The Gazette Online: www.egyptiangazette.net.

eg

Established 1880

Issue No. 42,627

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Price: LE2.50

Executive Editor-in-Chief: Mohamed Salah Attia

Board Chairman: Khaled Bakir

Ex-spy testifies in Mubarak trial

Ashraf Madbouli

Escalation seen against emergency revival

Staff report

GYPT'S former top spy and vice president, Omar Suleiman, gave a three-hour testimony yesterday at the trial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, who is charged with conspiring to kill protesters. Suleiman testified in camera as Chief Justice Ahmed Refaat had ordered a media gag on a list of current and former officials, who were summoned to witness in the historic trial, where former interior minister Habib el-Adli, six of his aides and Mubarak's two sons Gamal and Alaa are standing trial. Today, Interior Minister Mansour el-Eissawi is expected to give his testimony, according to a previous court decision. His predecessor Mahmoud Wagdi will show up for testimony tomorrow. "Suleiman gave his testimony while the court had a break, before defence lawyers and those for the relatives of the protesters killed during the incidents questioned him," State TV reported. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and his Chief of Staff, Sami Annan, were due to give testimony on Sunday and Monday, but the hearings were postponed till September 24 and 25, after they said they were busy with security matters. The testimonies of Suleiman, Tantawi and Annan could be decisive in determining whether Mubarak, who ruled for three decades, is found innocent or guilty. Many believe that Suleiman himself should be a co-defendant alongside Mubarak, given his prominent role in the leadership during the uprising. Mohamed Zarei, a lawyer for the victims' families, described Suleiman as "the black box. "Excluding Suleiman from charges of complicity of killing protesters was and remains a surprise to me, because he is partly responsible," he said. The move to bar the media has angered many Egyptians who have demanded a transparent trial. Images of the first two sessions of Mubarak's trial were broadcast live. Cameras have since been barred, but journalists have attended other sessions. Outside the court in the Police Academy in New Cairo, dozens of pro-Mubarak protesters and relatives of the dead protesters stood in large areas, where policemen were erecting barriers to separate them. The Mubarak supporters were holding large posters of the ousted president, when some of the anti-Mubarak protesters began to insult them. The two parties started throwing stones at each other, but police managed to stop the violence, forcing the pro-Mubarak protesters to leave the area, using the back door to the Police Academy. Mubarak's trial, the centre of controversy in Egypt, prompted the Cabinet Information and Decision Support Centre, a State-run institution, to run a poll among Egyptians about it. The poll found that 67 per cent of Egyptians agreed to the trial, while 13 per cent were against it, on the grounds that Mubarak achieved some things. Twenty per cent abstained from expressing an opinion. Sixty-nine per cent of Egyptians believe the trials of former members of Mubarak's regime are proceeding too slowly, according to the Government poll. In another court in New Cairo, the trial of 25 former top officials, including the Speaker of the People's Assembly and Chairman of the Shura Council, the judge questioned some prosecution witnesses, who said the defendants incited the violence against protesters on February 2 and 3. A third court circuit in New Cairo was hearing a case concerning the exportation of gas to Israel at prices far below the going market rate, in which former minister of oil Sameh Fahmi and five of his aides are standing trial. Both cases have been delayed until today.

AFP

A hero's welcome: Egyptians holding posters of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on which are written in Arabic, "Together one hand for
the future", during a protest outside the Arab League headquarters in Cairo yesterday. Erdogan (R in right-had photo) is seen with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (L), the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, upon his arrival at the Defence Ministry yesterday.

Recognition of Palestine obligatory

Salwa Samir

URKISH Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of Arab foreign ministers yesterday that the recognition of a Palestinian state is an "obligation". "The Palestinian issue is all about human dignity, so we should work hard together to help them obtain their rights. It's our common responsibility. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not only threatening the Middle East, but it's also an international issue. This situation should not continue and Palestine should be recognised," he told the gathering at the Arab League (AL) headquarters in Cairos Tahrir Square. "We will all support this. Before the end of this month, we will see that the Palestinian situation has changed. We should work for the Palestinian flag to be raised in the UN. The Palestinians are preparing to submit a formal request to become the 194th member of the United Nations when the General Assembly begins its meetings on September 20. "Let's raise the Palestinian flag as this flag is a symbol of peace and justice in the Middle East," Erdogan added to great applause. Erdogan, who is on a three-day visit to Egypt, stressed that Israel has isolated itself and must "pay the price" after refusing to apologise for its raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last year. Turkey has suspended military ties with Israel and expelled top Israeli diplomats, as it pledges to support the Palestinians' statehood bid. It has also vowed to get the Turkish Navy to escort Gaza-bound aid ships in the future. The Turkish PM praised the AL SecretaryGenerals decision to support and back Turkey in the procedures it is taking against Israel. "We will not restore our ties with them, unless they agree to our conditions. Israel should

AFP

A friendly nod: Erdogan lays a wreath during

his visit to the tomb of the late president Anwar el-Sadat and the Unknown Soldier monument in Cairo yesterday. respect human rights and behave like an ordinary state," he stressed. Turkey has downgraded its ties with Israel over the 2010 killing by Israeli commandos of nine Turkish activists on a Turkish aid flotilla bound for Gaza. Erdogan is visiting Egypt at the start of a North African tour including Libya and Tunisia. His visit aims at boosting Turkey's standing in

the region following the Arab Spring uprisings. He met yesterday with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt's ruling military council, and Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, signing a joint political statement about establishment of a high-level strategic cooperation council. They also signed a series of deals for co-operation in the fields of economy, trade, education, culture, sports, press and public administration. Erdogan also met with Grand Imam of AlAzhar Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayyeb and they discussed current developments in the Arab and Muslim world, as well as future co-operation between Turkey and Al-Azhar, the biggest Sunni institution and university in the Muslim world. "For hundreds of years, Turks and Arabs have been connected by brotherhood and friendship. We have the same geography, civilisation, culture and history. Our today and our future are our mutual fate, so we need to listen to each other," he stressed, adding that it's our responsibility to pass on these friendly relations to future generations. "Freedom, democracy and human rights, gained in a legal manner, are our slogan. We should not suppress these legal demands." "Erdogan, Erdogan!" cheered a group of demonstrators as the Turkish Prime Minister left the AL headquarters after making his speech. Displaying a populist touch, Erdogan stopped and shook the hands of the demonstrators, who were calling for change in Syria, whose military is trying to stamp out popular unrest. He told the Arab ministers that international recognition of a Palestinian state was "not an option but an obligation. Erdogan delivered a speech in Cairo outlining his Middle East vision. US President Barack Obama also chose Cairo to address the Muslim world in 2009.

EVOLUTIONARIES turned to social networking websites yesterday to urge Egyptians to go on a general strike as of next week, in order to pressure the ruling military authorities to meet the demands of protesters, starting from shelving the long-standing Emergency Law to stopping the referring of civilians to military tribunals. "A general strike is a civilised way to express opinions. Therefore, we urge all free Egyptians to stage a strike on Saturday until the revolution's demands are all met," read a post on a Facebook page entitled The Third Revolution of Fury. The post on the newly established page stressed that the Egyptian revolution will stay peaceful, urging the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to hand over power to a civilian authority as soon as possible. "The emergency revival, shutting down news channels and shooting protesters outside the Israeli Embassy are unacceptable," added the post. Meanwhile, 18 key political figures issued a statement yesterday, rejecting the reactivation of the Emergency Law and calling for the transitional period to be shortened. "Any delay in the elections is rejected as the country should get a president by February 2012. The state of emergency should end," read the statement, signed by presidential hopefuls Amr Moussa, Ayman Nour and Abdel-Moneim Abul Fetouh, as well as other key politicians. The SCAF has modified several articles in the Emergency Law. According to the new regulations, the state of emergency will be effective in cases of internal instability, terrorist and national security threats, possession and trading of weapons or narcotics, thuggery and acts of vandalism, and the blocking of roads, as well as the propagation of misleading news or false rumours. The law also allows for the prosecution of any citizen who criticises the SCAF or the Egyptian Government. Several rights organisations have issued a series of statements about the decision and its possible repercussions, while various political factions strongly criticised the move as spelling 'the death of the Egyptian revolution. Essam Derbala, a Muslim Brotherhood member of the Consultative Council, reiterated the groups respect for freedoms and objection to the use of emergency laws. Citizens who commit mistakes should be penalised in accordance with the regular laws only, he stressed, adding that the future of the New Egypt should be based on full freedom.

Egypt border fence a priority, says Israel PM

Students call for sacking university heads, free polls

Ahmed Kamel

Weather
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UNDREDS of Egyptian students yesterday staged protests at the country's top State-owned universities, calling for sacking all university heads. Roughly a hundred students at Cairo University demonstrated on campus, shouting slogans demanding the ousting of the university's principal. It was a similar story at Ain Shams University, Egypt's second-largest academic institution, where more than one hundred students staged a demonstration calling for dismissing all the university's top officials, before the beginning of the academic year due on October 1, and holding free elections for all leading administrative positions. Protesters shouted slogans, enticing students nationwide to follow suit. "Egyptian students, wake up! Even if you study hard and succeed, there will be no future without freedom," demonstrators at Ain Shams University shouted yesterday.

They stormed the main gate after the guards closed all gates between faculty buildings in a bid to impede the movement of the demonstrators around the campus. No injuries were reported. "There will be a meeting with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) tomorrow (today) to discuss the demand for sacking university heads," said Khaled Samir, the head of the Universities' Independence Movement. Meanwhile, university polls are in chaos, because of a dispute over the nomination rules for top officials who have been appointed since the January 25 revolution. The country's Supreme Council for Universities has issued new regulations, stipulating that top university officials should resign before running for any administrative position. On Sunday, a general assembly of members of staff at Egyptian State-owned universities said all top positions at the nation's universities were considered to be vacant. These academics have called for free elections, according to rules initiated and approved by a majority in their general assembly last month.

Photo by Suleiman el-Oteifi

Academic revolution: Hundreds of academics

protesting outside the Cabinet headquarters in downtown Cairo on Sunday over the reform of State-run universities and better work conditions.

EL AVIV (AFP) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that the main aim of a fence which Israel is building on its border with Egypt is now to block militants and not just smugglers and illegal migrants. "Putting up the fence is first of all against terror activity, and only after that against (other) infiltrators," army radio quoted him as saying during a tour of the border. Israel began constructing the fence late last year to stem the influx of thousands of illegal migrants through the porous border, which has also been a major drug and human trafficking route into Israel. A statement from Netanyahu's office said work on the fence would be speeded up and was expected to be completed by next September. "Israel's border with Egypt is a border of peace. To continue the peace, there must be security, and to this end a fence is necessary," it quoted him as saying. "Its rapid construction is important for both peace and security." Tensions between the two countries have risen since the killing last month of six Egyptian policemen on the border as Israel hunted militants who crossed from the Sinai and killed eight Israelis. Last week, Egyptian crowds rampaged through the Israeli Embassy in Giza, with several of them tossing Embassy papers from balconies and tearing down the Israeli flag. It was the worst attack since Israel set up its mission in Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish state, in 1979. Nearly all of Israel's diplomatic staff were evacuated from Egypt after the attack on the Embassy.