Employees of the Tanta Flax and Oils Company staged protests in front of the Egyptian Parliament building in downtown Cairo Monday, while a parliamentary manpower committee met to discuss the issue. A number of flax workers also continued their sit-in--now in its third week--before the Egyptian Council of Ministers' downtown headquarters. Some protesting workers could be seen crying, while others prayed en masse against officials who, they claim, have ignored their demands until now. Protesters also called on President Hosni Mubarak to intervene personally to resolve the impasse. Workers complain that the government sold the public-sector company to a Saudi Arabian investor who subsequently sacked them all without notice. Parliament, meanwhile, witnessed a heated debate over the issue, with Muslim Brotherhood opposition MP Yousri Bayoumi and independent MP Ahmed Shobeir trading insults before engaging in a fistfight. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
