Critics accuse the Minister of Justice, Mamdouh Marei, of manipulating spending to keep the judicial branch under the control of the presidency and parliament, both dominated by the National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak.

According to Amr Adel, a member of the officially unapproved Wasat Party, the stakes for Egypt are high.

“Parliament and the Presidency are working together to try to keep the judges under control, but there must be a separation between the government and any one party. Without freedom for the judges there can be no democracy in Egypt.”

DSE: The View from Cairo: The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same

The View from Cairo: The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same

By Liam Stack
First Published: November 8, 2006

The midterm elections have delivered a slim but significant victory for the Democratic party

By the time polls on the East Coast of the United States closed, it was 3 o’clock in the morning in Cairo. Waking up early the next day to watch the results on TV, I could not tell if I was excited by what I saw or if I was having an out of body experience.

Although a few important races have yet to be decided, the broad trend is clearly visible.

The midterm elections have delivered a slim but significant victory for the Democratic party. It has taken control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994, and is a Virginia recount away from a possible victory in the Senate as well. They have also won the majority of the country’s governorships, taking over from Republicans in traditionally liberal states like New York and Massachusetts, but also winning races in more conservative places like Arkansas, Ohio and Colorado.

Taking the stage at the Democrat’s victory party, Nancy Pelosi, the fashionable San Francisco grandmother who led the Democrats in the House minority and is set to become the country’s first female House Majority leader, declared “Mr. President, we need a new direction in Iraq.”

But it is far from clear that the Democrats will be able to provide the country, or the world, with any such thing. There is little consensus within the Democratic Party, or American society as a whole, about what the United States should do in Iraq. Overall, the American political landscape depressingly few fresh ideas about the super power’s role in the world, and in the Middle East in particular. The rhetorical promotion of democracy in the Arab world, some version of the “War on Terror,” and unflinching support for Israel and Zionism are all mainstream, bipartisan issues in the United States.

While the Democrats host victory parties in Washington D.C., and the talking-heads of the media fill the air waves with talk of a political sea change, it is unlikely that anything will change on the ground. That is especially true in the Middle East.

I am American, and when I go home people often as me what it is like to live in the Arab world. Is it safe? Do they hate us?

Usually I respond with anecdotes. Once in a taxi, the driver began to tell me, in quick and heated ‘ameyya, his opinions of the United States. I confessed to him that I did not understand what he was saying. He looked at me hard for a moment, thinking, then rummaged through a pile of change in his dashboard ash tray and pulled out a rare five piaster coin. He held one of its faces up to me.

“Bush,” he said. He then turned to the other side of the coin. “Mubarak.”

Another man I once knew put it to me in clearer English. “Americans are good people, but I hate the government. It’s just like here.”

Sitting in my Zamalek apartment and watching the election results on CNN International, I thought of these men. It is striking how far removed the political intrigues of Congress are from the real world in which all of us — Egyptian and foreigner, in Zamalek or Shubra — live.

Very little will change now that the Democrats, famous for fractious infighting, have a a slim lead in one house of Congress. It is unlikely that they will push the United States in a truly new direction, or finally make change for the cab drivers of Cairo.

DSE: Koshary in first class: a new look at airplane food

Koshary in first class: a new look at airplane food

By Liam Stack
First Published: November 5, 2006

Lufthansa unveils new gourmet Arab-European fusion menu

Cairo- Lufthansa Airlines unveiled a new Middle East-themed menu at a lavish event Thursday night at the Marriott Zamalek. The buzzwords for the evening were “New Arabian Cuisine.” The menu will be served to all first class and business class passengers traveling between Europe and the Arab world.

The event was attended by business executives and journalists from the Egyptian press, who were served a broad sampling of dishes from the new menu. An army of waiters and chefs in tall white hats served the guests, passing out small fusion dishes in between promotional videos of the same chefs comically frolicking atop sand dunes.

“This novel style of cuisine provides an outstanding opportunity for those lovers of fine food who may be a little hesitant about unfamiliar flavors to acquire a taste for Arabian cuisine,” said Ingo Maass, the head German chef on the project, in remarks to the press.

True to their word, the menu does combine typical Arab dishes with a bit of Western cocktail party flare. While some might be wary of such combinations, the results are delicious. Shrimp cocktail piled atop bite-sized ta’ameya, hummus with grilled sea bass, taboulah with pineapple and lentil chutney, and gourmet koshary served with roast salmon were among the evening’s highlights.

According to Lufthansa, its menu is making a valuable contribution to East-West dialogue by “providing a healthy model for cultural dialogue on a fresh culinary front.” However, parts of the evening left a clash-of-civilizations taste in one’s mouth.

“Arabs, in general, are very tradition conscious,” Lutz Jakel informed the ballroom full of Egyptian journalists, referring to his audience in the third person. “They do not pay a great deal of attention to cooking, and always prepare food according to tradition. In Arabian cuisine, innovation is something to be regarded with the greatest suspicion.”

Jakel is co-author of the cookbook from which the menu is drawn. Maass, and his co-chef Amgad Zaki, are also credited as authors of the cookbook. The evening closed with the chefs autographing copies of their cookbook, which can be purchased for just LE 350, slightly less than one month’s salary for the average Egyptian.

DSE: Palestinian-Jordanians still discriminated against, research shows

Palestinian-Jordanians still discriminated against, research shows

By Alexandra Sandels and Liam Stack

First Published: November 5, 2006

‘Stateless’ face strict preconditions for receiving UN relief funds

CAIRO: While Jordan may be considered one of the leading destinations for asylum-seeking Palestinian refugees in comparison to other Arab states such as Lebanon and Syria, Palestinian-Jordanians still face extensive socio-economic discrimination in the Hashemite kingdom, research fellow Gudrun Kroner said.

According to statistics from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as much as 60 percent of the Jordanian population is believed to be of Palestinian origin.

In addition, UNRWA estimates that there are approximately 1.84 million Palestinian refugees and 100,000 displaced persons in Jordan, while Kroner estimates a higher number of 800,000 displaced persons in her research.

Palestinian refugees residing in Jordan may possess the same civil rights as Jordanian nationals, but it is still hard for Palestinians to become naturalized citizens of Jordan due to the fluid definition of ‘a Palestinian refugee’ as well as UNRWA’s strict rules and regulations.

In order for Palestinian refugees to receive help from UNRWA, for example, they not only have to live in UNRWA-regulated areas but also have to have lost both their homes and livelihood in order to qualify for UNRWA assistance as a Palestinian refugee, Kroner continues.

However, Rula Khalafawi, head of UNRWA’s Cairo office, argues that there is a wide range of special criteria available for Palestinian refugees who are not eligible to apply for official refugee status from UNRWA.

“To be able to officially register with UNRWA as a Palestine refugee, you have to have been a resident of Palestine between June 1, 1946 and May 15, 1948 and have lost both home and livelihood. Once you possess official refugee status, all your descendants including adopted children will inherit your status as a refugee,” Khalafawi told The Daily Star Egypt.

Non-registered refugees, including those who have lost their livelihoods but not homes or vice versa, are eligible for UNRWA assistance even though they may not reside in one of the areas that are regulated by the agency.

Also, UNRWA offers assistance in the form of cash, food, and shelter in cases of ‘special hardships,’ particularly for those residing in certain parts of the occupied Palestine territories, Khalafawi said.

Khalafawi attributes the discrimination faced by Gaza-Palestinians to the fact that the group has been subject to displacement twice and thus are considered a stateless and foreign people in Jordanian society.

First, they were displaced into Gaza in 1948 and then driven out of the same area following the 1967 war, Khalafawi points out.

Currently, Gaza Palestinians are only eligible to apply for two-year Jordanian residency permits, which are very hard to renew once they expire.

In addition, Gaza Palestinians face severe discrimination in regards to employment, housing, and education in Jordan, both Kroner and Khalafawi state.

For example, every Gaza Palestinian needs to be cleared by Jordanian security officials before being allowed to seek employment, Khalafawi says.

Moreover, the group is not allowed to purchase land in Jordan, which complicates their ability to settle.

In regards to education, both Kroner and Khalafawi argue that Gaza Palestinians have a hard time being accepted at Jordanian universities since they are considered in theory ‘Arab foreigners’ due to their stateless status.

Universities in Arab countries may only enroll five percent of Arab foreigners into their curriculums without charging extra fees.

Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) currently provides education, healthcare, social services and emergency aid to more than 4.3 million refugees living in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic.

DSE: Perched above Mohandiseen, a splendid evening in Kandahar

Perched above Mohandiseen, a splendid evening in Kandahar

By Liam Stack

First Published: November 3, 2006

The restaurant's Asian offerings are expensive, but justifiably so most of the time

CAIRO: Eating out in Cairo can be predictable, and sometimes downright boring. Many popular restaurants mimic each other’s menus, so that even a new idea quickly becomes passé.

But high above the commotion of Sphinx Square sits a noteworthy duo to the Cairo dining scene — the twin restaurants of Raoucha and Kandahar, are two ambitious eateries which promise to make for enjoyable evenings out.

A friend and I spent a recent evening at Kandahar and found the experience delectable from start to finish. The atmosphere is luxurious, the service warm and friendly, and the food is generally excellent.

Named after a neighborhood in Beirut and a city in Afghanistan, respectively, Raoucha specializes in Lebanese cuisine while Kandahar offers a wide variety of South Asian dishes.

Both are owned by the Oberoi Hotel chain and together they take up an entire floor of one of the towers overlooking the busy square, giving diners a surprisingly pleasant view of the stream of bright traffic lights.
From the moment you step out of your car in front of the restaurant, it is clear you are about to enter a world far removed from the noise, pollution and overcrowding of the city that surrounds it.

Raoucha Kandahar offers valet parking, and a golden elevator whisks you from the sidewalk to the dining
room several stories above the square. Once inside the serene and fashionably decorated dining room, it is easy to forget where you are. Candles gently float in giant brass cauldrons, surrounded by deep red flower petals. Each table is covered with linen cloths atop which sit golden plates stamped with intricate designs. It is not your typical evening in Mohandiseen.

With a few exceptions, the food at Kandahar is among the best you will find in Cairo. Because it is owned by the Oberoi, some of the dishes are very expensive, for example jheenga masala or curry made with prawns will set you back LE 96, not including taxes or service. But the Oberoi name also ensures that almost anything you order will be excellent. The service is also attentive and warm, without veering into the creepy and overly friendly, as so often happens in some restaurants and cafes.

Each meal begins with a plate of vegetable pakoras and fried potatoes with pickled lemons, sweet onions and a savory coriander sauce. All are delicious, although the pickled lemons pack a powerful punch and are not for the faint of heart.

After this, my friend and I chose seekh kebab (lamb kebab, LE 37.50), murgh curry (chicken curry, LE 45) and matter paneer (savory green peas and cottage cheese, LE 17.) As side dishes, we chose chaawal (steamed rice, LE 7) and keema naan (bread with lamb, LE 15.)

The chicken curry was savory and tender; three large pieces of meat so delicate it practically fell away from the bone. The matter paneer was also excellent. Unlike some Cairo restaurants that serve freeze-dried vegetables and try to hide their lack of flavor by drowning them in a heavy sauce, the vegetables at Kandahar are farm fresh.

The keema naan was also enjoyable, its crispness and delicate flavor make it the perfect scoop for matter paneer.

Compared with the high quality of the other two dishes, the seekh kebab was something of a disappointment. It did not taste bad; it just tasted a bit too much like regular old kofta and did not seem worth LE 37.50.

Similarly, chaawal is just plain old boiled rice — the kind you can make at home using a regular stove. Many restaurants would serve curry with rice for free, and LE 7 for a bowl of boiled rice seems unreasonable in a country where many citizens live on LE 7 a day.

Overall, Kandahar makes an excellent choice for an evening out. Despite a few pitfalls here and there, it is undoubtedly a memorable evening.

KandaharOberoi Hotels Egypt, 3 Gamat El-Dowel Al-Arabia St., Sphinx Sq.Tel: (202) 303 0615