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Banha University Faculty of Arts
Code (314)
TRANSLATIONS
For university students (Open Education)
Compiled By Dr Hesham Hasan DR Fatma El shafey
2011-2012
PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com
Contents
Subjects Akht back home Al-Qaeda in Sinai? Anonymous agents Back on track Battling on Caption Demand for divorce Pipeline blast again Photo Caption Protesters' demands With and against Words of wisdom Are we ignoring Sudan? Al-Azhar's declaration How about the ego of others? Israel's spring is our winter Don't politicise civil society Heading south A case study Living in a super-connected world Mubarak's trial Safe exit Risky protests Revolutionary extraordinaire An arrest and a crisis A crisis of exchange A rainbow of originality American or global American fascism Action heroes Acting alone A well-deserved victory A real Labour Day for a change Arab happiness Barking wars Before more blood is shed Biting shame
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Subjects Collective malaise Citizens of the church Chemical discrimination Bovine hysteria Border issues Dirge Eastern experience Crimes of the ex-president Criminals at large Crisis of accountability Doing no favours De Gaulle, the terrorist Difficult thoughts Death in Moqattam Free to leave Economic nationalism Education in dilemma Empowering half the nation Errors of judgement Eyes on Pakistan Facing the music Film controversy Form without content Fit to be tied Free-market feelings From the ashes Stop the 'fulul'! Journalists to vote .. "
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Subjects
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Part I
Akht back home

A GRANITE engraving depicting a cow-shaped ancient Egyptian deity Akht is back in Egypt. Eleven years after having gone missing from its original location in Behbit Al-Hegara temple in the Nile Delta, a granite engraving featuring the cow-shaped ancient Egyptian deity Akht has returned to its homeland. Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass said the engraving was a part of a larger block at Behbit Al-Hegara temple built during the reign of the 30th Dynasty King Nakhtanebo. Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud, general supervisor of the minister's office, said the story of the retrieved artefact began in 1999 when the temple was robbed by an armed gang. Thieves cut off part of the granite along with other engraved and painted fragments. "Thank God it's back," Abdel-Maqsoud told Al-Ahram Weekly. "All the reliefs and engravings decorating the walls of the temple were archaeologically documented in 1977 by French Egyptologist Christian Farfard and in 1989 the Egyptian Antiquities Authority at the time, now the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA), documented them," Abdel-Maqsoud said.
During routine work monitoring monthly catalogues issued by international auction halls, the MSA realised that the engraving was among the objects on sale in the largest auctioneers of fine art, London's Bonhams. With the help of Egypt's embassy in London, Abdel-Maqsoud said, Egypt stopped the sale of the engraving and withdrew it from the auction. The engraving is now in the Egyptian Museum for restoration after which it will be put back in its original place in the Behbit AlHegara temple. The engraving was the latest object to be retrieved on a list of 5,000 artefacts that have returned to Egypt since 2002.
Al-Qaeda in Sinai?
A hitherto unknown group, Al-Qaeda in Sinai, posted a statement on the Internet on Monday demanding Sinai become an Islamic Caliphate. It urged Egypt's Armed Forces to breach the Camp David Treaty and interfere to end the siege on Gaza. The statement came amid speculation over the motives behind the Friday, 30 July and early-Saturday-hours armed attacks on Arish police station and a natural gas pipeline north of Sinai. The attacks left seven dead, including one of the assailants, and more than a dozen injured. Police and army checkpoints along routes leading to Rafah and Sheikh Zuwayed have been strengthened in an attempt to prevent the attackers from taking refuge in the nearby mountains. Fifty armoured vehicles arrived in Arish on Monday to reinforce the security presence. Fifteen suspects have been arrested. Ten have been identified as Palestinian, three of whom are being treated in Arish General Hospital for injuries sustained in the clashes. The identity of the remaining five suspects has not been released. Nearly 100 masked gunmen, on motorcycles and in four-wheel drives, tried to take over Arish police station on Friday 29 July. They were carrying black flags displaying Islamist slogans. The assailants
used machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and automatic rifles. A policeman, an army officer and three civilians near the station -including a 70-year-old man and a 13-year-old boy -- were killed in the nine-hour shoot-out with police and security forces. According to some reports, one of the attackers was also killed and three were injured. On Monday night, six masked men in a four-wheel-vehicle arrived at Arish General Hospital and removed the corpse of an 18-year-old Palestinian national, named as Alaa Mohamed El-Masri. There are reports that El-Masri was killed during the Friday attacks. The masked gunmen took the back door of the hospital, threatened the morgue's guards and then drove off with the body. On Monday, Bedouin sources from North Sinai were quoted as saying that the attackers came from Al-Qoria village near Sheikh Zuwayed, a hotbed of Jihadi Salafis. They claim the group has been vocal about its intentions, boasting of its involvement in bombing the gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan. Arish's military commander, however, has been quoted as saying the attacks were connected to Mohamed Dahlan, a former member of Fatah's central committee. Dahlan denies any involvement.
The assault on the police station was followed by an overnight attack on the cooling system of the pipeline to Israel. The attack, the fifth on the pipeline since February, was launched by gunmen using rocket-propelled grenades. No casualties were reported. The pipeline has been empty of gas since it was attacked on 11 July.
Anonymous agents
A fact finding committee set up to investigate the clashes of 28 June between security forces and families of peaceful demonstrators killed during the revolution has charged that the confrontations were instigated by organised groups. The fact-finding committee was formed by the National Council for Human Rights last Thursday following violent confrontations between protesters and Central Security Forces in Tahrir Square. Demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails. Security forces responded heavily by firing multiple rounds of tear gas and buckshot, injuring hundreds. The incident sparked demands for the sacking of Interior Minister Mansour El-Eissawi. According to the committee, the clashes started at the Balloon Theatre where an NGO was holding a ceremony in honour of demonstrators who had been killed. It based its report on the testimonies of the victims' families, policemen, medical sources, media reports and eyewitnesses. Problems began when theatre staff tried to prevent a group of people claiming to be family members of those killed during revolution from entering the theatre. The police intervened after the situation got out of control.
"The intrusion into the theatre, the acts of sabotage and the attempt to draw protesters seeking their rights from outside Maspero to Tahrir Square were unjustified," said the report. It found that rumours had spread among the families of the martyrs protesting outside the Maspero headquarters of state TV that the Ministry of Interior had not only arrested some of their number, but that two protesters were tortured to death following the clashes at the Balloon Theatre. The committee claimed that trucks without licence plates were used to transfer stones to Tahrir Square where they were thrown at the security forces. The report adds that among the protesters were groups of men wearing the same T-shirts, some with tattoos on their hands, who seemed to be leading the violence. Even so, the committee criticised the security response as excessive. According to the Ministry of Health, at least 1,140 civilians and soldiers were injured during the clashes. The committee also noted that the police had arrested some citizens while they were being given first aid. The report suggests that the clashes, which have heightened tensions between the government and the families of the martyrs, appear to have been planned in advance.
The fact finding committee recommended that the authorities review security tactics when dispersing protesters and restructure security agencies affiliated to the Ministry of Interior, raising standards and ensuring that public order is maintained in a manner that does not violate the law.
Back on track
At Saqqara necropolis, where the oldest pyramid in history is located, archaeologists and workers are putting the Djoser Step Pyramid in intensive care. Restoration work will be resumed to rescue and preserve the pyramid's inner chamber. Restoration work was put on hold the last nine months following the January Revolution and the drastic decrease in tourism to Egypt, during which revenues of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) reached its lowest level ever, resulting in its budget having to be cut. This led to a freeze in all development and restoration works in progress, among them the structural repair and reinforcement of the inner chambers of Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara. Two weeks ago, the SCA succeeded in providing LE3 million from the revenues of tickets purchased at archaeological sites and museums to resume the restoration work at the oldest ever pyramid in history. Mohamed Abdel-Fattah, secretary-general of the SCA, told AlAhram Weekly that the budget was sufficient to rescue the inner chamber of the pyramid which is the only threat to the Step Pyramid's structure. According to the report of the inspection committee tasked three weeks ago with checking on the condition of
the pyramid, Abdel-Fattah said the pyramid was in a good structural condition and the inner chamber was the only threat. "After restoring the inner chamber, the Step Pyramid will be safe and sound," Abdel-Fattah asserted, adding that restoration work will be put on hold, again because of budget restraints, but an archaeological and architectural unit will be established at the footsteps of the Step Pyramid to monitor and record its structural state minute by minute until more funds come in to continue the other phases of restoration. Abdel-Fattah pointed out that the deterioration of the pyramid was due to climatic effects, environmental erosion factors and the leakage of subterranean water, not to mention the 1992 earthquake. The restoration plan includes consolidating the pyramid's
underground tunnels, monitoring the cracks, restoring the wall decorations and inspecting the natural ventilation inside the pyramid and the southern tomb. A year ago a structural repair and reinforcement system was put into practice. This involved temporary structural support in preparation for more permanent reinforced steel rods to be inserted diagonally through the steps of the pyramid, knitting together the six levels. The Step Pyramid was designed by the architect Imhotep to hold the mummy of the Third-Dynasty King Djoser and preserve it for eternity. At the time of its completion the Step Pyramid was the
largest building ever constructed, demonstrating a sophisticated and dramatic leap in architectural size and style. "The preservation of Egypt's monuments is the SCA's top priority," asserted Abdel-Fattah. "We will work hard to provide the financial resources despite the economic circumstances we are facing," he added. "We do not want the world and history one day to hold us accountable for neglecting the ancient structure."
Battling on
The nomination period for the People's Assembly elections opened yesterday, with the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) still to issue a law aimed at preventing diehards from deposed president Hosni Mubarak's defunct ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) from participating in political life. SCAF's chairman Hussein Tantawi said on 5 October that "the matter is still under review in order to assess whether it serves political life or not". In recent days former NDP members who have joined several newly-licensed political parties stepped up their campaign against being banned from political life. They held a conference in Nagaa Hammadi, Qena, sponsored by Al-Horreya (Freedom) Party, an NDP offshoot led by several business families in Upper Egypt. The conference was also attended by members of the Egyptian Citizen and Ittihad parties, both of which include large numbers of members of the NDP among their ranks, as well as by NDP former MPs from the Nile Delta governorates of Qalioubiya, Gharbiya and Sharqiya. The event, which attracted tribal leaders from across Upper Egypt, was clearly intended to send a message that the NDP remains a force there. Moataza Hassan, Al-Horreya's head of organisational affairs, said the conference attracted more than 6,000 participants.
"People should realise that NDP MPs won the vast majority of seats in the 2010 parliamentary elections not because of their membership of the party but because of their strong familial and tribal support across Egypt," said Hassan. "The question that must now be faced is whether these people are to be stripped of participating in political and parliamentary life for the simple reason that some members of a party to which they once belonged were corrupt." Hisham El-Shini, another member of Al-Horreya Party, said "the people of Upper Egypt will have the final say about who is elected, not judicial orders and arbitrary laws." Atef El-Nimiki, a member of the NDP from the Nile Delta governorate of Qalioubiya, accused the Wafd Party and Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party of pressuring the SCAF to strip old NDP members of the right to stand. "We all know that the Wafd lost any credibility in the street a long time ago. Now it is worried that by standing former members of the NDP will defeat its own candidates. What other reason could there be for the Wafd actually opting to field former NDP MPs this time round as its own candidates." El-Nimiki also argued that, "the isolation of NDP members will help the Muslim Brotherhood dominate the next parliament."
Former NDP MP Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud said the proposed legislation "is aimed at politically assassinating honourable members of the NDP" which is something "the tribes of Upper Egypt will never accept". The Ittihad Party, led by Hussein Badrawi, a close associate of Gamal Mubarak, declined to attend the conference in any official capacity. The party, said Badrawi, was opposed to coordination, let alone alliances, with any other NDP offshoots. "We are in the process of preparing a blacklist of NDP and other non-NDP officials who corrupted political life during the Mubarak era," said Reda Sakr, Ittihad's legal adviser. Reports have emerged that a number of parties with links to the NDP are seeking to form a coalition ahead of elections.
Caption
DURING a press conference held on Saturday, Minister of Education Ahmed Gamaleddin Moussa announced the results of the thanaweya amma (high school certificate). The exams are held in two parts. In the first 82.2 per cent of students passed, while 87.2 per cent succeeded in the second stage. They are the highest pass rates for seven years. Thanaweya amma scores determine which university faculty students can enter. University applicants will now be divided into three groups on the basis of their results. Students who got the highest scores are due to submit their application papers starting next Saturday, with their eyes set upon the most popular faculties which include medicine, engineering and political science.
Demand for divorce

ON 7 JULY Christian Copts are due to hold a peaceful sit-in in front of the downtown headquarters of the Justice Ministry to press for their demands to get a divorce and remarry without the Church's consent. The sit-in, to start at 11am, was initiated on Facebook. Egypt's Christians have been faced with severe obstacles thrown up by the Church which prevents them from getting a divorce, thus making them unable to remarry. The protest aims at changing the status of Christians in order to be governed by a civil law to have the freedom to choose whether to get married according to the church's laws. There are at least 300,000 cases filed in court by Christians seeking divorce. According to the individual who is spearheading the demand and who preferred to remain anonymous, "We are a group of Christians who are asking for our right to divorce and to have a civil marriage, with all due respect to Pope Shenouda III and his directives. Our call comes after the Pope said more than once in his sermons that whoever wants a divorce and a civil marriage outside the Church is free to do so." To many Christians, either converting to Islam or another denomination of Christianity to get a divorce and be able to remarry is their only solution.
Pipeline blast again

ON TUESDAY the natural gas pipeline passing through Sinai and extending to Israel and Jordan was attacked for the fourth time since the 25 January Revolution. Tuesday's attack is reported to have used the same methods as the previous one. Many Egyptians oppose the export of natural gas to Israel. The culprits behind the previous pipeline bombings were never found. Officials say the latest attack was carried out by at least four assailants. The attackers ordered the guards on duty to leave and then blew up the terminal, starting a huge fire that sent flames shooting into the air, lighting up the night sky. No one claimed responsibility for Tuesday's explosion. Disgruntled Bedouin tribesmen in the area have been blamed for attacking the pipeline in the past. Islamists opposed to Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel are also suspected. Gas supplies to Israel and Jordan were cut as a result of the blast. Egypt supplies 40 per cent of Israel's natural gas and up to 80 per cent of Jordan's electricity generating requirements. Late on Tuesday Israel's Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau said the attacks on the pipeline could threaten Egyptian-Israeli relations.
Photo Caption
LIEUTENANT General Sami Anan, chief of military staff and deputy chairman of the Higher Council of the Armed Forces (HCAF), met with the heads of 15 political parties on Wednesday. The meeting, the first of its kind between a senior military officer and political activists, discussed several issues, ranging from the HCAF-drafted law on the elections and performance of the two houses of parliament -- the People's Assembly and Shura Council -to the role of the Armed Forces at this stage of Egypt's transition to democracy, and the ways of fighting sectarian strife. An official statement indicated that the meeting also debates the issues of economic challenges facing Egypt and the role of Egyptian media outlining facts about political and economic conditions. Informed sources indicated that leaders of political parties explained their own viewpoints about the upcoming parliamentary elections. There is a big division among secular and Islamist forces, with the former wanting the constitution be drafted first ahead of parliamentary elections, while the latter are in favour of organising parliamentary elections ahead of drafting the constitution. Youth movements of the 25 January Revolution have embarked on organising a million-man rally at Tahrir Square tomorrow, aiming to exert pressure on the HCAF to begin drafting the constitution first ahead of parliamentary elections.
Participants in the meeting with Anan included Mohamed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, ElSayed El-Badawi, chairman of the liberal-oriented Wafd Party, Abul-Ela Madi, chairman of the Islamist Wasat Party, Ammar Abdel-Ghaffar, chairman of the Salafist Nour Party, and Mustafa ElNaggar, chairman of Al-Adl (Justice) Party.
Protesters' demands
- The public trial of all officers involved in killing protesters during the 25 January Revolution. - The speedy public trial of the Mubarak family and other symbols of the former regime. - Annulment of all rulings by military courts against civilians and the referral of all cases involving civilians to civil courts. - Curbs to be placed on the power of the Higher Council of the Armed Forces and greater authority given to the government, including the right to reshuffle ministers and governors. - Replacement of the current state budget with a new budget, subject to public debate, that favours the poor. - An increase in the minimum wage to LE1,200. - Indexing of salaries and inflation. - Repeal of anti-strike laws, the new party law and the new parliamentary law. - Compensation for those injured during the revolution, and for the families of those killed.
- Purging government and all state institutions, including the media and banks, of corrupt former regime figures. - A ban on former NDP members from running in the next two parliamentary elections.
With and against

HUNDREDS of supporters of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak clashed with his detractors in central Cairo on Friday. Dozens were injured. A small gathering of pro-Mubarak
demonstrators swelled into an 800-strong protest by early evening to demand the immediate release of the former president who is in custody on charges of killing protesters at the height of the uprising in January. The ex-president is also accused of corruption. Friday's demonstrators were confronted with around 300 anti-Mubarak protesters. Arguments ensued resulting in violent clashes,
eyewitnesses said. By Friday night, stones littered the street on Gameat Al-Dowal in the upscale Cairo neighbourhood of Mohandesseen where the clashes broke out. Riot police were brought in to quell the unrest. Around 200 people had gathered after the noon prayers to demand Mubarak's release and hold a ceremony to honour his "service to the country." "Mubarak, the country is collapsing without you," they chanted, even as passers-by hurled insults at them. Mubarak is to face trial on 3 August along with his two sons Alaa and Gamal on charges of ordering the killing of protesters during the revolt that ousted the government and for abusing their position to illicit financial gains. In a related development, the administrator of a page on Facebook titled "We are sorry, president (Mubarak)", Assem Abul-Kheir
announced on Tuesday that he was shutting down the page because he couldn't find enough "loyal supporters." Abul-Kheir issued a statement saying that Mubarak's supporters had "failed to defend their father" and had fought each other instead. He added that the page he created had failed to have any effect, "and had turned into a space only to meet new people and just express sympathy." AbulKheir claimed his page had nearly 92,000 "friends," a fraction compared to fans of other Facebook pages that support the 25 January Revolution.
Words of wisdom
MAHATIR Mohamed, Malaysia's former prime minister and the engineer of its economic modernisation, visited Egypt on Monday to share with the local business arena his country's experience. During his speech at the conference "Post revolutionary Egypt" held by the Egyptian Federation of Industries, Mahatir stressed that democracy comes with a cost and that Egypt has to know how to deal with the consequences of giving its people more freedoms. "Democracy means that people resort to their elected parliament to get their needs met and only when this fails do they go into the streets and organise demonstrations. The problem with demonstrations is that they drive investors away." Mahatir, who during his 22 years as prime minister helped turn his country from a distressed economy into one of the world's largest industrialised nations with industry accounting for 90 per cent of its GDP, stressed that Egypt should not depend on borrowing from abroad to deal with its post-revolutionary economic challenges. "Malaysians refused the IMF and World Bank's assistance because we wanted our economic decisions to be independent." In the early 1990s Mahatir put forward his country's 2020 vision which aimed at changing it from a developing country to a developed economy and is based on industrialisation and a market economy in addition to an overhaul in Malaysian working habits
starting with going to work as early as 8am, organising regular training workshops and fighting corruption. Mahatir stepped down in 2003.
Are we ignoring Sudan?

There is a new state in south Sudan, complete with a flag and a national anthem. South Sudan has a new constitution calling for human rights, ethnic diversity, and equal rights for all citizens. In a significant gesture, Omar Al-Bashir, who many blame for Sudan's division into two states, attended the inauguration of the new state, a sign that an effort will be made to maintain good ties between Sudan's two halves. There is a lot of baggage left over from the past, hostilities that are not yet cleared up, and mistrust that lingers not far beneath the surface. And it is the responsibility of both sides to ensure that cooperation rather than antagonism will guide their future. North Sudan is not in an enviable position. Not only has it lost 25 per cent of its area, 35 per cent of its population, and 75 per cent of its oil to the new state, but it also faces growing secessionist sentiments in Darfur and Kordofan. Weakened by the secession of its south, Sudan's troubles are far from over. And it is yet to make any serious attempt at economic and political reform. If the Khartoum government is genuinely concerned about the country's future, it has to begin building a democratic state with equal rights for all citizens from all ethnicities. The south has its own share of trouble. It needs a lot of institutional work and better infrastructure in order to meet the aspirations of the
new nation. With the dispute over Abyei still unresolved, northern and southern politicians need to double their efforts to avoid a major crisis over the oil-rich region. Political prudence will be needed to cut a deal on Abyei and draw the borders between the north and the south. The situation in north and south Sudan calls for Egypt's attention. The northerners and southerners can use Egypt's knowledge and goodwill in traversing a delicate phase in their history.
Unfortunately, Egypt is now too busy with its own affairs to bother. Its energies, instead of being used to sort out an international situation on its southern front, are consumed by endless protests in Tahrir Square and other parts of the country. When Ethiopian troops bearing UN flags arrived in Abyei, Egypt hardly noticed. Can we really afford to ignore what's going on in Sudan?
Al-Azhar's declaration
The recent statement of Al-Azhar was remarkable, ushering in a new era. Its content emphasised the importance of a constitutional state, the separation of powers, holding free and direct elections, respecting freedoms, setting rules of engagement and disagreement, and respect for places of worship. All these points are above debate. The statement concluded with two points that are worthy of note. First, reiterating the independence of Al-Azhar and the election of its grand imam, as if it were a matter of amending the law of Al-Azhar to allow a group of Azharites to hijack the leadership and elect its leader. But this is far from what thousands upon thousands of Azharites and the people are demanding, namely bringing all mosques, religious endowments and religious edicts under the authority of Al-Azhar before it becomes independent. Second, that Al-Azhar is the specialised authority and reference for all matters of Islam and its sciences and that is applicable to everyone, but this cannot be achieved or perceived or fathomed until all parts of the institution come together and it becomes independent. The statement was expected to tell us about the independence of AlAzhar, its constitutional position, and its place vis--vis the three powers.
There is also a deep silence about what should be taking place, matters relating to Al-Azhar, or revelations about what is taking place inside Al-Azhar as scholars and employees reject the missteps committed every day against them. The revolution is not over; there are still remaining pockets of the former regime in positions of power, and there are still many who are trying to ride the wave of revolution without due right. Will we hear or see anything to soothe the hearts of believers?
How about the ego of others?

Saint Augustine once wondered about the balance of human sins and divine laws. In a world free of sins, no laws would be needed. Likewise, in a world free of laws, sinning would be out of the question. If we're all allowed to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, life would be perfect. But this is never the case. In the real world, our desires often clash with those of society at large. And whenever this happens, a line is drawn. This line is what we call the law, and we can also call it basic psychology. In the world of psychology, the ego is subservient to the id and trying to break free of it. An ego that has no boundaries is not a desirable one. We all need a higher authority, a head of family, a tribal leader, to tell us what to do. As we take our step towards democracy, limitations become as important as freedoms. We have to reset the boundaries of freedom and redefine the modalities of respect. As we do so we must allow everyone to speak their minds. Then and only then can workable solutions be found. According to a doctoral thesis by Ashraf El-Sayed Abdu, the differentiation between awareness of others and awareness of self is crucial in situations of conflict. Psychology can come in handy in
real life, for it offers a clue into interaction among people with intellectual differences. In developing countries, repression may lead to stunted personalities, as well as malfunctioning societies. We have to allow people to speak up, otherwise they withdraw into their shells and we lose their contribution to society. We need to find a compromise between the limitations of reality and the excesses of freedom, while respecting our own ego and the ego of others.
Israel's spring is our winter

The Arab Spring, a term borrowed from the lexicon of East Europe, started with Tunisia and Egypt, but it has not achieved its full promise yet. Indeed, it is turning sour in Libya, Syria and Yemen. So far, this spring has not given us democracy, but only a glimmer of hope. We have rolled back the long winter of tyranny, but we're yet to sample the true fruits of freedom. Israel, meanwhile, is caught up in the middle of a fast-changing region. With Hosni Mubarak out of power, Israel is still mourning its staunchest ally. Having posed for long as the only democratic state in the region, Israel is far from comfortable with the sudden shift in the region's politics. But Israel was never a democracy, not in the classical sense anyway. Its democracy is selective at best, for the Arabs have never been treated as equal in the so-called "Jewish state". Now Israel is said to be having its own spring. Israelis are protesting against a government that is failing to give them what they want, and they are staging sit-ins to press their point. Doesn't this remind you of Egypt and Tunisia? But the similarity is far from complete. What the Israelis really want is more housing to be made available. For this to happen, more land will have to be grabbed from the Palestinians. The Israeli spring is
not about freedom and justice. It is about oppressing another nation and denying its lawful rights. You know what Binyamin Netanyahu is going to do next? Most likely, he will ask for more assistance from other countries. He will also explain that grabbing Palestinian land is the only way to provide housing to his people. This is no spring; it's a long and painful winter.
Don't politicise civil society

Reports about foreign funding didn't seem to be particularly sympathetic to civil society. And comparisons between civil society and protest movements seemed to miss the point altogether. What many tend to forget is that civil society groups have done a lot for the economic and social welfare of this country, thus promoting stability and alleviating some of the worst instances of suffering. Are civil society groups political by nature? The answer is no. Many civil society groups don't have a particular interest in politics. And others are only interested in political matters insofar as those intersect with their work in human rights or other forms of advocacy. For most civil society groups, democracy is not a priority. Indeed, many civil society groups do not follow democratic procedures within their own ranks. A quick look at the topography of civil society groups shows that not all subscribe to civil values and or human rights. This is not an accusation; it is just a fair statement, one that we need to keep in mind as we assess the chances of reaching a modicum of consensus in society at large. I've heard many people say that civil society should become a major player in reform. This may be easier said than done, and perhaps not always desirable. We need to understand that the extent of political, cultural and economic changes we need in this country outstrips the
capability of civil society groups. In fact, judging by the torrent of accusations rights groups have been facing, one wouldn't wish the same fate on the rest of civil society organisations. It is easy to accuse people of corruption just because they receive foreign funding. It is easy to accuse people of treason just because they communicate with foreign organisations. We have already seen civil society groups accused of easing the way for foreign intervention and being in the hire of foreign agendas. Such accusations are politically motivated. Some are made by people who are against democracy and the civil state. So far, I haven't seen any serious attempt to map and categorise civil society groups, to diagnose their problems, and to evaluate this performance. We need research, not trumped up charges.
Heading south
Now that Muammar Gaddafi is heading down the same road that Saddam Hussein took near the end, it seems that Arab leaders have a knack for tragic endings. Gaddafi has gone underground, just as Saddam did eight years earlier, with a promise to fight to the bitter end. And just as Saddam's two sons ran away without firing one shot, Gaddafi's sons have also given in. Saddam's fate was sealed once American tanks rolled into the heart of Baghdad. Gaddafi's fate is unlikely to be different. Before going into hiding, Gaddafi once again denounced the revolutionaries as rats and scoundrels. Saddam managed to disappear for eight months before American soldiers found him hiding underground. Gaddafi, whose
whereabouts is now unknown, has built underground tunnels in Bab Al-Azizia equipped with electronic alarm systems. Gaddafi is a hunted man with a huge bounty on his head, but he may remain out of sight for quite a long time. Mind you, NATO has no troops in Iraq to go after Gaddafi in the same fashion the Americans had done in Saddam's case in Iraq. The greatest concern for Libya is what would happen next. If tribal disputes flare up, the country may find itself slipping into civil war. At which point, the West may find itself forced to intervene once
more, perhaps waging more aerial strikes to end the turmoil. Libya may face a collapse of law and order unless its people make a point of reconciling their differences. Western nations have taken a gamble by siding with the revolution against Gaddafi. And it is likely that they would continue to do everything within their means to keep the country together. They will continue to help the Transitional National Council (TNC) consolidate its power, fill the political vacuum, and address the country's economic and political problems. France was among the first nations to oppose Gaddafi. It was one of the first to offer assistance to the TNC and to pledge support to the post-revolutionary Libya. Italy, Britain, Germany, and the US will all follow suit, and so will Turkey. Libya is just too oil-rich to be abandoned. As for Gaddafi, his options are narrowing. He cannot possibly ask Egypt, Tunisia or Saudi Arabia -- countries that had traditionally offered asylum to African leaders -- for asylum. Egypt, no doubt worried over the safety of thousands of Egyptians living in Libya, has been keeping its distance from both Gaddafi and the revolution. It position of neutrality was clearly motivated by a desire to protect its Libyan-based workforce from deportation or harassment. Tunisia's position was less ambiguous. The fact that Gaddafi voiced grief over the departure of Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali's regime didn't
endear him to the Tunisian public. And when Tunisia opened its doors to thousands of Libyan refugees, a line was drawn in the sand. The Saudis for their part couldn't possibly feel sympathy toward the man who has for decades mocked them and was rumoured to have tried to assassinate one of their kings. Algeria could have been an option, for it managed to stay on good terms with Gaddafi till the very end. But then again, it doesn't want to alienate the new regime. That's why it has refused to offer asylum to Gaddafi and his top aides. This leaves Gaddafi with only nonArab African countries as potential hiding places. He has been popular in Africa, spent a lot of money aiding African regimes, and perhaps will be welcomed in Chad, Niger, or other countries. If he had managed to stash some money away in these countries, this may come in handy now.
A case study
State employment schemes have floundered for so long and in so many ways that efforts to revitalise them and thus reduce unemployment while boosting the morale of an educated public forced to undertake menial tasks, assume Sisyphian
proportions. Every now and again the state makes a number of jobs available, sensibly imposing conditions -- "diploma candidates must not be over the age of 22," for example -- to reduce the number of appointments, ensuring that its own, already overcrowded institutions can accommodate them. Recently, when the government made jobs available in the municipality of Zaqaziq, the city began to heave with university graduates and qualified technicians bearing application forms and identity papers. The situation of a young family from a village near Zaqaziq clearly demonstrates how present-day efforts tend to defeat their own object. The husband has a Masters in Law but has failed to obtain employment as prosecutor, judge or solicitor. He works on his father's land without pay, in return for living in one room of his father's house, together with his pregnant wife
and small child. The wife likewise has an agricultural diploma and dreams of a stable white-collar job; currently she is busy enough in the house, but she might as well be illiterate. When husband and wife arrive in Zaqaziq, believing that they qualify, they are told they are both too old to apply. The husband responds violently, but quickly he regains his composure. Taking his wife's hand, he gives the admissions office one last look as they wind their way back to the village.
Living in a super-connected world

It used to be that people would have to meet face to face to be friends. It also used to be that one would spend an entire life and only meet a few dozen people whose friendship was worth seeking. Now you go online and everyone wants to be your friend. Everyone wants you to join their group, to become part of their world. This new form of friendship, we don't know yet its implications. We meet across continents, in all time zones, and yet there is always a chance that we have something in common, something that transcends local culture, entrenched customs, and familiar
surroundings. Will the day come when you need to be on Facebook to join a party? Will the day come when terrorists do most of their planning online? A group of Egyptian youths, dissatisfied with the control of the Orthodox Church on divorce, have been organising themselves on Facebook, with a view of lobbying for civil laws on divorce for Christians. The way life online works is somewhat similar to group therapy. You join a group, air your grievances, get support from like-minded people, and eventually there is the chance of mounting concerted action for the common cause. It's politics, rough and tumble, grassroots and all. And last January in Egypt, any lingering doubts about the power of online tactics disappeared completely.
A new way of communication has changed life as we know it. We can now access banking exchange markets, stock markets, export and import states, and get treatment online. A few months ago, we had 260,000 bloggers in Egypt alone, and the number may have grown since then. Examining the cultural and social implications of this phenomenon, French researchers say that access to information doesn't necessarily lead to greater understanding, but it has altered social interaction all over the world. So what's next? Will cultural boundaries disappear without a trace? Will national identities vanish into thin air? Will a common denominator of pop culture dominate the world? Will elitism give way to egalitarianism? And is this a good thing?
Mubarak's trial
Contrary to at least some predictions, the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak and his associates was held on time, with Mubarak present in person. The first court session, while mainly procedural, was attended by dozens of lawyers, and the former president appeared to be alert, aware of his surroundings, and capable of responding to questions. This put to rest questions, posed by some revolutionary factions, about the military's alleged sympathies with the former president or its rumoured aversion to having him put on trial. Now we can all put behind us a period of contentious divisions marked by endless sit-ins and million-man protests that pitted liberals against Islamists. This is all quite new to modern Egypt, indeed to the entire Arab nation. Iraq put Saddam Hussein on trial, but this happened under US occupation, so it is a different story. Now the key figures of Egypt's former regime are being brought to justice, held accountable for a host of transgressions and financial irregularities. Even the former head of state and his two sons were not spared. For once, this nation was not willing to let "bygones be bygones". For once, we didn't allow the former president to leave to the safety and comfort of exile in a neighbouring or faraway land. For once, we didn't allow our former officials to get away scot-free. We've
enforced accountability for a rule that lasted 30 years or so, and the prospect is disturbing to other Arab countries around us. This retroactive democracy is not something the rulers of nearby countries can applaud. Even ordinary people, who have grown accustomed to seeing the powerful get away with murder and the weak get caught for the slightest offence, are still puzzled by Mubarak's trial. But this is exactly the point. From now on, everyone should know that justice is here to stay. A revolution has taken place and now people have to answer for what they've done, for corruption and murder and the rest of it. Some of the pro-Mubarak sympathisers still make the occasional appearance on Mustafa Mahmoud Square or in front of the Police Academy. Their misplaced sympathy, if this is what it is, is not felt by the rest of the population, nor is their yearning for the cronyism of times past. There are writers and journalists in this country who used to wax lyrical about the ousted regime nonstop, who used to brag about their meetings with the deposed president and his sons, and who defended his policies without questioning. For them, it didn't matter that corruption was rife, that democracy was crushed, and that justice was selective. Like parasites, their wellbeing was not disturbed by the misery of the rest of the nation. For them, the
former president was brilliant, just because he disliked war, preached peace, and was opposed to military and economic adventures. These people are not much different from the protesters who chanted pro-Mubarak slogans on Mustafa Mahmoud Square. They are not different from the thugs who, mounted on camels and horses, attacked protesters in Tahrir Square. They are not different from the ruffians who clashed with the families of the martyrs in front of the Police Academy. We need many things in this country, but most of all we need justice. We need justice to keep government and people on good terms. We need to treat everyone the same, the rich and the poor, the educated and the undereducated, the privileged and the underprivileged. Mubarak's trial is necessary for the healing to begin.
Safe exit
Nothing is worse for a revolution than obscurity of purpose. In our case, this obscurity has brought about a clash of wills -- let alone a divergence of pace -- between the revolutionaries and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) which, after all, is the guardian of the revolution. The government, which was chosen by pure accident from the street, is caught in the middle, pressured and bewildered. For the past five months, SCAF, the revolutionaries, and the government don't seem to be reading from the same page. The only point of agreement is that the old regime had to be uprooted. Other than that, everything else has been in dispute: how to handle security, how to try the old regime's men, and what to do with Hosni Mubarak. Even the termination of service for officers accused of killing the revolutionaries became a bone of contention. The fact is that no evolution can move forward if it keeps dancing to its own music, the music that comes from the street. This music may seem enchanting, and is definitely loud, but it is also precarious. We cannot bring down everything we have before putting the alternatives in place.
The revolutionaries need to start thinking of the millions of toiling people who do not come to the Tahrir Square and do not seek radical change and fail to see a point in undermining the army. Ordinary people know that the army, even if its actions are perceived as slow, is the only protection we have. The army is what saved Egypt from the kind of horrors unfolding in Yemen, Libya and Syria. The revolution doesn't belong to the revolution alone, but to all of Egypt, young and old, men and women, peasants and office workers, rich and poor. To be fair to the revolutionaries who gathered in Tahrir Square on the "Revolution First" Friday, one must acknowledge the fact that it was the protesters that kept away the thugs, the hypocrites, and agent provocateurs from the square. For all their divergent opinions and multiple speaking forums, they managed to keep the peace. Theirs was a model worth following in future demonstrations. The revolution, I reiterate, doesn't belong to the revolutionaries alone. If they get too cocky to sense what the rest of the nation wants, they will end up estranged. So many revolutions have been caught up in a deadly cycle of bickering and power struggle. We do not all work at the same speed. The revolutionaries are pushing SCAF to do things faster than it wishes or can. And the
government, which is transitional in nature, answers basically to SCAF. You may have noticed how the government wavered in the matter of taking loans from the IMF and the World Bank. Or how the Ministry of Information was cancelled and then reinstated. Or how confused everyone is when it comes to whether to have the constitution or the elections first. In a sea of hoped-for changes, of which only a small fraction have materialised, the judiciary remains our Rock of Gibraltar, and we must stick to standard legal procedure. We can call for speedy trials but not the guillotine. We cannot repeat the mistakes of other revolutions, when we're still regretting those of 1952. Each time a one-million-man march takes to the street, I wonder: how can the revolution achieve a safe exit from Tahrir Square? The square is not wide enough for its horizon, and it is not big enough for its goals. The revolution has to find another way of action. It has to find a wider path, for the sake of this country and everyone who lives in it.
Risky protests
A terrible faceoff took place between the 6 April Movement and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), with charges of treason and conspiracy flying in every direction. This was followed, during the 23 July celebrations, with a misguided attempt to protest near the SCAF headquarters in Abbasiya. We stand today on the edge of a slippery slope that could undermine civic peace in this country, derail the revolution, and lead us into a conflict with the army, which has stood with the revolution since day one. The seeds of mistrust are growing between the army and some factions of the revolution. The latter, albeit a minority of the demonstrators in Tahrir, has parted with reason and legitimate demands to seek a role in implementing the goals of the revolution and telling the SCAF what to do. The military's patience, meanwhile, is running out. Sick and tired of the endless argumentation, squabbling, and urgent demands, the SCAF's temper is getting short, as the battle of Abbasiya made clear. Soon after the confrontation in Abbasiya, a SCAF spokesman accused the 6 April Movement of treason and of being paid to implement a foreign agenda.
There are some questions that we all need to answer. One is about the real motives behind the protest march that went from Tahrir to Abbasiya with the aim of besieging the SCAF or staging a sit-in on its doorstep. Another is why the SCAF lost its cool and began to fire out accusations, so far unsubstantiated, against the 6 April Movement. A third question is why the media had to take sides, thus making a bad situation worse without much consideration for the country's delicate situation. The media didn't even bother investigating the truth of the charges. The same reporters who keep complaining that suspect funds are pouring into the country act as if our youth groups are by nature infallible. Certain newspapers have denied that members of the 6 April Movement have gone to Serbia for training. Some ridiculed the statements by General El-Ruweini. Then one of the leaders of 6 April admitted receiving training in Serbia, although he adamantly denied the charge of foreign funding. As half-truths, rumours and doubt carried the day, a crisis of mistrust between army and the people began to take shape. The media, busy stirring doubt and fomenting ill will, didn't help. As name-calling carried the day, reason faded away. Six months have passed since the revolution triumphed. And yet we're still caught up in a whirlwind of accusations. We're still thinking of the past and showing off with million man marches, with or without cause. We're failing to move forward. We're failing to
chart out a roadmap. And every time we seem to be getting our head above water, we drown once more in a sea of self-doubt. Protests are a double-edged weapon. They can hold the revolution back and keep the nation from moving forward. The law that restored the nation's right to protest has unfortunately failed to set appropriate regulations for exercising this right. Protests are becoming an invitation for chaos. Now people are taking to the tents of Tahrir as if it were a summer camp. We now have a situation where the country is being run by a council that seems to be spending a lot of energy promising not to shoot at protesters and where the streets are occupied by protesters who keep saying that they resent military rule. What's going on now can lead us down the path of Lebanon. Is this what we want to do?
Revolutionary extraordinaire
The Yemeni revolution did two things that set it aside from other manifestations of the Arab Spring. One is that the revolutionaries managed to persuade armed tribesmen to leave their weapons at home as a condition for taking part in the protests. For eight months now, protesters have been shot upon from the tops of buildings, pounded with heavy guns and mortars, but they held their ground, and maintained their peaceful stance. As if this is not enough, women are taking a major role in the revolution. You see them, face veils on, marching down the streets in thousands, chanting anti-regime slogans, and telling President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. Supporters of the Saleh regime keep hinting that women who march in protests are of cheap virtue, but no one is falling for it. Women have decided that this revolution is theirs, and not for the men alone. Part of the credit for these two things should go to Karman Tawakkul, the 32-year-old journalist who took part in organising the protests since the start. Tawakkul, who has just won this year's Nobel Peace Prize, has been camping in Taghyeer Square with her three children. She makes sure that the supply of provisions to the protesters is going smoothly, helps run the field hospital, and goes from door to door urging women to take part.
She has been arrested repeatedly by the regime; the last time was in February. She was only released when the regime realised that keeping her in prison was only fuelling the anger in the streets. Tawakkul is a member of the Islamist-leaning Reform Party, led by Abdel-Meguid Al-Zendani, a long time ally of President Saleh. Senior members of that party have criticised her for her efforts to stop girls under 17 getting married. The campaign she began when a 13-year-old had to escape from her elderly husband has gained considerable attention around the world, forcing Yemen to change its laws of marriage. Tawakkul dedicated her prize to all women who took part in recent protests across the Arab world.
An arrest and a crisis

Arafat's detention in Ramallah, now entering its third month, reflects Sharon's ultra right-wing ideology and his erroneous conviction that humiliating the Palestinians and using brute force can put an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This ideology rests on a set of superficial, simplistic propositions. The notion that, through superior power, Israel can beat the Palestinians into submission, or at least acceptance of its unilateral conditions, is direly mistaken; as a policy, force can neither guarantee Israeli security, nor end the Intifada at any level. Arresting and imprisoning Arafat shows what Israel means by "peace." Sharon has also seen Arafat's humiliation, and the assault on the symbols of Palestinian leadership and political life, as a way of destroying Palestinian confidence. None of this has actually happened, though. Such Israeli aims, whether latent or public, have not been achieved. On the contrary, in fact, these Israeli actions have resulted in unexpected progress on the Palestinian front. The resistance has gained stability and focused on the colonies, destroyed an Israeli tank and gathered support in the West Bank and Gaza, where Israeli reserve corps are refusing to perform military
service. The campaign against Israeli policies has expanded. Sharon has lost much of his domestic credibility, while Arafat has enjoyed increased support from Palestinians and Arabs, who consistently oppose the attempt to replace him with a "more flexible" leadership
A crisis of exchange
The crisis that has beset the currency exchange market now prompts the government to take measures to widen the margin of fluctuation in banks and exchange bureaus, raising its price three per cent above that announced by the Central Bank and further limiting the scope of the black market. Will these measures resolve the crisis? That depends on the reasons for the crisis. If it is due simply to speculation, such measures will have a positive impact; if it reflects a fall in real terms in the value of the currency (arising perhaps from the $34.5 billion trade deficit accrued over the last three fiscal years compounded by a debt to the International Monetary Fund of two per cent and 1.2 per cent of Egyptian GNP for 1999 and 2000, respectively), the crisis will not be resolved until that drop is addressed. Among the reasons for the drop in the value of the pound, one might cite the government's decision to peg the pound to the dollar and the fact that, in introducing a mobile phone network, Egypt imported everything, making no contribution of its own to the international mobile phone market. Corruption and black market economics have also contributed to the crisis, since
money transferred outside the country must first be converted into hard currency. If the crisis is to be resolved, then, the Egyptian administration must resolve all these issues, not simply introduce temporary measures unlikely to have any significant effect.
A rainbow of originality
Many Egyptian writers and scholars have been preoccupied lately with that debatable question of Egyptian identity. Who are we? And it is not simply a rhetorical question; it is the core of many conflicts that threaten the peace and future of Egypt. After the great revolution of 25 January, all political currents appeared lacking in the practical experience of democracy. The 30 years of Hosni Mubarak's suffocating regime saw suppression and aggression flourish in society while it jailed and tortured all opponents, particularly Islamic groups. Egypt, as Gamal Hemdan wrote, is positioned in the middle of the world between three continents: Africa, Asia and Europe. It has the cultural traits and genetic roots of them all. Second, Egypt is the cradle of civilisation; many cultures shaped and formed its history, politically, socially and spiritually. From the Pharaohs to the Greeks, the Romans and the Copts, to the Arabs and the Ottomans, no one can discern the true identity of Egypt. We are a milieu and mixture of all cultures. The extremists call for establishing an Islamic state in Egypt following the Iranian or the Turkish models. This could lead Egypt to chaos and civil war on the one hand. On the other hand, Egypt would lose its true peculiarity as an African-Arab-Mediterranean melting pot with a marvelous tapestry of spiritual streams.
Egyptians throughout history have lived in tolerance and faith in the presence of the Supreme Being. They fast, pray and pay charity either in the church or at the mosque regardless of their creed. Dichotomy and diversity have enriched Egypt's identity, blossoming as a rainbow of light and originality.
American or global
The US is now facing a dilemma: should it seek to Americanise the world further, or let itself be globalised? The latter would entail major shifts in self-definition and foreign policy; it would require adjusting to the rest of the world. The former would entail no extra effort, although Washington would have to deal with the increasingly dire consequences of its actions. America influences the world, yet seeks only its narrowly defined self-interest, and -- in the process of imposing homogeneity -- wipes out the identities of others. If it were to uphold its own founding principles (individual freedom and ethnic harmony), it would have to reconsider its approach. This a contradiction inherent in Americanising the world. To become truly global, America must alter its position on Jerusalem, Iraq, global warming and landmines, among many other issues. Perhaps it will resort to reason, as it has in the past. Then the two extremes, Americanisation and globalisation, can be bridged; the two planets the world has been divided into may, in this way, become one. An irrational "war on terrorism" is likely to have dire consequences for all, not least due to the ambiguity of the
"terrorism" in question, which allows Israel, for example, to practice state terrorism. On 11 September, a non-Americanised and indelibly global group of terrorists dealt America an unprecedented blow. If indeed they cause it to abandon Americanisation and embrace true globalisation, the attacks will rank with the American Civil War and Pearl Harbor in magnitude and moment. If not, they may be the first in a string of disasters with unwelcome long- term implications for the world.
American fascism
Fascist tendencies in the United States rose significantly after the September attacks, with hundreds of people arrested simply because they are Muslims or Middle Easterners. Subjects who refused to confess to the crimes with which they were charged have been subjected to abuse, and the authorities are contemplating sending some to countries (like France, for instance) reputed to be less squeamish about resorting to outright torture, so that they can extract confessions while keeping America's hands clean. Anti-terrorism legislation is turning the US into a police state, giving the security apparatus unprecedented access to people's private lives. Military courts have been set up, and nonAmericans can be deported legally, with no right to appeal the order. In a poll conducted in November, 54 per cent of Americans said they thought nuclear power would be effective in the war against terrorism. Vast amounts of money are being spent on the manufacture of arms. Some $400 billion have been earmarked for the production of 6,000 Stealth bombers alone. It is worth noting, too, that the right-wing members of the current administration, who support and profit from the manufacture and sale of arms, are not exactly displeased with
the wars that have broken out in the Gulf, the Balkans and now Afghanistan. Apart from employing direct military force to serve its interests, American fascism will be used to control the oil industry, too. Along these and other lines, it can be surmised safely, the new, fascist America is leading our world to a terribly tragic end.
Action heroes
After regaling the world for decades with stories of superhuman power and doomsday scenarios, America has had to confront a situation in which its vainglory and military might were drastically undermined. Still, Washington evidently has not learned its lesson: America's only response to the attacks on Washington and New York has been to declare war on a shadowy, as yet unidentified entity it has called, conveniently, terrorism. At no point have the masterminds of the American empire wondered why such attacks took place, what induced so much hatred in the hearts of millions of people around the world or whether the result of the war on terrorism would intensify this hatred, causing even more violence in the long term. The culprits who allegedly perpetrated these attacks are Arabs and Muslims. Sadly, it is only they who will continue to suffer. In the attempt to capture Bin Laden, a legend of its own invention, America will not be so bold as to send troops into Afghanistan but will bomb disadvantaged civilians, as it did in Iraq and elsewhere throughout the past decades. The conflicts will multiply, and so will the victims. Israel, America's Middle East ally, will resume its oppression of Palestinians in tandem.
Arab and Islamic governments, powerless and embarrassed before their peoples, will have to put up with more humiliation. And though the action movie has yet to begin, perhaps the attacks on Washington and New York signal an end of greater moment.
Acting alone
The opposition has to think in a different way. This is the first thing that came to mind when I learned about the 6 April nationwide strike called for by a newly established youth-based opposition group. Opposition parties decided not to participate, and the same protesting faces supported the strike. Some think that it is possible to replicate the model of political change in Eastern Europe, where people resorted to direct action to gain democracy, including strikes and massive demonstrations. But I think the situations are not alike. Before going to street, it seems crucial to spend efforts and time to politically educate the people. Much of the failure of Kifaya is the lack of collective focus. Political parties prefer to act unilaterally, leaving no room for cooperation or joint commitment towards democracy. Building networks, and alliances are essential to any democratic breakthrough in the future. Indeed, democracy is not a result of the actions taken by politicians. It is a consequence of broad-based coalitions. Until now, Egyptian political forces, except the Muslim
Brotherhood, which has a different discipline, think that the work of politicians alone can bring democracy. This perception is wrong. Unless a great proportion of businesspersons, religious
organisations, media outlets and civic forums, in addition to political forces, pursue a democratic agenda it becomes difficult to achieve
democracy. In Egypt, the prospects of making such a broad alliance are bleak, since the business class, the Muslim and Christian clergy, and the media are mostly attached to -- or at least have an interest in -- the regime, and are not expected to sacrifice these interests for the sake of an "uncertain" democratic project. Egyptian opposition groups don't believe in alliances. Unilateralism is a basic feature of Egyptian oppositional politics. For this reason, democracy is a far-fetched dream and there exists no challenge to spur the present regime.
A well-deserved victory
The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, took power in the occupied territories in free and fair elections. Earlier, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) made an impressive showing in Egypt's parliamentary elections. We must congratulate both Hamas and the MB on their achievements. And there are definitely lessons to be learned. The winners are now in a position to show us how much they truly care for the future of democracy in the Arab world. It is easier to win one election, especially when you're running against governments that are tainted with corruption and tyranny, than to keep winning. Hamas and the MB must do everything they can to improve their public image at home and abroad. Both movements have often been unfairly portrayed. Now is the time for both Hamas and the MB to correct that image. Islam is a crucial part of the cultural and spiritual fabric of the Arab people. Politicians can only ignore this fact at their own risk. The third Arab Human Development Report concluded that Islam does not conflict with freedom and good governance. But we need religious scholars who are willing to reconcile Islamic Sharia with societal and individual freedom. Much of our clerical interpretation was done in periods of decline and despotism. We need to reopen the door wide to interpretation. We need to integrate modern freedom
into Sharia. This is a quest in which I believe Hamas and the MB should take the lead. Victory comes with duties and obligations. The popularity of Hamas and the MB is an outcome of their sacrifices. The MB stood up to a corrupt government and Hamas led a fight against a brutal and racist occupation. People who resent the MB and Hamas are those who are used to winning through forgery and deceit. Those who want to win in fair and free elections must pay the price in advance.
A real Labour Day for a change

This was a new kind of Labour Day. As the workers of Egypt gathered in Tahrir Square to mark May Day with chants and songs, there was a sense of confidence in the air. Finally, the most basic right of all workers, the right to form syndicates freely and without government interference, has been met. For decades, we were only allowed to have phoney trade unions, run by bosses who enjoyed big perks, cooperated with big business, and couldn't care less for the interests of the average workers. Now these bosses are fighting to keep the status quo, but it's already too late. In every factory, every workplace across the country, workers are organising themselves freely, creating their own trade unions, electing their leaders and writing the bylaws. One of the most recent labour organisations to be created is the Egyptian Federation for Independent Trade Unions, launched about a month ago. For once, the government is taking sides with labour. Ahmed AlBoraai, the current minister of manpower, is therefore coming under relentless criticism by the old generation of union leaders, those who used to benefit from their association with the government and big business and who did little to protect labour rights. They are accusing Al-Boraai of carrying out imperialist and Zionist schemes to divide the labour movement in Egypt. Far from it, they are the ones who have kept labour down for so long.
This is just the beginning. The independent unions are already discussing minimum wages and both the manpower and finance ministers say that the government is willing to consider a decent minimum wage. There are also plans to set the maximum wage at no more than 15 times the minimum wage. The privatisation programme, which led to the loss of many public sector jobs, has come to a halt. This, too, is good news for labour. And it will not be the last of the good news.
Arab happiness
Not in any other place in the Arab world can people feel themselves happier than in the United Arab Emirates -- at least that is what Adrian White, analytical social psychologist at the University of Leicester, thinks. In his attempt to draw the world's first happiness map, White came to the conclusion that the happiest people on earth are those who live in Denmark while the most miserable are those living in Burundi in Central Africa. The projection, which was published in a psychology journal this September, is based on the findings of over 100 studies that questioned 80,000 people worldwide. Participants in the various studies were asked questions related to happiness and satisfaction with life. Health, wealth and access to education are what people mostly associate with happiness, said White. For the Arab region the United Arab Emirates came in first place followed by Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. It ranked 22nd out of 178 countries. The United States came 23rd. At the bottom of the list for Arab countries came Egypt occupying the 151st place with Sudan 173rd on the global list. It is often thought that capitalism creates misery, but when asking people if they feel happy and satisfied with their lives, usually the answer is yes for those who live in countries with good healthcare facilities, high income and good access to education. Yet money is
not everything. A recent BBC survey found that 81 per cent of the UK population thinks the government should focus on making people happier rather than wealthy. And there is increasing political interest in using measures of happiness as a national indicator in conjunction with measures of wealth. Comparing the World Happiness Report issued by White and the Human Development Report issued by the UNDP, the trend in favour of Arab gulf countries is obvious. Gulf states are in a better position when it comes to both development and happiness. Of course we cannot forget the effect of oil and its consequence on all aspects of life in the gulf. But on the other hand we need to evaluate gulf country experiences in an objective way, far from prejudice and personal impressions. For now, at least White recommends, if you want to be happy in the Arab world go to the Emirates.
Barking wars
Last week, The New York Times quoted US officials saying that Israel carried out large-scale military drills in June, hinting that the drills were in preparation for a possible strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. Meanwhile, Mohamed El-Baradei, chief of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, threatened to quit if Iran is attacked, and warned that a military solution could transform the entire region into a ball of fire. I cannot bet on El-Baradei having to quit his job any time soon. Despite Israel's repeated threats and US fiery rhetoric, a military strike against Iran is out of the question, at least for now. For domestic as well as international reasons, the current US administration is in no position to embark on such an adventure. And it knows that pushing Iran too far would make life much worse for thousands of US troops stationed in Iraq, practically next door to Iran. Israel, too, is bluffing. For all its bravado, Olmert's government cannot make such a monumental decision. A prime minister who is under investigation should be grateful to keep his coalition together. Granted, Israel has done crazier things before, but this is a totally different ballgame. Israel likes its wars short and limited. A strike against Iran is bound to escalate into a regional conflict of an unpredictable course and
outcome. Israel simply lacks the geographic depth or demographic weight to survive such a prospect, and it knows it. Commenting on the Iranian controversy, Yediot Aharonot said that the dog that barks doesn't bite. As much as the US and Israel want to humiliate Iran, a full-fledged strike is unthinkable. For now, barking alone will have to do.
Before more blood is shed

Israel's severe military aggression was officially brought to an end through Egyptian mediation, overwhelmingly supported by the international community. Nobody won. In its unprecedented offensive, Israel targeted children, the elderly, mosques, homes and UN schools; all, according to Israeli leaders, to eliminate the military capacity of Hamas to shower nearby Israeli villages and settlements with rockets. Despite relentless and ruthless aggression, and regional and international outcry, the declared target after three weeks of war was not met. Hamas along with other Palestinian militant factions were launching rockets while Israel's prime minister announced a unilateral ceasefire. On the other hand, Hamas appeared weaker than before and ready to accept terms rejected on the eve of the war. The images of destruction, death, tears and terror are unbearable. Many lessons have to be learnt. Resistance to occupation, although an unquestioned right, doesn't exist in vacuum and cannot be subject to unilateral decisions or personal acts. Hamas has been strategically and tactically mistaken. All liberation movements known in modern history were unified and operated with a wide-range mandate of their people. This is the only way to independence. In Egypt, South Africa and Algeria, no political party or faction sought power before independence. In occupied Palestine, Hamas was a main player in the current political fragmentation. Refusing national unity, treating the Palestinian Authority as an enemy, insisting on unilateral
relationships with the world, and turning to Iran for financial and logistical support are clear symptoms of its bad calculations. Indeed, Israel never dreamt of such awful Palestinian divisions. Appearing as a crippled peacemaking actor amid this miserable Palestinian situation, Israel has fought on two correlated fronts: diminishing every possibility for peace and justifying its aggression on Palestinians. For the sake of its domination in Gaza, Hamas has taken a powerless people hostage, not only by its unwise actions, but also for a hotly disputed Iranian nuclear programme. In sum, this is a time for Palestinian reconciliation as the sole way towards tough negotiations with Israel to end its unceasing occupation and confiscation of Palestinian land and resources. Without such reconciliation, Israeli offences will continue in different forms, and Palestinians will sacrifice more blood.
Biting shame
The bread shortages we see today are utterly unacceptable. Bread is not just a food; it's a human right. No government can get away with failing to feed its own people. The government tells us that bread shortages are caused by higher international prices. Fair enough, but couldn't we have seen this coming? Couldn't we have taken precautions? The prices of all agricultural products, and not just wheat, have been rising for sometime now. Climate change is only one reason. The US war on terror has put immense pressure on the planet's resources. And the Chinese and Indians are consuming more due to their higher standards of living. Also, several industrial nations have switched to biofuel, which means that less grain is available on the market. Still, none of this happened too suddenly. Our government knew this was going to happen. I am assuming that it knew, for the alternative is unthinkable. These trends have been noted by various scientific publications around the world. The data has been available on the Internet for all to read. And yet the government would have us think that it was caught unaware, which if true would be the height of incompetence. The government could have headed off the crisis before things got so bad. It could have negotiated better trade terms with grain producers, for example, or introduced a policy of self-sufficiency at home.
Also, it could have tightened control over wheat flour racketeers. Instead, it waited and waited until it was too late. Now we have people killing each other for a loaf of bread. And the government is acting both innocent and puzzled. There is a solution to the crisis, but it is not strictly bureaucratic. The usual reaction of the government would be to add another monitoring agency to the various ones we already have. That would be the wrong approach. The best way to deal with the current situation would be to get political parties and civil society involved in the distribution of bread. Perhaps we can even get local communities to deliver bread door to door. This would be a step closer to democracy and away from this bitter and biting shame.
Collective malaise
We know that the tragedy in Dweiqa was avoidable. Geologists have been warning that the Moqattam plateau was unsafe in this particular part, and yet no action was taken. The inhabitants were left to their own devices. They were even joined by new neighbours, desperate for affordable housing, regardless of the risk. It is a sign of collective malaise when the writing is on the wall but no one reads it. It is a sign of collective malaise when the alarm is sounded but no one listens. The Housing Ministry had a project planned to move the inhabitants, but didn't finish it on time. Yet once disaster struck the project was finalised within a week. What does this tell you? An ounce of responsibility could have saved lives, but we didn't have it. An ounce of accountability could have ensured more timely action by the government, but we didn't have that either. What we have in abundance is forgetfulness and fatalism. Indeed, a taste of accountability could go a long way, but that often sounds like asking for too much. Culprits get away with anything in this country. Disasters are treated as destiny, human errors as acts of fate. How often do you see negligent people facing trial in this country? How often do you see disciplinary action taken in time? How often do you see warnings heeded?
Most of the time, we act as if there are invisible forces that would protect us. Perhaps the geologists were just guessing wrong. Perhaps we'll get away with it this time. Perhaps everything will be sorted out without us having to move a finger. Wishful thinking is becoming a national trait, and negligence a way of life. We cannot go on this way. We have to change. This fatalism, borne of centuries of tilling the land and gazing at the stars, has outlived its usefulness. We have to start listening to reason, or we're doomed.
Citizens of the church

There is no cause for surprise at Pope Shenouda's recent prohibition of re-marriage by means of court orders, of individuals who have been divorced. The church resorted to a clear text within the Holy Book which in its view must not be jeopardised. What is significant however is the political implications within the larger context of the state and its institutions. The question arises if Copts are citizens of the state or Church? Pope Shenouda's position which was greatly lauded by many Copts is in line with the manner in which Coptic affairs have been managed for over three decades. A parallel "state" has been created for Copts, catering to their interests and representing them in the public sphere. The Egyptian state and political Islam contributed to this by inducing Copts to operate from outside of society's general political context. How can we blame the Copts then when they leap to defend their parallel state? Ever since the late president Anwar El-Sadat sought to establish his quasi-religious state he created with it one for political Islam and the other for Copts. The Egyptian state was reduced to ineffectual political institutions with an inflated security apparatus negotiating with the two other states. Copts appointed to parliament were neither involved in Coptic issues nor played an effective role within their community. Coptic intellectuals chose ideology or political
utilitarianism in order to be left to operate in the original state. Others accepted the church's representation in return for limited prominence in business and finance. A third group, the expatriate community with its divisions was proxy to conflicting powers, receiving cash flows in return. The Copts subsequently feel that the "original" state is artificial and complex, one where their interests will not be resolved through court orders, press articles or political speeches heralding citizenship. They feel they can only be citizens of the church, moving on from it to the original state. Coptic concerns must emerge from the stranglehold of negotiations between the security apparatus and church. Only then will they become public files to be arbitrated by the political institutions of the Egyptian state.
Chemical discrimination
The People's Assembly is discussing a motion to introduce compulsory drug testing for school and university students whose exam results are deteriorating. Those who test positive for drug use should be "suspended until cured." In light of the ongoing war on drugs, the motion will probably be lauded profusely, although we lack a medical- psychiatric system capable of handling addiction effectively, beyond the empty rhetoric of morality, religion and convention. The government has yet to establish a single medical institution that specialises in addiction treatment. In a society like ours, what is the logic behind such a motion? How will it be implemented? Who will provide treatment, when private health care is expensive and public health care nonexistent? Perhaps students who take drugs should attend special classes, study a simplified version of the curriculum and wear a special uniform to identify them, so that other students can stay away. This brave new world is the logical conclusion of the reasoning behind compulsory drug tests. Such tests would constitute a further blow to the individual's right to personal freedom and confidentiality, and would automatically give rise to
discrimination by staff, administration and other students. Even
one-time users would be accused of moral deviance and suffer academic, psychological and social setbacks that would plague them for the rest of their lives. Such tests must be preceded by legislation that protects the individual's right to confidentiality. They require effective organisation, facilities and specialists, but also a public orientation that respects difference and accepts others, whether or not they take drugs. Tests can help limit drug abuse -- but only if we cease to regard it as a social phenomenon that will disappear if we deny its existence.
Bovine hysteria
Mad cow disease remains something of a mystery: neither a virus nor a form of bacteria, its causative agent is a non-living protein. It is carried by the marrow and offal of animals, which go into the manufacture of processed meats. It has not yet been proved conclusively that it is the bovine disease that causes the human variant, however. A similar disease existed in humans prior to the outbreak of the current epidemic affecting cattle, and some transformations were noted in its symptoms and the speed of its progression concurrent with the discovery of "mad cow" disease. This coincidence led to the suspicion that the bovine disease is somehow related to its human counterpart. Were that true, however, the percentage of human victims would have increased among those working with cattle, or decreased in societies that do not consume meat, such as India; this has not been the case. In England, the disease appeared because the regulations controlling the manufacture of fodder (related to pressure and temperature) were ignored due to economic considerations, and specifically former Prime Minister Thatcher's encouragement of reckless profit-seeking. Outside England, cases of mad cow disease have been few and far between. The current hysteria is
due, then, to the fact that there is no known cure for the disease; once infected, one is doomed. Nor have tests been developed allowing for the early detection of the illness. Still, our government must protect society by banning imported meat and, more importantly, fodder and processed meats from affected areas. Yet it is well to consider that other diseases (like tuberculosis) are rife among us, and the media is not as hysterical about their prevalence. Perhaps this is because they are not related so directly to economic interests.
Border issues
What happened on the Gaza-Egyptian border was a turning point for everyone, including the Israelis. I disagree with those who say that the opening of Rafah's border would lead to Gaza being separated from the West Bank, or that it is an Israeli conspiracy to settle Palestinians in Sinai. It is simply a new uprising, an uprising of the hungry and the dispossessed. Egypt couldn't close the border in the face of marching Palestinians, for it couldn't risk becoming a partner in crime with Israel. The opening of the border didn't make Gaza less Palestinian, but it made Israel look absurd. A new border system is needed -- one that is not run by Israel, but rather by Egypt and the Palestinian Authority. Of course, Hamas may protest on the pretext that it has been left out. But Hamas cannot go on giving Israel the kind of excuses it savours. Hamas cannot keep firing off homemade rockets at Israel when it knows that this means punitive strikes by the Israeli army and an impasse in peace efforts. Hamas had its day, its validation when it took control of Gaza, but enough is enough. Pride is not more valuable than national aspirations. The Palestinians should forget about their squabbles and put together a unified Palestinian command. Then they should ask the UN to take charge of Palestinian territories until the new state is
formed. Many Palestinians, having lost confidence in their leaders on both sides of the divide, wish for exactly such an outcome. Israel is trying to weaken Mahmoud Abbas while clobbering Hamas. Don't let it succeed. Let's use the momentum of recent events in Rafah to end Israel's control of Gaza's borders. As for Egypt, it has a responsibility towards Gaza and cannot afford to shirk it.
dirge
Ten days have passed since the Central Bank announced it was raising the price of the dollar from 395 piastres to 415, with a three per cent margin of fluctuation in the exchange rate. Among the positive consequences of raising the price of the dollar is that it encourages exports, making life easier for exporters and correspondingly reducing the proportion of imports. This, it is thought, will address the banks' $900 million deficit, which has been a problem since January. The move has negative consequences, too. While it may lead to relative market stability, eliminating the role of the black market and speculation, this state of affairs is not likely to last for very long. Within weeks the price of the dollar will rise again, the black market will return and the government will have to raise the official exchange rate once more. In fact, there are those who expect the price to reach LE5 by the end of 2001. The reason for this is that dollars are not readily available in the market, and the supply deficit is expected to reach $1 billion by the first few months of next year. Where, one could ask the Central Bank, will the dollars come from, considering the actual volume of Egyptian exports? The only real source of dollars available to the Egyptian economy is the Central Bank's strategic reserves, but the government refuses to open them up.
The decision to raise the exchange rate is thus at best a temporary remedy that will not help regulate or stabilise the currency market. Supply must increase, and there must be coherent, specific policies addressing the issue. These are the only potentially effective solutions. Temporary measures such as the present one, in contrast, are risky ventures whose consequences nobody can determine.
Eastern experience
In following the Prophet's advice to "seek knowledge, even as far as China," the present-day observer will find plenty to learn. In modern Chinese politics, official discourse is simple and cautious; and a successful development strategy, geared toward the specificity of the Chinese experience even as it allows for foreign investments, has been adopted. Centralised, realistic and effective governance is balanced by patience and perseverance; economic reform is implemented in an open, flexible way that utilises foreign investment, local resources and technological as well as communications advances to the best possible advantage. The constant renovations and improvement of the infrastructure have been so successful that the 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing. Research and human resources development are pursued intensively, while exemplary "special economic" areas like Dalian (which houses some 237 academies and colleges besides large-scale foreign companies) have been established to serve as effective powerhouses for the country. Finally, the Chinese economy has kept up with GATT and joined the World Trade Organisation, preparing itself for effective integration within the world economy in coming
years. Perhaps other parts of the East, like Egypt, will draw on their long experience and wisdom, partake successfully and appropriately of modernity and follow in the footsteps of such success.
Crimes of the ex-president

When a judge is deciding on the guilt of the defendant, he customarily depends on national legislation. But this is not always the case. Courts have recourse to any international agreement to which the country is signatory and thus is entitled to use as a basis for penalising a defendant. The above clarification is now necessary, for I heard a member of the Higher Council of the Armed Forces say that some of Mubarak's crimes are not punishable by local laws. This cannot be true, because Article 151 of the constitution states that international agreements have the power of local laws. The article doesn't state that international law supersedes local law, but it is a common practice that it does. For example, a country cannot issue a local law that scraps a treaty in a unilateral fashion. Nor can a country cite its internal laws as an excuse for putting on hold international obligations. The above means that the courts trying ex-President Mubarak can resort to international laws whenever local laws are inadequate. Egypt is signatory to many treaties with direct bearing on Mubarak's case, including conventions on human rights, genocide, corruption, organised crime, and money laundering.
Take, for example, the UN Convention against Corruption, which covers political, administrative, and financial corruption for public officials. In Egypt, the kind of power the president has makes him responsible not only for his own corruption, but for that of all of his subordinates. The ex-president must, in my opinion, face four groups of crimes. The first group is related to murder, either through shooting, torture, or spreading of disease. The second is related to financial irregularities, including abuse of funds, embezzlement, and bribery. The third involves administrative and political corruption, including the fixing of elections, the repression of the opposition, and the manipulation of police and judges. The fourth group is that of high treason, when the president ignores the higher interests of the state and undermines the country's sovereignty.
Criminals at large
America and Israel are, perhaps not surprisingly, wielding as much influence as they can command to persuade the Belgian government to drop the case against Sharon. Whether or not the US manages to thwart plans to try the Israeli prime minister for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Sabra and Shatila massacres and other atrocities committed against the Lebanese and Palestinians during his term as minister of defence in the 1980s, the families of those killed in Sabra and Shatila, by filing suit against him, have alerted the world not only to the fact that he is a war criminal but also to America's anti-humanitarian policies. Sharon's trial, regardless of its consequences, is a just cause and a triumphant affirmation of the principles of international law. The US's policy of "humanitarian intervention" allowed it to deploy missiles, planes and bombs in the course of the Serbian war, paying attention neither to the struggle to restore peace to the Balkans nor to the intentions of the warring parties. The same humanitarian sentiment, one surmises, lies behind the US's staunch opposition to the plan to send international observers to the occupied territories to expose Israeli state terrorism against the Palestinians -- a process of racial
discrimination and ethnic cleansing masterminded by the same war criminal. The US administration has claimed that the actions of the Israeli government are "justified," in a development reminiscent of the time when the US censured the Red Cross for describing Israel's expansionist settlement policy as a crime against humanity. It is thus particularly cheering that, America's might
notwithstanding, there are those who make it clear what American humanitarian intervention really implies, insisting that nobody, however powerful or well-connected, is immune to the dictates of international justice.
Crisis of accountability
America has been criticising Arab governments ever more vociferously since 11 September. Its main gripe is the absence of democracy in the region. Yet many states outside the Arab world do not follow Western paradigms of democracy, and many more believe that those paradigms are inappropriate anyway: the region's history, culture and economic conditions are, after all, quite different from the West's. Yet the criticism no doubt incorporates an element of truth: the lack of accountability in the Arab world makes democracy impossible. However much US intervention shapes Arab strategy, the region's governments rarely if ever assume responsibility for their policies, actions and decisions. There is no system guaranteeing their accountability for the catastrophic conditions to which their people are often subjected. Equally surprising, however, is that no Arab writer has been bold enough to tackle the issue of America's responsibility for what happened on 11 September. Nor has that matter been discussed within America in the context of related problems: racial discrimination, poverty, lack of political awareness and deficient, though often brutal, security apparatuses. The present US administration has failed to protect its people, yet it has not
been held responsible for this failure. The blame was quickly transferred to outside parties; and even these parties' motivation, for which American foreign policy and the global order are ultimately responsible, was not discussed. Thus the absence of accountability plagues not only the Arab world but the greatest world power, too. And so the absence of democracy turns out to be a feature of the international community, not the Arab world alone.
Doing no favours
Many Western countries behave as if, in asking them to intervene against Israel, the Arabs are asking them a favour. Yet intervention is in fact these countries' duty, since the world community cannot sensibly endorse Israeli actions however staunchly the US supports Israel. Countries that emerged in the 20th century were either former colonies gaining hard-won independence or, like Pakistan and Bangladesh, the results of separatist movements. Israel, the pariah of 20th-century states, was founded on the basis of a vote, since the declaration of Israeli statehood followed General Assembly Resolution 181, issued on 29 November 1947, two years after the UN was founded. At that time the General Assembly boasted no more than 57 member states (as against 189 today). Of these, 33 voted for the foundation of Israel; 11 abstained; and 13 voted against it. The resolution decreed the division of Palestine into two entities; and, since it was a development unprecedented in world history, the Arabs refused to implement the resolution. The Jews, by contrast, sought the support of the West, principally France and Britain. When the balance of power shifted, Israeli policy adjusted accordingly. The Israeli government now depends on
the US in the way it depended on France and Britain half a century ago. It is only fair, therefore, to call on the Western countries to help solve the problems Israel's existence in the region has caused. If not for the world community, whose duty is to uphold justice and human rights, Israel would never have existed. To demand positive intervention on the part of Western countries is the right of all humanity. Such intervention is most certainly not a favour.
De Gaulle, the terrorist

Israel's response to the Palestinian attacks in West Jerusalem and Haifa far exceeded its previous displays of brutal rage, not only because it targeted Arafat, but also because the silence that reigned across the globe signals entire approval -- the conviction that Israeli terrorism, when turned on the Palestinian people, is legitimate. A simple fact mitigated the enormous power disparity between Israelis and Palestinians in the past: the Palestinian struggle was legal and legitimate, the Israeli occupation was not. But Israel's efforts, abetted by the Western media, to establish an analogy between the terrorist attack on the United States and the Palestinians' legitimate struggle for their rights have produced a profound shift in the US administration's approach to the "Palestinian problem." Now, for the first time since the collapse of colonialism, the US has placed criminality explicitly on the same legal and moral level as the legitimate struggle for sovereignty. Struggles to defeat occupation and oppression have invariably been legitimate endeavours, and have succeeded consistently. Resistance to Nazi occupation was a legitimate cause; in the
war against German occupation, many German civilians were killed. De Gaulle's fight to liberate his country was legitimate. The world condoned South Africa's war to throw off the shackles of Apartheid. The US, however, has made Israel the exception to all laws and principles, even those requiring universal commitment. Having failed this moral test, can it claim world leadership?
Difficult thoughts
How does one think clearly in the midst of madness? Yet the horrible events of 11 September show us what the failure to think can lead to. Clear thinking is now more necessary than ever. To reduce innocent civilians not only to targets, but also to weapons; to use human beings to kill others who are working to earn their living: this is an act of barbarism. It cannot serve any cause. Reactions to the disaster will follow the typical pattern: shock, denial, anger, and a deep sense of loss and sorrow. Then the ability to think kicks in -- of how to find and punish the perpetrators while trying to maintain a pluralistic, safe, free society. Problems happen when these stages are mixed up, with reactions based on rage, or blind retaliation. Not taking decisive action, or sacrificing civil liberties while trying to protect them, will only add to the list of victims. We will all be at once criminals and victims. Nothing can justify the attack but, just as we seek to deal with poverty and violence without being accused of justifying rape or theft, we must also analyse the global environment. We will
have to work on the image of Americans, particularly in the Arab and Muslim world. The role of American Muslims and Arabs is crucial. An ignorant few may target these communities, but the country in general is showing solidarity, tolerance and compassion. This is the time for American Muslims to assert their identity, participate in the debate and become part of the healing process.
Death in Moqattam
The tragedy in Moqattam, Cairo, where a rockslide killed more than a score, was not the first of its kind and perhaps will not be the last. Warnings have been issued about the Moqattam Hills. The National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research, the
Construction Research Centre, the Remote Sensing Institute, and the National Research Institute all said that future collapses were probable. Yet the government took no action. Why? The government made a big mistake when it abandoned its responsibility for housing low-income families. It told us that the private sector would step into the vacuum, but it didn't. The private sector is making millions providing luxury homes for the affluent. Why would it waste its time building for the poor? The worst part is that the government is now acting like the private sector. Even when it receives grants from abroad to build housing for the poor, the government still sells the land on which the houses are to be built. The government wants to make money, not worry about the vulnerable classes. This is why it didn't act when scientists issued warnings about the Moqattam Hills. This is why it fails to act until trains crash and ferryboats sink. The bottom line is that government officials don't feel accountable to the public. How many incidents of negligence have gone
unpunished? How many acts of gross incompetence have gone unnoticed? The government says it will treat the injured and pay compensation to the families of the victims. This is not enough. We need a factfinding committee to look into the tragedy. We need blame to be assigned. Only accountability can stop such tragedies of being repeated in the future. So let's have an investigation that is credible and transparent. It is time the government thinks about the poor. It's time to build them proper homes.
Free to leave
Several international conventions, and most national
constitutions, recognise travel as a basic right. Egyptian women, like their counterparts anywhere in the world, usually have good reason to travel (employment, education, medical care for themselves or for their children); yet for many years a woman could be stopped at the airport simply because her husband had decided to prevent her from leaving the country. Late last year, the Supreme Constitutional Court found unconstitutional an Interior Ministry decree allowing men to prevent their wives from traveling. This was a great victory, especially since the Interior Ministry decree was often used abusively. This week, women scored another victory. Until recently, a woman wishing to obtain a passport for herself or her children had to secure her husband's approval. Now, an amendment to Ministry of Interior procedures means that such approval is no longer necessary (at least for the time being). Under personal status law, a husband can still claim that his wife is disobedient if she travels without consulting him or without his approval. He can divorce her and/or apply the law on grounds of disobedience. This, however, is a risk women must take if they
value their right to travel. It is certainly preferable to a marriage in which they are stripped of their basic human rights.
Economic nationalism
Amid the havoc of global capitalist brutality and terrorist violence, developing countries are frail and vulnerable. Many believe that the only way out is "economic nationalism," which could prepare Third World peoples for 21st-century
"commercial terrorism" waged by the major economic powers of today. How to tackle the crisis of the drop in the value of the Egyptian pound, for example? One could draw upon the Central Bank's foreign currency reserves, take out foreign loans or place draconian limits on imports. Each of these options has dire consequences for the national economy, which economic nationalism could spare us. As a collective, popular, unofficial movement, economic nationalism is not subject to international pressure and lies beyond the scope of global interdependence; it requires no intervention from the authorities. The system, mentioned recently in a radio programme on the economic pioneer Talaat Harb, a Shura Council seminar on national industry and a press campaign to promote Egyptian products, entails boycotting imports, encouraging trade in Egyptian products and changing consumers' attitudes at home and abroad. The movement must
extend to every detail of daily life and involve the media and NGOs as well as individuals. Concentrating on our own products, nurturing our industries and using savings to benefit the domestic economy will have a long-term impact. It may indeed be our only protection against the economic wars being waged against us. In both Japan and China, industrial progress began with import-substitution policies; and if not for Gandhi's ideas, which incorporated economic nationalism, India would not have achieved
independence. We must take steps to protect our economy. Economic nationalism is the closest thing we have to a strategy, and it is up to us to implement before it is too late.
Education in dilemma
Recently a 25-year-old masters student revealed to me that she had never before opened a book and read it fully, nor even a newspaper. Like her colleagues, she betrays scant knowledge of her undergraduate or pre-college education. Elsewhere, the 12-year-old apprentice mechanic fixing my car told me that he dropped out of school during sixth grade; that he can't read or write nor do basic addition and subtraction. Such examples are omnipresent in Egypt. They are staggering, penetrating and alarming and reflect the painful reality of Egypt's educational fallacy -- the fallacy and consequences of free education. Solutions must originate from a comprehensive national
commitment to drive the quality of education to world-high levels and to capitalise on that excellence outside the strictures of bureaucracy, corruption and attendant salary scales. Free education in Egypt has failed to propel the nation forward; it breeds lameness and impotence. In reality, it is not free but costly, both tangibly and intangibly. Education must come with a cost, with scholarships provided to support the gifted and the underprivileged. Let us abandon the ostrich-like approach and seek a renaissance, as Japan, Korea, Malaysia, China and India have done. Private universities must not be established before securing their own adequate material and human resources, even if they have to employ
highly qualified foreign staff from top universities worldwide, whatever the cost. Research budgets must be boosted to not less than five per cent of GDP, and proper educational facilities must be provided to meet new challenges.
Empowering half the nation

Women's empowerment has been on the national agenda for several years now, but achievements in that direction have been rather modest, as the recent Arab human development report suggests. So perhaps we need a new approach to the problem, one that is more comprehensive and effective. Women's empowerment should be made a national priority. Civil society and business can lend a hand in this respect. And the government already has several institutions that are trying to help women, including a national council for women. These groups should get together and formulate a coordinated strategy. And let's not forget that women themselves have a role. If united, women can overcome many of the societal restraints that hold them back. We need a women's movement. And we need to change attitudes towards women within the family and the clan. We need to reach out to the unprivileged classes, and we need to learn more about their perceptions of women and their role in society. We need a strategy that is based on the objective assessment of local needs and abilities. The obstacles are many. Some are old and related to cultural prejudices. Some are new and related to the economy and the direction in which it is heading. This is why we need integrated action by everyone: government, civil society, business and women. We need to end all forms of discrimination
against women. We need to give women more voice and visibility in society. We have to have a strategy for health, education, social care, and political partnership. Last but not least, we must build a culture that is favourable for women.
Errors of judgement
Bush is out and Al-Qaeda is back: these are the words that best sum up the current outcome of the US war on terror. The curtain is coming down on certain individuals who drove their country to the edge of the abyss. Those who may recall US official discourse following 9/11 would find it chockfull of abstract ideas: "excessive force", "overwhelming supremacy", and "the value of freedom". And don't forget the "eradication of international terror". The Bush administration refused to listen to those who warned it against the futile quest for abstract ideas. The White House had only one goal, that of asserting US hegemony over the world. In order to achieve this goal, Washington moved on the military, diplomatic and security fronts. Despite all its efforts, the US failed to arrest or even silence Osama Bin Laden and Ayman El-Zawahri. Bombings rocked Madrid, London, Bali, Cairo, Oman, Sinai, Sanaa and other places in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. The Iraqis became a people struggling against occupation forces. The Taliban regrouped and began fighting back. In Somalia, the Islamic Courts regained their momentum and inflicted losses on Ethiopian forces. In Lebanon, the US-backed "majority" is stranded. In Georgia, Russia taught Washington's allies a harsh lesson.
Having regained their vigour, terrorists recently bombed the US embassy in Sanaa and then the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. They have also promised to attack Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Western interests across Arab and Islamic countries. All those forces the US once promised to eliminate are making a comeback. Israel lost to Hizbullah in the summer 2006 war. America's image in the world has not improved. Its quest to establish stable democratic regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan has failed. In short, the world is not a safer place. As the Bush administration leaves office, US interests are more vulnerable than ever before. Obama knows that Bush is ending two presidential terms in disgrace. His errors of judgement are simply too big to ignore.
Eyes on Pakistan
President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan is facing a challenge from two former prime ministers currently in exile. This is a crucial moment, and not just for the president. A major political upheaval may not bode well for Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party or Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League. Over the past few years, the political map of Pakistan has changed drastically, so much so that a serious challenge to the president may not lead to the return of the country's conventional politics, but to something totally different. Islamist groups have been organising for years, luring some of the former supporters of Bhutto and Sharif. Should Musharraf lose grip on power, those Islamist groups, with their narrow interpretation of faith and politics, may finally have their chance. So what is the solution? One answer is for Musharraf to forge a coalition with the two rival parties. This would give the country back some of its democratic legacy, a breathing space to put together a new constitution, and a chance to gradually restore its stature as a regional power. Let's learn from Algeria and Morocco. The accession of Islamist groups in Pakistan would not be in anybody's favour. Pakistan needs time to recover and rebuild. Bhutto and Musharraf have been in talks for sometime now. So they must have something in common, some common ground to build upon. And, you may recall, Bhutto and
Sharif managed a short-lived coalition before the 1999 coup that brought Musharraf to power. Some may say national unity is a dream. But the alternative is unspeakable.
Facing the music

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is going to appear at the UN Security Council soon to discuss his country's nuclear programme. He needs a visa to go to New York, a technicality that could have triggered a needless diplomatic squabble. Thankfully, the Security Council approved and took care of this small detail. Ahmadinejad is expected to reiterate his country's position that its nuclear activities are strictly for peaceful purposes, but that likely won't stop a heated debate from ensuing, with the Americans insisting that the international community supervise the Iranian programme closely. The Iranians will respond by saying the same should apply to Israel. Egypt has repeatedly called for the Middle East to be emptied of all weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), nuclear or otherwise. The Iranians have a lot to gain by adopting that same point of view. Should the Iranians call for the elimination of all WMDs from the region, the Security Council would have to respond. Its answer would put Israel on the spot, or get Iran off the hook. This is how it works. The Security Council would either endorse a ban or oppose it. In the first case, it would have to declare Israel's nuclear programme illegal. In the second case, it would be clearing Iran from all wrongdoing.
Iran wouldn't have much trouble rallying the support of Arab, Islamic and developing countries for a Middle East free of WMDs. It makes no sense for major countries to have nuclear capabilities and for the rest of the world to be denied equal rights. Iran can turn Ahmadinejad's visit to the UN into a diplomatic coup.
Film controversy
An Iranian documentary on the assassination of president Anwar ElSadat has touched a raw nerve in Egypt. More importantly, it has given Iran's critics opportunity to claim that they've been right all along. Before the debate goes any further, I would like to get a few things straight. One is that political assassination is a barbaric act, regardless of who commits it. Sadat was a larger-than-life figure, and so were his achievements and failings. Yet his own people must judge him, not outsiders. Some in this country believe that Sadat was wrong to go to Jerusalem and pursue peace with Israel, while others see these acts as his lasting legacy. But no one in this country endorses the assassination. As Egyptians, we're willing to criticise our leaders, but we hate it when outsiders do. I may disagree with Sadat's policies, but I don't see his assassin as a hero and it hurts me when the Iranians do. The documentary, The Execution of a Pharaoh, has given Iran's critics ammunition at the worst of times. Those who say that it is a work of art that needn't have an impact on Egypt-Iran relations are nave. There are people in the region who want Iran isolated. There are Arabs and Zionists who feel no love lost for Iran. This documentary has reinforced their cause. It has poisoned the atmosphere at the very moment of Egyptian- Iranian rapprochement.
Egyptians would have been offended with such a documentary even if the producers were not Iranians. It is therefore unfortunate that the film should come out of Tehran and at this juncture. I must say that I was looking forward to Egyptian- Iranian rapprochement and that I found the film, to say the least, to be lacking in taste. Hopefully, Iranian officials will find a way to distance themselves from this film.
Form without content

The last People's Assembly elections claimed some casualties: people were injured, blood was spilled. In many constituencies the competition was so fierce candidates resorted to spurious tactics. Almost LE2 billion were spent despite the liquidity crisis that continues to make the headlines. Despite the press they received this year, the Shura Council elections turned out to be a surprisingly quiet affair. After the hubbub surrounding the first round, candidates entered the second unobserved. Although reports drafted by the Ministry of Interior revealed only the names of the winners, semi-official reports asserted that only two to seven per cent of the voters turned out in each constituency, while the People's Assembly elections boasted 25 to 50 per cent participation. The difference reflects not only the limitations imposed on the Shura Council as a non-legislative body that has no decision-making powers, but the government's lack of interest in the council's workings. Unlike the People's Assembly elections, Shura Council elections are rarely attended by government officials. Nobody seems to care about the outcome. No one listens to those who want to reinforce the Council's role. Yet the fact must be reiterated again: unless the Shura Council
takes decision-making responsibilities, it will remain at best an ineffectual forum.
Fit to be tied
The Egyptian press celebrated last Sunday the anniversary of its victory over law 93/1995. The staunch resistance of the Journalists' Syndicate as well as the support of human rights and pro-democracy activists brought the law down. Its replacement (law 96/1996) is by no means a model of freedom, but it is less repressive. Despite the buoyant mood, however, journalists cannot shake a feeling of profound disappointment: after years of fighting for a free press, they must make do with standards far beneath those that apply to their colleagues abroad. The new law is riddled with loopholes, yet no one seems to be calling for amendments. The emergency law and the penal code impose harsh penalties on the press. Journalists' hands are bound in this age of free information. Libel and other publication offenses have brought many to court; some have already served prison sentences, while 150 await trial. The freedom to establish newspapers is still restricted by the whims of a committee answering directly to the government and categorically opposed to pluralism, no matter how serious and well-intentioned. The committee, however, allows the
"yellow press" to flourish simply because it serves money and power. A small margin of freedom of opinion and expression does exist today, but is unworthy of Egypt's history. Still, the official line is that we are experiencing democracy at its best. In fact, the press is facing challenges on all sides: constrained by security and political red tape, gagged by self-censorship... We desperately need new blood, and we must listen to the needs of the young generation. A grim picture; yet perhaps a new day is at hand?
Free-market feelings
The tragedy of 11 September came at a time when the Egyptian economy was going through a painful recession. Analysts anticipated that a deterioration in foreign exchange earnings would result from the events. As for the likely shift in external payments, optimists expected a moderate decline; pessimists foresaw a huge increase related to importers' rush to profit from falling international prices, and the upward trend in foreign exchange outflows. The pessimistic view proved quite realistic. Demand for foreign exchange is accelerating on a scale analogous to that seen after the 1997 Asian crisis. This has placed the exchange rate for the Egyptian pound under severe pressure, and must have drained Egypt's international reserves. The problem is how to cut demand for foreign exchange. Rather than imposing restrictions, the government has appealed to citizens' patriotism. Then the Central Bank announced a temporary change in its import-financing policy, back-pedaling less than a week later. Fearing the move would be seen as a retreat from free-market policies, the government reaffirmed its refusal to control imports and capital movement. This erratic
policy
generated
confusion,
and
enormous
profits
for
speculators. The government expects a private sector-driven economy to respect the public good and patriotic necessity. Unless it recognises the futility of this policy, a disaster will ensue. It should seek to govern the market through careful
macroeconomic policies. There is no point in winning the trust of investors, who have been unresponsive to development needs, at the cost of endangering national economic interests.
From the ashes

The fire that devoured Egypt's second chamber of parliament did not just destroy one of Cairo's landmarks. It took away part of Egypt's legacy and with it a piece of the nation's self-esteem. Now the ashes are no longer smouldering and nerves, perhaps, less frayed, it is time to assess what should have been done, and what, in the future, we must do. Fires are not an act of nature. Nor is the damage they cause inevitable. It is a symptom of chaos, a deep-seated failure to make allowances for the unexpected. Mishaps will happen and other countries factor in this probability, designing ways to contain the damage. In Egypt, we do not. It is not that we lack the resources. Egypt possesses both the money and the brains to prevent such disasters. Sadly, we have yet to learn to look ahead and prioritise. What makes the fire at the Shura Council particularly galling is that an Egyptian has invented a sophisticated method to protect vital institutions from such disasters. His system can protect buildings from fires raging up to 700 degrees Celsius and it is already in use in European and Gulf countries. The man's name is Asaad Gamal Nada and his method, which has been patented in Germany, is still awaiting approval from Egypt's Academy of Scientific Research. Nada's method is regularly used to protect pilgrims' tents in Saudi
Arabia. It is particularly effective in protecting artefacts such as books and documents as well as homes. We have the means, financial as well as technological, to avoid the kind of incident we witnessed last week. But first we need to start thinking differently. We have to anticipate trouble beforehand, not spring into action belatedly. The latter, as an English proverb has it, amounts to locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Stop the 'fulul'! Now we know that every rumour we've heard about the fulul was true. The fulul, or the remnants of the now- disbanded National Democratic Party (NDP), often blamed for various acts of sabotage that have taken place since the revolution, are no longer meeting in secret. They are no longer trying to disguise their actions. They are acting in broad daylight, holding conferences and setting up parties. And if need be, they are willing to rise in open challenge to the regime. If Mustafa Mahmoud and the Battle of the Camel were not enough, the fulul are getting better organised by the day. They made their presence known during the trials of the deposed president and his aides, inside and outside the court. They transported their supporters in buses to the trial's location in AlTagammu Al-Khamis, as if in an organised tour. It is an effort that involved a considerable amount of logistics, and it is not difficult to find who financed the crowds who kept shouting, "We are with you, Mr President." Then came the attack on the Israeli embassy, which coincided with attacks on the Giza Police Department and the Interior Ministry. Officials said that the attackers were thugs and people
on foreign payrolls. But, many weeks later, we still haven't been told who orchestrated this attack. As the elections approach, the fulul know that this is their last chance to sneak back into power. The only way to stop them is for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to issue the Treachery Law, banning them from political life. This is the only way to root out the decay and corruption the NDP planted in our midst for 30 years. We need to impose a political ban on the higher echelons of the NDP, especially the members of the Policies Committee. Individuals who ran on the NDP ticket for local councils, the People's Assembly, and the Shura Council must also come under the ban. This must be done, but within due legal process. The last thing we want to do is to deprive all three million former NDP members of their political rights. The fulul are not going to give in without a fight. Already, their leaders are threatening the SCAF with dire consequences if a political ban is brought into force. They promise to cut off the railroads in Upper Egypt, and I believe they already rehearsed such actions.
One cannot rule out that much of the disturbances we've seen in Upper Egypt over the past few months were planned by the fulul. Clashes between families that ran out of control, the attacks on places of worship, such as the recent incident in Edfu, and other cases of sectarian violence, all bear the unmistakable mark of the fulul. Most revolutions are faced with the dilemma of what to do with diehard supporters of bygone regimes. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, East European countries passed special laws aimed to terminate the political influence of the old parties. In East Germany and the Czech Republic, political bans on key figures of the old regimes lasted from two to five years on average. We need to rid the Egyptian political scene of the horrors of the deposed regime. We need to reverse the tide of corruption that has deformed our politics for three decades. We need to stop the fulul in their tracks, so that this country may finally find its way to democracy.
Journalists to vote THE FIRST Press Syndicate elections after the 25 January Revolution are scheduled to take place tomorrow. Journalists will vote for the 12-member council and a chairman. Three candidates are vying for the post of chairman and 103 are competing to become members of the new council. The elections come at a turbulent time when a clear vision of Egypt's future is lacking. The new chairman and council will be coming at a time of instability, upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections and a constitution which will be rewritten. Mamdouh El-Wali, deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram daily and believed to enjoy Brotherhood support, and Yehia Qallash, a journalist at the daily Al-Gomhouriya and known to be a Nasserist, are the frontrunners for the chairmanship of the syndicate. Despite having different agendas, both insist that a strong council is necessary for the union to weather the challenges it faces and to have an active role in the country's future. Qallash says the most important task facing the next chairman is to change all freedom-restricting laws on the press and to
become financially independent of the state. He argues that the syndicate should be strong to pressure the coming government into making the changes necessary to have a free press. El-Wali agrees with Qallash but believes that priority should be given to boosting the syndicate financially. According to ElWali, the pension fund, the housing project and other services offered to syndicate members have suffered since the 2007 syndicate polls as a result of budgetary deficits. Increasing syndicate resources via a draft law which has been shelved for years will help solve the financial crisis, he says. El-Wali is also in favour of setting minimum salaries for journalists. El-Wali appeared keen to distance himself from the Muslim Brotherhood, whose support he reportedly enjoys. "I am not the candidate of the Brotherhood or of any other political trend. I am running in the polls as an independent. Involving politics in the work of unions undermines their performance." But in the end many votes will be determined by which political trend journalists support. Arguments claim that if the chairman is an MB supporter, then the Brothers will have complete power in all of the country's syndicates. An expected majority of the
parliament's seats will also give the Brotherhood the upper hand in the country's decision-making. Other journalists argue that they should vote in terms of who they believe will correctly represent them. As for the 103 competing for the 12 member council, six who have been members of the syndicate for more than 15 years are to be chosen. The remaining six should have served as journalists for less than 15 years. The number of youths who seek a council seat is more than double, encouraged by the revolution and the recent tendency by youths to venture into the decision-making process. Half of the syndicate's members, according to the professional syndicates law, should register their name before 12 noon tomorrow. If not, the elections will be postponed a week.
Part II
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