organization:supreme council of the armed forces

  • Update: Prosecutor accuses MB of faking leaked SCAF recording |
    Friday, December 5, 2014 Mada Masr
    http://www.madamasr.com/news/update-prosecutor-accuses-mb-faking-leaked-scaf-recording

    Audio recordings of a purported phone conversation between Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) members Mamdouh Shahin and Osama al-Gendy were circulated on the Islamist Mekameleen (We shall continue) channel and the pro-Brotherhood Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr satellite channel.

    In the conversation, Shahin tells Gendy that the criminal charges against ousted President Mohamed Morsi could be dismissed, because he was illegally detained by the Armed Forces between July 3 and July 7, 2013 as the military announced his deposition from power.

    After massive protests calling for the end of Morsi’s rule on June 30, 2013, the military stepped in to announce his ouster and the appointment of an alternative government on July 4. Since then, Morsi and a number of his aides were held incommunicado at an undisclosed military premise. He only emerged publicly months later, appearing in court to face several charges in different cases, most notably an espionage case and a case of killing protesters near the Ettehadiya Presidential Palace during anti-regime protests in 2012.

  • Egypt: Workers reject proposed one-year ban on strikes |
    Mada Masr
    Tuesday, March 11, 2014
    http://madamasr.com/content/workers-reject-proposed-one-year-ban-strikes

    In media statements issued Sunday, the minister also claimed that she aspires to reach a deal with employers so as to realize the demands of striking workers, with the aim of containing their anger and limiting unrest.

    Ashry has served in the Dispute Resolution Bureau of the Ministry of Manpower for the past 20 years — under the labor ministers appointed by Mubarak, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and the Brotherhood.

    On Tuesday, a host of independent labor unions and workers’ organizations responded to this initiative by denouncing it as being unilateral, and offering striking workers nothing in return.

    The Ministry had announced on Sunday that it has signed this new initiative with a new, small and virtually unknown, organization dubbed the “Egyptian National Workers’ Federation.”

    This new proposal for a ban on strikes violates the provisions of the International Labor Organization’s Convention 87 (which the Egyptian state voluntarily ratified in 1957) along with Article 8 of the United Nation’s International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ratified in 1982), and may even contravene Article 15 of the new Egyptian Constitution regarding the right to strike.

    According to a statement issued in response from the independent Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services (CTUWS), this initiative does not represent the will of Egyptian workers, as it was only signed by a novel union federation “which has a membership of no more than 200 workers.”

  • A SUIVRE / Egypt’s SCAF empowers Field Marshal El-Sisi to run for president - Ahram Online
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/92757.aspx

    Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has empowered army chief and defence minister, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, to run for president.

    Anonymous sources speaking to state news agency MENA said that El-Sisi will announce his decision in the next few hours over whether or not he will enter the upcoming presidential elections as a civilian candidate.

  • Rival #Egypt demos mark 2011 anti-army protests
    http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/rival-egypt-demos-mark-2011-anti-army-protests

    Dozens of supporters and opponents of the army gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square Tuesday to mark the anniversary of anti-military protests, amid mounting anger over a memorial to those killed in Egypt’s uprising. The 2011 demonstrations in central Cairo were against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the military junta that took power after the fall of Mubarak. The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which has held regular protests against the military for ousting president Mohammed Mursi, (...)

    #Cario #SCAF #Top_News

  • Egypte : le mouvement révolutionnaire du 6 avril dénonce la présence du maréchal Tantawi aux cérémonies du 6 octobre, le « bain de sang » d’hier et prends ses distances I MEMO

    http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/7695-6th-of-april-youth-movement-turns-against-al-sisi-and-condem

    The 6th of April Youth Movement has condemned the appearance of General Hussein Tantawi, the former Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, next to Defence Minister General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi during the victory celebrations of the October War, describing him as a “murderer”.

  • Mass protests erupt in Egypt against Mursi’s antidemocratic decrees
    http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/egyp-n24.shtml
    By Johannes Stern
    24 November 2012

    Mass protests erupted throughout Egypt on Friday against the country’s president, Mohamed Mursi, and the ruling Muslim Brotherhood (MB). The day before, Mursi had issued a new Constitutional Declaration expanding his dictatorial powers, which he initially claimed by taking over the powers of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) junta in August.

    In scenes reminiscent of the early days of the Egyptian Revolution, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo. Angry youth chanted slogans against Mursi and the MB and for the continuation of the revolution. Common chants were: “Down with the regime of the Brotherhood Supreme Guide”, “The people want to topple the Brothers” and “The people still want the downfall of the regime.”

  • Three Types of Non-Transformative “Change”
    http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/labyrinth/three-types-non-transformative-%E2%80%9Cchange%E2%80%9D

    Early last year, the notion of change was in itself good, a departure from an era marked with cross-sector stagnation. But now, as Egyptians have learnt under the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and then the budding reign of the Muslim Brotherhood, change in itself doesn’t bring forth a bright future.

    These past few months in particular revealed three types of non-transformative “change.”

    The first, which was adopted by SCAF over the past year and half, depended on changing figureheads but is in essence superficial. The new names were from the old order and the failed policies were left intact.
    The Muslim Brotherhood, which briefly pitted itself as an opponent of the generals and their rule, is following in their footsteps, but after its own fashion.

    It started with a new cabinet of ministers that largely reflected continuity rather than change. The implications of this approach are best observed in the appointment of chief-editors for state-run papers by the MB-dominated Shura Council. The new editors were seen as under-qualified by some of their peers as — the type that won’t mind bending media coverage to suit MB policies. This approach, which prioritized loyalty over qualification — with an especially maddening rate over the last 10 years of Mubarak’s rule —crushed the intellectual weight of many state publishing houses.

    The pro-reform journalists inside these institutions were hoping for a fundamental change that would guarantee editorial independence, a reverse of tack towards professional standards, and a purge of corruption.

    The second type of so called change pours into the most popular concern: the Islamization of the state and the Brotherhood domination of its institutions and arms. This is most evident in the latest appointment of 10 governors, six of which are affiliated with the MB.

    The third kind of change is directly aimed at keeping allies — and some opposition — happy. Like in the previous types, qualification isn’t a priority, but is rather completely sacrificed here. As with the case of the Supreme Press Council and the National Council for Human Rights, the new appointments saw big and famous names, some of who are not remotely related to these fields. The young spokesperson of the Salafi al-Nour Party turned down a seat on the press council following a wave of criticism. Notorious Islamic preacher Safwat Hegazy remains on the new Human Rights Council, even though activists have voiced even more scathing criticisms of his appointment.

  • Mapping the ‘Civilian’ Generals of Egypt
    http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/labyrinth/mapping-%E2%80%98civilian%E2%80%99-generals-egypt

    A new crowd-sourced map of Egypt brimming with military berets reflects the geographical distribution of generals holding top posts in a variety of public sector fields.
    http://el3askarmap.kazeboon.com

    Upon clicking on the beret-clad caricatures, a box pops up revealing the name, rank, current civilian post and sometimes a picture too.

    The aim is to expose the militarization of Egypt that runs deeper than the control of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has ruled the country since February 2011.

  • «Egyptian junta installs Islamist Mursi as figurehead president»

    http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jun2012/egyp-j25.shtml

    By Barry Grey 25 June 2012

    Egypt’s Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission on Sunday declared Mohamed Mursi, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) candidate, the winner of the presidential election runoff held the week before in the midst of a political coup carried out by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).

    The announcement followed a three-day delay during which tens of thousands of people, mostly MB supporters, thronged Cairo’s Tahrir Square to denounce the military’s assumption of dictatorial powers and the threat that the SCAF would falsify the election results and hand the presidency to its favored candidate, former Air Force chief Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak.

  • Grande menace sur la révolution égyptienne

    « The Egyptian coup »

    http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jun2012/pers-j16.shtml

    16 June 2012

    The military coup carried out by the ruling military junta before the run-off of the Egyptian presidential election is a serious threat to the Egyptian revolution and to the working class.

    It has exposed the “democratic transition” promoted by the junta as a fraud. With the support of its imperialist allies in the US and Europe, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has eliminated all the institutions it initially created to give the illusion of a transition to democracy.

    After the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) found the parliamentary electoral law unconstitutional on Thursday, SCAF dissolved the Islamist-dominated parliament. The junta tightened security in Cairo, and police and military forces took over the parliament on Friday, barring MPs from entering the building.

  • Muslim Brotherhood Opposed Women’s Council Reform
    http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/muslim-brotherhood-opposed-women’s-council-reform

    It was perhaps the first time that the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, has firmly stood up to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).

    The reasons for this change in tone were not that the SCAF was ignoring popular demands to accelerate the transfer of power. Nor were the Muslim Brotherhood motivated by the handling of the investigation into the Port Said football massacre. It was not even over SCAF chief Mohamed Hussein Tantawi’s refusal to appear before parliament.

    The FJP is angry about a SCAF decision to restructure the National Council for Women (NCW), in order to boost the effectiveness of the state agency that promotes the participation of women in society and politics.

    The Islamist party’s reaction has brought back fears over the status of women’s rights under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood.

  • Egypt’s new war of information
    http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/589196

    The war of information in Egypt — one that has been at the heart of this revolution since its inception — is escalating.

    On one side, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), and the institutions it rules over, are making twin use of a fully compliant state media apparatus to demonize the protest movement and champion SCAF policies while intensifying a crackdown on dissent, attacking journalists and raiding civil society organizations. On the other, grassroots organizers have taken to the streets to transform public spaces across the country into forums that expose military abuses while continuing to use social media to foster growing discontent against the SCAF and push the boundaries of dissent within established private media outlets. 

    The latest escalation in this long-running media tug of war began last month, during clashes on Qasr al-Aini Street in downtown Cairo between protesters and the military that left at least 17 people dead and hundreds injured, marking the first sustained street battle involving army soldiers since the revolution began.

    During the clashes, military forces assaulted and detained journalists, destroyed and confiscated media equipment and targeted news outlets. While much footage was lost in the army raids, the violent suppression of the protests was nevertheless captured on video and widely broadcast on private television stations and the internet. The notorious image of a young woman being dragged by two soldiers and stomped on by a third, her abaya pulled over her head to expose her stomach and bra, made headlines across the world.

  • In Egypt’s New Uprising, Where Is the Muslim Brotherhood? - WSJ.com
    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204452104577060041404779490.html

    Now few Egyptians believe that the country is ready for the elections that are scheduled to begin on Monday and continue through January, in three regional rounds of voting. There have been rising calls for some sort of delay to let the country catch its breath and perhaps allow for the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF, to cede executive power to an acceptable civilian authority.

    But the Brotherhood has dismissed all talk of a postponement, placing it virtually alone with the SCAF in wishing to hold the elections on time. Indeed, the generals might have considered some sort of delay to appease the protesters if they didn’t fear a massive backlash from the Brotherhood.

    […]

    “The Muslim Brothers really screwed this revolution. They’ve done everything possible to monopolize and hijack the revolution,” said Wael Nawara, a member of the Democratic Front Party. “It’s ridiculous to try to hold elections in this environment. But the Muslim Brothers are saying ’Don’t even think about [a delay].’ They know they’ll never get another chance like this.”

  • 24 morts dans des affrontements entre coptes et forces de l’ordre au Caire | RFI
    http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20111010-24-morts-affrontements-entre-coptes-forces-ordre-caire

    Le bilan est très lourd après les affrontements entre des manifestants coptes et policiers militaires de ce dimanche 9 octobre 2011 : 24 morts dont 17 chrétiens coptes et plus de 200 blessés. Les forces de l’ordre comptent 3 morts dans leurs rangs.

    Les manifestants protestaient pacifiquement contre l’incendie d’une église dans la région d’Assouan, dans le sud du pays.

    Il y avait beaucoup de femmes, des musiciens, des guitares, et soudain, à 18h00, tout a dégénéré. On ne sait pas qui a tiré en premier. L’armée accuse les coptes et les coptes accusent l’armée. Des témoins parlent d’une tierce partie : les tirs seraient venus du quartier informel voisin de Boulak. La situation devient très vite chaotique avec des tirs dans tous les sens. Les blindés de l’armée foncent au milieu de la fusillade. Les accrochages se déplacent dans le centre-ville.

    Sur la place Tahrir, se retrouvent les manifestants coptes d’un côté, les forces de l’ordre de l’autre, et de jeunes musulmans.

    • Témoignage reçu cette nuit par Angry Arab :
      http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/10/report-from-cairo.html

      Alison sent me this from Cairo (I cite with her permission):

      “Tonight is worth telling you about. I went down to Abdel Moneim Riad with a bunch of egyptian friends after hearing the maspiro protest spreading and knowing full well the inflammatory things the SCAF said - that the Copts were attacing the military. We went down to find the old Tahrir protesters throwing rocks back at the thugs on the other side by the Ramses Hilton. This went on for a while till it turned to molotovs and people getting carried away badly hurt. We weren’t completely sure what was happening, and suddenly they stopped attacking. But then when we thought it was over and they had been messing with us in a stupid SCAF [Supreme Council of the Armed Forces] game, suddenly the military attacked. They spread out and chased us down side streets and were arresting people. We made it to a friends house which overlooks the bridge and saw not salafeyyeen but baltagi marching and chanting islameyya islameyya... and the army was among them!!

      Friends tried to give blood at the coptic hostpital on Ramses and they couldn’t get close because the thugs were blocking the door. Army was there but they don’t do anything. Reports of others getting beaten up but hopefully you can talk to people who are there now and were at maspiro. So there you go.

      Now the thugs are beating up people in front of the coptic hospital and setting a fire outside. Lets see how far SCAF goes."

    • Angry Arab – Aljazeera joins the attacks on Qopts
      http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/10/aljazeera-joins-attacks-on-qopts.html

      It is rather expected from the network of the Arab counter-revolution: Aljazeera’s chief correspondent in Cairo is a mere propagandist for the Military Council. The headline of Aljazeera says: “confrontations by Qopts against Egyptian soldiers”. It is more than insidious: it is rather blatant. When an Egyptian guests suggested that maybe the Egyptian government is responsible: the anchor, Khadijah Bin Qannah, interrupted him. But there are security forces who are killed. And the Qopts are reported by our correspondent to be carrying weapons. What irony in her interruptions. Compare its coverage of Egypt with its coverage and Syria.

    • Army and police massacre protesters at Maspero – 3arabawy
      http://www.arabawy.org/2011/10/09/army-and-police-massacre-protesters-at-maspero

      The army and police committed a horrible massacre against peaceful protesters today in Maspero, Cairo. Army vehicles ran over protesters. Live ammunition was used. Extensive rounds of tear gas were fired, and showers of beatings from the military police, the central security forces and plainclothes thugs.

      At least 19 people have been killed, and more than 150 injured. The toll keeps rising.

      The Army also stormed Al-Hurra and 25 January TV stations, and took them off air. The Egyptian state run TV is inciting the public against the “Coptic protesters” and even called on the citizens to take to the streets to “protect the army”!! SCAF is trying to instigate a sectarian civil war.

      The protesters are not only Copts. There are Muslims present in the protests too and are talking active part in resisting the police and the army. There are ongoing battles as I’m writing now. The unifying chants in downtown Cairo is against the army and field marshal Tantawi. Protesters are chanting: “Muslims and Christians… One hand!” and “Death to the Field Marshal.”

  • Was Egypt’s revolution just a military coup? | GlobalPost
    http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/110926/was-egypts-revolution-just-military-coup

    As the so-called Supreme Council of the Armed Forces increasingly cements, and in some cases flaunts, its firm grip on power, the revolution that inspired a region is beginning to look more like an old-fashioned military coup.

    Military trials of Egyptian civilians persist and the military leadership has expanded and extended the 30-year-old, widely criticized Emergency Law once used by Mubarak to justify his authoritarian tactics.