Tag: nazif
200 Cairo U profs protest detentions
Hours after PM Ahmad Nazif visited the Electronics Department at Cairo University’s Faculty of Engineering to inaugurate an IT project, more than 200 academics held a protest yesterday at the faculty’s campus to demand the release of two colleagues detained by State Security, part of the recent crackdown on the Muslim Brothers.
Dr. Essam Hashish of the Faculty of Engineering (and ironically Nazif’s classmate in the undergraduate years) and Dr. Mahmoud Abu Zeid of the Faculty of Medicine are both members of the Islamist opposition group, and enjoy popularity among their colleagues and students.
Leftist academic Dr. Laila Soueif, who took part in yesterday’s protest, told me the academics who protested included a mix of secular leftists, Islamists and independents who turned out to show solidarity for their detained colleagues. The protest started at 1pm, she said, and lasted for an hour. It had been planned to coincide with Nazif’s visit to the faculty. The profs were under pressure from the Cairo U dean to cancel the protest in the previous three days. When it became clear the academics were insistent on the protest, the Dean resorted to secretly re-scheduling Nazif’s visit to the early morning.
Dr. Laila also added that the faculty gates came under the siege of the police troops, who barred journalists from access to campus.
The regime-owned Al-Ahram covered Nazif’s visit, but did not mention anything about the protest. But Al-Masry Al-Youm did.
A new ‘reform’ surprise gift from Mubarak
In a move that marks (for the millionth time) the randomness of this whole “democratic reform,” Mubarak has “surprised” us with a new announcement, stating he’s amending Article 76 of the constitution, that was tailored by his legislators last year. There was absolutely nothing mentioned about such amendment during the last NDP’s congress. Note also that the long-awaited Counterterrorism Law, that is to replace the notorious Emergency Law we’ve been living under since the start of Mubarak’s reign, will not be presented to the parliament in this coming session.
Here’s an AP report by Nadia Abou El-Magd:
Egypt to amend constitution article criticized as opening way for succession of Mubarak’s son
CAIRO _ Egypt will amend its constitution to make it easier for candidates to run as president, the parliament speaker said Monday, stating the reform would include changes to an article criticized as opening the way for President Hosni Mubarak’s son to succeed him.
Changing article 76 of the constitution is one of the political reforms Mubarak plans to undertake next year, Parliament Speaker Fathi Sorour told the official Middle East News Agency.
“Next year will witness the most extensive amendments to the constitution since 1971,” Sorour told MENA. He did not give specific details about the reforms, but said the controversial article would be among those up for change.
Presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad said in a statement that the president “won’t oppose considering an amendment to article 76, in order to increase the chances of (political) parties to participate in presidential elections.”
The article was rewritten last year to allow multi-candidate presidential elections. But opposition contends that instead it deliberately made it impossible for anyone to compete against the ruling party in the next presidential elections.
Article 76 provides that independent candidates must obtain 250 recommendations from members of parliament or city councils before they can enter the race. Because most political offices are held by Mubarak’s NDP, opposition parties fear they won’t be able to field any presidential candidate.
The article also rules that only political parties representing at least five percent of Parliament can put forward a presidential candidate. No political party achieved this in last year’s legislative elections.
The ruling National Democratic Party previously refused to amend the article, and Egypt’s opposition said this demonstrated that Mubarak’s party was planning to clear the path for the president’s son, Gamal Mubarak, to take power.
Gamal Mubarak, 42, has risen rapidly through the ranks of his father’s party in recent years and is now deputy secretary general. Despite his denials, many believe he is being groomed to succeed Mubarak, who is 78 and has been in power for over two decades.
Opposition figures on Monday said they feared the announced reforms were purely cosmetic, and only geared at winning public adherence ahead of the next presidential elections, due in 2011.
“The new proposed amendment is still part of scenario of (Mubarak’s son) inheriting power,” said Hesham el-Bastawisy, a High Court judge and a vocal critic of the earlier constitutional amendment.
The head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s main opposition force, said he didn’t expect the constitutional change to make it easier for his group to field a presidential candidate.
Technically illegal as a political party, the Muslim Brotherhood has 88 lawmakers in Parliament, where they sit as independents.
“The real competition is between the independents, who are mainly the Brotherhood, and the NDP, not between authorized political parties and the ruling party,” Mohammed Saad el-Katatny told The Associated Press.
Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif said earlier this year the government was studying measures to ban independents and outlawed groups from running in any election.