The law in Egypt bans strikes, and this is against the international treaties we signed. But strikes must have regulations so as not to affect the vital state facilities. There are sectors where strikes should not be allowed.

We need to remember, every single strike that took place in the country, from December 2006 till today is “illegal” according to Mubarak’s laws.

My reply, and you can quote it from this posting instead of me writing it back in separate emails:

Hosni Mubarak’s regime can go fuck itself. The law doesn’t affect me personally, because we do not have a ‘rule of law’ to start with. The executive branch of the state, and namely the security services and the army, as proven again and again, are the ones who are running the show and do not give a damn about the ‘law’ or about whatever international treaties or human rights conventions they signed. So for me nothing changes. Even if we had some ‘progressive law’ introduced, that does NOT mean anything on the ground for us in Egypt. So I will continue to say ‘Fuck Mubarak’ (and in Arabic I’ll say كس أمك يا مبارك) whether the law is enacted or not.. We will not fall into the trap of ‘legalism.’ The blogosphere, or at least those on the radical left of it, will continue to mobilize against the regime and use the same language, and we will not be intimidated. I do not see any way to reform this regime, we will have to overthrow it to get a free media. I repeat, Fuck Mubarak, his royal family and his State Security pigs who are running amok in the country, torturing bloggers, workers, peasants, and anyone who crosses their path or puts them in a bad mood. They are the worst breed of species that have existed on this earth, together with their backers, the hypocrite fucks, in the White House, in 10 Downing St, and in every European capital.
Some people are wishing for the ailing Mubarak to die tomorrow. I don’t wish that at all (though the thought is tempting). I want him to live a little bit longer, because the revolution is coming, and he will be tried and executed in a public square for all the crimes he committed against our people and against the Palestinians. I repeat, Mubarak is a traitor and should be executed in Tahrir Sq, together with his State Security pigs who have enjoyed torturing and sexually abusing us for 27 years now.. Enough is Enough.. Down with Mubarak, Down with his Israeli allies, Down with the hypocrites in the White House… Long Live the struggle of the Egyptian workers, peasants, civil servants and bloggers.. Long Live the Palestinian Intifada…

So that’s my quote.. Go and print it as it is.. But I know you won’t, coz you are a bunch of fucking cowards and the mainstream media is just as complicit in the current crimes just as the Western govts… How many times did AP or the NYT refer to Mubarak and the pro-American dictators as “moderates” and “peacemakers”? Oh, Blessed are the peacemakers indeed.

The People’s Assembly’s (PA) legislative committee passed a new draft law filed by the government forbidding demonstrations inside places of worship, Hamdy Hassan, PA member affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood told Daily News Egypt.
However, Hassan believes that the new law is “against freedom of expression,” adding that the Egyptian government regularly puts restrictions on freedom of expression through any possible means.
“The government does not even allow protests inside closed meetings between political parties,” Hassan said.
The law, according to Hassan, was drafted specifically to disallow “the demonstrations that usually take place after Friday prayers especially inside Al-Azhar mosque.”
Hafez Abu Saeda, director of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), echoed Hassan’s opinion. He told Daily News Egypt that the new law “certainly limits freedom of expression.”
“Our stand on this law as a human rights organization is clear as we are against any law or regulation that goes against the public’s right to stage a peaceful protest expressing their point of view as long as those protests do not involve assaults on any private or public property or individuals,” Abu Saeda said.
He added that the government failed to provide “a justification for why it came up with such a law.”
“For so many years Al-Azhar mosque was the place where many peaceful protests were staged against events that took place both inside and outside Egypt,” Abu Saeda explained, adding that this law is aimed at putting a stop to Al-Azhar demonstrations.

In other news, Al-Masry Al-Youm leaked clauses of the new Counterterrorism Law to be enacted by the Parliament. And what’s the Muslim Brotherhood leaders’ reaction, in the midst of the police crackdowns and military tribunals? Ali Greisha, a leading MB member said that “the law would not affect MB work and called on President Mubarak to start a truce with this group, saying that MB would promise not to challenge the regime in return for liberty of movement and expression.”

Mr. Greisha wake up and spare us this crap. Hosni is not gonna listen to you, as he never listened to you before nor to anyone else. Hosni listens only to his masters in Washington DC and Europe or when he feels he’s about to be dethroned by street pressure. So please stop this regime-ass-kissing parade and start mobilizing in the streets.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) warned against the suspension of fundamental constitutional rights in the name of fighting terrorism. As members of the Legislative and Constitutional Committee of the People’s Assembly begin drafting amendments to 34 articles of the Constitution today, the EIPR urged them to reject the proposal for a new article that would grant security forces the power to circumvent other constitutional provisions in counter-terrorism measures.

Egyptian court rejects appeal for political recognition by 12 parties
Reuters | Cairo: An Egyptian court on Saturday rejected appeals by 12 political parties against the decision of a committee dominated by the country’s ruling party that denied them official recognition, judicial sources said.
They said the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the 12 groups fell short of meeting new requirements to set up political parties in Egypt, where the National Democratic Party (NDP) of President Hosni Mubarak dominates political life.
The rules require a party to obtain signatures from at least 1,000 founding members to gain recognition. At least 50 signatures should come from members in each of 10 provinces countrywide.
“This is a political ruling,” said Hamdeen Sabbahi, head of the Karama (Dignity) Party, one of the 12 groups.
“All that the government keeps saying about freedom is just slogans,” he told reporters.
The court said the groups could submit new applications to the Parties Committee, which is controlled by NDP, after fulfilling the new requirements.
Aboul Ela Madi, founder of Al Wasat (Center) Party, said his group would submit a stronger application to gain recognition. Al Wasat has already been denied recognition several times.
Government critics and Opposition groups have repeatedly called on Mubarak to dissolve the Parties Committee, which they say is a tool NDP uses to maintain its firm grip on political participation.
“The government has for decades used the Political Parties Law to fix elections before they begin,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement released on Thursday.
“Egypt needs a new political parties law that respects Egyptians’ rights to form political parties and to vote for whoever they choose.”
In December, Mubarak proposed constitutional amendments, which he said would ease restrictions on Opposition parties to field candidates in presidential elections.
He said the proposed amendments would impose a ban on parties based on religion – a step which could enshrine restrictions on the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s strongest Opposition group despite being officially banned since 1954.

UPDATE: Baheyya reflects on the court decision.