Latest in Tag: politics Highlight
Latest in Tag: politics
Working on the ground-part 2
At the beginning one has to explain the difference between working on the ground and connecting with the people. The first is quite broad and includes any human activity that depends on communicating with the people be it political or social. In that case, the people are always the object and the target for the …
Worker killed in Daqahleya power plant explosion
Technical committee formed, no current suspicion of criminal intent
Press Release: Baseera Poll on The Constitution Referendum
Around 76% of Egyptians said they intend to vote in the referendum
Op-ed review: The story of Egyptian constitutions
Ammar Ali Hassan Al Watan Newspaper Columnist Ammar Ali Hassan surveys several books written on the different Egyptian constitutions starting from the time of Mohamed Ali and lists ten points on why these books are relevant in contemporary Egypt. The books he reviewed include a book written by journalist Mohamed Hammad, Albert Shoqeir’s “Egyptian constitution …
Kuwait PM reshuffles cabinet
The new cabinet line-up includes a new oil minister, Ali al-Omair, a lawmaker who is a senior member of the Islamist Salaf Alliance. He replaced Mustafa al-Shamali, who served in the post for just five months after serving several years as finance minister.
Mohamed Ibrahim, an unsolved mystery
Today marks the anniversary of the appointment of Mohamed Ibrahim as Egypt’s Minister of Interior. And so another year begins with the man who survived it all, whose forces killed indiscriminately under his command and proved to all the people of Egypt that the Ministry of Interior is the regime’s tool to oppress; any regime …
White House sees a partner in Assad
By Tony Badran, Now. As 2013 drew to a close, the Wall Street Journal published a lengthy and damning chronicle of President Obama’s handling of Syria. And while 2013 was a particularly catastrophic year for US policy in Syria, 2014 promises to be even worse. For if last year marked Washington’s official abandonment of the Syrian opposition, this …
Traitors and the exercise in futility
By Wael Eskandar The 29th of December marks Jika’s birthday. Gaber Salah, or “Jika” would have turned 19 in late 2013 had he not been killed by the Ministry of Interior under the then president Morsi. His birthday was celebrated by a few valiant friends and protesters who defied the new Protest Law by marching …
Amr, Esraa and the Travolta Predicament
No doubt, current events in Egypt are testing our understanding as well as the practice of the freedom of speech and the concept of liberties at large. Two articles that I have come across in the past 6 months have paid homage to the concept of liberties in two distinct fashions. Last July, Dr. Amr …
Iraq suffers worst year of violence since 2008
Death tolls vary widely, but all point to a sharp rise in violence.
The monster that won’t die
Al-Qaeda is making yet another appalling comeback
Op-ed review: Egypt between a rock and a hard place
Ayman Al-Sayad Al-Shorouk Newspaper According to Al-Sayad, Egypt is experiencing two main battles, the first one is with terrorism, and the second is with the security apparatus’ violence and oppression. He believes that the latter is a 25 January Revolution demand and the former a 30 June protests demand. This leaves Egypt in a precarious …
Israel hits back after rockets fired from Lebanon
The Israeli government accused the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah of being behind the rocket fire and threatened an even tougher response to any further attacks.
Fighting lies with lies
False narratives continue to play a dangerous role in the turmoil in Egypt. No group knows that better than the Muslim Brotherhood. Unsubstantiated claims of the group’s role in violence in Sinai and other parts of the country, along with rumours surrounding the Brotherhood’s links to foreign and domestic actors have made their way to …
Op-Ed review: The Muslim Brotherhood
On Wednesday 25 December 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood organization has been declared a terrorist group by the government. Columnists have been debating the announcement and how it affects the political scene and the Muslim Brotherhood. Terrorism-creating government Bilal Fadl Al-Shorouk Newspaper Fadl begins his column in a sarcastic tone, congratulating the Brotherhood on returning to …
Working on the ground
During the seventies, our generation fought some glorious battles under the slogan “Absolute democracy for all, absolute dedication for the nation”. Those battles occurred when we were in college. They started with a wave of student and worker protests against what was known at the time as “aviation verdicts” which resulted in the innocence of …
Khaled Ali denies prodding workers to vote against referendum
ETUF accused Ali of “stirring up discord”
Cut and Paste, a painful trip down memory lane
Huda Lutfi explores fleeting memories of past events in Cut and Paste
The truth about the constitution
So it is finally out. The date is finally set, the wheels are in motion and things are happening for the post 30 June ruling coalition. The very first product has been finalised and is merely being marketed at the moment. In fact, the idea of being able to deliver what has been promised in …
Speaking of double-speak…
Just how genuine is Michele Bachmann’s support for Egypt?
Counter-revolutions aren’t anything new
By Ana Maria Luca, Now. Totalitarian military regimes tend to react the same way when faced with a rebellion: they distract the population’s attention toward an even scarier enemy so that they can claim to be saviours rather than oppressors. And so whenever there is a revolution, there’s usually a counter-revolution, too. It has been …
The long winding road to Yemen
As the debates rage in Egypt on whether presidential elections should be held before parliamentary elections, the country seems headed to an all too familiar scenario. In February 2012, elections were held in Yemen with acting president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Al-Hadi as the only candidate on the ballot. While many Egyptian activists ridiculed this move, …
“Down with your state if our freedom is absent”
By Sara Khorshid At least for a while it will be difficult for many Egyptian youths to forget the scene of 19-year-old engineering student Mohamed Reda taking his last breath. Reda was killed inside Cairo University’s campus as he got hit in the neck by birdshot while the police was dispersing a protest by students. …
Mandela’s struggles for peace and justice in Africa
By Lansana Gberie On 27 November 1995, a calm voice issued this jarring statement on the BBC: “Abacha is sitting on a volcano. And I am going to explode it underneath him.” It belonged to Nelson Mandela. He was 77, and had already been president of South Africa for a year. Mandela was referring to …
Will Al-Sisi run for president?
First we will discuss the consequences of General Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi running for president. What first comes to mind is that Al-Sisi will win, of course, which would confirm the doubt that 30 June was a military coup. This would seriously hurt Egypt’s connections with the international political scene. On the other hand, this win …
Elections experts worry that Egypt’s new elections will make the same mistake as last time
Defective election method probably elected wrong candidate, Mohamed Morsi
Michele Bachmann writes: Muslim Brotherhood: A history of terror
By Michele Bachmann If the decision of the interim government of Egypt is to consider the organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation, then the United States should follow. From the time of Hassan al-Banna and the “secret apparatus” staging terror attacks across Egypt and the assassinations of Prime Minister Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha and …
2013 Winner and Losers
With the year winding down, it’s time to count this year’s winners and losers. Winners: 1) The Nour Party: Hands down 2013’s biggest winner is the Salafi Nour Party. It played its hand perfectly after 30 June, recognising its symbolic importance to the 3 July coalition on both national and international levels. The party managed …
How Egyptians are trapped in polarity & prejudice
By Mohammed Nosseir “I accuse you of high treason!” is a phrase frequently used by Egyptians in the course of political discourse. Most of the people who use the phrase don’t really think of its actual meaning, but it is a good tool for polarisation and expressing prejudice. Apparently, Egyptian society prefers accusations and criticism …
Red herrings
A few weeks ago, in his regular New York Times column, Thomas Friedman applauded the “radical evolutions” taking place across the Arab Gulf, dubbing them “The Other Arab Awakening“. Friedman makes the sweeping claim that, “in the wake of the Arab Spring, [Gulf leaders] are deeply concerned with their legitimacy, which they are discovering can …