Egypt joins Geneva negotiations on Global Plastics Treaty, calls for urgent agreement    Egypt delivers over 30 million health services through public hospitals in H1 2025    Madinet Masr in talks for three land plots in Riyadh as part of Saudi expansion    Egypt's PM tells Palestinian PM that Rafah crossing is working 24/7 for aid    Egypt, Japan discuss economic ties, preparations for TICAD conference    Real Estate Developers urge flexible land pricing, streamlined licensing, and dollar-based transactions    Egypt's Sisi pledges full state support for telecoms, tech investment    EGP inches down vs. USD at Sunday's trading close    EGX launches 1st phone app    Escalation in Gaza, West Bank as Israeli strikes continue amid mounting international criticism    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt, UNDP discuss outcomes of joint projects, future environmental cooperation    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    After Putin summit, Trump says peace deal is best way to end Ukraine war    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Jordan condemns Israeli PM remarks on 'Greater Israel'    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Pressure and release
Published in Al-Ahram Weekly on 06 - 12 - 2007

In the wake of fresh clashes between North Sinai security forces and Bedouin families, relations between locals and the authorities are tense, reports Serene Assir
According to locals, 10 Bedouins imprisoned without trial in October 2004 following terrorist attacks on the Taba Hilton resort and Ras Shitan tourist camp that left 30 dead were released in the early hours 3 December. According to Selim (not his real name) from Mahdiyye area in North Sinai, two of the detainees freed are from the Meneiyi tribe, the remaining eight from the Tarabin.
"We are very happy that they have been released -- it is a great relief," Selim told Al-Ahram Weekly. "It had been some time since the last unfairly imprisoned detainees were freed, and we are glad that the authorities are starting to respond positively again."
There has been no official confirmation of the releases. Indeed, Mohamed Gad, public relations director for the North Sinai governorate, denies the reports.
"It is untrue: when we release prisoners we tell the public," Gad told the Weekly. Yet Selim insists that the reports are true, saying that members of the Meneiyi tribe had been contacted by the detainees as soon as they left prison.
"It is often the case that people know more than bureaucrats," he says.
The detention campaign, described in February 2005 by Human Rights Watch as arbitrary, has provoked bitter resentment among North Sinai's Bedouin families. According to Gad and other government officials, Egyptian state security detained 400 North Sinai residents in connection with the blast. Bedouin families, as well as local and international NGOs, speak of much higher figures -- up to 2,500 shortly after the blast. Since then many have been released, but the figures given out by the government and the Bedouins as to how many remain in detention conflict. According to the governorate there are 270 detainees from North Sinai. The Bedouin say the figure is closer to 1,000.
Tensions have grown recently, and on 1 December Bedouin demonstrators who had gathered in Rafah to demand the release of the remaining detainees clashed with security forces. Both sides were armed.
"After the violence last September which grew out of a disagreement among two tribes and in which the Bedouin were not armed though the police proceeded to dispel them by force we knew not to go to this protest unarmed," said Selim.
During the demonstration, which began calmly but descended into violence when security forces tried to dispel protesters by shooting into the air, a teenager, Ibrahim El-Husseini, was hit in the neck by a bullet. He was transferred to Ismailia for hospital treatment, and according to both Gad and Selim his condition is stable.
Selim does not see these occasional conflicts in North Sinai as an indication of growing tensions; rather, he says, they reflect long-standing difficulties in the relationship between Bedouin families and the state.
"Until parameters are set and the state begins to trust us I don't think things will change much. For now we are happy when there is positive news, such as the release of a family member from jail. Other than that we just get on with our lives," he told the Weekly.
Gad denied any significant problems in the area. "We don't have tension, though there are a few problem groups, some of them funded by the Zionists across the border who still have an interest in the region," he said. Israel occupied Sinai following the 1967 defeat of the Arab armies, withdrawing from the peninsula, except for Taba, by 1982, as stipulated as a pre-condition for signing a peace treaty with Egypt.
Selim denies such accusations. "We would never accept foreign funding, especially not from the enemy," he says. "The state would do better to stop targeting civilians and start searching among those people who really do have a stake in destabilisation, because there are plenty such people in our country. As for us, we just want to live, and to be left alone."


Clic here to read the story from its source.