CAIRO: Egyptian Peter Nashaat Matta said a 290-acre piece of agricultural land he owned on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road was taken over by thugs in an act of illegal land appropriation amid the current security vacuum. Matta said the perpetrators fired shots at him and his brother and forced them off the property late last month. With the ongoing security vacuum in Egypt, the country has been witnessing a heightened crime rate since the “Friday of Anger” on Jan. 28, when the police pulled from the streets. Ten days later, the squatters brought in trucks and tractors to dig up pebbles and sand used for construction even though Matta filed a number of complaints. Matta and his brother are pointing the fingers of blame at a specific family, saying they took advantage of the absence of police and sent the thugs, adding that this family has repeatedly offered to buy the piece of land that is known for its valuable resources. Article 8 in the land ownership contracts states that should petroleum, antiquities, stones or other resources be discovered on the land, the owners are obliged to report the find to the concerned authorities. However if they fail to do so, the land can be confiscated by the authorities. “For this reason we didn't try to trade in these resources, it's illegal and we will be jeopardizing our land as it would've been confiscated and we would've been fined and even jailed if we were engaged in such activities, even though many surrounding neighbors have been doing so,” Matta explained. More than 13 days after the hostile takeover and no action has been taken by any of the authorities Matta approached, which include the Sixth of October police station, the Ministry of Defense and the Prosecutor General. Meanwhile, the situation is escalating on the land, as the digging is ruining the irrigation system. The trees and agriculture are also being chopped down. The vandals have asked Matta for a LE 6 million “ransom” to leave the land. A similar incident has plagued a neighboring piece of land owned by Judge Nabil Arafa, who said that neither the police nor the army have taken action against the thugs. “The situation is not just personal but it's a national security issue where the army and police are not in control,” said Matta. “How will investors come to Egypt with this lack of security,” he added, “one of my neighbors is now selling his land and plans to leave to Canada because he is afraid.” When contacted by DNE, a senior police officer at a police station in Heliopolis refused to comment on the case. “People should take additional security measures in this period and on our part we will deal with all the complaints but sometimes there are more urgent cases which we have to take care of first,” he said.
