Bedouin representatives held a conference in the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday at which they protested frequent violations of their rights at the hands of Egyptian police. The event was held amid an intensive security presence across the peninsula. Held in El-Ajra in North Sinai, the conference was organized by the leaders of major tribes from the area, including El-Sawarka and El-Tarabin tribes. The meeting came on the heels of a series of recent clashes in North and Central Sinai between security forces and Bedouin tribesmen. The clashes were largely the result of longstanding disaffection among Bedouin communities in Sinai, members of which accuse police of unlawfully detaining local residents in an effort to force wanted Bedouin fugitives to turn themselves in. “This has been our problem since 2004. We've come to the conclusion that the security apparatus is incapable of dealing with Bedouin tribes and their issues,” Moussa el-Dalah, conference organizer and El-Tarabin tribesman, told Al-Masry Al-Youm. “The police claim they're implementing the rule of law--but then why are they killing our sons and brothers?” In a statement issued at the conference, tribesmen urged the government to remove Bedouin security affairs from the jurisdiction of the police. When asked about a possible alternative, el-Dalah said that Military Intelligence was "better suited" to interact with Bedouin communities. “Military Intelligence is more aware of the needs of tribesmen by virtue of having engaged with them for a long time,” he said. A number of tribesmen failed to attend the conference due to the heavy security presence in the area. “The conference was held not far from where I live, but I found armored vehicles all around the village,” said Abu Tarek, a member of El-Sawarka tribe from the village of Moqattaa. “I tried to avoid checkpoints, but this was impossible. So I stayed home and followed the conference over the phone.” El-Tarabin tribesman Abu Messa'ed, from Wadi el-Amr, was similarly unable to attend the gathering. “I'm wanted by police, so I was too worried to pass through checkpoints--even though I live only seven kilometers away.” At the conference, attendees demanded an end to police control of the area and the arbitrary arrest of local residents. They also demanded that all Bedouin wrongfully held by police be released and that all police responsible for killing Bedouin face trial. They also called for credible investigations into cases in which Bedouin had been convicted in absentia. Tribesmen further demanded stepped-up investment by the government in the development of the region; that priority be given to the people of Sinai in terms of employment by existing businesses in the area; and for an improvement in the way Bedouin are treated by police at checkpoints. “Given the intransigence that our people face from Egyptian security, which regularly violates our right to security, we held this conference to tell the public that we won't relinquish our Bedouin identity,” tribesmen declared in the conference statement. "We won't give up our rights or abandon demands to bring guilty policemen to justice." “The problem must be solved by way of an alternative system,” said el-Dalah. "Civil law doesn't work in a society that has been marginalized from wider Egyptian society." The government has recently accused Bedouin tribesmen of attacking security personnel in the peninsula and of attempting to destroy public property, including strategic pipelines carrying natural gas to Israel, Jordan and Syria. Following a string of terrorist attacks targeting Sinai tourist sites in 2004, 2005 and 2006, Bedouins in the area have expressed deep resentment over the intensive security presence in the region and their sense of alienation from the central government in Cairo.
