CAIRO: Local government officials met with Bedouin representatives in Central Sinai Monday in further attempts to calm simmering tensions between security forces and residents of the area in the past few weeks. Shootouts had erupted recently between the two sides as a result of security raids on the town of Wadi Amr and surrounding areas in Central Sinai as security forces went in search of Bedouin escapees. The manner of the raids infuriated residents, some of whom locked down the road leading to Al-Oja crossing. At least two people were injured during the shooting. Protests also took place in Wadi Amr last Tuesday after a meeting between the Interior Minister Habib El-Adly and Bedouin representatives in Cairo. Local residents felt that Bedouin concerns had not been addressed during the meeting. Sunday saw a meeting in the North Sinai governorate office take place between NDP MPs, local officials and Bedouin tribal members to discuss the recent events and find ways to address Bedouin grievances. Yet the Bedouin members who attended Sunday's meeting were described as “pro-government sheikhs” who were made to serve as window-dressing in a government-sponsored show of unity. Bedouin spokesman Moussa El-Dilh in Wadi Amr told Daily News Egypt, “Those government sheikhs were there to thank the government for its efforts. Security forces organized the meeting and roped some Bedouin sheikhs into attending.” “And yet even those sheikhs talked about the mistreatment of the Bedouins by the Interior Ministry and the plight of Bedouin detainees,” he added. “This shows that it's a general problem. There are still security harassments in Central Sinai. We are looking for assurances from high-ranking officials that these issues will be resolved.” Bedouins have long complained of mistreatment at the hand of security forces in the area, sensitive due to its proximity to Israel and the blockaded Gaza Strip. The government has often targeted the Bedouins for smuggling offences on the border with both Gaza and Israel. Bedouins have called for development in the area, which is still saddled with poor infrastructure, and the release of almost 1,000 detainees held in detention under the emergency law. El-Dilh said that many Bedouins turned to smuggling as a result of the lack of economic opportunities and mistreatment at the hands of security forces in the area. Sinai Tagammu party member Khalil Jabr Sawarkeh told Daily News Egypt that the entire approach of the government to the Bedouin problem was flawed. “They need to stop treating the Bedouins as merely a security issue. It is not a security issue; we are people living in Egypt, yet we are viewed as outlaws, nothing more,” he said. “Yesterday's meeting was merely a show,” Sawarkeh said, “to say that everything is fine.” Sawarkeh had spoken of the lack of respect police officers showed Bedouins at the checkpoints that litter Sinai, where cursing was commonplace. El-Adly had promised during Tuesday's meeting that Bedouin detainees would be released under the amendments to the emergency law, and five Bedouins were released on Saturday. However, there are concerns that political prisoners and activists will not be amongst those to be released. Sawarkeh said, “Those that were released were taken for extremely minor offences. Prisoners of conscience, such as Yehia Abu Nusseira and Mossad Aboul Fagr, have not been released.” As it stands, a tense standoff remains in Central Sinai, where Bedouins have promised to retaliate to any further security incursions, according to El-Dilh. “The regime cannot communicate with the people, because of the corruption and favoritism. We have a problem that there are no civil liberties. Bedouins cannot and will not acclimatize to oppression and injustice,” Sawarkeh said.
