person:mohamed mursi

Under Sisi, firms owned by Egypt’s military have flourished
▻https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/egypt-economy-military

In the four years since former armed forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi became Egypt’s president, companies owned by the military have gone from strength to strength. Local businessmen and foreign investors are concerned.

By Reuters staff Filed May 16, 2018, 11 a.m. GMT

CAIRO – In a four-decade military career, Osama Abdel Meguid served in the first Gulf War and was an assistant military attaché in the United States.

These days he issues orders from an office that overlooks the Nile, as chairman of the Maadi Co. for Engineering Industries, owned by the Ministry of Military Production.

Maadi was founded in 1954 to manufacture grenade launchers, pistols and machine guns. In recent years the firm, which employs 1,400 people, has begun turning out greenhouses, medical devices, power equipment and gyms. It has plans for four new factories.

“There are so many projects we are working on,” said Abdel Meguid, a 61-year-old engineer, listing orders including a 495 million Egyptian pound ($28 million) project for the Ministry of Electricity and an Algerian agricultural waste recycling contract worth $400,000.

Maadi is one of dozens of military-owned companies that have flourished since Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a former armed forces chief, became president in 2014, a year after leading the military in ousting Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.

The military owns 51 percent of a firm that is developing a new $45 billion capital city 75 km east of Cairo. Another military-owned company is building Egypt’s biggest cement plant. Other business interests range from fish farms to holiday resorts.

In interviews conducted over the course of a year, the chairmen of nine military-owned firms described how their businesses are expanding and discussed their plans for future growth. Figures from the Ministry of Military Production - one of three main bodies that oversee military firms - show that revenues at its firms are rising sharply. The ministry’s figures and the chairmen’s accounts give rare insight into the way the military is growing in economic influence.

Egypte : Sissi signe une nouvelle loi qui donne encore plus de pouvoir aux autorités dans le cadre de « la guerre contre le terrorisme » - Reuters/Daily mail

▻http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-2966496/Egypts-Sisi-issues-decree-widening-scope-security-crackdown.html

CAIRO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has signed off on an anti-terrorism law that gives authorities more sweeping powers to ban groups on charges ranging from harming national unity to disrupting public order.
The move, announced in the official Gazette, is likely to increase concern among human rights groups that the government has rolled back on freedoms gained after the 2011 uprising that ended a three-decade autocracy under Hosni Mubarak.
Authorities have cracked down hard on the Islamist, secular and liberal opposition alike since then army chief Sisi toppled elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.
According to the government’s Gazette, the law enables authorities to act against any individual or group deemed a threat to national security, including people who disrupt public transportation, an apparent reference to protests.
Loose definitions involving threats to national unity may give the police, widely accused of abuses, a green light to crush dissent, human rights groups say.
The Interior Ministry says it investigates all allegations of wrongdoing and is committed to Egypt’s democratic transition.
Under the mechanism of the law, public prosecutors ask a criminal court to list suspects as terrorists and start a trial.
Any group designated as terrorist would be dissolved, the law stipulates. It also allows for the freezing of assets belonging to the group, its members and financiers.
Since taking office in 2014, Sisi has identified Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood as a threat to national security.
He has linked the Brotherhood, the region’s oldest Islamist grouping, with far more radical groups, including one based in Sinai that supports Islamic State, allegations it denies.
Hundreds of supporters of the Brotherhood, which says it is a peaceful movement, have been killed and thousands arrested in one of the toughest security crackdowns in Egypt’s history.
Since Mursi’s fall, Sinai-based militants have killed hundreds of police and soldiers, and the beheading of up to 21 Egyptians in neighbouring Libya prompted Sisi to order airstrikes against militant targets there.
Some Egyptians have overlooked widespread allegations of human rights abuses and backed Sisi for delivering a degree of stability following years of political turmoil triggered by the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

#Egypt sentences 102 Brotherhood supporters to 10 years in prison
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt-sentences-102-brotherhood-supporters-10-years-prison

More than 100 supporters of Egypt’s deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi were sentenced to ten years in jail on Saturday on charges of killing and inciting violence, judicial sources said. The verdicts for the 102 defendants, handed down ahead of a May 26-27 presidential election, relate to deaths that occurred during clashes in Cairo last July between supporters of Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood and security forces. read more

#Egypt_Courts #Muslim_Brotherhood_Egypt #Top_News

US to deliver Apache helicopters to Egypt, relaxing hold on aid | Reuters

▻http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/04/23/usa-egypt-apaches-idINL2N0NF04I20140423

The United States said on Tuesday it will deliver 10 Apache attack helicopters to Egypt, relaxing a partial suspension of aid imposed after Egypt’s military ousted President Mohamed Mursi last year and cracked down violently on protesters.

Egypt deports man lobbying against mass death sentences | Reuters

▻http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/04/us-egypt-deported-idUSBREA330RY20140404

Egyptian authorities deported a rights campaigner hours after he flew in to deliver a petition against death sentences imposed on 529 supporters of deposed president Mohamed Mursi, the man and security officials said on Friday.

The Brotherhood and #Iran: An Islamic alliance against strife?
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/brotherhood-and-iran-islamic-alliance-against-strife

http://english.al-akhbar.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/4cols/leading_images/AMR071R_SYRIA-CRISIS-ISLAMIC_0206_11.jpg

Former Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi (C) attends a meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Iran’s former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, after the opening of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Cairo February 6, 2013.(Photo: Reuters/Egyptian Presidency/Handout) Former Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi (C) attends a meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Iran’s former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, after the opening of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Cairo February 6, 2013.(Photo: Reuters/Egyptian Presidency/Handout)

When the first swallows of the Arab Spring began singing in Tunisia and #Egypt, Iran described the revolutions as an Islamic awakening. "The Arab (...)

#Opinion #Articles #Hamas #Muslim_Brotherhood #Saudi_Arabia #syria #Tehran

#Egypt court outlaws “Hamas activities”
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt-court-outlaws-hamas-activities

An Egyptian court on Tuesday banned all activities of #Hamas in Egypt, a judge said, in another sign that security forces plan to squeeze the Palestinian militant group that runs the neighboring Gaza Strip. Hamas is an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which has been declared a terrorist group by Egypt’s army-backed government and has faced a security crackdown since the military ousted one of its leaders, Mohamed Mursi, from the presidency last July. “The court has ordered the banning of Hamas work and activities in Egypt,” the judge, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters. read more

#Muslim_Brotherhood_Egypt #Top_News

Egypt’s energy quagmire could sink Sisi | Reuters

▻http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/18/us-egypt-energy-analysis-idUSBREA1H0EQ20140218

Sisi, who toppled Islamist leader Mohamed Mursi in July and promised to bring calm to Egypt, is expected soon to stage a triumphal run for the presidency in elections due within months.His first big challenge is likely to be power cuts and fuel shortages - the same issues that plagued Mursi and helped spur mass protests that enabled the army to oust him."Sisi is still very popular, but he realizes that Egyptians can go to Tahrir Square tomorrow if his administration is seen as not being as efficient as promised," said Justin Dargin, a Middle East energy expert at the University of Oxford.

Three killed as clashes erupt in #Egypt
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/18108

http://english.al-akhbar.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/4cols/leading_images/927783-01-08.jpg

Men extinguish a police vehicle on fire on January 3, 2014 after it was torched by protesters using petrol bombs in the upscale Maadi neighborhood of Cairo, following clashes between supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi, police and opponents. (Photo: AFP - Khaled Kamel) Men extinguish a police vehicle on fire on January 3, 2014 after it was torched by protesters using petrol bombs in the upscale Maadi neighborhood of Cairo, following clashes between supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi, police and opponents. (Photo: AFP - Khaled Kamel)

At least three people were killed as supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi clashed with police and opponents in three cities Friday, (...)

#Muslim_Brotherhood #Protests #Top_News

Egypt sends Mursi to trial for international conspiracy - Reuters

▻http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/egypt-sends-mursi-trial-international-conspiracy-031757755.ht

Egypt’s public prosecutor charged former President Mohamed Mursi and 35 other top Islamists on Wednesday with conspiring with foreign groups to commit terrorist acts in Egypt, in a case that could result in their execution.Declaring it “the biggest case of conspiracy in the history of Egypt”, a statement detailed a “terrorist plan” dating back to 2005 and implicating the Palestinian group Hamas, the Shi’ite Islamist government of Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

Egyptian protester killed, as police officers acquitted in torture trial
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egyptian-protester-killed-police-officers-acquitted-torture-trial

One protester was killed in clashes between supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi and security forces at Cairo University on Thursday, medical sources said. Meanwhile, a court acquitted on Thursday three police officers on charges of torturing five Islamist militants who were in their custody during the rule of former president Hosni Mubarak, judicial sources said. The officers were accused of giving electric shocks to the militants, depriving them of food and beating them during their interrogations. read more

#Egypt #Top_News

Hymn to Egypt Army Evokes Love, Anger as Takeover Splits Nation - Bloomberg

▻http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-10/hymn-to-egypt-army-evokes-love-anger-as-takeover-splits-nation.html

One song dominates Egypt’s airwaves, blaring from radios and television sets nationwide. It’s a hymn of praise to the army, which overthrew President Mohamed Mursi three months ago, and the emotions it evokes show how the country remains polarized by that intervention.

#Egypt: Fears of Military Privileges in New Constitution
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt-fears-military-privileges-new-constitution

http://english.al-akhbar.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/4cols/leading_images/254004-01-08.jpg

Egyptian security forces patrol the seafront in the northern coastal city of Alexandria during a demonstration in support to Egypt’s ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and against the military on 20 September 2013. (Photo: AFP - STR) Egyptian security forces patrol the seafront in the northern coastal city of Alexandria during a demonstration in support to Egypt’s ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and against the military on 20 September (...)

#Mideast_&_North_Africa #Articles #Egypt_Constitution #Egyptian_army #Mohamed_Mursi

Why the Muslim Brotherhood Will Not Go Away (I)
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/angry-corner/why-muslim-brotherhood-will-not-go-away-i

Mohamed Mursi and his Guide tried to bend the rules and punish enemies here and there, but in reality Egypt enjoyed one of its freest moments in his history. There is no precedent in the region of a head of state (outside of Lebanon) being mocked and ridiculed as Mursi was mocked and ridiculed during his own era. Mocking Mursi became an Egyptian genre of comedy. But the Brotherhood made a fatal mistake: They struck to the American condition that the military-intelligence apparatus be left alone and that its budget and its management stay outside any democratic control. Well, that same apparatus later struck at the regime and engineered a coup that canceled democracy altogether.

But the Brotherhood were on their way to natural extinction, for the first time in their lives. They could no more play the role of the victim which they perfected as an art form. They were in power and they were expected to clearly and unambiguously define their long-touted “Islamic solution.” They had to present their solution to socioeconomic problems, and they had to show the extent to which they deviated – or did not deviate, as was the case – from the path of Sadat-Mubarak on foreign policy. Public opinion surveys were already documenting a dramatic decline in the standing of the Ikhwan. If the democratic game was left to its own devices, the Ikhwan would have been evicted in the next election, or the one after at most.

But Mursi struck and reversed the fortunes of the Ikhwan. They are now undergoing a crisis, the likes of which they have not experienced since the Nasserist era. But this time, they may reach the logical conclusion that domestic, regional, and international forces would not let them rule democratically no matter what. They may now start resorting to the Baathist model of building support within the army in order to engineer a future coup. Change through a coup is now more popular in Egypt than change through the ballot box.

Bahrain : A Silent Rebellion Marches Without Slogans | Al Akhbar English
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/bahrain-silent-rebellion-marches-without-slogans

Bahrain: A Silent Rebellion Marches Without Slogans
A Bahraini boy flashes the v-sign during the funeral of 10-year-old Ali Jaffer Habib, in the village of Malikiya, on 10 August 2013. (Photo: AFP - Mohammed Al-Shaikh)

By: Ahmad Youssef

Published Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Manama – With the success of the Egyptian Tamarrud, or “Rebellion,” campaign that deposed President Mohamed Mursi last month, Bahraini activists announced a similar campaign against the authoritarian tribal regime ruling the island, proving once more that their movement remains an intricate part of the “Arab Spring” wave of uprisings.

The Bahraini version of Tamarrud is the brainchild of a group of activists based abroad, who want to resume the peaceful protest movement in this small Gulf nation, while accommodating all factions active on the political scene in Bahrain.

Hussein Youssef, activist and official spokesperson for Bahrain’s Tamarrud, has been based in Cairo for more than two years. Speaking to Al-Akhbar, he said that the campaign has received support and pledges of participation from several political and human rights groups, in addition to what he called the active revolutionary factions on the ground, including the February 14 Revolution youth coalition, which has been leading the daily protests and sit-ins for the last two years after the eviction from Pearl Roundabout in March 2011.

Youssef said that it was only natural for the campaign to seek to emulate the success of Egypt’s Tamarrud. However, he said, unlike its Egyptian forerunner, Bahrain’s Tamarrud did not gather signatures for its platform. The activist said that Bahrainis had done away with this mode of action back in 2009, having used it before that since 1994, in petitions calling for the restoration of constitutional life.

Regarding the demands of the campaign, he said, “We want Bahrain to be an independent Arab country, and for the people to be the source of all power. We want a democratic mechanism in place to survey public opinion, and for the people to draft their constitution.”

Early indications suggest the planned protests will consist of silent marches without any chants, slogan, or even flags.
Bahrain’s Tamarrud does not intend to chant “down with Hamad” – in reference to Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. But no one can know for sure exactly what people on the street will do. To be sure, the cry “down with Hamad” was first uttered by the mother of the Bahraini’s uprising first casualty, Ali Mushaima.

Though the February 14 Revolution youth coalition has organized a petition campaign similar to the Egyptian one, this has taken the form of a piece of canvas nearly 230 meters long, displaying signatures from the families of the casualties and detainees endorsing the rebellion. Work is underway to gather signatures in a similar fashion in several towns and villages in Bahrain.

Early indications suggest the planned protests will consist of silent marches without any chants, slogan, or even flags, with the protesters marching on the capital Manama through the major thoroughfares in the country, starting at 3 pm today.

The campaign issued instructions for what it called the first phase of the rebellion. Protesters should march on foot along the specified routes, moving individually and not in groups. They should not chant slogans, raise placards, or display banners. Protesters should avoid friction with the regime and any attempt by regime forces, civilian or military, to provoke participants in the march.

The statement urged supporters to start immediate mobilization for rallies, while encouraging all to participate and live-blog the event on various social media. Tamarrud also called on participants to wait for further instructions for the second and third phases of the rebellion, which the campaign will issue when the peaceful rallies are underway.

Egypt gets $2 bln Saudi payment to fix crumbling finances (archive 21 juillet)

▻http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/21/egypt-saudi-idUSL6N0FR0BV20130721

Egypt’s central bank has received $2 billion in Saudi funds, the latest instalment of a $12 billion Arab aid package to help the new government shore up a crumbling economy after the removal of Islamist Mohamed Mursi as president on July 3.

#ArabieSaoudite #Egypte

Egypt’s president calls a halt to privatizations

▻http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/economy/2013/04/30/Egypt-s-president-calls-a-halt-to-privatizations-.html

Egypt will keep all state-owned firms in public hands, President Mohamed Mursi said in a speech on Tuesday, calling a halt to a flawed privatization program that failed to kick-start the country’s economy.

“There will not be any more selling of the public sector again. That is over,” Mursi said in a speech to metal industry workers in a Cairo suburb during celebrations ahead of Labor Day.

#workers #privatisation

La police égyptienne en grève pour obtenir le départ de son ministre.

Police in Egypt strike, demand they be left ‘out of politics’ - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
▻http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/egypt/2013/03/08/Police-in-Egypt-strike-demand-they-be-left-out-of-politics-.html

AFP, Cairo -
Policemen across Egypt staged a strike on Thursday to demand the resignation of the interior minister, saying they no longer wanted to be used as a political tool, security officials said.
The discontent began weeks ago with isolated pockets of protest, but by Thursday police were on strike in areas of Cairo, Alexandria, the Nile Delta, the Suez Canal provinces, southern provinces and the Sinai peninsula.
Dozens of officers closed the Qasr al-Nil police station in Cairo, demanding the sacking of Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, who they say is working with President Mohamed Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood to use the force in a political battle.
“Leave, Brotherhood minister,” the policemen chanted.
The police want a law to clearly lay down their powers and duties, and have also demanded weapons to deal with ongoing political protests.
In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, hundreds of central security force (CSF) conscripts withdrew from the security headquarters, saying they refused to protect the building any more, state television said.
Hundreds of central security officers are on strike in the Nile Delta province of Daqahliya, with police shutting down several police stations.
“We just want to stay out of politics,” one told a private satellite channel.
“We want to know what the ministry wants. We will not confront the people any more. The protesters are our relatives. We are losing our people and our brothers. My brother is a protester,” the officer said.
The police, particularly the CSF, have been engaged in violent and deadly street clashes with protesters, turning the public even more against an already reviled institution long accused of abuses.
“We want a law to protect us. They tell us to confront the protesters, then when we do we are put in jail,” the officer said.
The interior ministry has been the main apparatus of repression in Egypt for decades, and its heavy-handed tactics were a driving force behind the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Activists have long called for a complete restructuring of the ministry and police.

Ahmadinejad (Iran) rencontre Mursi (Égypte) :
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt-calms-gulf-monarchies-ahmadinejad-historic-egypt-visit

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held talks in Cairo Tuesday with his Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Mursi on the divisive issue of Syria’s war, as he kicked off the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since 1979.

The two leaders held discussions on regional developments and on “how to end the bloodshed in Syria ... without military intervention,” MENA news agency said.

But Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr Tuesday made an effort to reassure Gulf states monarchies that bettering ties with Iran would not be at the expense of Egypt’s relations with the Gulf states.

#Qatar_Leaks: The Business of Foreign Affairs | Al Akhbar English
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/qatar-leaks-business-foreign-affairs

The first one is the minutes of a meeting between Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani and Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi that took place in September 2012, in which they discussed the situation in Syria.

In it, the Qatari prime minister talks of contacting Russia to convince it of abandoning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, offering guarantees from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) that Moscow’s naval base can remain in Syria.

The document also reveals that what Qatar offered Egypt in terms of financial assistance after the revolution is little more than loans with interest in return for giving the Qataris incentives such as investing in Egypt’s steel industry.

The second document is the minutes of a meeting between Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. The meeting took place in mid-March 2011 during the early stages of battle in Libya and the discussion revolves mainly about the situation on the ground there.

As for the third document, it also contains minutes of a meeting, this time between the Qatari Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and foreign minister Davutoğlu.

In it, the foreign minister stresses the importance of not allowing Assad to complete his term in office, which ends in 2014, because he will use it to defeat the opposition.

President Mursi, IMF prepare austerity policies in Egypt - World Socialist Web Site

►http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/01/09/egyp-j09.html

President Mursi, IMF prepare austerity policies in Egypt

By Johannes Stern
9 January 2013

On Monday Egypt’s Islamist government greeted International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials in Cairo to discuss terms of a $4.8 billion loan. President Mohamed Mursi, Prime Minister Hisham Kandil and new Egyptian finance minister Al-Mursi El-Sayed Hegazy met with IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department Director Masood Ahmed.

Both sides announced their commitment to conclude the deal in the coming weeks, and a technical team of the IMF will arrive in Cairo in the coming days. Hegazy, a US-trained economist appointed as finance minister by Mursi in a cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, announced that he was “completely ready to complete discussions” with the IMF.

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.”

«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.