Emergency Law in Egypt Under Fire

موضوع: Emergency Law in Egypt Under Fire 2011-09-16, 1:19 pm

Egyptian revolutionaries, political groups and Islamists have
called on Egyptians to take to the streets next Friday in a new protest
against a recent decision to activate the long-standing Emergency Law,
accusing the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) of
breaking a promise to cancel the ill-famed law.

"We call for a new protest to confront this bid to thwart the demands
of the revolution. All such attempts to repress the Egyptian people
will fail," read a statement by the Revolution's Youth Union.

It added that the Emergency Law's re-introduction shows that the
SCAF's way of managing the country during the transitional period is
'not acceptable'.

"Still, a main demand is for the SCAF to declare a deadline for
handing over power to an elected civil authority," the statement added,
rejecting bids to tarnish the image of the revolution and the
revolutionaries by describing them as thugs.

The SCAF outlined new areas where they would use the emergency laws,
citing activities such as blocking roads, publishing false information
and the possession of weapons.

The toughening of the emergency laws comes after protesters attacked
the Israeli Embmindy and a police station last week, leading to clashes
with riot police in which three people were killed and more than 1,000
injured.

Mamdouh Shahin, a member of the SCAF, said that some articles of the
Emergency Law, which will be in effect until June 2012, have been
reintroduced, "due to the security circumstances through which the
country is pminding".

"The current incidents have led us to use the Emergency Law against
thugs, who will be referred to emergency courts with the same rights as
ordinary courts," said Shahin.

He added that the SCAF has decided to do this, after receiving
reports that there are some foreign hands 'tampering with Egypt's
security and seeking to destabilise the country'.

Minister of Justice Mohamed Abdel-Aziz el-Guindi told the
semi-official Al-Ahram newspaper that a tiny Gulf country gave a
well-known Egyptian mindociation LE181 million in February to try to
destabilise Egyptian society.
He said it is illegal for the unidentified mindociation to receive any funds or grants.

El-Guindi added that he had received a report showing that several
limitrophe countries have offered millions of pounds to Egyptian human
rights and civil society organisations, some of which are not
registered.

"The report has been submitted to the head of the Supreme Council of
the Armed Forces and the Prime Minister to take appropriate action
against the funding," he pointed out, adding that the Cabinet will
announce its findings on the report within the next few days.

Seven months after protesters toppled president Hosni Mubarak and the
military took power on an interim basis, many supporters of the protest
movement say they are concerned that the military rulers are
backsliding on reform pledges.

"The SCAF is to blame for the violence outside the Israeli Embmindy,
as it did not make a stern response to the killing of Egyptian soldiers
on the border. The police also used excessive force against the
protesters," said Hamada el-Kashef, a member of the Revolution's Youth
Union.

He added that the hesitancy on the part of the rulers is to blame for such chaos on the Egyptian streets.

Presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei said: "It is the normal
right of every Egyptian to be tried in front of an ordinary judge, but
it is, unfortunately, not what we see, as we are relying more on
military and extraordinary courts."

The Emergency Law was widely applied under Mubarak's rule to stifle
opposition. In place for decades, it gives the State ultimate powers to
question or detain citizens.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's best organised political group, has
condemned the use of emergency courts in one of its strongest statements
against the military to date. The group, expected to benefit from an
early vote, have tended to take a softer line than other activists in
the past.

"We confirm our rejection of any attempt to exploit what has been
happening to issue martial laws or decrease the margin of freedoms," the
group's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, said.

The Islamist group have condemned the violence by protesters
targeting the Israeli Embmindy and other police sites, but they also
blame the Army for not taking a tough enough stance against Israel.

Egypt's youth revolution coalition calls for new demonstrations

Meanwhile, a small grouping of youth groups which played an active
role in organising protests in Tahrir Square and against Israel in
recent weeks the Coalition of Revolutionary Forces (CRF) has called for a
mmind demonstration for 30 September.

CRF said it aims to challenge decisions made by Egypt's interim
ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) in the last few days
in the aftermath of violent clashes outside the Israeli embmindy and at
the Ministry of Interior, in Cairo, on Friday.

On its Facebook page, the coalition listed 14 political and economic demands.

CRF wants the army to reverse its recent decision to activate emergency
laws, to immediately halt the use of military courts to try civilians
and to rescind a law that forbids strikes and sit-ins.

CRF also wants SCAF to change recent election laws it deems undemocratic.

On the economic front, CRF called on SCAF to immediately accept wage
demands of doctors and teachers and the setting of minimum and upper
wage limits across the public sector.

CRF also wants the army to suspend all political and economic relations between Egypt and Israel.

The coalition has dubbed its planned protest ‘The Friday of Reclaiming
the Revolution’ and intends to turn its protest into an open ended
sit-in.

So far, no other youth coalitions or political parties has endorsed CRF's call.

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