The bloody confrontations in Sinai between Bedouin tribes and security forces may just be the tip of the iceberg, reports Amirah Ibrahim On Tuesday the People's Assembly Defence and National Security Committee held an emergency session to discuss unrest in Sinai following violent clashes between Bedouin tribesmen and police. Deputy Interior Minister Ibrahim Hammad assured the committee that law is "firmly applied" with North Sinai Governor Mohamed Shosha blaming "the invisible role played by some foreign elements" for the unrest, a remark observers took as a reference to Israel. The problems began on the evening of 11 November after police south of Rafah fired on a Bedouin-owned vehicle that they say ignored orders to stop, killing one man and wounding another. Hundreds of Bedouins gathered in 35 vehicles near the border with Israel to protest against the shooting, firing guns into the air and burning tyres. Then in two separate incidents, one in Madfouna near Rafah, another further south at Wadi Al-Azarek, angry Bedouin briefly kidnapped 25 and 51 policemen respectively, including the senior commander of central security force border checkpoints. The policemen were held at Wadi Al-Omr where they were questioned by Bedouins who later released video footage showing policemen admitting that a Bedouin had been shot by a police officer. Tribal leaders intervened to free the policemen while a delegation of Interior Ministry officials and high-ranking officers held talks with influential Bedouin figures in an attempt to defuse tensions. The policemen, released in a mountainous area close to the Israeli border following mediation by a senior intelligence official, were subsequently taken to hospital where medical sources say they were suffering from bruises, some broken bones and shock. Large numbers of security forces and dozens of armoured vehicles have since been moved to Sinai in an attempt to head off any further confrontations with restive Bedouin tribes following a fragile truce reached less than a week ago and which has already survived a drive-by shooting incident last Thursday, when a policeman was injured at a checkpoint in Al-Matala near the Israeli border. He is in hospital in a stable condition. During clashes in North Sinai police stations were briefly taken by the Bedouins, and guns and ammunition seized. According to sources 72 rifles and 20,000 bullets were taken from a police station in Wadi Al-Azarek as well as night goggles and walkie-talkies. The Bedouin of Sinai, who have tribal links with Bedouin in Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories and Jordan, have long complained of what they say was discrimination by the Egyptian government, while the police accuse them of organising drug and human trafficking to Israel. Following the bombings that took place between 2004 and 2006 in Dahab, Taba and Sharm El-Sheikh security forces made sweeping arrests of thousands of Bedouin, detaining many for years without trial and, according to Egyptian and international human rights organisations, regularly torturing prisoners. In his report to PA committee members, Hammad insisted that the situation in North Sinai was "totally under control and absolutely safe", with security forces applying the law "legally and firmly". He rejected accusations of Bedouin mistreatment or discrimination. "Heads of Bedouin tribes in Sinai have always been of help to the police against criminal and illegal activities in north and central Sinai. They have never been on the side of criminal violations," Hammad stated. He blamed the recent unrest in North Sinai on "some criminal elements which carried out suspected practices and mobilised residents against policemen, propagating rumours about their sons being mistreated. "The criminals are always detained after similar incidents [then released]. These incidents [unrests] are used by them to cover up on drug smuggling, human trafficking." Hammad also denied claims that policemen dumped three Bedouins in a rubbish dump after they were shot. "What was reported about the incident is completely baseless." It was at Wadi Al-Azarek that three Bedouins were killed, two of them from the Tarabin tribe. On Sunday the Tagammu Party held a meeting in Rafah to protest against security abuses against Bedouins. They screened a video showing what is claimed to be the mutilated corpses of the three killed Bedouin at the event. Bedouin tribesmen in North Sinai pledged a "very harsh response" unless the police officers responsible for the three deaths were put on trial. In Sheikh Zwaid, Bedouins from the Tarabin tribe gathered on Friday to mourn their dead and offer condolences to the close relatives. It was the way in which the bodies of the dead had allegedly been treated, said many, that had so outraged Bedouin feelings. Their relatives say they have found them near a rubbish dump a few hours after they had been shot. On Monday, riots moved from northern to southern Sinai, when dozens of Al-Oliqat and Al-Meziena tribesmen gathered 45 kilometres from Ras Sadr city and blocked the route to Sharm El-Sheikh, demanding the release of relatives held on suspicion, but without charge, of drugs and weapons smuggling. They also complained of systematic discrimination by security forces against Bedouins. At a meeting with sheikhs of Bedouin tribes, South Sinai Governor Mohamed Hani Metwali discussed a number of demands by Bedouins "to enhance their crucial role in helping maintain security and stability in the area". Metwali agreed that all Bedouins who have graduated from university be appointed in the tourism industry in Sharm El-Sheikh. In the last two years Bedouins have repeatedly demonstrated against what they claim is systematic mistreatment by the government. They claim that police routinely carry out arrests in North Sinai, arbitrarily withdraw vehicle licences and search homes without warrants. In July the detention of one Bedouin without charge saw hundreds of others burn tyres and block roads in protest. The last major disturbance was in mid- September when hundreds of Bedouins blocked roads around Karm Abu Salem, preventing police patrols and Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) vehicles from travelling between Rafah and Al-Goura. "We demand the immediate release of all Bedouins held without charges, the trial of those who killed and tortured Bedouins, and a new security system to be established that respects tribal culture," says Moussa Abu Fereh, a Bedouin activist. Bedouin demands also highlight the need to tackle unemployment among Bedouins say they, who have seen little benefit from Sinai's booming tourist industry. In his report to the PA committee on Tuesday, the North Sinai governor reviewed what he said were the causes behind the recent unrest. "First is the illegal tunnels used for smuggling in Rafah and their impact on national economy. The high rate of unemployment among the people of central Sinai, mistrust between security forces and the people, the false belief by Bedouins that all land in Sinai is their own property, and certainly the "invisible" role played by some foreign elements, all were factors that have promoted the unrest," Shosha said. He also blamed the absence of public and political party roles in Sinai, as well as government officials for living in coastal cities "far from citizens and their needs". Northern Sinai is one of Egypt's poorest areas and Bedouins say they are shut out of jobs in the lucrative tourism and petroleum sectors. Jobs at the few privately owned factories in the region and posts in state institutions go to workers imported from the Nile Valley as part of an official policy to increase the population of Sinai and "integrate" it with the rest of the country. The 250km Egyptian-Israeli border has become a major transit route for migrants and asylum- seekers, with Bedouin allegedly involved in the trafficking. Dozens of migrants have been arrested in recent months, many of whom report paying $3,000 and more to be smuggled across the border into Israel.
