June 26, 2012
by Abdullah Omar
Source:The Media Line
AMMAN, Jordan -- The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan celebrated the election of Islamist Mohamed Morsi as president of Egypt as if he was one of their own, opening their offices across the kingdom to hand out sweets and gloat before shocked Jordanian authorities.
“What we saw in Egypt clearly shows that reform is coming. It is a matter of time,” said Ali Abul Sukkar, president of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood.
“The victory of Morsi in the elections is a great boost for the Islamist movement and a wake up call for the regime to implement reforms as promised,” said Abul Sukkar.
Minutes after it was confirmed that a fellow Islamist Morsi won, the leadership of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement calling on supporters to join their celebrations spilling out of its 24 branches across the kingdom.
King Abdullah II sent a cable of congratulations to Morsi, stressing Jordan’s commitment to continued efforts to boost its relations with Egypt in all domains and in a manner that helps activate Arab and Islamic cooperation, a Royal Court statement said.
Diplomacy aside, analysts say the Islamist movement will be emboldened by the victory of a major ally and could harden its stance with authorities over demanded reforms. At the moment, the Islamist movement is set to boycott upcoming parliamentary elections later this year.
While authorities are still assessing the impact of Morsi’s victory on the local scene, some Jordanian officials have already voiced concerns that the local Muslim Brotherhood movement could be seeking to emulate their Egyptian counterparts.
To the dismay of opposition parties including the Islamist movement, the parliament on Sunday endorsed a controversial election reform bill that has been described as backward and anti-reform legislation and an effort to kick start the long overdue reforms promised since the Arab Spring swept the region 16 months ago.
The bill kept the balance of power in the hands of conservative tribes loyal to the regime and made sure political parties have minor, if any, representation in the legislature.
Opposition parties say the amendments will continue to enable pro-regime candidates from tribal dominated areas and influential businessmen to win at the expense of party candidates.
Zaki Bani Rashid, senior leader from the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, said his group is planning to create a shadow government and a shadow parliament after having given up on reform promises.
But Islamist leaders say the government is delaying the inevitable.
In Jordan’s first free elections since 1989, the Islamist movement swept parliament seats and enjoyed a slight majority, before authorities amended the law in favor of Bedouin tribes and loyalists.
King Abdullah is expected to sign a royal decree in coming days to officially pass the bill as law, paving the way for elections by the end of the year.
Analyst Mohammad Abu Rumman believes that authorities are adamant to maintain their grip on the country without giving concessions.
“It is too late, we missed the train. We wished results of the Egyptian elections were announced before the elections law was endorsed,” said Abu Rumman, warning against what he believes are inevitable and dire consequences to the political current political stand off between the regime and the Islamists movement.
“Are we going to rectify the situation or wait to pay a heavy price?” Abu Rumman pondered.
Hamzah Mansour, secretary general of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, sent a veiled message to authorities, saying his group was headed for victory in the style of its larger Egyptian sister.
"I think victory is a temptation for another victory and encourages success. Victory of the Egyptian people will have an impact on the governments of all of the Arab and Islamic countries. They must reconsider their policies and respect the will of their people," Mansour said.
Morsi defeated former general Ahmed Shafiq in a run-off last weekend by a convincing 3.5 percentage points, or nearly 900,000 votes, taking 51.7 percent of the total, officials said, ending a week of disputes over the count which left nerves frayed over who was going to be named the leader of the Arab world’s most populous nation.
Shafiq has since reportedly fled Egypt for a Gulf state.
Morsi succeeds Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown 16 months ago after a popular uprising. The military council which has ruled the biggest Arab nation since then has this month curbed the powers of the presidency, meaning the head of state will have to work closely with the army on a planned democratic constitution.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Rakhine racists, police and Hluntin attack Rohingya in Maungdaw in absent of Army
11 June 2012
Source:Kaladan Press
Maungdaw, Arakan State: A group of Rakhine racists, police and Hluntin are attacking Rohingya properties - burning houses, destroying Mosques and killing Rohingy people today morning after the army left from Maungdaw town , according to an elder from Maungdaw town.
“Last night, after President’s speech to public through MRTV that northern Arakan was handed over to Army to control the situation. The army controlled the Maungdaw last night and the people get a little relief from tension. But, in the morning after leaving the army from town, a group of Rakhine racists along with police and Hluntin are destroying Rohingya’s properties and religious building and killing Rohingyas.”
“Today morning, after leaving the choppers, which carried the relief goods for Rakhine, the Police, Hluntin and Rakhine set on fire Karim Ullah’s house of Bo Mu para, Maungdaw town at 9:30Pm (BST).”
“Police, Hluntin and Rakhine set on fire the Ward number (5) where three houses were burnt down into ashes including Ex- MP Fazal Ahmed‘s house. In Ward number 3, one Mosque and one house owned by Kalam are being destroyed; other houses are being burnt down.”
In Ward number 2, the houses of Nurul Isam, Syed Hussein and Feroz were burnt down and some houses are still burning in front of the Middle School, not known how many houses were destroyed in arson attack. At about 12: 00 noon, Fayazi Para is surrounded by police, Hluntin and Rakhines. Later Sayed Hussain was slaughtered by Rakhines.
Five engines boats along with over 300 people including women and children from Akyab reached at Shapuri Dip of Bangladesh in the morning today, but these boats were pushed back to the sea by BGB personnel so the boat went again to the Saint Martin Island of Bangladesh where Bangladesh Coast- Guards pushed-back again to Arakan State. The fate of the people is not known after pushed back. It is learnt that some dead bodies and wounded persons are present in the boats.
At about 11:30 am, a truck with Rohingya dead bodies was seen in front of the old jail today, which was taken away by police to unknown places. These are previous dead bodies of Rohingyas.
According to the President Thein Sein’ speech, army will control the situation of the Arakan, but still slaughtering the Rohingya people by the police, Hluntin and some group of Rakhine racists. It is very surprise for the Rohingya community.
Source:Kaladan Press
Maungdaw, Arakan State: A group of Rakhine racists, police and Hluntin are attacking Rohingya properties - burning houses, destroying Mosques and killing Rohingy people today morning after the army left from Maungdaw town , according to an elder from Maungdaw town.
“Last night, after President’s speech to public through MRTV that northern Arakan was handed over to Army to control the situation. The army controlled the Maungdaw last night and the people get a little relief from tension. But, in the morning after leaving the army from town, a group of Rakhine racists along with police and Hluntin are destroying Rohingya’s properties and religious building and killing Rohingyas.”
“Today morning, after leaving the choppers, which carried the relief goods for Rakhine, the Police, Hluntin and Rakhine set on fire Karim Ullah’s house of Bo Mu para, Maungdaw town at 9:30Pm (BST).”
“Police, Hluntin and Rakhine set on fire the Ward number (5) where three houses were burnt down into ashes including Ex- MP Fazal Ahmed‘s house. In Ward number 3, one Mosque and one house owned by Kalam are being destroyed; other houses are being burnt down.”
In Ward number 2, the houses of Nurul Isam, Syed Hussein and Feroz were burnt down and some houses are still burning in front of the Middle School, not known how many houses were destroyed in arson attack. At about 12: 00 noon, Fayazi Para is surrounded by police, Hluntin and Rakhines. Later Sayed Hussain was slaughtered by Rakhines.
Five engines boats along with over 300 people including women and children from Akyab reached at Shapuri Dip of Bangladesh in the morning today, but these boats were pushed back to the sea by BGB personnel so the boat went again to the Saint Martin Island of Bangladesh where Bangladesh Coast- Guards pushed-back again to Arakan State. The fate of the people is not known after pushed back. It is learnt that some dead bodies and wounded persons are present in the boats.
At about 11:30 am, a truck with Rohingya dead bodies was seen in front of the old jail today, which was taken away by police to unknown places. These are previous dead bodies of Rohingyas.
According to the President Thein Sein’ speech, army will control the situation of the Arakan, but still slaughtering the Rohingya people by the police, Hluntin and some group of Rakhine racists. It is very surprise for the Rohingya community.
100 Rohingyas killed and 500 wounded in Maungdaw
09 June 2012
Source:Kaladan Press
Maungdaw, Arakan State: An estimated 100 Rohingyas were killed and nearly 500 wounded by Rakhine racists and security personnel since yesterday, according to an elder who collect the information about missing Rohingya and wounded in Maungdaw.
“Two young Rohingya – Kurban Ali and Amaran- were killed by riot police while they processed peaceful demonstration yesterday noon. “
“In the evening two men were wounded near the Naypaydaw junction and on old women was killed by the settlers( Natala).”
Yesterday night, 10 Rohingyas were killed and 15 wounded in the accident of Ward number 5 where Rakhine racists and security personnel set on the fire the Rohingya houses.
Recently the collection lists of dead bodies and wounded persons in different areas of villages in Maungdaw where the Rakhine racists and security personnel killed: 3 Rohingya died and wounded 5 in Myothugyi village; Sawmawna village demolished Mosque 6 died and 6 wounded; 7 died and 2 wounded in Loundon; 3 killed by army in Bagonna village; 3 wounded in Padinn and etc.
An army truck was crossing Du Cheyradan village where 2 Rohingya were shot dead by army when they were sitting in a shop on the road side and then the villagers informed to the nearest Nasaka outpost. The Nasaka told the villagers to bring the family lists of the dead persons from the village. After seeing the family lists, the Nasaka gave permission to bury the dead bodies in the village, according to a villager.
Most of the dead bodies of Rohingya who were killed by Rakhine racists and security personnel, were kept by the security personnel and nobody known where about it, said a local from Maungdaw.
The dead bodies of Rohingya are hiding in the different places of Maungdaw but, Rakhine racists and security personnel move the dead bodies by pull carts from Yoathet to other place at night today.
The security personnel and Rakhine racists are rounding together near the Seetehla of Myoma Kkayoungdan village to set on fire the village, said a Rohingya who see the crowed person near the village.
Besides, the army personnel ordered the shopkeepers of Alaythan Kyaw market today to leave the area as the army needs to set up their camp.
Over 3000 Rakhine racists are brought from Rathedaung to Inddin of Maungdaw south by the order of security personnel from Maungdaw to build up their capacity, an elder told to Kaladanpress. “We are very afraid for Rakhine attack as now heavy raining is going on in Maungdaw.”
Similarly, in Buthidaung township, Rakhine racists are given training of the defense in Nyoung Chang monastery by security personnel who were brought from other side of Arakan State.
Source:Kaladan Press
Maungdaw, Arakan State: An estimated 100 Rohingyas were killed and nearly 500 wounded by Rakhine racists and security personnel since yesterday, according to an elder who collect the information about missing Rohingya and wounded in Maungdaw.
“Two young Rohingya – Kurban Ali and Amaran- were killed by riot police while they processed peaceful demonstration yesterday noon. “
“In the evening two men were wounded near the Naypaydaw junction and on old women was killed by the settlers( Natala).”
Yesterday night, 10 Rohingyas were killed and 15 wounded in the accident of Ward number 5 where Rakhine racists and security personnel set on the fire the Rohingya houses.
Recently the collection lists of dead bodies and wounded persons in different areas of villages in Maungdaw where the Rakhine racists and security personnel killed: 3 Rohingya died and wounded 5 in Myothugyi village; Sawmawna village demolished Mosque 6 died and 6 wounded; 7 died and 2 wounded in Loundon; 3 killed by army in Bagonna village; 3 wounded in Padinn and etc.
An army truck was crossing Du Cheyradan village where 2 Rohingya were shot dead by army when they were sitting in a shop on the road side and then the villagers informed to the nearest Nasaka outpost. The Nasaka told the villagers to bring the family lists of the dead persons from the village. After seeing the family lists, the Nasaka gave permission to bury the dead bodies in the village, according to a villager.
Most of the dead bodies of Rohingya who were killed by Rakhine racists and security personnel, were kept by the security personnel and nobody known where about it, said a local from Maungdaw.
The dead bodies of Rohingya are hiding in the different places of Maungdaw but, Rakhine racists and security personnel move the dead bodies by pull carts from Yoathet to other place at night today.
The security personnel and Rakhine racists are rounding together near the Seetehla of Myoma Kkayoungdan village to set on fire the village, said a Rohingya who see the crowed person near the village.
Besides, the army personnel ordered the shopkeepers of Alaythan Kyaw market today to leave the area as the army needs to set up their camp.
Over 3000 Rakhine racists are brought from Rathedaung to Inddin of Maungdaw south by the order of security personnel from Maungdaw to build up their capacity, an elder told to Kaladanpress. “We are very afraid for Rakhine attack as now heavy raining is going on in Maungdaw.”
Similarly, in Buthidaung township, Rakhine racists are given training of the defense in Nyoung Chang monastery by security personnel who were brought from other side of Arakan State.
The latest news of June 10 morning
10 June 2012
source: Kaladan Press
A young poor Rohingya girl - Zahara Begum (12) daughter of Abu Sidduque, hail from Bomu village- was killed by Tin Aye, sergeant from Maungdaw police station when she went to kitchen market to sell pea at the local village kitchen market of Kanrre village at bout 9:00am, the dead body of the girl was kept in police vehicle, said an eye-witness said to Kaladan press.
Most of the Rohingya shops have been looted by Rakhine racists with the help of Hluntin (riot) and police. All the looted goods were handed over to the Buddhist monastery where the Rakhines- from Natala (settlers) villages- are kept by authorities. The looting was led by Paungmae son of U Aung Gyi.
More than 10 floating dead bodies are seen in the stream, beside of Maungdaw- four mile road in the morning after heavy rain in yesterday. The Rohingya people believed that the dead bodies were thrown into the stream by security personnel after shooting dead.
Today the missing and wounded collection sources said more than 250 Rohingya people were killed by security personnel and Rakhine racists.
source: Kaladan Press
A young poor Rohingya girl - Zahara Begum (12) daughter of Abu Sidduque, hail from Bomu village- was killed by Tin Aye, sergeant from Maungdaw police station when she went to kitchen market to sell pea at the local village kitchen market of Kanrre village at bout 9:00am, the dead body of the girl was kept in police vehicle, said an eye-witness said to Kaladan press.
Most of the Rohingya shops have been looted by Rakhine racists with the help of Hluntin (riot) and police. All the looted goods were handed over to the Buddhist monastery where the Rakhines- from Natala (settlers) villages- are kept by authorities. The looting was led by Paungmae son of U Aung Gyi.
More than 10 floating dead bodies are seen in the stream, beside of Maungdaw- four mile road in the morning after heavy rain in yesterday. The Rohingya people believed that the dead bodies were thrown into the stream by security personnel after shooting dead.
Today the missing and wounded collection sources said more than 250 Rohingya people were killed by security personnel and Rakhine racists.
Breaking News: Current Buthidaung situation
10 June 2012
Source: Kaladan Press
Current Buthidaung situation:
Yesterday, at about 12 noon, 200 Rakhines with long swords came to Buthidaung town by two boats and landed from the U Oo Thama Park in front of police and went to straight to the Buddhist monastery. Hearing the news, the Upper Parliament member U Shwe Maung contacted with Tactical Operation Officer of Buthidaung Town to provide security by army to the Rohingyas as the people don’t rely the police security.
Again, today, about 300 Rakhines with lethal weapons came to Buthidaung town by boats from other places. Of them, some had gone to hide in the forest. But, local Rakhines females with children are sent to the secure places.
Rohingya people in Buthidaung Township have been living with constant fear of unholy alliance of Buddhist Rakhines and security forces.
Source: Kaladan Press
Current Buthidaung situation:
Yesterday, at about 12 noon, 200 Rakhines with long swords came to Buthidaung town by two boats and landed from the U Oo Thama Park in front of police and went to straight to the Buddhist monastery. Hearing the news, the Upper Parliament member U Shwe Maung contacted with Tactical Operation Officer of Buthidaung Town to provide security by army to the Rohingyas as the people don’t rely the police security.
Again, today, about 300 Rakhines with lethal weapons came to Buthidaung town by boats from other places. Of them, some had gone to hide in the forest. But, local Rakhines females with children are sent to the secure places.
Rohingya people in Buthidaung Township have been living with constant fear of unholy alliance of Buddhist Rakhines and security forces.
Breaking News : Nearly 1000 houses burnt down in Sittwe, over 100 killed, more than 300 wounded
10 June 2012
Kaladan Press Network
Sittwe( Akyab: At about 11:00 am to 2 pm, the racist Rakhines with the co-operation of riot police (Hluntin) set on fire to nearly 1000 houses in the Rohingya villages in Sittwe( Akyab), the capital of Arakan State and over 100 killed and more than 300 wounded by Rakhine racists and security personnel. After setting fire in different villages, the security forces are in cordon the areas. When the Rohingya villagers try to distinguish and intentionally fired to them.
At present, many villagers become homeless and are staying in the open sky. They do not get any supporting from the concerned authorities. About 1000 houses were burnt down to the ashes.
Besides, Shafi Khan Mosque which is situated near the gate of Akyab airport was also burnt down by the racist Rakhines, Pakeseik Mosque and some other 6 Mosques.
Some villages have been identified as---Rohingya Para, Zala Para (village), Gumay Para, Naya para, wireless para, Paluktown para and Deram para were burnt down.More than ten thousands Rakhine participated to arson of the Rohingya villages in Akyab.
The Rohingya villagers are in panic-stricken without any help from any quarter and survival of the villagers is at stake.
Kaladan Press Network
Sittwe( Akyab: At about 11:00 am to 2 pm, the racist Rakhines with the co-operation of riot police (Hluntin) set on fire to nearly 1000 houses in the Rohingya villages in Sittwe( Akyab), the capital of Arakan State and over 100 killed and more than 300 wounded by Rakhine racists and security personnel. After setting fire in different villages, the security forces are in cordon the areas. When the Rohingya villagers try to distinguish and intentionally fired to them.
At present, many villagers become homeless and are staying in the open sky. They do not get any supporting from the concerned authorities. About 1000 houses were burnt down to the ashes.
Besides, Shafi Khan Mosque which is situated near the gate of Akyab airport was also burnt down by the racist Rakhines, Pakeseik Mosque and some other 6 Mosques.
Some villages have been identified as---Rohingya Para, Zala Para (village), Gumay Para, Naya para, wireless para, Paluktown para and Deram para were burnt down.More than ten thousands Rakhine participated to arson of the Rohingya villages in Akyab.
The Rohingya villagers are in panic-stricken without any help from any quarter and survival of the villagers is at stake.
Rohingya - The Forgotten Refugees.
June 21, 12012
By Foreda Begum
Source: Restless Beings
The plight of the Rohingyas should be in the spotlight even more so with it being World Refugee Day. However, whilst millions pay tribute to refugees around the world, what is being done about the persecution of the Rohingya? Despite the theme for 2012 being 'Refugees have no choice. You do.' the international response has been slow and too safely guarded, despite the calls for action.
Since the clash between the Rakhines and the Rohingyas surfaced 3 weeks ago, it has shown no signs of improvement let alone ending; the violence ferociously continues as its estimated over 6000 Rohingya people have died with cases of deaths every day of both Rakhine and Rohingya, 12,000 displaced and an immeasurable amount of homes still continue to be burned down (though according to the Rohingya Blogger, it has stopped in the Sittwe and Maungdaw township). The Nasaka, the Bumese Border Force, are left to their own devices under the rubric of National security, they have had a long run in their part in making the lives of the Rohingya a living hell. However, their crimes have taken a new height since these clashes began, aiming to systematically rid the Rohingya and make them leave Arakan, a plan which had succeeded in 1992 when a similar incident resulted in the mass exodus of the Rohingya.
Despite this, there is still no sign of relief across the border as Bangladesh still refuses to help the Rohingyas by forcibly pushing back those who want to escape the tyranny. Even as close neighbours, the Bangladesh government are refusing to recognise the grave consequences their actions have. For the Rohingya’s who have managed to cross the border to Bangladesh in recent years the majority face a bleak future. Seen as a burden to an already densely populated country, viewed as immigrants speaking a similar but still different language to the Bangladeshis, and being denied humanitarian aid, forces Rohingya refugees into dire avenues.
Our Restless Beings director Mabrur, visited the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Bangladesh in 2011 where an estimated 26,000 (2010 report) Rohingya are 'living' with a further 90,000 on the other side of the refugee camp perimeter fence. The camp was filled with an air worse than desperation- the faces of the refugees faces just blank, just surviving another day. The Rohingya women are victims of sexual violence, chidlren are denied education and there is limited access to health and medical aid. They live harassed, not being allowed to conceive and so just wait, restricted in the camp, to die. It's a stark reality that despite fleeing from hellish torment in Burma that they face a fate rarely better in Bangladesh as refugees.
In the midst of the clashes, Aung Saan Suu Kyi, who is seen as a beacon of hope to the Rohingyas, embarked on her European tour and yesterday paid a visit to the London School of Economics for a discussion on "Rule of Law". She has avoided the subject of the clash between the ethnic groups, even though it is the support of of the ethnic groups which is at the core of her prominence today. At the LSE conference she did mention and acknowledged the current state of affairs and the violence occurring on both sides, but somewhat sugar coated her outlook on the situation, placing the importance of Law being known by everyone is the way forward for Burma - “Resolving conflict is not about condemnation, it’s about finding the roots, the causes of that conflict and how they can be resolved in the best way possible”. However the law can only be effective and seen to be important when all the people concerned are recognised by the Law and the state in the first instance. Without this initial step, which the Rohingyas have campaigned for, little progress can be made.
Instead, their underlying struggles, even amidst the recent civil violence from both the Rakhines and Rohingya - none of which can be condoned, will continue largely unnoticed. On a day which is dedicated to the remembrance of refugees, it is important that these initial violations against the Rohingya do not go unnoticed and that the international community hold the Burmese state accountable.
Even after World Refugee Day and after Refugee Week this Friday, we must continue to champion and voice the Rohingyas. The smallest deed of dedicating your facebook status, or tweeting #Rohingya brings their struggle to light.
By Foreda Begum
Source: Restless Beings
The plight of the Rohingyas should be in the spotlight even more so with it being World Refugee Day. However, whilst millions pay tribute to refugees around the world, what is being done about the persecution of the Rohingya? Despite the theme for 2012 being 'Refugees have no choice. You do.' the international response has been slow and too safely guarded, despite the calls for action.
Since the clash between the Rakhines and the Rohingyas surfaced 3 weeks ago, it has shown no signs of improvement let alone ending; the violence ferociously continues as its estimated over 6000 Rohingya people have died with cases of deaths every day of both Rakhine and Rohingya, 12,000 displaced and an immeasurable amount of homes still continue to be burned down (though according to the Rohingya Blogger, it has stopped in the Sittwe and Maungdaw township). The Nasaka, the Bumese Border Force, are left to their own devices under the rubric of National security, they have had a long run in their part in making the lives of the Rohingya a living hell. However, their crimes have taken a new height since these clashes began, aiming to systematically rid the Rohingya and make them leave Arakan, a plan which had succeeded in 1992 when a similar incident resulted in the mass exodus of the Rohingya.
Despite this, there is still no sign of relief across the border as Bangladesh still refuses to help the Rohingyas by forcibly pushing back those who want to escape the tyranny. Even as close neighbours, the Bangladesh government are refusing to recognise the grave consequences their actions have. For the Rohingya’s who have managed to cross the border to Bangladesh in recent years the majority face a bleak future. Seen as a burden to an already densely populated country, viewed as immigrants speaking a similar but still different language to the Bangladeshis, and being denied humanitarian aid, forces Rohingya refugees into dire avenues.
Our Restless Beings director Mabrur, visited the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Bangladesh in 2011 where an estimated 26,000 (2010 report) Rohingya are 'living' with a further 90,000 on the other side of the refugee camp perimeter fence. The camp was filled with an air worse than desperation- the faces of the refugees faces just blank, just surviving another day. The Rohingya women are victims of sexual violence, chidlren are denied education and there is limited access to health and medical aid. They live harassed, not being allowed to conceive and so just wait, restricted in the camp, to die. It's a stark reality that despite fleeing from hellish torment in Burma that they face a fate rarely better in Bangladesh as refugees.
In the midst of the clashes, Aung Saan Suu Kyi, who is seen as a beacon of hope to the Rohingyas, embarked on her European tour and yesterday paid a visit to the London School of Economics for a discussion on "Rule of Law". She has avoided the subject of the clash between the ethnic groups, even though it is the support of of the ethnic groups which is at the core of her prominence today. At the LSE conference she did mention and acknowledged the current state of affairs and the violence occurring on both sides, but somewhat sugar coated her outlook on the situation, placing the importance of Law being known by everyone is the way forward for Burma - “Resolving conflict is not about condemnation, it’s about finding the roots, the causes of that conflict and how they can be resolved in the best way possible”. However the law can only be effective and seen to be important when all the people concerned are recognised by the Law and the state in the first instance. Without this initial step, which the Rohingyas have campaigned for, little progress can be made.
Instead, their underlying struggles, even amidst the recent civil violence from both the Rakhines and Rohingya - none of which can be condoned, will continue largely unnoticed. On a day which is dedicated to the remembrance of refugees, it is important that these initial violations against the Rohingya do not go unnoticed and that the international community hold the Burmese state accountable.
Even after World Refugee Day and after Refugee Week this Friday, we must continue to champion and voice the Rohingyas. The smallest deed of dedicating your facebook status, or tweeting #Rohingya brings their struggle to light.
Rohingya In Depth - Interview with Maung Tun Khin
June 10,2012
By Foreda Begum
Source:.restlessbeings.org
From face value, Tun Khin is indistinguishable in our multicultural society, but he is one of the few Rohingyans who settled in the U.K after experiencing the persecution of hardship imposed on his people first hand in the Arakan stae in Burma. Though he has only been living here for a few years, he has wasted no time is trying to voice the injustices of the Rohingyas in hopes that change can happen. Tun Khin is the president of the Burmese Rohingyan Organisation UK (BROUK), who with other Rohingyan people have been working relentlessly in raising awareness of the daily injustices the Rohingyans continually face in Burma and for the scattered rohingya refugees in places such as Maylasia, Thailand and especially Bangladesh. I sat down with Tun Khin where I asked about his experiences of injustice as a Rohingyan but also what progress has been made in spreading the message of the Rohingyan people.
What was it like growing up in Burma?
I grew up in the Arakan state where I faced persecution. Travelling between villages was too hard and to other districts was really hard, but through providing bribes I travelled to Bangkok seven years ago and was able to get an education. I then travelled to the U.K and I am currently doing my PHD.
Is your family still in Burma?
My family is still there, they live in Rangoon and it is not as bad as living in Arakan.
Do you want them to leave Burma too?
No I don’t, they do not want to leave, as I am working for my people I want to go back one day and return to my country, I hope one day my country will have peace.
You visited Norway earlier this year to raise awareness for the Rohingyas, what did you do there?
Norway has an annual film festival , which I was invited to to speak in the panel discussion on the documentary, ‘The exodus of the Rohingya’; The documentary highlighted the situation of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and I spoke about their background and current situation because they need to know the root of their problem; The Rohingyas left Burma because they were (and still are) facing political, religious and social persecution in Burma. I highlighted in 1962, when military coup took power, they implemented ways to get rid of the Rohingyas in Arakan and 1990 onwards the situation was getting more worse and implemented restriction of movement, restriction of education, rape of women, religious persecutions the restriction of marriage - when they want to get married they need to get permission from the authorities and fill up an application and until today there about 10,000 pending applications, and the Rohingyas go to Bangladesh because of these human rights violations, but the injustices they find are as bad there as there were in Burma.
And what did the other panel members comment on the documentary?
They really sympathised with the Rohingya issue and were shocked by what they face on a daily basis.
What are your thoughts of the changing attitudes of the Burmese government and the worldwide attention on it? How do you think this will affect the Rohingyas?
The international community who see current so called reformist government as quite good because they are releasing political prisoners, they are bringing Aung San Su Kyi to the parliament and the bi-elections and showing a transition to democracy, but I highlight that currently the regime have not properly reformed. It is atmospheric changes, it is not genuine change; we want constitutional and legal reform. Burma’s problem is the ethnic ‘problem’; the different ethnicities do not have their own rights, we need to see every Burmese ethnic group have their own rights and then the country will have long lasting peace. The Burmese regime are engaging with the Burmese groups but there is no solution at this point.
Why do you think that the Rohingya situation is more deep rooted than other ethnic groups?
The Kachin people face their own conflict but still the Rohingya are in the worst situation in comparison to other ethnic groups because of the racial hatred which the Rohingyas face from the regime. Rohingyas who have been living there for a few hundred years, still even recently the regime say that they are immigrants from Bangladesh because our skin colour is different, our face is different, our culture and religion is different from other Burmese people and that is the mentality and attitude towards the Rohingya by the regimists.
Is the Norweigian government in any way trying to help the Rohingya situation?
Norway government is the only government engaging with the regime. I also had the opportunity to meet the former Prime Minister of Norway, Kjell Magne Bondevik, who is a supporter Human rights in democracy and a good friend of our democratic leader, Aung San Su Kyi and so I had a chance to speak about the Rohingya issue. What I recommended is that the Norwegian government can persuade Burma to stop these Human Rights violations in the ethnic areas as well as Arakan, the Rohingya area. The Norwegian public can also raise the Rohingya issue with their government to aim to restore the ethnic rights in Burma.
Are there any Rohingyas living in Norway?
There are about 15 to 20 families living in Norway and they have established a Norway Rohingya Community who work with the Norwegian government.
You also visited Belgium, how did you raise awareness for the Rohingya issue there?
In Belgium I met with the European Burma network and we structured a plan in how we can help the Rohingya issue in Burma and we agreed on which plan of action we should take, we meet every 6 months to discuss our progress. The progress which has been already made for raising awareness for the Rohingyas is a big step.
What do you hope to achieve from the conference in the House of Lords later this month?
From the conference I want the British government to support human rights democracy developments in Burma and as this is very important for the Rohingyas to receive their lost right. I feel that the British government need to speak up about the regime to include Rohingyas in the political process to restore ethnic and citizenship rights and to provide humanitarian aid to the Rohingyan refugees in Bangladesh; and also to encourage the Bangladeshi government and the Saudi government to provide humanitarian care for the refugees.
Restless Beings are working closely with Tun Khin and BROUK in raising awareness of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, by researching their plight in depth and addressing these problems to our supporters. We will also be attending the BROUK conference at the House of Lords later on this month to further draw to attention to the British government and the international community the marginalised, stateless and persecuted state of the Rohingyas.
By Foreda Begum
Source:.restlessbeings.org
From face value, Tun Khin is indistinguishable in our multicultural society, but he is one of the few Rohingyans who settled in the U.K after experiencing the persecution of hardship imposed on his people first hand in the Arakan stae in Burma. Though he has only been living here for a few years, he has wasted no time is trying to voice the injustices of the Rohingyas in hopes that change can happen. Tun Khin is the president of the Burmese Rohingyan Organisation UK (BROUK), who with other Rohingyan people have been working relentlessly in raising awareness of the daily injustices the Rohingyans continually face in Burma and for the scattered rohingya refugees in places such as Maylasia, Thailand and especially Bangladesh. I sat down with Tun Khin where I asked about his experiences of injustice as a Rohingyan but also what progress has been made in spreading the message of the Rohingyan people.
What was it like growing up in Burma?
I grew up in the Arakan state where I faced persecution. Travelling between villages was too hard and to other districts was really hard, but through providing bribes I travelled to Bangkok seven years ago and was able to get an education. I then travelled to the U.K and I am currently doing my PHD.
Is your family still in Burma?
My family is still there, they live in Rangoon and it is not as bad as living in Arakan.
Do you want them to leave Burma too?
No I don’t, they do not want to leave, as I am working for my people I want to go back one day and return to my country, I hope one day my country will have peace.
You visited Norway earlier this year to raise awareness for the Rohingyas, what did you do there?
Norway has an annual film festival , which I was invited to to speak in the panel discussion on the documentary, ‘The exodus of the Rohingya’; The documentary highlighted the situation of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and I spoke about their background and current situation because they need to know the root of their problem; The Rohingyas left Burma because they were (and still are) facing political, religious and social persecution in Burma. I highlighted in 1962, when military coup took power, they implemented ways to get rid of the Rohingyas in Arakan and 1990 onwards the situation was getting more worse and implemented restriction of movement, restriction of education, rape of women, religious persecutions the restriction of marriage - when they want to get married they need to get permission from the authorities and fill up an application and until today there about 10,000 pending applications, and the Rohingyas go to Bangladesh because of these human rights violations, but the injustices they find are as bad there as there were in Burma.
And what did the other panel members comment on the documentary?
They really sympathised with the Rohingya issue and were shocked by what they face on a daily basis.
What are your thoughts of the changing attitudes of the Burmese government and the worldwide attention on it? How do you think this will affect the Rohingyas?
The international community who see current so called reformist government as quite good because they are releasing political prisoners, they are bringing Aung San Su Kyi to the parliament and the bi-elections and showing a transition to democracy, but I highlight that currently the regime have not properly reformed. It is atmospheric changes, it is not genuine change; we want constitutional and legal reform. Burma’s problem is the ethnic ‘problem’; the different ethnicities do not have their own rights, we need to see every Burmese ethnic group have their own rights and then the country will have long lasting peace. The Burmese regime are engaging with the Burmese groups but there is no solution at this point.
Why do you think that the Rohingya situation is more deep rooted than other ethnic groups?
The Kachin people face their own conflict but still the Rohingya are in the worst situation in comparison to other ethnic groups because of the racial hatred which the Rohingyas face from the regime. Rohingyas who have been living there for a few hundred years, still even recently the regime say that they are immigrants from Bangladesh because our skin colour is different, our face is different, our culture and religion is different from other Burmese people and that is the mentality and attitude towards the Rohingya by the regimists.
Is the Norweigian government in any way trying to help the Rohingya situation?
Norway government is the only government engaging with the regime. I also had the opportunity to meet the former Prime Minister of Norway, Kjell Magne Bondevik, who is a supporter Human rights in democracy and a good friend of our democratic leader, Aung San Su Kyi and so I had a chance to speak about the Rohingya issue. What I recommended is that the Norwegian government can persuade Burma to stop these Human Rights violations in the ethnic areas as well as Arakan, the Rohingya area. The Norwegian public can also raise the Rohingya issue with their government to aim to restore the ethnic rights in Burma.
Are there any Rohingyas living in Norway?
There are about 15 to 20 families living in Norway and they have established a Norway Rohingya Community who work with the Norwegian government.
You also visited Belgium, how did you raise awareness for the Rohingya issue there?
In Belgium I met with the European Burma network and we structured a plan in how we can help the Rohingya issue in Burma and we agreed on which plan of action we should take, we meet every 6 months to discuss our progress. The progress which has been already made for raising awareness for the Rohingyas is a big step.
What do you hope to achieve from the conference in the House of Lords later this month?
From the conference I want the British government to support human rights democracy developments in Burma and as this is very important for the Rohingyas to receive their lost right. I feel that the British government need to speak up about the regime to include Rohingyas in the political process to restore ethnic and citizenship rights and to provide humanitarian aid to the Rohingyan refugees in Bangladesh; and also to encourage the Bangladeshi government and the Saudi government to provide humanitarian care for the refugees.
Restless Beings are working closely with Tun Khin and BROUK in raising awareness of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, by researching their plight in depth and addressing these problems to our supporters. We will also be attending the BROUK conference at the House of Lords later on this month to further draw to attention to the British government and the international community the marginalised, stateless and persecuted state of the Rohingyas.
Empowerment, not restrictions, will solve media’s ills — sector leaders
June 24, 2012
by Hani Hazaimeh
Source:Jordan Times
AMMAN — Reforming the Kingdom’s press is best done by training and empowering journalists, not limiting their freedoms, members of the media said.
In interviews with The Jordan Times, they insisted that there was no need for additional legislation or regulations that might undermine press freedoms or the freedom of expression.
"The media is a very important player in shaping the public mind and in steering the community's perception,” said Jordan Press Association (JPA) President Tareq Momani.
“Therefore, it is essential that what is being reported reflects the truth without bias or prejudice. The JPA is keen to fulfil its responsibilities in elevating professionalism, provided that all other parties show the same enthusiasm and willingness to cooperate," Momani told The Jordan Times on Sunday.
He was responding to Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh's comments during an interview on Jordan Television on Friday night.
"Some media outlets deviate from the right track and we continue to see some who intentionally publish material meant for character assassination or news reports without verifying their validity,” Tarawneh said on the “Sixty Minutes” news programme. “This creates confusion and this is of course due to the leniency of the authorities in dealing with news providers."
"I think the Jordan Press Association can play an important role in this particular aspect with regard to... introducing proper legislation to curb this unacceptable behaviour," the premier added.
Al Rai Editor-in-Chief Samir Hiyari acknowledged that the problems Tarawneh mentioned are real, blaming “unprofessional media outlets” for presenting local and foreign audiences with reports that do not meet the criteria of professionalism.
"We should not bury our heads in the sand and say we don’t have a problem, because we do, and this requires us all to work together to address this problem because it is affecting the entire media body," Hiyari said.
President of the Transparency Forum Bassem Sakkijha, however, warned that authorities should tread very carefully in dealing with the media in a society that is witnessing democratic transformations.
“Any attempt to restrain the media sector under any excuse will backfire,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.
"It is true that the media anywhere need overhauls from time to time to keep up with the changes in the world around them. However, authorities should work on empowering the media by activating media-related legislation such as the Access to Information Law, which enables journalists to obtain credible information from credible sources," said Sakkijha, who is also a columnist for Ad Dustour.
A lack of transparency and openness to the media compels journalists to seek anonymous sources, he noted.
Co-publisher of Khaberni.com Mohammad Hawamdeh said the “chaos” in the online media sector requires an initiative by all stakeholders — the government, JPA, Parliament and civil society institutions concerned with the media - in order to organise the sector.
"Sadly no one has the courage to take such initiative as they are fearful of the reaction of the online media," Hawamdeh said, adding that the “immature” electronic media sector in particular needs to be regulated in order to ensure its abidance by the ethics of the profession.
Meanwhile, Momani said he had represented the JPA alongside media leaders at several meetings with government officials, including the premier, to discuss the media strategy adopted by the former government of Marouf Bakhit.
"The JPA will support any constructive effort that leads to empowering the media sector, but we will strongly oppose any measure that could undermine press freedom," Momani said, stressing that the JPA is not aware of any government intention at the moment to amend the Press and Publications Law.
by Hani Hazaimeh
Source:Jordan Times
AMMAN — Reforming the Kingdom’s press is best done by training and empowering journalists, not limiting their freedoms, members of the media said.
In interviews with The Jordan Times, they insisted that there was no need for additional legislation or regulations that might undermine press freedoms or the freedom of expression.
"The media is a very important player in shaping the public mind and in steering the community's perception,” said Jordan Press Association (JPA) President Tareq Momani.
“Therefore, it is essential that what is being reported reflects the truth without bias or prejudice. The JPA is keen to fulfil its responsibilities in elevating professionalism, provided that all other parties show the same enthusiasm and willingness to cooperate," Momani told The Jordan Times on Sunday.
He was responding to Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh's comments during an interview on Jordan Television on Friday night.
"Some media outlets deviate from the right track and we continue to see some who intentionally publish material meant for character assassination or news reports without verifying their validity,” Tarawneh said on the “Sixty Minutes” news programme. “This creates confusion and this is of course due to the leniency of the authorities in dealing with news providers."
"I think the Jordan Press Association can play an important role in this particular aspect with regard to... introducing proper legislation to curb this unacceptable behaviour," the premier added.
Al Rai Editor-in-Chief Samir Hiyari acknowledged that the problems Tarawneh mentioned are real, blaming “unprofessional media outlets” for presenting local and foreign audiences with reports that do not meet the criteria of professionalism.
"We should not bury our heads in the sand and say we don’t have a problem, because we do, and this requires us all to work together to address this problem because it is affecting the entire media body," Hiyari said.
President of the Transparency Forum Bassem Sakkijha, however, warned that authorities should tread very carefully in dealing with the media in a society that is witnessing democratic transformations.
“Any attempt to restrain the media sector under any excuse will backfire,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.
"It is true that the media anywhere need overhauls from time to time to keep up with the changes in the world around them. However, authorities should work on empowering the media by activating media-related legislation such as the Access to Information Law, which enables journalists to obtain credible information from credible sources," said Sakkijha, who is also a columnist for Ad Dustour.
A lack of transparency and openness to the media compels journalists to seek anonymous sources, he noted.
Co-publisher of Khaberni.com Mohammad Hawamdeh said the “chaos” in the online media sector requires an initiative by all stakeholders — the government, JPA, Parliament and civil society institutions concerned with the media - in order to organise the sector.
"Sadly no one has the courage to take such initiative as they are fearful of the reaction of the online media," Hawamdeh said, adding that the “immature” electronic media sector in particular needs to be regulated in order to ensure its abidance by the ethics of the profession.
Meanwhile, Momani said he had represented the JPA alongside media leaders at several meetings with government officials, including the premier, to discuss the media strategy adopted by the former government of Marouf Bakhit.
"The JPA will support any constructive effort that leads to empowering the media sector, but we will strongly oppose any measure that could undermine press freedom," Momani said, stressing that the JPA is not aware of any government intention at the moment to amend the Press and Publications Law.
Egypt democracy dependent on Morsi political skills
Jun 25, 2012
Source: Press TV
Egypt’s new President Mohamed Morsi has called on all Egyptians to unite and says the revolution, which ousted former dictator Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, will continue.
"I will be a president for all Egyptians," Morsi said just hours after he was declared the winner the Egyptian presidential election, adding that national unity "is the only way out of these difficult times.".
Earlier in the day, after days of delay, the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) announced Morsi as the winner of the county’s presidential runoff.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Nii Akuetteh, African policy analyst from Washington, to further discuss the issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: International reactions are pouring in, as we’ve just reported. The US has expressed its desire for Morsi to continue with Egypt's past policies within the region. The new president is going to be under a lot of pressure now, isn’t he to do so?
Akuetteh: Yes, but the US statement also said that it wanted him to respect the right of all Egyptians and to govern them democratically. You are absolutely right; there are a whole lot of demands on him.
As I read the election results and the reaction inside Egypt itself, there are different groups. I think that he is going to have a number of things to juggle with, a number of pressures both internally and from the outside.
Press TV: A lot is not clear yet but Morsi has now said that he will continue to honor all previous agreements, and this is probably going to include the Camp David Agreement with Israel. How will this go down with the Egyptian people considering the Camp David agreement has been a source of dissatisfaction on the part of Egyptians and the Palestinian cause is very much close to the hearts of most Egyptians?
Akuetteh: I agree completely with you that that is on the minds of Egyptians. However, because number one, he wouldn’t be governor even with the constitution -- Egypt doesn’t have a constitution. The constitution assembly has been dissolved by the military junta and you don’t have a normal legislature.
Down the road in months to come and years to come when you have a functioning parliament, that is a direct will for the Egyptian people to put pressure on their government directly. Until you have that form of legislature and government, then it will just be what people say in the streets and newspaper and when they march. Then you will have different factions contending.
It’s going to be touch and go for a while until we have an electoral legislature and the military’s powers have been curtailed.
Press TV: We’ll get back to the question of the constitution but there are rulers at the moment that the Muslim Brotherhood is negotiating a power sharing deal with the ruling generals. There is no doubt that the new president will have to negotiate his way with SCAF, but what kind of agreement do you think they'll reach?
Akuetteh: That is hard to tell because I think both of them will keep their eyes on people in the street. I think that the military, the SCAF, would like to keep as much power as possible, but I also think that they understand they don’t have a mandate. Nobody has elected them and over 30 million people, the voters, the majority of Egyptians have just elected Mr. Morsi.
Therefore, I think the military will be careful about wanting to push him around. They like the keep power so in the negotiation I expected them to be keeping an eye on what the people are saying, how much they can get away with.
I will be watching closely to see what kind of deal they come up with. Of course, you know that there are a number of issues that they are fighting over, when Mr. Morsi will be sworn in and then the decrees that just came in allocating certain powers to him. A number of things they will negotiate and fight about and it bears watching.
Press TV: Morsi did make a lot of promises during his campaign and also in his address tonight. As you mentioned, there is no constitution in place and you said this will give very little space to maneuver, but just elaborate for our viewers a bit more about how much will he be able to deliver on some of the most fundamental promises he made during his campaign?
Akuetteh: Every leader in every country, their own political skills are important but especially in the case of Egypt now where, number one, you don’t have a constitution and a former government, and even the court is suspect because it was appointed by former President Mubarak. Then you have the SCAF.
Without those former institutions, I think a lot would depend on Mr. Morsi’s personal political skills. I think he has started well because yes it is true that he made a lot of promises but generally in elections that’s what politicians have to do.
People look at their promises especially in a place like Egypt where we are having real democratic elections really for the first time. What happened under former President Mubarak, nobody really took them seriously as elections.
The populace are going to look at what is he saying; he’s saying the right things. Today, when it was announced, Sunday, when his victory was announced, his certain speech, he also said the right thing, so that is good.
You are right in saying that politicians and leaders saying one thing and another, what they actually do is important. I’m saying, therefore, that his skills at negotiating, at appealing to people, at bringing people and forming coalitions, reassuring both internal groups inside Egypt as well as how he talks to the international community.
By the way, we must remember he got part of his education in the United States and he lived in the United States, worked for NASA and was a professor, so he understands the American system much better than most people will suspect.
Therefore, I expect him to deal with the international issues quite carefully. I’m not saying he won’t have challenges but he appears to have some very good political skills.
GMA/HGH
Source: Press TV
Egypt’s new President Mohamed Morsi has called on all Egyptians to unite and says the revolution, which ousted former dictator Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, will continue.
"I will be a president for all Egyptians," Morsi said just hours after he was declared the winner the Egyptian presidential election, adding that national unity "is the only way out of these difficult times.".
Earlier in the day, after days of delay, the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) announced Morsi as the winner of the county’s presidential runoff.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Nii Akuetteh, African policy analyst from Washington, to further discuss the issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: International reactions are pouring in, as we’ve just reported. The US has expressed its desire for Morsi to continue with Egypt's past policies within the region. The new president is going to be under a lot of pressure now, isn’t he to do so?
Akuetteh: Yes, but the US statement also said that it wanted him to respect the right of all Egyptians and to govern them democratically. You are absolutely right; there are a whole lot of demands on him.
As I read the election results and the reaction inside Egypt itself, there are different groups. I think that he is going to have a number of things to juggle with, a number of pressures both internally and from the outside.
Press TV: A lot is not clear yet but Morsi has now said that he will continue to honor all previous agreements, and this is probably going to include the Camp David Agreement with Israel. How will this go down with the Egyptian people considering the Camp David agreement has been a source of dissatisfaction on the part of Egyptians and the Palestinian cause is very much close to the hearts of most Egyptians?
Akuetteh: I agree completely with you that that is on the minds of Egyptians. However, because number one, he wouldn’t be governor even with the constitution -- Egypt doesn’t have a constitution. The constitution assembly has been dissolved by the military junta and you don’t have a normal legislature.
Down the road in months to come and years to come when you have a functioning parliament, that is a direct will for the Egyptian people to put pressure on their government directly. Until you have that form of legislature and government, then it will just be what people say in the streets and newspaper and when they march. Then you will have different factions contending.
It’s going to be touch and go for a while until we have an electoral legislature and the military’s powers have been curtailed.
Press TV: We’ll get back to the question of the constitution but there are rulers at the moment that the Muslim Brotherhood is negotiating a power sharing deal with the ruling generals. There is no doubt that the new president will have to negotiate his way with SCAF, but what kind of agreement do you think they'll reach?
Akuetteh: That is hard to tell because I think both of them will keep their eyes on people in the street. I think that the military, the SCAF, would like to keep as much power as possible, but I also think that they understand they don’t have a mandate. Nobody has elected them and over 30 million people, the voters, the majority of Egyptians have just elected Mr. Morsi.
Therefore, I think the military will be careful about wanting to push him around. They like the keep power so in the negotiation I expected them to be keeping an eye on what the people are saying, how much they can get away with.
I will be watching closely to see what kind of deal they come up with. Of course, you know that there are a number of issues that they are fighting over, when Mr. Morsi will be sworn in and then the decrees that just came in allocating certain powers to him. A number of things they will negotiate and fight about and it bears watching.
Press TV: Morsi did make a lot of promises during his campaign and also in his address tonight. As you mentioned, there is no constitution in place and you said this will give very little space to maneuver, but just elaborate for our viewers a bit more about how much will he be able to deliver on some of the most fundamental promises he made during his campaign?
Akuetteh: Every leader in every country, their own political skills are important but especially in the case of Egypt now where, number one, you don’t have a constitution and a former government, and even the court is suspect because it was appointed by former President Mubarak. Then you have the SCAF.
Without those former institutions, I think a lot would depend on Mr. Morsi’s personal political skills. I think he has started well because yes it is true that he made a lot of promises but generally in elections that’s what politicians have to do.
People look at their promises especially in a place like Egypt where we are having real democratic elections really for the first time. What happened under former President Mubarak, nobody really took them seriously as elections.
The populace are going to look at what is he saying; he’s saying the right things. Today, when it was announced, Sunday, when his victory was announced, his certain speech, he also said the right thing, so that is good.
You are right in saying that politicians and leaders saying one thing and another, what they actually do is important. I’m saying, therefore, that his skills at negotiating, at appealing to people, at bringing people and forming coalitions, reassuring both internal groups inside Egypt as well as how he talks to the international community.
By the way, we must remember he got part of his education in the United States and he lived in the United States, worked for NASA and was a professor, so he understands the American system much better than most people will suspect.
Therefore, I expect him to deal with the international issues quite carefully. I’m not saying he won’t have challenges but he appears to have some very good political skills.
GMA/HGH
SCAF tried to hinder Egypt revolution
Jun 24, 2012
Source:PressTV
Egyptian protesters have remained in Cairo's Liberation Square, protesting what they see as a power grab by military rulers.
The results of the second round, which had been held on June 16-17, were originally set to be announced on June 21, but the ruling military postponed the announcement, prompting demonstrations, with angry protesters accusing the junta of manipulation and fraud.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Mohsen Saleh, professor at the Lebanese University, to hear his opinion on this issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview which was conducted a day before Mohammed Morsi was elected as Egypt’s new president.
Press TV: Mohsen Saleh, let’s go back a little bit here regarding the last round of these votes. I mean are we to believe these vote results from the last round and then now from this round showing how close the race is in this case of course the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq?
I mean everybody in Egypt pretty much does not want remnants of the former regime in place and here we have the last prime minister, former general, siding to be so close in terms of having the votes of Egyptians. Do you believe in these vote results? Are we looking at what many have said a delay in the announcement as something that has been negotiated rather than being counted?
Saleh: Absolutely what you have mentioned is exactly true and everybody probably one of the observers would say well what is going on in Egypt if the army, the military council is backing really the revolution then should take the step in order to announce the results promptly without any delay because the voters and the election show that Morsi is in advance of Shafiq and it is probably a reasonable result because of the majority of the people who voted for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt during the council of representatives in the council of the people or Majlis al-Shaab.
The people in Egypt are scrupulous about the delay of this result and they think that probably the military council is really kind of [in] coalition with Ahmed Shafiq in order to bring the status quo into the political theatre in Egypt.
And that would flame the revolution because even if the Muslim Brotherhood are not convinced that they should go into a revolution while some of them probably, I heard your correspondent from Cairo saying that they won’t go to violence, of course they won’t go to violence but the Egyptians are not convinced that this kind of delay is without any aim, without a political aim.
If they want to go to a new rapprochement with the Muslim Brotherhood, then they should not really allow these violations from Shafiq’s team in order to destroy the whole operation, the electoral operation in Egypt and declare the real winner who is really Morsi and numbers show that Morsi is the winner.
Press TV: If we look at what SCAF has done, these ruling generals, really walk this through for us because I do not quite understand it. They come, they dissolve parliament and then they come and they issue this constitutional declaration giving them sweeping powers basically stripping the president of any authority.
I mean that is not what Egyptians wanted and basically you are looking at the ruling generals dictating to them which in essence brings about another dictator if Shafiq was to come into power with the ruling generals obviously ruling the country. That is what it appears, doesn’t it?
Saleh: Yes it seems so, you are absolutely right because when they dissolved the parliament and they issued a new kind of legislative declaration and probably they absorbed the whole legitimate power and authority from the council and from the parliament and from other parties and they declared themselves sort of a council dictatorship and they allowed the Ahmed Shafiq’s team to go and have the freedom instead of isolating Ahmed Shafiq and all these bunch of the Mubarak’s regime to go into the political life.
They allowed them to participate forcefully and tried to hinder the revolution from accomplishing its goals in order to create a kind of a new milieu, political milieu would assure people of social justice and of course cut all kinds of relations with the Israelis and the Americans and it seems to me that I have heard some news that the United States is paying about 600 civil associations in order to deteriorate the situation in Egypt.
I guess the military council should have this kind or they have this kind of information and they have already detained 19 Americans who have been found that paid money in order to make troubles inside Egypt.
I guess it is about time for the military council to sit frankly and really give the authority to the people and to Morsi and the real representatives, I would say to the Egyptians in order to create this new political environment and also create a kind of feeling of peace and tranquility in Egypt not to create this kind of volatile sensations inside Egypt. Everyday people go to the [Tahrir Square] and to the other squares and this would not bring Egypt into what the revolutionaries wanted.
They are bringing really a kind of chaotic intellectual scene I would say to create trouble in Egypt. For whose sake they are doing so?
Press TV: Mohsen Saleh, when we look at a third party it almost makes me point to the direction of what former US President Jimmy Carter said this past winter after the meeting he had with the ruling generals and he said that there is no intention by the ruling generals to relinquish power.
How much of an influence do you think United States is playing regarding the way that this has transpired in the past week to evolve to this point where they have made these moves such as the stripping the president of his powers and the declaration, dissolving parliament etc. I mean after all Ahmed Shafiq would be the preferred candidate for the United States, for Israel, wouldn’t it?
Saleh: That is true, that is what I am afraid of. The military council should show that the Americans and the Israelis are not part of this political game in Egypt and I guess there are parties in Egypt deserve to participate in the political life and I guess they are able to bring Egypt out of this dilemma and the crisis.
And Egyptians are really fed up with this kind of Israeli and American interventions and they have seen a lot of problems and spies and collaborators during Hosni Mubarak and after Hosni Mubarak and I guess the military it should be keen to see Egypt free of the Israelis and the Americans and should allow the Egyptians to create themselves or to recreate themselves in order to be part of this political matrix in the region and create a kind of relation with the resistance movement in Palestine, in Lebanon, with Iran, with Iraq, with Syria because I guess the Egyptian army paid a lot of blood and money and sweat in order to liberate Sinai and also the Gaza Strip.
I guess people of Egypt who paid this kind of price deserve to go into the arena and say it clearly that we want Egypt to the Egyptians. We want Egypt free of the Israelis and the Americans and “no” to Camp David and “no” to any kind of alliance with the West who are conspiring against this region from Afghanistan to Iran, to Palestine. What they have done to Palestine? What they have done to Gaza?
And it is about time I guess people even went to the streets in order to express such kinds of concerns, of problems.
AHK/HGH
Source:PressTV
Egyptian protesters have remained in Cairo's Liberation Square, protesting what they see as a power grab by military rulers.
The results of the second round, which had been held on June 16-17, were originally set to be announced on June 21, but the ruling military postponed the announcement, prompting demonstrations, with angry protesters accusing the junta of manipulation and fraud.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Mohsen Saleh, professor at the Lebanese University, to hear his opinion on this issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview which was conducted a day before Mohammed Morsi was elected as Egypt’s new president.
Press TV: Mohsen Saleh, let’s go back a little bit here regarding the last round of these votes. I mean are we to believe these vote results from the last round and then now from this round showing how close the race is in this case of course the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq?
I mean everybody in Egypt pretty much does not want remnants of the former regime in place and here we have the last prime minister, former general, siding to be so close in terms of having the votes of Egyptians. Do you believe in these vote results? Are we looking at what many have said a delay in the announcement as something that has been negotiated rather than being counted?
Saleh: Absolutely what you have mentioned is exactly true and everybody probably one of the observers would say well what is going on in Egypt if the army, the military council is backing really the revolution then should take the step in order to announce the results promptly without any delay because the voters and the election show that Morsi is in advance of Shafiq and it is probably a reasonable result because of the majority of the people who voted for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt during the council of representatives in the council of the people or Majlis al-Shaab.
The people in Egypt are scrupulous about the delay of this result and they think that probably the military council is really kind of [in] coalition with Ahmed Shafiq in order to bring the status quo into the political theatre in Egypt.
And that would flame the revolution because even if the Muslim Brotherhood are not convinced that they should go into a revolution while some of them probably, I heard your correspondent from Cairo saying that they won’t go to violence, of course they won’t go to violence but the Egyptians are not convinced that this kind of delay is without any aim, without a political aim.
If they want to go to a new rapprochement with the Muslim Brotherhood, then they should not really allow these violations from Shafiq’s team in order to destroy the whole operation, the electoral operation in Egypt and declare the real winner who is really Morsi and numbers show that Morsi is the winner.
Press TV: If we look at what SCAF has done, these ruling generals, really walk this through for us because I do not quite understand it. They come, they dissolve parliament and then they come and they issue this constitutional declaration giving them sweeping powers basically stripping the president of any authority.
I mean that is not what Egyptians wanted and basically you are looking at the ruling generals dictating to them which in essence brings about another dictator if Shafiq was to come into power with the ruling generals obviously ruling the country. That is what it appears, doesn’t it?
Saleh: Yes it seems so, you are absolutely right because when they dissolved the parliament and they issued a new kind of legislative declaration and probably they absorbed the whole legitimate power and authority from the council and from the parliament and from other parties and they declared themselves sort of a council dictatorship and they allowed the Ahmed Shafiq’s team to go and have the freedom instead of isolating Ahmed Shafiq and all these bunch of the Mubarak’s regime to go into the political life.
They allowed them to participate forcefully and tried to hinder the revolution from accomplishing its goals in order to create a kind of a new milieu, political milieu would assure people of social justice and of course cut all kinds of relations with the Israelis and the Americans and it seems to me that I have heard some news that the United States is paying about 600 civil associations in order to deteriorate the situation in Egypt.
I guess the military council should have this kind or they have this kind of information and they have already detained 19 Americans who have been found that paid money in order to make troubles inside Egypt.
I guess it is about time for the military council to sit frankly and really give the authority to the people and to Morsi and the real representatives, I would say to the Egyptians in order to create this new political environment and also create a kind of feeling of peace and tranquility in Egypt not to create this kind of volatile sensations inside Egypt. Everyday people go to the [Tahrir Square] and to the other squares and this would not bring Egypt into what the revolutionaries wanted.
They are bringing really a kind of chaotic intellectual scene I would say to create trouble in Egypt. For whose sake they are doing so?
Press TV: Mohsen Saleh, when we look at a third party it almost makes me point to the direction of what former US President Jimmy Carter said this past winter after the meeting he had with the ruling generals and he said that there is no intention by the ruling generals to relinquish power.
How much of an influence do you think United States is playing regarding the way that this has transpired in the past week to evolve to this point where they have made these moves such as the stripping the president of his powers and the declaration, dissolving parliament etc. I mean after all Ahmed Shafiq would be the preferred candidate for the United States, for Israel, wouldn’t it?
Saleh: That is true, that is what I am afraid of. The military council should show that the Americans and the Israelis are not part of this political game in Egypt and I guess there are parties in Egypt deserve to participate in the political life and I guess they are able to bring Egypt out of this dilemma and the crisis.
And Egyptians are really fed up with this kind of Israeli and American interventions and they have seen a lot of problems and spies and collaborators during Hosni Mubarak and after Hosni Mubarak and I guess the military it should be keen to see Egypt free of the Israelis and the Americans and should allow the Egyptians to create themselves or to recreate themselves in order to be part of this political matrix in the region and create a kind of relation with the resistance movement in Palestine, in Lebanon, with Iran, with Iraq, with Syria because I guess the Egyptian army paid a lot of blood and money and sweat in order to liberate Sinai and also the Gaza Strip.
I guess people of Egypt who paid this kind of price deserve to go into the arena and say it clearly that we want Egypt to the Egyptians. We want Egypt free of the Israelis and the Americans and “no” to Camp David and “no” to any kind of alliance with the West who are conspiring against this region from Afghanistan to Iran, to Palestine. What they have done to Palestine? What they have done to Gaza?
And it is about time I guess people even went to the streets in order to express such kinds of concerns, of problems.
AHK/HGH
Majority of Egyptians against any relationship with Israel: Analyst
Jun 25, 2012
Source: PressTV
After days of delay, the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) announced the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi as the winner of the county’s presidential runoff.
On Sunday, head of the SPEC Farouq Sultan said that Morsi has received nearly 52 percent of the votes, with over 13 million ballots.
This is while, former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq won over 12 million votes. The voter turnout was 51.85 percent.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Kamel Wazni, a Beirut-based political analyst, to further talk about the issue. Below is an approximate transcript of the interview.
Press TV: Mohamed Morsi proclaimed the winner but there are a lot of concerns about how much power he is actually going to have. What are your thoughts?
Wazni: I think we have to give congratulations to the Egyptian people for a victorious day. Eventually, they got a president in their own domain, in their own power and they succeeded in challenging the military. Challenging the military is not something easy and it is a long process.
The military has been in control for a very long time. It is longer than the term of Mubarak and we have to remember since [Gamal] Abdel Nasser up today, the military has had the upper hand in Egypt and I think this point is the beginning of the struggle to make entrench for the real power to the civilian sectors and I think it is going to be a very long and difficult process.
Obviously, the military took preemptive action before they actually confirmed Mr. Morsi as the new president of Egypt. They actually put a lot of limitation on his power not when it comes only to political power, it is actually extended to economic powers because they limit even the economic initiative and they put a veto on any military action.
Despite all of that, I think the confirmation will resonate throughout the Middle East because it has a foreign implication for the whole region. We have to look at the relationship that will exist between Egypt and the rest of the world, especially the Arab world, the Saudis, the Qataris. Probably Egypt has been the sideline for a very long time.
Now it should take its leadership position. It has to look also at the cozy relationship that existed under Mubarak between Egypt, Hosni Mubarak and Israel. I think now it is a huge responsibility on the Islamic Brotherhood and its head and its followers and now the president is one of them to deal effectively with the issue of Israel and the issue of Palestine as a legitimate cause for every freeman around the world.
I think now it is a huge responsibility today and a huge test for them. But I think the difficulty will be very difficult ahead because there are a lot of things to be done in Egypt. He has to tackle the political process, the economic difficulties, the unemployment, the poverty, actually the process how to deal and deal with the army and everything that is in Egypt because only Morsi won this election but you have to look at the judiciary. They are all the appointees of the old system, the military, the security apparatus; everything for a long time has been appointed by the military and the follower of the military and I think this is the biggest challenge for Mr. Morsi and the leadership that will come with him.
Despite all that, it is a victorious day for the Egyptians because it is the beginning of trying to shape a new Egypt that fits the role and the leadership of a country that is major for the Arab and Muslim world if it took the right initiative, especially with the issue of Palestine because Palestine is the issue and will be the issue and the relationship with Israel will be looked at carefully by Mr. Morsi.
Israel has and will be the enemy of the Arabs and the Muslims because it occupied Palestine.
Press TV: As you said, a lot is expected from the Egyptian president. Will Egypt to be able to regain that role of a leader as the most popular state? We know in the region will be able to play a significant in the world of politics, with foreign policy and also in the region and its regional policy.
But a lot of people even ahead of the announcement were saying that either Ahmed Shafiq or Mohamed Morsi coming for power because this is a transition period for political situation in Egypt. There is for instance no parliament; the Military Council has a lot of power and as you say, this is just the beginning of the struggle by Mohamed Morsi for instance or other groups to get power back from them that it is only going to be a short term period for Mohamed Morsi, this presidency and he will not be able to use this short period because of the political crisis that Egypt is facing as well as the economic crisis which you rightly referred to. This is going to be a short period and we might even see Mohamed Morsi losing that position even sooner than expected. Is that how you are looking at it?
Wazni: Obviously it is going to be a short honeymoon for him. He has to get to work today before tomorrow; he has to look at the agenda that is really important for the country; he has to look for the internal issues, the economy, the economy and the economy.
Unemployment is very high in Egypt. They have dwindling reserves; it is close to 16 billion dollars. It is probably facing difficulty before the end of the year if they do not support their currency. I think they have to tackle the poverty level in Egypt; they have to look very carefully at their relationship with the Persian Gulf countries which have a deep pocket and up to now, they are refusing to give any assistance to any country that see the revolution because they think a successful revolution in Egypt will actually be a major blow for them and probably will escalate the tension within their boundaries and they fear this revolution will manifest itself in their own countries.
There is a lot of fear on the Saudis, on the Qataris, on the Arab Emirate. They said we will help you in one condition; do not export your revolution to our territories. I heard it so many times from high officials from these countries and I heard it from officials within the UN.
When they had close meetings with the Saudis, they mentioned that they had a lot of fears that the revolution will hit their own country and I think they tried for a very long time not to have a successful revolution in Egypt because this will change maybe the mapping for the region.
But I think the Egyptians have to understand and give some time to the new transition leadership to take place and start working on the process of building a country that deserves to be as it is in Egypt. It is not going to be smooth; it is going to be hard; there is going to be a lot of hiccup in the process. But I think when you have people, you deal with them in an honest, open and transparent way, I think they will give you the time because they know that revolution will take time and nothing will happen overnight.
This is probably going to get reform as it is supposed to be. This [takes] a long time to be worked at but I think the priority, as I said, is how to work around the economy and how it affects your house and clean it and this is not going to be easy because of the limitations imposed by the army.
But I think Morsi today is backed by the majority of the people of Egypt and would be a counter to the military. I think, at this point, we will have Morsi as a president and we have co-president that is called the military and it is going to be a tough road ahead.
Press TV: You say co-president when you are speaking about the military. Let’s just look at how much power the military has right now with the president as well. We know of course after the dissolution of the parliament and the restoration of the emergency law, that the military now has the powers that the parliament should have.
It also has amended the constitutional declaration and that amended constitutional declaration effectively, observers are saying, is putting the president under the control of the military. It has control already, the military over the state budget; it has the authority, according to that constitutional declaration, to appoint most senior cabinet posts and it is also reappointing, we are hearing, the-100-member constituent assembly that is going to write the constitution. It has also, we are hearing, revived a body called the National Defense Council; it has the right to appoint a general even as the president’s chief of staff.
So basically a lot of people were saying with all this power, if Mohamed Morsi is going to challenge that power and retain some power for himself as president, there is going to be a showdown. Do you think that we are going to see a confrontational approach now between Mohamed Morsi from one side and the Military Council from the other? And is Mohamed Morsi going to be able to do anything if he does not get the support for instance of other political powers and political figures?
Wazni: Obviously, I think the Islamic Brotherhood and the new president have to understand this is a marriage of convenience not a true love. For that, I think they can have a very delicate process and they have to work with the military in the beginning and they have to establish a new parliament.
We know the parliament that has a majority of the Islamic Brotherhood has dissolved. We have to see how the president will actually build his own government and whether it will be inclusive that all of the parties from the other ex-parties that did not win the elections will be part of the process. We know there is all kind of color in Egypt’s streets and those should be, in my estimate, cater to them and accommodate them to be part of the process.
The youths of Egypt who started the revolution should not be ignored and be part of the process because I think as long as he has to strengthen his ideology by including more people in the process, he will be able to put a persuasive challenge to the military. But at this point, I would say the co-president has more power at this point but we do have to underestimate the machine of the Islamic Brotherhood and the president of Egypt.
I think in the long run, they will be able to weaken to a certain point the deep government that existed for over 50 years and this is going to be a daunting job.
Source: PressTV
After days of delay, the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) announced the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi as the winner of the county’s presidential runoff.
On Sunday, head of the SPEC Farouq Sultan said that Morsi has received nearly 52 percent of the votes, with over 13 million ballots.
This is while, former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq won over 12 million votes. The voter turnout was 51.85 percent.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Kamel Wazni, a Beirut-based political analyst, to further talk about the issue. Below is an approximate transcript of the interview.
Press TV: Mohamed Morsi proclaimed the winner but there are a lot of concerns about how much power he is actually going to have. What are your thoughts?
Wazni: I think we have to give congratulations to the Egyptian people for a victorious day. Eventually, they got a president in their own domain, in their own power and they succeeded in challenging the military. Challenging the military is not something easy and it is a long process.
The military has been in control for a very long time. It is longer than the term of Mubarak and we have to remember since [Gamal] Abdel Nasser up today, the military has had the upper hand in Egypt and I think this point is the beginning of the struggle to make entrench for the real power to the civilian sectors and I think it is going to be a very long and difficult process.
Obviously, the military took preemptive action before they actually confirmed Mr. Morsi as the new president of Egypt. They actually put a lot of limitation on his power not when it comes only to political power, it is actually extended to economic powers because they limit even the economic initiative and they put a veto on any military action.
Despite all of that, I think the confirmation will resonate throughout the Middle East because it has a foreign implication for the whole region. We have to look at the relationship that will exist between Egypt and the rest of the world, especially the Arab world, the Saudis, the Qataris. Probably Egypt has been the sideline for a very long time.
Now it should take its leadership position. It has to look also at the cozy relationship that existed under Mubarak between Egypt, Hosni Mubarak and Israel. I think now it is a huge responsibility on the Islamic Brotherhood and its head and its followers and now the president is one of them to deal effectively with the issue of Israel and the issue of Palestine as a legitimate cause for every freeman around the world.
I think now it is a huge responsibility today and a huge test for them. But I think the difficulty will be very difficult ahead because there are a lot of things to be done in Egypt. He has to tackle the political process, the economic difficulties, the unemployment, the poverty, actually the process how to deal and deal with the army and everything that is in Egypt because only Morsi won this election but you have to look at the judiciary. They are all the appointees of the old system, the military, the security apparatus; everything for a long time has been appointed by the military and the follower of the military and I think this is the biggest challenge for Mr. Morsi and the leadership that will come with him.
Despite all that, it is a victorious day for the Egyptians because it is the beginning of trying to shape a new Egypt that fits the role and the leadership of a country that is major for the Arab and Muslim world if it took the right initiative, especially with the issue of Palestine because Palestine is the issue and will be the issue and the relationship with Israel will be looked at carefully by Mr. Morsi.
Israel has and will be the enemy of the Arabs and the Muslims because it occupied Palestine.
Press TV: As you said, a lot is expected from the Egyptian president. Will Egypt to be able to regain that role of a leader as the most popular state? We know in the region will be able to play a significant in the world of politics, with foreign policy and also in the region and its regional policy.
But a lot of people even ahead of the announcement were saying that either Ahmed Shafiq or Mohamed Morsi coming for power because this is a transition period for political situation in Egypt. There is for instance no parliament; the Military Council has a lot of power and as you say, this is just the beginning of the struggle by Mohamed Morsi for instance or other groups to get power back from them that it is only going to be a short term period for Mohamed Morsi, this presidency and he will not be able to use this short period because of the political crisis that Egypt is facing as well as the economic crisis which you rightly referred to. This is going to be a short period and we might even see Mohamed Morsi losing that position even sooner than expected. Is that how you are looking at it?
Wazni: Obviously it is going to be a short honeymoon for him. He has to get to work today before tomorrow; he has to look at the agenda that is really important for the country; he has to look for the internal issues, the economy, the economy and the economy.
Unemployment is very high in Egypt. They have dwindling reserves; it is close to 16 billion dollars. It is probably facing difficulty before the end of the year if they do not support their currency. I think they have to tackle the poverty level in Egypt; they have to look very carefully at their relationship with the Persian Gulf countries which have a deep pocket and up to now, they are refusing to give any assistance to any country that see the revolution because they think a successful revolution in Egypt will actually be a major blow for them and probably will escalate the tension within their boundaries and they fear this revolution will manifest itself in their own countries.
There is a lot of fear on the Saudis, on the Qataris, on the Arab Emirate. They said we will help you in one condition; do not export your revolution to our territories. I heard it so many times from high officials from these countries and I heard it from officials within the UN.
When they had close meetings with the Saudis, they mentioned that they had a lot of fears that the revolution will hit their own country and I think they tried for a very long time not to have a successful revolution in Egypt because this will change maybe the mapping for the region.
But I think the Egyptians have to understand and give some time to the new transition leadership to take place and start working on the process of building a country that deserves to be as it is in Egypt. It is not going to be smooth; it is going to be hard; there is going to be a lot of hiccup in the process. But I think when you have people, you deal with them in an honest, open and transparent way, I think they will give you the time because they know that revolution will take time and nothing will happen overnight.
This is probably going to get reform as it is supposed to be. This [takes] a long time to be worked at but I think the priority, as I said, is how to work around the economy and how it affects your house and clean it and this is not going to be easy because of the limitations imposed by the army.
But I think Morsi today is backed by the majority of the people of Egypt and would be a counter to the military. I think, at this point, we will have Morsi as a president and we have co-president that is called the military and it is going to be a tough road ahead.
Press TV: You say co-president when you are speaking about the military. Let’s just look at how much power the military has right now with the president as well. We know of course after the dissolution of the parliament and the restoration of the emergency law, that the military now has the powers that the parliament should have.
It also has amended the constitutional declaration and that amended constitutional declaration effectively, observers are saying, is putting the president under the control of the military. It has control already, the military over the state budget; it has the authority, according to that constitutional declaration, to appoint most senior cabinet posts and it is also reappointing, we are hearing, the-100-member constituent assembly that is going to write the constitution. It has also, we are hearing, revived a body called the National Defense Council; it has the right to appoint a general even as the president’s chief of staff.
So basically a lot of people were saying with all this power, if Mohamed Morsi is going to challenge that power and retain some power for himself as president, there is going to be a showdown. Do you think that we are going to see a confrontational approach now between Mohamed Morsi from one side and the Military Council from the other? And is Mohamed Morsi going to be able to do anything if he does not get the support for instance of other political powers and political figures?
Wazni: Obviously, I think the Islamic Brotherhood and the new president have to understand this is a marriage of convenience not a true love. For that, I think they can have a very delicate process and they have to work with the military in the beginning and they have to establish a new parliament.
We know the parliament that has a majority of the Islamic Brotherhood has dissolved. We have to see how the president will actually build his own government and whether it will be inclusive that all of the parties from the other ex-parties that did not win the elections will be part of the process. We know there is all kind of color in Egypt’s streets and those should be, in my estimate, cater to them and accommodate them to be part of the process.
The youths of Egypt who started the revolution should not be ignored and be part of the process because I think as long as he has to strengthen his ideology by including more people in the process, he will be able to put a persuasive challenge to the military. But at this point, I would say the co-president has more power at this point but we do have to underestimate the machine of the Islamic Brotherhood and the president of Egypt.
I think in the long run, they will be able to weaken to a certain point the deep government that existed for over 50 years and this is going to be a daunting job.
Syria Top Brass Join Wave of Mass Military Defections to Turkey
June 25, 2012
Source:stratrisks.com
S ource: IBTimes
The military defectors, including a general and two colonels, were among 224 people who want to leave Syria, according to state-run Anadolu news agency. They are in a refugee camp near the border.
Thousands of soldiers have abandoned the army, but only 13 generals have sought refuge in Turkey over the last 16 months. Some of them have joined the largest-armed opposition group, the Free Syrian Army.
The defections come three days after Syria shot down a Turkish aircraft it said had violated its airspace.
Turkey insisted the jet was on a training flight to test the country’s radar capabilities and was within international airspace when shot down.
Damascus has claimed that officials were unaware that the jet was of Turkish nationality. However, a Turkish intelligence official told the daily Hurriyet that Syrian officials used the Turkish word for “neighbour” to refer to the aircraft.
“Syrian officials should have automatically known that it was a Turkish jet by looking at their radar system,” the unnamed official said.
Turkey, one of the most powerful Nato members, is expected to submit a formal report to the other allied countries to prepare for a response.
According to a Nato spokesperson, envoys from Nato nations will be meeting in Brussels.
“Turkey has requested consultations under Article 4 of Nato’s founding Washington Treaty. Under Article 4, any ally can request consultations whenever, in the opinion of any of them, their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened,” a Nato statement said.
Military intervention in Syria is unlikely as Turkey did not raise Article 5 of Nato, which states: “An attack on one is an attack on us all”.
The Dutch foreign minister said that EU will criticise Syria for the shooting but will not support any military intervention. The search is still on for the two missing pilots. Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told opposition leaders that two pairs of boots belonging to them have been found.
The spokesperson for Catherine Ashton, EU high representative for foreign affairs, said another Syrian official and six firms and government institutions would be added to its sanctions list.
The list includes more than 120 individuals and 50 entities.
Source:stratrisks.com
S ource: IBTimes
The military defectors, including a general and two colonels, were among 224 people who want to leave Syria, according to state-run Anadolu news agency. They are in a refugee camp near the border.
Thousands of soldiers have abandoned the army, but only 13 generals have sought refuge in Turkey over the last 16 months. Some of them have joined the largest-armed opposition group, the Free Syrian Army.
The defections come three days after Syria shot down a Turkish aircraft it said had violated its airspace.
Turkey insisted the jet was on a training flight to test the country’s radar capabilities and was within international airspace when shot down.
Damascus has claimed that officials were unaware that the jet was of Turkish nationality. However, a Turkish intelligence official told the daily Hurriyet that Syrian officials used the Turkish word for “neighbour” to refer to the aircraft.
“Syrian officials should have automatically known that it was a Turkish jet by looking at their radar system,” the unnamed official said.
Turkey, one of the most powerful Nato members, is expected to submit a formal report to the other allied countries to prepare for a response.
According to a Nato spokesperson, envoys from Nato nations will be meeting in Brussels.
“Turkey has requested consultations under Article 4 of Nato’s founding Washington Treaty. Under Article 4, any ally can request consultations whenever, in the opinion of any of them, their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened,” a Nato statement said.
Military intervention in Syria is unlikely as Turkey did not raise Article 5 of Nato, which states: “An attack on one is an attack on us all”.
The Dutch foreign minister said that EU will criticise Syria for the shooting but will not support any military intervention. The search is still on for the two missing pilots. Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told opposition leaders that two pairs of boots belonging to them have been found.
The spokesperson for Catherine Ashton, EU high representative for foreign affairs, said another Syrian official and six firms and government institutions would be added to its sanctions list.
The list includes more than 120 individuals and 50 entities.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood calls anti-military protest over bid to curb president's powers
3 hrs ago
By The Associated Press | Associated Press
Source:Yahoo News
CAIRO - The campaign of an Islamist who claimed victory in Egypt's presidential runoff says the Muslim Brotherhood and other political groups plan a mass demonstration later Tuesday to protest a military declaration seeking to curtail the powers of the next president.
Campaign spokesmen for Mohammed Morsi say the protest is planned at Cairo's Tahrir Square, birthplace of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak's regime 16 months ago. The protest is also to denounce a court ruling that dissolved parliament, where the Brotherhood dominated with just under half the seats.
One of the main liberal youth groups behind the uprising, April 6, said it was taking part in the protest.
By The Associated Press | Associated Press
Source:Yahoo News
CAIRO - The campaign of an Islamist who claimed victory in Egypt's presidential runoff says the Muslim Brotherhood and other political groups plan a mass demonstration later Tuesday to protest a military declaration seeking to curtail the powers of the next president.
Campaign spokesmen for Mohammed Morsi say the protest is planned at Cairo's Tahrir Square, birthplace of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak's regime 16 months ago. The protest is also to denounce a court ruling that dissolved parliament, where the Brotherhood dominated with just under half the seats.
One of the main liberal youth groups behind the uprising, April 6, said it was taking part in the protest.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Jordanian officials scuffle in parliament
18 Jun 2012
Source: AlJazeera
Jordan's parliament session was adjourned on Sunday after legislators scuffled during a heated debate over an election draft law.
The incident occured as tensions rise within parliament while MPs are discussing the draft election law for a final approval before the end of their ordinary session on June 25.
Monarchist lawmaker Yahya Saud traded insults and fists with Jamil Nimri, who proposed amendments to raise the number of seats reserved for candidates who run on party lists, a move designed to boost opposition parties.
Calm was restored after security officers restrained Saud, who is known for his verbal outbursts.
Nimri and 20 other MPs vowed to resign if parliament does not overhaul the proposed law, which critics say favours candidates loyal to the regime.
They want citizens to be able to select two candidates at the local district level and raise the number of seats allocated through national proportional representation from 17 to 30 in the 140-seat parliament.
Critics say the proposed law is undemocratic and contradicts pledges by King Abdullah II to introduce political reforms.
The Muslim Brotherhood, Jordan's largest opposition movement, as well as several leftist parties have indicated that they will boycott a parliamentary election in December if the law is approved.
Source: AlJazeera
Jordan's parliament session was adjourned on Sunday after legislators scuffled during a heated debate over an election draft law.
The incident occured as tensions rise within parliament while MPs are discussing the draft election law for a final approval before the end of their ordinary session on June 25.
Monarchist lawmaker Yahya Saud traded insults and fists with Jamil Nimri, who proposed amendments to raise the number of seats reserved for candidates who run on party lists, a move designed to boost opposition parties.
Calm was restored after security officers restrained Saud, who is known for his verbal outbursts.
Nimri and 20 other MPs vowed to resign if parliament does not overhaul the proposed law, which critics say favours candidates loyal to the regime.
They want citizens to be able to select two candidates at the local district level and raise the number of seats allocated through national proportional representation from 17 to 30 in the 140-seat parliament.
Critics say the proposed law is undemocratic and contradicts pledges by King Abdullah II to introduce political reforms.
The Muslim Brotherhood, Jordan's largest opposition movement, as well as several leftist parties have indicated that they will boycott a parliamentary election in December if the law is approved.
Egypt's secular parties call for united front against military, Brotherhood
Sunday 17 Jun 2012
Source:Ahram Online
Five Egyptian political parties have jointly called for the establishment of a pro-civil-state political force to stand against "repression" by the military and Islamist groups.
In a statement released Sunday, the parties said attempts by the ruling military council to rehabilitate the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak is "state despotism."
They also condemned what they said were plans by Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to establish a religious dictatorship through the control of state institutions and by excluding other political factions from power.
The statement was signed by the Free Egyptians Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Egypt Freedom Party - three parties established after the 2011 uprising - as well as the older Democratic Front Party and Nasserist Karama Party.
The parties criticised last week's decision by the justice ministry to grant military police the power to arrest civilians, as well as the High Constitutional Court's decision to dissolve parliament.
The parties said the decisions were politically motivated and their timing suspicious because they had provoked a political crisis just days before the presidential election runoff.
The statement's signatories said efforts should be focused on building a national consensus based on respecting judicial verdicts and election results, whilst upholding the right of peaceful protest at all times.
Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power by a popular uprising in early 2011. He was recently convicted of failing to stop the killing of protesters during the uprising that toppled him.
Source:Ahram Online
Five Egyptian political parties have jointly called for the establishment of a pro-civil-state political force to stand against "repression" by the military and Islamist groups.
In a statement released Sunday, the parties said attempts by the ruling military council to rehabilitate the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak is "state despotism."
They also condemned what they said were plans by Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to establish a religious dictatorship through the control of state institutions and by excluding other political factions from power.
The statement was signed by the Free Egyptians Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Egypt Freedom Party - three parties established after the 2011 uprising - as well as the older Democratic Front Party and Nasserist Karama Party.
The parties criticised last week's decision by the justice ministry to grant military police the power to arrest civilians, as well as the High Constitutional Court's decision to dissolve parliament.
The parties said the decisions were politically motivated and their timing suspicious because they had provoked a political crisis just days before the presidential election runoff.
The statement's signatories said efforts should be focused on building a national consensus based on respecting judicial verdicts and election results, whilst upholding the right of peaceful protest at all times.
Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power by a popular uprising in early 2011. He was recently convicted of failing to stop the killing of protesters during the uprising that toppled him.
Two leading Egypt MPs stopped from entering the People Assembly
Monday 18 Jun 2012
Source:Ahram Online
Head of the legislative committee of the People's Assembly Mahmoud El-Khodairy and deputy head of the committee Mohamed El-Omda were prevented by security from entering the committee's office on Monday morning.
On Friday, the ruling military council ordered for the People's Assembly (the lower house of parliament) to be dissolved in line with a Thursday High Constitutional Court verdict declaring Egypt's Parliamentary Law - which regulated last year's polls - to be unconstitutional.
Both parliamentarians were on their way to look into the court verdict when they were prevented from entering.
On Sunday, majority leader of the People’s Assembly Hussein Ibrahim of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, stressed that “The People’s Assembly has not been dissolved, and the calling for our Tuesday meeting is still on.”
Source:Ahram Online
Head of the legislative committee of the People's Assembly Mahmoud El-Khodairy and deputy head of the committee Mohamed El-Omda were prevented by security from entering the committee's office on Monday morning.
On Friday, the ruling military council ordered for the People's Assembly (the lower house of parliament) to be dissolved in line with a Thursday High Constitutional Court verdict declaring Egypt's Parliamentary Law - which regulated last year's polls - to be unconstitutional.
Both parliamentarians were on their way to look into the court verdict when they were prevented from entering.
On Sunday, majority leader of the People’s Assembly Hussein Ibrahim of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, stressed that “The People’s Assembly has not been dissolved, and the calling for our Tuesday meeting is still on.”
Egypt army to outline president's role, retain powers
3 hrs ago
By Marwa Awad | Reuters
Source: Yahoo News
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's ruling generals will make a declaration on Monday that will give the newly elected president the power to appoint a cabinet, but legislative powers will for now go back to the army after parliament was dissolved, official sources said on Sunday.
To Islamists and revolutionaries, the declaration - which will come hours after polls closed in a presidential race - will raise questions over whether the military has met a pledge to hand power to civilians by July 1. Many will see it as a bid to consolidate power in the hands of the army council, which took control after mass protests toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.
Elections to a new parliament would not now take place until a new constitution was drafted and approved by referendum, the sources said, adding that a constitution could be drawn up by a body appointed by the generals, rather than the old parliament.
The state-run news agency confirmed the constitutional declaration would be issued on Monday but did not give details.
Until now, the president's powers have not been clearly defined and the Supreme Constitutional Court's decision on Thursday to dissolve the Islamist-led parliament elected this year added further uncertainty to Egypt's troubled transition.
"In the absence of parliament, legislative powers move back to the military council, which has been in charge of the country and will hand over presidential powers to the president soon," a military source told Reuters.
"The head of state will have the power to appoint a prime minister and cabinet ministers," the source said, adding the president would also have powers to appoint other posts, such as a number of unelected members, around 10, to parliament.
The military council met a civilian body which advises the generals, along with other experts, on Sunday to discuss the declaration, a lawyer who attended the meeting said.
"The presidential powers which the military council held until now will now shift to the new president," he said.
BROTHERHOOD OBJECTS
The Muslim Brotherhood, which dominated parliament, called the decision to dissolve the chamber a "coup" and said it showed the army was seeking to concentrate powers in its hands.
The speaker of the dissolved parliament, the Brotherhood's Saad al-Katatni, also said the generals had no right to issue a constitutional declaration.
Katatni "stressed that the decision to dissolve parliament and the procedures following such decision is not based on any articles in the existing constitutional decree" after he met the generals on Sunday, his office said in a statement.
A day before it was dissolved last week, parliament had for a second time approved the formation of a special assembly to draft a new constitution. But like a first attempt to appoint members to such a body, it ran into opposition from liberals. Some have threatened to challenge the assembly again in court.
The new declaration on Monday will give the military council the right to form a new constitutional assembly if the latest one set up by parliament is dissolved by a court, as the first one was, the legal expert and army source said.
The declaration will also give the army "full control over military internal affairs including appointments and dismissals of military personnel and the defence budget". Critics had said the budget for the armed forces should be transparent and overseen by parliament.
In a show of defiance, Katatni said that the existing constitutional assembly will convene on Monday to begin drafting a constitution. The members would meet in the upper house of parliament, which has not been dissolved.
Under the new declaration, the constitutional assembly, whether the one approved by parliament or one formed by the military council, would have three months to draft a constitution after which a referendum would be held on it.
Elections for a new parliament would then take place within a month. The legal expert said this could be in October or November.
By Marwa Awad | Reuters
Source: Yahoo News
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's ruling generals will make a declaration on Monday that will give the newly elected president the power to appoint a cabinet, but legislative powers will for now go back to the army after parliament was dissolved, official sources said on Sunday.
To Islamists and revolutionaries, the declaration - which will come hours after polls closed in a presidential race - will raise questions over whether the military has met a pledge to hand power to civilians by July 1. Many will see it as a bid to consolidate power in the hands of the army council, which took control after mass protests toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.
Elections to a new parliament would not now take place until a new constitution was drafted and approved by referendum, the sources said, adding that a constitution could be drawn up by a body appointed by the generals, rather than the old parliament.
The state-run news agency confirmed the constitutional declaration would be issued on Monday but did not give details.
Until now, the president's powers have not been clearly defined and the Supreme Constitutional Court's decision on Thursday to dissolve the Islamist-led parliament elected this year added further uncertainty to Egypt's troubled transition.
"In the absence of parliament, legislative powers move back to the military council, which has been in charge of the country and will hand over presidential powers to the president soon," a military source told Reuters.
"The head of state will have the power to appoint a prime minister and cabinet ministers," the source said, adding the president would also have powers to appoint other posts, such as a number of unelected members, around 10, to parliament.
The military council met a civilian body which advises the generals, along with other experts, on Sunday to discuss the declaration, a lawyer who attended the meeting said.
"The presidential powers which the military council held until now will now shift to the new president," he said.
BROTHERHOOD OBJECTS
The Muslim Brotherhood, which dominated parliament, called the decision to dissolve the chamber a "coup" and said it showed the army was seeking to concentrate powers in its hands.
The speaker of the dissolved parliament, the Brotherhood's Saad al-Katatni, also said the generals had no right to issue a constitutional declaration.
Katatni "stressed that the decision to dissolve parliament and the procedures following such decision is not based on any articles in the existing constitutional decree" after he met the generals on Sunday, his office said in a statement.
A day before it was dissolved last week, parliament had for a second time approved the formation of a special assembly to draft a new constitution. But like a first attempt to appoint members to such a body, it ran into opposition from liberals. Some have threatened to challenge the assembly again in court.
The new declaration on Monday will give the military council the right to form a new constitutional assembly if the latest one set up by parliament is dissolved by a court, as the first one was, the legal expert and army source said.
The declaration will also give the army "full control over military internal affairs including appointments and dismissals of military personnel and the defence budget". Critics had said the budget for the armed forces should be transparent and overseen by parliament.
In a show of defiance, Katatni said that the existing constitutional assembly will convene on Monday to begin drafting a constitution. The members would meet in the upper house of parliament, which has not been dissolved.
Under the new declaration, the constitutional assembly, whether the one approved by parliament or one formed by the military council, would have three months to draft a constitution after which a referendum would be held on it.
Elections for a new parliament would then take place within a month. The legal expert said this could be in October or November.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Egypt's new president to be sworn in before judiciary after parliament dissolution: SPEC head
Saturday 16 Jun 2012
Source:Ahram Online
The new president of Egypt is to take the oath of office in front of the High Constitutional Court, according to a report by Al-Ahram daily newspaper on Saturday, quoting Farouk Sultan, the of the head of the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC).
The constitution's provisions state that the president's swearing-in ceremony takes place before both the lower and upper houses.
However, considering the High Constitutional Court issued a verdict on Thursday dissolving the People's Assembly (lower house), the coming president will take the oath in front of a judiciary body.
"Most probably the ruling military council will issue a new Constitutional Declaration that will define the authorities of the new president and would allow the elected head of state to take the oath of office in front of the highest judiciary body, as is the case in some other countries," Sultan speculated to the Arabic-language daily paper.
According to the SPEC head, the new Constitutional Declaration will only be valid until the new constitution is drafted.
Last week the parliament elected a 100-member constituent assembly to draft the first constitution after the ouster of the 84-year-old former president Mubarak, who is now serving a life sentence in prison.
After the constitutional court verdict was issued Thursday, however, the elected assembly is considered void and the new constitution will have to wait for the fait of its drafting assembly to be defined.
Reportedly, Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) will form a new constituent assembly to replace the one that was dissolved. The first constituent assembly was appointed by a parliament dominated 70 per cent by Islamists; namely the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, and the Salafist’s Nour Party.
The first round of Egypt’s elections narrowed down the choices for president to two candidates. The runoff elections on Saturday and Sunday (16 and 17 June) will reveal whether Egypt’s new president will be Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, or the head of the FJP, Muhamed Mursi.
Source:Ahram Online
The new president of Egypt is to take the oath of office in front of the High Constitutional Court, according to a report by Al-Ahram daily newspaper on Saturday, quoting Farouk Sultan, the of the head of the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC).
The constitution's provisions state that the president's swearing-in ceremony takes place before both the lower and upper houses.
However, considering the High Constitutional Court issued a verdict on Thursday dissolving the People's Assembly (lower house), the coming president will take the oath in front of a judiciary body.
"Most probably the ruling military council will issue a new Constitutional Declaration that will define the authorities of the new president and would allow the elected head of state to take the oath of office in front of the highest judiciary body, as is the case in some other countries," Sultan speculated to the Arabic-language daily paper.
According to the SPEC head, the new Constitutional Declaration will only be valid until the new constitution is drafted.
Last week the parliament elected a 100-member constituent assembly to draft the first constitution after the ouster of the 84-year-old former president Mubarak, who is now serving a life sentence in prison.
After the constitutional court verdict was issued Thursday, however, the elected assembly is considered void and the new constitution will have to wait for the fait of its drafting assembly to be defined.
Reportedly, Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) will form a new constituent assembly to replace the one that was dissolved. The first constituent assembly was appointed by a parliament dominated 70 per cent by Islamists; namely the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, and the Salafist’s Nour Party.
The first round of Egypt’s elections narrowed down the choices for president to two candidates. The runoff elections on Saturday and Sunday (16 and 17 June) will reveal whether Egypt’s new president will be Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, or the head of the FJP, Muhamed Mursi.
We will succeed': Brotherhood reacts to verdict dissolving Egypt Parliament
Thursday 14 Jun 2012
Source: Ahram Online
Leading Muslim Brotherhood figure Mahmoud Ezzat said Thursday that he believed the Egyptian people would vote for the Islamist group in both the upcoming presidential runoffs and new parliamentary elections, in a statement to Al-Ahram Arabic language news website.
His comments follow the verdict of the High Constitutional Court (HCC), which saw Egypt's Parliament dissolved, as the elections of one third of the parliamentary seats reserved for individual candidates, were deemed unconstitutional.
The Political Disenfranchisement Law was also rejected by the courts, giving former regime figure Ahmed Shafiq the green light to face the Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Mursi in the 16 - 17 June presidential runoffs.
“We are waiting to read the rationale of verdicts issued by the HCC so the Muslim brotherhood can comment officially,” Ezzat added. The Brotherhood member also speculated about the timing of the ruling, as the constitutional court had previously taken years to reach its final verdict, citing the three-year decision to declare the 1987 parliamentary elections unconstitutional and to dissolve the parliament.
Source: Ahram Online
Leading Muslim Brotherhood figure Mahmoud Ezzat said Thursday that he believed the Egyptian people would vote for the Islamist group in both the upcoming presidential runoffs and new parliamentary elections, in a statement to Al-Ahram Arabic language news website.
His comments follow the verdict of the High Constitutional Court (HCC), which saw Egypt's Parliament dissolved, as the elections of one third of the parliamentary seats reserved for individual candidates, were deemed unconstitutional.
The Political Disenfranchisement Law was also rejected by the courts, giving former regime figure Ahmed Shafiq the green light to face the Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Mursi in the 16 - 17 June presidential runoffs.
“We are waiting to read the rationale of verdicts issued by the HCC so the Muslim brotherhood can comment officially,” Ezzat added. The Brotherhood member also speculated about the timing of the ruling, as the constitutional court had previously taken years to reach its final verdict, citing the three-year decision to declare the 1987 parliamentary elections unconstitutional and to dissolve the parliament.
Parliament 'will hold its activities as planned' as verdict implementation within SCAF's powers
Thursday 14 Jun 2012
Source:Ahram Online
The Head of the Egypt's Constitutional Court Farouk Sultan said that Thursday's court rulings have been issued in the state's Official Journal and are thus enforceable.
However, Sultan said that the Constitutional court does not have the authority to implement its verdicts, in case parliament does not suspend its activities in response, and that implementation is within the powers of the executive authorities, which are currently at the command of SCAF.
Egypt's High Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled that the Political Disenfranchisement Law, which had been referred to it by the Presidential Elections Commission, was unconstitutional. In the same session, the court found the election of one third of parliamentary seats, reserved for individual candidates, unconstitutional.
On the other hand, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Salafist Al-Nour party figure Ashraf Thabet said that parliament will hold its Tuesday plenary as normal, denying that parliament will hold an emergency session upon the ruling.
He further said that parliament will be discussing its legal options following the ruling since it only concerns one third of its members.
As though unfazed by the ruling, the parliamentary secretariat distributed the periodical agenda of the parliamentary committees’ activities, which start on 18 June.
Source:Ahram Online
The Head of the Egypt's Constitutional Court Farouk Sultan said that Thursday's court rulings have been issued in the state's Official Journal and are thus enforceable.
However, Sultan said that the Constitutional court does not have the authority to implement its verdicts, in case parliament does not suspend its activities in response, and that implementation is within the powers of the executive authorities, which are currently at the command of SCAF.
Egypt's High Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled that the Political Disenfranchisement Law, which had been referred to it by the Presidential Elections Commission, was unconstitutional. In the same session, the court found the election of one third of parliamentary seats, reserved for individual candidates, unconstitutional.
On the other hand, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Salafist Al-Nour party figure Ashraf Thabet said that parliament will hold its Tuesday plenary as normal, denying that parliament will hold an emergency session upon the ruling.
He further said that parliament will be discussing its legal options following the ruling since it only concerns one third of its members.
As though unfazed by the ruling, the parliamentary secretariat distributed the periodical agenda of the parliamentary committees’ activities, which start on 18 June.
Parliament speaker: We have not received official notification to dissolve
Friday 15 Jun 2012
Source:Ahram Online
Egypt's speaker of the People's Assembly Saad El-Katatny said that the parliament has not yet received notification of the Thursday High Constitutional Court's decision to dissolve both houses of parliament.
In a statement published on Friday morning on the official site of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) El-Katatny charged the media has been waging a war against the parliament in the past few months.
El-Katatny hinted that the court's ruling is politically motivated claiming that Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri had previously threatened him that the Constitutional Court already had a raedy-to-announce verdict to dissolve the parliament.
He added he participated on Thursday in a combined meeting between the executive board of the FJP and the Brotherhood's Supreme Guidance Bureau to discuss the steps the group will take in the next few days.
El-Katatny added they also agreed the FJP's presidential candidate, Mohamed Mursi, will continue in the second round of the presidential elections set to start on Saturday.
Source:Ahram Online
Egypt's speaker of the People's Assembly Saad El-Katatny said that the parliament has not yet received notification of the Thursday High Constitutional Court's decision to dissolve both houses of parliament.
In a statement published on Friday morning on the official site of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) El-Katatny charged the media has been waging a war against the parliament in the past few months.
El-Katatny hinted that the court's ruling is politically motivated claiming that Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri had previously threatened him that the Constitutional Court already had a raedy-to-announce verdict to dissolve the parliament.
He added he participated on Thursday in a combined meeting between the executive board of the FJP and the Brotherhood's Supreme Guidance Bureau to discuss the steps the group will take in the next few days.
El-Katatny added they also agreed the FJP's presidential candidate, Mohamed Mursi, will continue in the second round of the presidential elections set to start on Saturday.
The Egyptian Coup and The Global Oligarchy
Saturday, June 16,2012
written by : Sheila Quinn
source: A New Era
It is obvious that The Global Oligarchy is behind what has recently happened in Egypt. It is not surprising that judges who were appointed by Mubarak would disband a parliament that is representative of The Egyptian people. Those who criticize it as a coup are right on target. But it is more than a coup, it is the global oligarchy attempting to retain its control over Egypt. I wonder just how many Egyptians like the reality that their country is under the control of the global oligarchy. I wonder how many Egyptian secularists approve of Egypt being under the control of foreigners.
Earlier the judges threatened to disband the parliament because of the issue of how many members in parliament were elected as "independent". But they did not disband it. They waited until the election for president was in just a few days; and then they disbanded it.
What happened before it was disbanded? Well, there was a need to write a new constitution. Therefore, members for a committee who would write the new constitution were chosen. All sections of the Egyptian society were represented, and therefore did have a voice in the committee. "Islamists"- members of The Freedom and Justice Party and The Al-Nour party- of course dominated the committee. These two groups combined got seventy percent of the electoral vote. Seven out of ten Egyptians voted for either the Freedom and Justice Party or The Al-Nour Party. Therefore, it is logical that the "Islamists" should dominate the committee. Yet, some Egyptian secularists objected to this fact and complained to the Mubarak appointed judges- the same judges who ultimately disbanded the parliament. Some secularists complained that the new constitution should have been written before the elections. But such a position is illogical. Who would be on the committee that wrote the new constitution? Who would decide who would be on such a committee? The only logical way for the committee to have been chosen is by those who were elected by the Egyptian people. Now SCAF is threatening to write the new constitution.
Who do I blame for the parliament being disbanded? I do not blame the judges who were appointed by Mubarak. They were only acting according to their nature. I blame those secularists who went to those same Mubarak appointed judges and complained about the "Islamists" dominating the constitutional committee. It is obvious that the great majority of Egyptians support the "Islamists". The Egyptian secularists should understand this and accept it. Do these same secularists want Mubarak's regime back-minus Mubarak? Do they want the global oligarchy to rule Egypt through puppets- like it did under Mubarak?
written by : Sheila Quinn
source: A New Era
It is obvious that The Global Oligarchy is behind what has recently happened in Egypt. It is not surprising that judges who were appointed by Mubarak would disband a parliament that is representative of The Egyptian people. Those who criticize it as a coup are right on target. But it is more than a coup, it is the global oligarchy attempting to retain its control over Egypt. I wonder just how many Egyptians like the reality that their country is under the control of the global oligarchy. I wonder how many Egyptian secularists approve of Egypt being under the control of foreigners.
Earlier the judges threatened to disband the parliament because of the issue of how many members in parliament were elected as "independent". But they did not disband it. They waited until the election for president was in just a few days; and then they disbanded it.
What happened before it was disbanded? Well, there was a need to write a new constitution. Therefore, members for a committee who would write the new constitution were chosen. All sections of the Egyptian society were represented, and therefore did have a voice in the committee. "Islamists"- members of The Freedom and Justice Party and The Al-Nour party- of course dominated the committee. These two groups combined got seventy percent of the electoral vote. Seven out of ten Egyptians voted for either the Freedom and Justice Party or The Al-Nour Party. Therefore, it is logical that the "Islamists" should dominate the committee. Yet, some Egyptian secularists objected to this fact and complained to the Mubarak appointed judges- the same judges who ultimately disbanded the parliament. Some secularists complained that the new constitution should have been written before the elections. But such a position is illogical. Who would be on the committee that wrote the new constitution? Who would decide who would be on such a committee? The only logical way for the committee to have been chosen is by those who were elected by the Egyptian people. Now SCAF is threatening to write the new constitution.
Who do I blame for the parliament being disbanded? I do not blame the judges who were appointed by Mubarak. They were only acting according to their nature. I blame those secularists who went to those same Mubarak appointed judges and complained about the "Islamists" dominating the constitutional committee. It is obvious that the great majority of Egyptians support the "Islamists". The Egyptian secularists should understand this and accept it. Do these same secularists want Mubarak's regime back-minus Mubarak? Do they want the global oligarchy to rule Egypt through puppets- like it did under Mubarak?
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Drinking high-fructose corn syrup really does make you stupid
June 10, 2012
by POPEYE
Source: FederalJack.com
(NaturalNews) If you think eating and drinking foods that contain high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) every now and again will not do you that much harm, think again. A new study out of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has found that consuming HFCS can actually destroy memory, slow mental function, and ultimately deteriorate brain performance.
For their study, a team of researchers first trained a group of rats to navigate a complicated maze for five days, and then divided this group into two smaller groups. Both groups were then fed a solution containing HFCS as their drinking water for two weeks, while only one group was given flaxseed oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a specific type of omega-3 fatty acid, as part of a supplement regimen.
At the end of this six-week period, both groups of rats were put back in the maze to see how they performed at navigating it. Upon observation and analysis, the UCLA team discovered that the group fed only the HFCS solution had reduced synaptic activity in the brain, which resulted in rats having trouble figuring out the maze. The brain cells of these HFCS-affected rats literally could not signal properly, which illustrates a clear link between consumption of this highly-processed sugar and brain damage.
“Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting the rats’ ability to think clearly and recall the route they’d learned six weeks earlier,” said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at theDavid Geffen School of Medicineat UCLA, about the rats that consumed just the HFCS solution. “Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new.”
Beyond just brain damage, the team also found that, without supplemental DHA and omega-3s, HFCS consumption leads to insulin resistance because of the particular way fructose appears to disrupt neuronal function and the brain’s absorption of insulin. This discovery confirms that HFCS, even more-so than glucose and other forms of processed sugar, is definitively and uniquely linked to causing diabetes, despite claims by theCorn Refiners Industry(CRI) to the contrary.
“Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think,” added Gomez-Pinilla, confirming what we have been saying here at NaturalNews for a long time. “Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage.”
Sources for this article include:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/sugar-dumb-us-scientists-warn-190918006.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120515150938.htm
http://www.naturalnews.com/016353.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/035935_HFCS_stupid_memory.html#ixzz1xMmhV8AP
by POPEYE
Source: FederalJack.com
(NaturalNews) If you think eating and drinking foods that contain high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) every now and again will not do you that much harm, think again. A new study out of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has found that consuming HFCS can actually destroy memory, slow mental function, and ultimately deteriorate brain performance.
For their study, a team of researchers first trained a group of rats to navigate a complicated maze for five days, and then divided this group into two smaller groups. Both groups were then fed a solution containing HFCS as their drinking water for two weeks, while only one group was given flaxseed oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a specific type of omega-3 fatty acid, as part of a supplement regimen.
At the end of this six-week period, both groups of rats were put back in the maze to see how they performed at navigating it. Upon observation and analysis, the UCLA team discovered that the group fed only the HFCS solution had reduced synaptic activity in the brain, which resulted in rats having trouble figuring out the maze. The brain cells of these HFCS-affected rats literally could not signal properly, which illustrates a clear link between consumption of this highly-processed sugar and brain damage.
“Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting the rats’ ability to think clearly and recall the route they’d learned six weeks earlier,” said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at theDavid Geffen School of Medicineat UCLA, about the rats that consumed just the HFCS solution. “Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new.”
Beyond just brain damage, the team also found that, without supplemental DHA and omega-3s, HFCS consumption leads to insulin resistance because of the particular way fructose appears to disrupt neuronal function and the brain’s absorption of insulin. This discovery confirms that HFCS, even more-so than glucose and other forms of processed sugar, is definitively and uniquely linked to causing diabetes, despite claims by theCorn Refiners Industry(CRI) to the contrary.
“Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think,” added Gomez-Pinilla, confirming what we have been saying here at NaturalNews for a long time. “Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage.”
Sources for this article include:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/sugar-dumb-us-scientists-warn-190918006.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120515150938.htm
http://www.naturalnews.com/016353.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/035935_HFCS_stupid_memory.html#ixzz1xMmhV8AP
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