CAIRO: Following weeks of what labor activists have described as "harassment and "intimidation, the Ministry of Social Solidarity has issued an order to shut down the Helwan headquarters of the Center for Trade Union and Worker Services (CTUWS). The CTUWS is an independent worker's rights organization formed in 1990 by Egyptian industrial workers. The group says it is committed to encouraging the development of unions independent of state control and spreading democratic practices in Egypt, as well as improving working conditions. The government tells a different story. It says the group threatens the welfare of the country by encouraging instability and labor unrest. In the last month, the state has shut two of the organization's branch offices. The first shut down was in Nagaa Hamadi, Qena governorate, on March 29. Two weeks later, the government shut the group's office in the delta town of Mahalla on April 10. Egyptian activists have condemned the order to close the Center's Helwan office, and many have begun a sit-in there in the hopes of deterring police from shutting it down. Several large international human rights organizations have also weighed in, urging President Mubarak to intervene on the group's behalf and allow it to do its work. It is unclear in what capacity the organization would continue to operate if its headquarters was closed. One thing that local rights groups say they are certain of is that the campaign against the CTUWS is a bad sign for the future of Egyptian civil society. They plan to organize to defend the Center. "Human rights organizations have decided to sign on and confront this assault, said the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo) in a statement. "This could start a huge campaign against all civil society organizations and especially human rights groups. Activists from HRInfo and the CTUWS have gathered at the Helwan office and say they will "stand against police attacks by engaging in an ongoing sit-in. They are supported, and in some cases have been joined by, members of an unusually broad range of advocacy groups. While large rights organizations like the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights and the Nadim Center are throwing their weight behind the CTUWS, lesser-known groups like the Egyptian Center for Child Rights and the Egyptian Organization for Improving Community Participation have also joined in. In addition to the sit-in, a delegation from this coalition of civil society groups met with the Minister of Social Solidarity on Tuesday morning to ask for clarification concerning the repeated shutdown of the Center's offices, in particular the role the Ministry has played in the closures. "We tried to meet with the Minister of Social Solidarity, and he told us that closing the Center was not his Ministry's decision, Gamal Eid, the Executive Director of HRInfo, told The Daily Star Egypt. "He said that the CTUWS should register as an NGO under the law, since right now it is registered as a civil company. After the Ministry closed down the CTUWS office in Nagaa Hamadi, they said it was not our decision. After they closed its office in Mahalla, they said it was not our decision. This is the third time they have given us this same answer. Eid says that the human rights organizations will continue their sit-in at the group's Helwan office, and will continue to fight the decision to shut it down. The closure of the Center's offices has attracted attention from abroad as well. New York-based Human Rights Watch released a statement in support of the CTUWS last week, one day after a workers' demonstration in Cairo was suppressed by State Security police. They have urged the government to revoke the orders closing the Center's offices and to respect workers' rights. "Closing the offices of a labor rights group won't end labor unrest, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The government should be upholding legal commitments to Egyptian workers instead of seeking a scapegoat. "Egypt should end its crackdown on the CTUWS and allow its branches to reopen, she added. "The campaign violates Egypt's obligations under international law to uphold the rights to freedom of association, free assembly and expression. These rights need defenders like the CTUWS if they're to be upheld in Egypt. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), based in Geneva, has also expressed its support for the Center. ITUC Secretary General Guy Ryder has sent a letter sent to President Mubarak and Minister of the Interior Habib El-Adly, asking them to allow the CTUWS to operate freely. "Mr. President, wrote Ryder, "Egypt is a leader in the Arab world and your Government can be a role model in the Arab world as a protector of the right to freedom of association and other fundamental human rights, including freedom of assembly and expression. The right for the CTUWS to freely conduct its work to protect and advocate for workers rights is something that the Egyptian government should be eager to protect and could legitimately be proud of. "On behalf of the ITUC, I urge you to issue instructions to the relevant governmental bodies to rescind the restrictions and other measures imposed on the CTUWS, as a positive sign of your Government's commitment to international labor and human rights, he added. The crackdown on the CTUWS comes amid a season of labor unrest in Egypt, which began with the high-profile Ghazl El-Mahalla textile strike in December, which involved 27,000 workers. They went on strike to demand their annual bonuses, equivalent to two months' pay, even though their local union representatives opposed the strike and supported the position of the state-run factory's management. The Mahalla strike ended with a compromise, and workers received a 45 day bonus. Still energized from the strike and angry at the position taken by the local union, the Mahalla workers collected 13,000 names on a petition demanding the impeachment of their local representatives. The petition was delivered to the General Federation of Trade Unions in January. If the Federation would not agree to impeach their representatives and hold new elections, the Mahalla workers have threatened to secede from the body and form an independent union. It would be Egypt's first since the President Gamal Abdel Nasser created the General Federation in 1956.
