Unrelated protests erupted yesterday in six Egyptian governorates. In Monufiya, 14 doctors staged a protest before the Egyptian Medical Syndicate's office. They were objecting to a decision by the governorate's under-secretary of the Ministry of Health, Hisham Atta, to transfer seven of from Monufiya, and to move seven others to locations far from their residences--despite the fact that they have been nominated for university posts. The protesters said they were preparing for legal action. Although Atta had justified his decision as being necessary for security purposes, the doctors said they have not been subjected to any penal measures since starting their work in March. They threatened to strike inside the governorate department of health's headquarters if the decision is not reversed. Meanwhile, 17 female doctors at the University of Monufiya threatened to take legal action against the head of the pediatrics department, who excluded them from the post-graduate studies enrollment list. In Sharqiya, the nursing department staff in 10th Ramadan City threatened to strike, demanding equality with colleagues in other health departments who have received an allowance worth 120 percent of their salaries. In Alexandria, scores of activists staged a protest vigil in front of the governorate's chamber of commerce, with the slogan "Fighting price increases.” The protesters were encircled by security forces. In Kafr el-Sheikh, 40 workers at a fodder factory in Qellin rallied in front of the governor's office protesting the closure of their factory and the confiscation of its machinery. In Suez, 25 university graduates staged a sit-in protesting their exclusion from its list of recipients of greenhouses. In Minya, 34 workers at the city's sugar factory called on officials to reverse a decision to transfer those workers who have participated in protests. Complaints were sent to the ruling National Democratic Party's head of the policies secretariat, Gamal Mubarak, as well as to the Minister of Manpower and Immigration Aisha Abdel Hady, and the Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohie Eddin. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
