The authorities appear to be softening their tone towards Sinai's Bedouins following unrest across the peninsula, reports Amirah Ibrahim A change in the official tone vis-à-vis recent clashes between security forces and the Bedouin population of Sinai is being seen by observers as a victory for North Sinai's Bedouins who have succeeded in unifying tribesmen from across the peninsula. In the wake of the confrontations between the police and Bedouin the initial response of the authorities was to denounce the Bedouin as treasonous. They were accused of working for foreign elements and threatened with relocation to unspecified areas. Then the People's Assembly National Security and Defence Committee arrived in Sinai and began a series of meetings with tribal elders. "The Bedouins of Sinai are patriotic Egyptians and heroes of the past and present. They are the nation's guardian eyes," said Farouk Taha, head of the committee. "Those who rioted and attacked policemen are too young to recognise the consequences. They seem not to have considered the honourable tradition of their forebears in serving their home country Egypt." Committee members received a cold welcome by tribesmen when they arrived in Sinai. The 18- member National Security and Defence Committee spent three days in the north and central areas of the peninsula investigating the clashes and discussing Bedouin demands. They met with top security officials in North Sinai and the heads of tribes as well as touring the borders with Gaza and Israel. Mustafa Bakri, a member of the committee, says they gathered information from eyewitnesses and involved officials. "There is no doubt that the heads of tribes are angry at what they see as mistreatment by the security forces of their members but they are not against Egyptian policemen. They are seeking justice for everyone, as we all are," said Bakri. The committee will compile a detailed report on the results of its investigation, including recommendations to defuse tensions. Meanwhile, a delegation consisting of five US Embassy officials, accompanied by senior security officers, visited Rafah to examine border monitoring procedures. No further explanation of the visit has been given by either Egyptian or US officials. Violent clashes broke out in North Sinai on the evening of 11 November after one Bedouin was shot and killed and another injured, when, police claim, they refused to stop at a checkpoint. Angry Bedouins rioted in North and central Sinai, kidnapping more than 80 policemen and seizing weapons. Several Bedouin were killed during the violence and more police troops were ordered to the area. Two days before the committee arrived tribesmen set up an open tent at Al-Agra, close to the EgyptianIsraeli borders, and invited all Bedouin to join in an open peaceful protest. An Egyptian flag was set up before the tent, symbolising the Bedouins' Egyptian identity. The protest developed into a mass public gathering involving leaders from all Sinai's clans. "We demand justice. The police officers who killed our sons and threw them in a rubbish dump are free. Our protest will continue until they are brought to trial," said Salam Ewida, a sheikh of the Tarabin tribe. "For years security troops have been killing Bedouin with impunity. Not once has a police officer been punished." "The police shoot the Bedouins and leave them to die in the desert. In some cases the MFO [Multinational Forces and Observers] have rescued Bedouins. Had the perpetrators of these crimes been brought to justice we might have had a better relationship with the police." The Bedouin have made a number of clear demands, including the immediate release of the Bedouin injured in the shooting incident that sparked the unrest and who tribal elders say has been chained to his bed at Arish hospital despite his serious medical condition. On Saturday, North Sinai court questioned two Bedouins from Tarabin tribe over the violent acts which had taken place two weeks ago. The Bedouins were ordered in custody for four days on accusations of kidnapping policemen and damaging security possessions. Bedouins claim the policemen have arrested 10 people after the clashes. "We call for the immediate release of all Bedouins detained without charges. We also want the police stationed in Sinai to have at least a minimum appreciation of Bedouin culture," said one tribal sheikh. Another demanded "freedom of movement within Sinai without being insulted during police inspections", pointing out that the Bedouin had honourably served Egypt during its battles against Israel, with 75 being awarded medals for valour. In the last two years Bedouins have demonstrated regularly against what they say is systematic mistreatment by the police who routinely carry out arrests in North Sinai, arbitrarily withdraw vehicle licences and search homes without warrants. Following the bombings that took place between 2004 and 2006 in Dahab, Taba and Sharm El-Sheikh, security forces made sweeping arrests, detaining thousands of Bedouin, many for years, without charges or trial and, according to Egyptian and international human rights organisations, regularly torturing prisoners. The Public Committee for Citizens' Rights organised its own demonstration during the People's Assembly committee's a meetings, demanding that the media and Bedouin representatives be admitted. Finally allowed to attend the meetings, the families of Bedouins who had been killed presented a video tape which they said recorded the atrocity. "We demand an independent investigation into conditions in Sinai," explained Ashraf Hefni, secretary of the Public Committee. "We do not trust representatives of either the government or the People's Assembly. We do not even trust our own sheikhs, some of whom have close ties with government officials." "The government refers to us as inhabitants of Sinai, just as Israel refers to the Palestinians as inhabitants of the West Bank. We do not have any right to own the lands where our grandparents were born." Hefni demanded that Mohamed Shosha, North Sinai's governor, apologise for comments made during an Al-Jazeera programme in which he accused the Bedouin of betraying Egypt. Shosha has yet to respond, though in a statement he blamed unrest in Sinai on the absence of political parties and an increase in the numbers of the unemployed.
