As hundreds of workers staged sit-ins in several towns in the Sinai Peninsula, and attacks against police units continued unabated, Bedouin tribes started to contribute to national dialogue, Amirah Ibrahim reports The 18 days of protests that overthrew the government have encouraged Egyptian Bedouins in Sinai to join general strikes being staged throughout the country. On Sunday, 700 workers, employed by a company servicing the multinational peace-keeping forces, gathered outside the office of the force in Sharm El-Sheikh and Al-Gorah, demanding a wage increase. The mission of the multinational peace-keeping force is to monitor the application of the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty. On Saturday, the Higher Council of the Armed Forces issued communiqué no. 4 stating it respected all regional and international treaties and agreements. This was in response to doubts over the durability of the peace treaty following the revolution in Egypt which toppled Hosni Mubarak who had maintained peace with Israel for 30 years. Meanwhile, around 300 workers staged strikes in hospitals and mines in North Sinai's Arish, asking for permanent jobs and medical insurance. On Sunday, communiqué no. 5 issued a plea to demonstrators protesting against working conditions to stop holding sit-ins, warning of the impact on the economy and reform plans. Yet on Tuesday, dozens of farmers organised a sit-in at Al-Qantara Sharq to protest against irrigation policies and demanding ownership of the lands they have been cultivating for years. More armed attacks were launched against police forces and units in North Sinai, forcing policemen to call on the Armed Forces to protect them. Reports on Tuesday said that demonstrators had entered and robbed the home of a police commander in the Arish town of Esalam. On Tuesday hundreds of policemen demonstrated outside their headquarters in Arish, Beer Abd, Al-Hosna and Nekhel, holding sit-ins and presenting a list of demands. "We need equal treatment. We risk our lives yet we are hated by the people," stated one policeman. Policemen asked the army to protect them from being attacked, their families being assaulted and houses destroyed by armed gangs. While the security situation in the capital is returning to normalcy gradually, the situation in North Sinai is more complicated. Egypt closed the Rafah crossing in Gaza but several members of the Islamist group Hamas who escaped from Egyptian prisons during the tumult returned to Hamas-run Gaza via tunnels that connect the two sides of Rafah. Israel has declined two requests by Egypt to deploy more troops in Sinai to stem the violence. Limits were placed on the number and type of Egyptian security forces allowed into Sinai under the terms of the peace treaty. Strategic targets and police units came under heavy armed attacks by unknown assailants. The gas pipeline and the headquarters of the central security forces in Arish were detonated by remote control. Armed gangs, allegedly controlled by Palestinian militants, raided central security force units, setting their headquarters on fire. They roamed the cities and villages brandishing their weapons. Bedouins appear more willing to fight the militants if the government announces its readiness to cooperate. "The government must move quickly to understand the people of Sinai. They have important demands including releasing those imprisoned without trial and suspending the state security police units," Sheikh Sobeih Abu Sweilam, of Al-Meziena tribe, said. For years Bedouins have demanded that they be allowed to possess land and that jobs be "Bedouinised" in petroleum companies working in Sinai. Amid the chaos generated by unidentified militants and security policemen unable to protect even themselves, Bedouin tribes in Sinai said they will hold an international press conference on Wednesday. According to Moussa El-Dalh, one of Al-Tarabeen's prominent figures, Sinai Bedouins will form an alliance to protect the peninsula, tourists and strategic government buildings. "We are cooperating fully with the Armed Forces against any intervention. In our community, marital laws, customs and Bedouin traditions play a vital role in preventing chaos," El-Dalh explained. During the unrest that took place following 25 January, the first day of protests, all tribes -- Al-Tarabeen, Al-Tayaha and Al-Ehewat -- coordinated efforts to protect and secure their areas, resulting in efficient security in central Sinai," he added. According to El-Dalh, Bedouin tribes were guarding the Sinai cement factory, Nekhel police station, and the border towns of Al-Ouga and Taba. "The tribes will also form a delegation to negotiate with the Armed Forces over a number of demands related to future political contribution," El-Dalh said. "This must include a revision of the current system of appointing tribe sheikhs by the Interior Ministry. The sheikhs do not represent the Bedouins. They serve only the policemen, not their people. We want to select our sheikhs ourselves."
