Cold reception THIS WEEK'S fact-finding mission by the US Committee for Religious Freedom inspired diverse reactions in official and non-official circles. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit met the committee on Monday evening, but details of the meeting's agenda were absent from the press, since the committee's visit was mostly subjected to a media blackout. Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi and Mufti of the Republic Ali Gomaa also met with the committee. In both meetings, the main topic revolved around the status of Copts. Both Tantawi and Gomaa denied that Copts were persecuted, asserting that both Muslims and Copts enjoyed the same freedoms and rights. The Coptic church, meanwhile, informed the American Embassy and committee members on Monday that Pope Shenuda III would not be able to meet the delegation, citing the Pope's health as the reason. Committee members speculated to the press that the Pope refused to meet them simply because he considered their visit a flagrant interference in Egypt's internal affairs. "We are still hoping to meet him during our visit," said a committee member who declined to reveal his name. The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group declared their opposition to the committee's visit and vowed not to meet any of its members. In the committee's most recent annual report, the brotherhood was listed -- for the first time -- as a persecuted religious group. On this point, prominent Brotherhood figure Akram El-Sha'er said, "we enjoy total freedom. We did not submit any complaints to Congress and did not ask anyone to speak on our behalf." El-Sha'er also wondered why the committee did not visit Israel, which he said had many examples of religious persecution. The committee's one-week visit began last Friday. Although their official programme was not announced, it was expected that the committee would meet human rights activists and visit the village of Kosheh in Sohag, where Muslim-Christian clashes took place several years ago. Hostage freed EGYPTIAN truck driver Mohamed El-Gharabawi, who was held hostage in Baghdad for two weeks, was finally released on Monday. The 42-year-old El-Gharabawi was working for a Saudi Arabian transport company when kidnappers seized him earlier this month, while he was driving a fuel-laden truck from Saudi Arabia to a US military base in Iraq. The assailants shot out his tyres and then commandeered his vehicle. Following his release, El-Gharabawi went to the Egyptian Consulate in Baghdad, where procedures for his return to Egypt are currently underway. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit thanked all the organisations that helped to secure El-Gharabawi's release, including his Saudi Arabian employer, Faisal Al-Nuheit, who promised that his company would end all its activities in Iraq, as demanded by the kidnappers. Abul-Gheit also expressed his hopes that stability and security would be soon restored in Iraq, so that innocent civilians would cease to be subjected to such catastrophic events. Last month, another Egyptian driver named Victor Girguis was released after being held hostage by an Iraqi militant group for more than two weeks. New head for state security INTERIOR Minister Habib El-Adli appointed Major General Hassan Abdel-Rahman as the head of the State Security Investigation Apparatus. Abdel-Rahman replaced Major General Salah Salama, who was recently appointed governor of Kafr El-Sheikh. Before being assigned to the post, Abdel-Rahman was Salama's assistant, which observers said meant that the apparatus's security policies would probably remain unchanged. ...and the CAOA ON SUNDAY, President Hosni Mubarak appointed Safwat El-Nahhas as chairman of the Central Authority for Organisation and Administration (CAOA). It was also decided that the authority -- which is responsible for matters related to government employees' human resources -- would henceforth be affiliated to the prime minister's office. El-Nahhas had previously been the cabinet's secretary-general. Compiled by Mona El-Nahhas
