El Salvador ties EGYPT is considering resuming its diplomatic relations with El Salvador later this year, writes Mahmoud Murad. According to diplomatic sources in New York, head of the diplomatic missions of both Egypt and El Salvador have discussed options for the resumption of diplomatic ties severed by Cairo in the wake of a decision taken by San Salvador to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Sources say Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit has agreed in principle to resume diplomatic relations "once El Salvador rectifies the situation that caused the rupture". The sources added El Salvador has promised to move its diplomatic mission back to Tel Aviv. Abul-Gheit is scheduled to meet the foreign minister of El Salvador in New York in mid-September during UN General Assembly sessions. Should the meeting prove successful, diplomatic sources say, embassies will re-open by the end of this year in preparation for a visit to Egypt by El Salvador President Elias Antonio Saca early next year. Egyptians in Iraq FOREIGN Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit has sent a message to his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari asking for clarification on the fate of dozens of Egyptian citizens who have resided in Iraq for decades and who have recently been reported to be imprisoned in Baghdad. "In view of the absence of Egyptian diplomatic representation in the Iraqi capital we are going through diplomatic channels to investigate the reports and we will do everything we can to ensure the safety and interests of Egyptian citizens in Iraq," Abul-Gheit told reporters. Spokesman for the Iraqi government Laith Koba recently said there were around 80 Egyptians from close to 300 Arab and Islamic citizens being held in Iraqi prisons. Koba did not specify the exact charges but indicated that the Egyptians had been supporting Iraqi militant activities. Egyptian authorities do not have an exact count of the Egyptian expatriate community in Iraq but there are rough estimates ranging from two to three million. Egyptian diplomats who served in Baghdad during the last few decades often complained that a great many Egyptians in Iraq never report themselves to the Egyptian Embassy in Iraq and therefore are not listed. Many, they say, entered Iraq through Jordan and Syria and were married to Iraqis. Egypt reduced its diplomatic representation in Iraq following the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Last month, after the assassination of Egypt's diplomatic mission head in Baghdad Ehab El-Sherif by Islamist militants, Cairo pulled out its diplomatic staff out of the Iraqi capital. No decision on sending a new head of mission has been taken. Egyptian and overall Arab diplomatic representation to Iraq is to be discussed early next month at an Arab foreign ministers meeting on 8 September. Reviving history AT AL-FUSTAT Religious Complex Zone, site of the historical landmarks of Amr Ibn Al-Aas Mosque, the Hanging Church and the Jewish Synagogue of Ben Ezra, Mrs Suzanne Mubarak together with Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni and other high-ranking governmental officials inaugurated on Monday the Traditional Crafts Centre. The newly inaugurated section, which is the second phase of the project initiated in 2001 by Mrs Mubarak, comprises two centres for international mosaic and traditional craft. The third part is expected to house showrooms for craftsmen goods and an added number of workshops. The fourth and last phase will incorporate a museum displaying all kinds of crafts. "It is a very important project that will, in fact, revive Egypt's traditional craft that had long flourished in Egypt's market," Hosni said. He added that this will be implemented through encouraging young craftsmen to learn from their ancestors. Architect Gamal Amer who designed the building said the centre is built according to the domed style embraced by the legendary architect Hassan Fathi "who always stressed harmony in building". The centre, which covers 4,500 square metres with a budget of LE8 million, contains several workshops on carpentry, Arabesque, stained glass and calligraphy. Compensating Sharm SAVINGS bonds with current return, each worth LE50,000 and in the name of every Egyptian killed in the Sharm El-Sheikh blasts last month, have been issued. Minister of Tourism Ahmed El-Maghrabi also ordered compensation for all car and shop owners whose belongings were damaged in the explosions. Each car owner will receive compensation totalling 50 per cent of his car's worth while shop owners will be compensated according to the estimation of the South Sinai Commercial Chamber. The statement was issued based on the recommendations of the committee formed to decide on the best ways to use the money donated by various Egyptian banks. The committee comprised representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, South Sinai Governorate, the South Sinai Commercial Chamber and the Egyptian Union of Tourism Chambers. Archaeological arrest AIRPORT authorities on Monday detained a British man for questioning after they found valuable manuscripts banned from export in his luggage. Jim Douglas is believed to have been trying to board a flight to Paris with 66 Islamic manuscripts when custom officers stopped him for a detailed search of his luggage after an X-ray check of his baggage showed up "strange objects". Antiquities experts called to the airport identified the manuscripts as being from the Islamic era and covered a wide range of topics from medicine to sorcery. The manuscripts also included excerpts from the Gospels written in both Arabic and Coptic. Egyptian law classifies manuscripts more than 100 years old as antiquities. Supporting workers DOZENS of Kifaya Party members gathered in downtown Cairo in a peaceful protest in support of Asbestos workers, reports Salonaz Sami. On Monday, dozens of Kifaya members gathered in front of the famous Groppi restaurant to show their support for 79 laid off workers in the Egyptian Spanish Company for Asbestos Products (Ora-Masr). The workers were fired in September last year and have yet to collect their wages and compensation for occupation- related illnesses. "We gathered here because this restaurant is owned by the billionaire Ahmed Lokma who is the owner of the Ora-Masr asbestos plant," said Kamal Khalil, president of the Centre for Social Studies. "The workers need to feel that someone cares about them. They have been in a sit-in for months now and nothing has happened," Khalil added. Protesters held posters reading, "Where are the rights of the workers?" and "The average wage of one worker is LE300 while plant profits exceed LE300,000 a year". The Ora-Masr factory was among 11 factories shut down last year following the issuance of Decree No 336 on 11 September 2004 by the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade which prohibits the use of asbestos in industrial production for health reasons. Abdel-Latif Ibrahim, head of the union committee at Ora-Masr, attended the protest which chanted slogans such as, "Where are our rights Lokma?" "We have been sleeping on the steps of the Cairo headquarters of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU). We were denied access to bathrooms but we aren't going to give up," Ibrahim told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We have been told over and over not to worry and that we will get our rights soon but nothing happens," he added. MP Hamdeen Sabahi filed a memo to the Ministry of Health requesting the formation of a committee of doctors to examine the workers to prove they had fallen ill due to their direct exposure to asbestos and thus providing them with the necessary medical care and financial compensation. Compiled by Sara Abou Bakr
