CAIRO: The investigations committee of the People s Assembly filed its final report on Al-Salam 98 ferry that sank two years ago on its way from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, leaving 1,033 passengers dead. The committee found the Ministry of Transport, the Marine Safety institution, the Egyptian rescue unit and the owner and operator of Al-Salam ferries company, Mamdouh Ismail, all guilty. The report was presented to the PA Speaker Fathy Surour, to be discussed in the next parliamentary session, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper. Hafez Abu Seada, director of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), told The Daily Star Egypt that it is not enough to condemn the responsible authorities, both the Egyptian Marine Safety institution and the find and rescue unit should face severe and quick penalties. The investigations, according to Abu Seada, have already revealed that the ferry had made many requests for help to the Egyptian find and rescue unit before it sank. These requests were picked up by Marine Units in Algeria and France and "the Egyptian unit was the last to move to the rescue. The case proves the rampant corruption inside governmental institutions, Abu Seada said. We demand a political investigation because the government is indeed involved in this crisis, he added. However, Abu Seada believes the slow way in which the case is proceeding indicates that the file will be closed soon and not much will be revealed about the government s responsibility in the crisis. According to Al Ahram Weekly newspaper, a Cairo court had previously indicated that Ismail had handed out compensations of LE 300,000 to the families of the dead or missing, and another LE 50,000 to the survivors of the tragic event to deter them from filing a lawsuit against him.
