Participants at a Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) sponsored conference on Saturday said President Mubarak's regime is tightening its grip on Egypt's political opposition. The government is “restricting freedom of expression to guarantee victory for its ruling party in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections,” the participants charged. Human rights and civil liberties have deteriorated compared to the atmosphere surrounding the 2005 parliamentary elections, the participants said. “The opposition parties have become the tools of the regime,” said CIHRS director Bahi Eddin Hassan. “Even the National Human Rights Council became an advocate of the regime.” The council recently approved a government decision to shut down a number of satellite channels and restrict mobile phone SMS services. Director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Hossam Bahgat, said the satellite stations exposed fraudulence in past elections. “That's why they were closed down,” according to Bahgat. Also at the conference, Palestinian activist Essam Younis said Hamas was not ready for the responsibility that accompanied its rise to power in Gaza in the 2006 elections. With regards to Lebanon, Palestinian Human Rights Organization Chairman Ghassan Abdallah said, “the situation portends another civil war like that of 1976.” Yemeni activist Amal al-Basha said the human rights situation in her country is deteriorating. “We still have slaves in Yemen,” she said. “Some members of parliament have slaves serving them in their homes.” Translated from the Arabic Edition.
