CAIRO: Egypt's Military Judiciary Committee said it had received “hundreds” of reports against member of Parliament Ziad al-Elemy for insulting Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi during Sunday's session in Egypt's lower house. Elemy has been transferred to the Values Committee of parliament for using an Egyptian proverb that the Speaker of Parliament Saad al-Katatny found to be insulting to Tantawi. Tantawi is the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Egypt's ruling authority during the current transitional period. The proverb that Elemy used is translated loosely to “they left the donkey and held on to the saddle,” meaning someone left the core issue and is holding on to small details. This was seen by many, including Katatny, into thinking Elemy called Tantawi a “donkey,” which Islamists MPs and SCAF supporters in Parliament didn't receive well. A source inside the the military judiciary committee told state-run MENA news agency that the reports flooded them accusing Elemy of insulting Tantawi. The Facebook administrator of the SCAF page also expressed anger towards the “donkey” comment, inciting others against Elemy. The page considered it public bashing and called for punishing Elemy. Activists in Egypt discussed the issue with sarcasm, adding that the parliament had ignored an earlier MP when he called Mohamed ElBaradie an “agent and traitor” and others gave him a round of applause. Many Egyptians wondered on social networking sites over the obvious double standards used in that issue and called on MPs to stop attempting to show their support for SCAF the same way that affiliates of the old regime used to do with ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Journalist Belal Fadl wrote on his Twitter account, “Will you investigate with Elemy but when will you investigate with Tantawi for his responsibility for the death and injuries of Egypt's finest youth.” Mohamed Habib, a former Muslim Brotherhood deputy said on the same website questioning the same principle, “in case Elemy is investigated with over this, who will investigate SCAF for the crimes committed and the deaths of many?” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/1f9Ve Tags: Donkey, featured, Parliament, SCAF Section: Egypt, Latest News
