EGYPTIAN Bedouin in the central Sinai Peninsula are calling for the tribal leaders to be elected instead of being appointed by the Ministry of the Interior, with whom the Bedouin have clashes, a Bedouin tribesman said on Wednesday. "We will hold a press conference on Thursday [today] in order to explain the dispute between us [the Bedouin] and the police," said Moussa el-Daleh, a Bedouin leader. He added that the election of the tribal leaders would end some of their disputes with the Interior Ministry. "When elected by the Bedouin, the tribesmen would be loyal to their families and tribes other than any other authority," el-Daleh said. El-Daleh was one of the Bedouin who organised a peaceful protest in central Sinai on Wednesday, against remarks by Governor of North Sinai Murad Mwafi, who allegedly described the Bedouin as "against the law". The protest coincided with a meeting between Bedouin MPs, tribal leaders, highprofile Bedouin and Minister of the Interior Habib elAdly, in a bid to smooth tensions after a surge in clashes between securityforces and tribesmen, but some Bedouin leaders said the meeting had failed. The Bedouin, nomadic Arab tribes of the Sinai, have often had a troubled relationship with the State, which has worsened since theauthorities rounded up hundreds of young Bedouin following explosions at Sinai resorts five years ago. Clashes have become more frequent in recent weeks as the authorities searched for Bedouin fugitives who were sentenced in absentia for weapons possession, smuggling and other charges, including some who escaped in an ambush on a prison vehicle in February. "The private and public interests of the people of Sinai are a major focus of the political leadership of the State," Interior Minister Habib el-Adly said in a statement after meeting the Bedouin delegates in Cairo. The ambitious plan for the developmentof Sinai requires the element of safety in order to give investors the incentive to invest, the statement said, adding that the Government would not compromise in dealing with "criminal elements" in Sinai. Hundreds of Bedouin in Sinai protested after the meeting, driving from village to village in small trucks and SUV's, saying the elders that met el-Adly did not represent them. "The meeting was a failure," said el- Daleh. "Bedouin marched in protest from Amro Valley to other villages to demand improved treatment and the release of detainees," he added. "The elders who met the Interior Minister were appointed by the Government, and do not represent the Bedouin," he added. One delegate at the meeting, who asked not to be identified, said that the meeting was successful. The elders won a promise from the Government that it would free a number of prisoners, he said.
