Egypt votes on constitution

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2012

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Issue No. 2092

by Joel gulhane

A United Nations working group has condemned Egypt’s draft constitution in the area of “equality, non-discrimi-nation and protection and promotion of women’s rights,” and called for a review of the proposed constitution.

In a statement published on Fri-day, the group, which focuses on women’s rights in law and in prac-tice, called on “the Egyptian gov-ernment to abide by commitments made through the ratification of international instruments to which it is party.”

Kamala Chandrakirana, head of the working group, expressed concern that very few women were involved in the drafting the constitution and said, “women’s perspectives were grossly under-represented in the final draft.”

continued on page 4

by hend Kortam

The first day of voting on the con-stitutional referendum was held on Saturday despite calls for its post-ponement.

Voters from the governorates of Cairo, Alexandria, Daqahleya, Qaliubiya, Sharqeya, Assiut, Sohag, Aswan and North and South Sinai headed to their polling stations to cast their votes.

The remaining 17 governorates will vote in the second phase on Sat-urday 22 December.

According to state-run Ahram, there are 7,000 judges overseeing the referendum.

Despite having announced that it would not be supervising the voting process, the Judges Club has set up an operation room to assist the few judges from the club who have de-cided to oversee proceedings.

The National Observatory for the Integrity of the Elections, which is made up of over 15 NGOs, has launched a campaign called Raqeb Ya Masry, which aims to observe and document the referendum. The Shayfenkom movement and the Egyptian Organisation for Hu-man Rights are monitoring the polling stations and documenting violations.

Islam Abdel-Hamid, from a cam-paign called Lazem, helped set up an operation room to observe the ref-erendum in Alexandria. Abdel-Hamid said some polling stations were cha-otic. “Only two people are supposed to go in, but sometimes 10 are allowed in at the same time.”

Reports of cars of campaigners traveling between cities in Assuit and urging people to vote “Yes” have been circulated by activists. Under the rules of Egyptian elec-tions all campaigning must cease 48 hours prior to the vote.

Earlier on Saturday the High Elections Committee urged judges to show their judicial credentials to voters, as doubts surfaced about monitoring procedures. Some

judges took offence to voters ask-ing for their IDs.

Wael Ref’at, a lawyer and spokes-person of the Revolution Youth Coali-tion monitoring the referendum said, “this puts doubts over the whole process.”

North Sinai reporter Nasser Al-Azazy said the situation was very calm, even in the polling stations with a large number of voters. He said there were Islamists on the street

with laptops helping people find their polling stations.

Political groups, mainly the Free-dom and Justice Party and the Na-tional Salvation Front, launched cam-paigns last week to try and sway public opinion.

Egyptians abroad have been voting since Wednesday 12 December.

detailed referendum coverage continued on page 2

by rana Muhammad taha

Swords and knives were brandished as fights between pro and anti-consti-tution demonstrators dragged on for over 12 hours in Alexandria on Friday.

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Mahallawy, popular Islamist preacher, was pre-vented from leaving Al-Qa’ed Ibra-him Mosque while fighting raged outside. Hamdy Khalaf, a lawyer who witnessed parts of the fight, claimed that the protesters who surrounded the mosque intended to hold Al-Mahallawy and his supporters inside until the police came to arrest them.

“They didn’t intend to attack the mosque nor those inside,” Khalaf said. He added that four sheikhs were ar-rested in possession of swords.

Al-Mahallawy was released around 3am Saturday in the presence of the Alexandria Security Director and Nasr Al-Abd, the Alexandria intel-ligence chief, said Mohamed Soudan, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) spokesperson in Alexandria.

Soudan said that almost 150

supporters of Al-Mahallawy, includ-ing women and children, were also trapped in the mosque. He added that police secured the anti-con-stitution demonstrators, whom he accused of being “thugs,” and of at-tacking the mosque and intending to burn it down.

Clashes erupted after the Friday prayer, at which Al-Mahallawy was

leading the worshippers. Anti-con-stitution protesters claimed Al-Ma-hallawy had urged those praying to vote in favour of the draft constitu-tion on Saturday. The Ministry of En-dowments had previously forbidden preachers from influencing voters during sermons.

continued on page 2

by nouran el-behairy

As Egyptians headed to the polling stations to vote on the proposed constitution, constitutional law experts raised questions over the legality of the referendum.

Judges were split over supervis-ing the referendum. The Judges Club refused to oversee the vote, while many judges of the Administrative Prosecution and State Litigation Authority agreed to observe.

Raafat Fouda, constitutional ex-pert and professor of constitutional law at Cairo University said the law requires “complete judicial supervi-sion” over the referendum and that judicial supervision ought to come

from a sitting judge, who issues court rulings.

“This referendum is supervised by members of judicial authorities not sitting judges. This could chal-lenge the legitimacy of the supervi-sion,” Fouda said.

Constitutional expert, Tharwat Badawy said judicial supervision over elections and referendums doesn’t make any sense, and that too much is made of the issue.

“It’s a law that was made by for-mer president Sadat and it’s only applied in Egypt.”

Badawy added that in democra-cies around the world there are permanent, independent commit-tees responsible for supervising elections, for which there is a pro-vision in the new constitution.

Another issue said to challenge the legality of the referendum is the publishing of the constitution in the official state gazette.

“The constitution isn’t published in the official gazette until it passes the referendum. It must be ap-proved by the people before it is published,” Fouda said.

Badawy said the announcement of the referendum was published in the media and that was enough.

“Those who use such reasons to say that the referendum is illegal are disgusting,” he added.

The constitution requires a 50 per cent plus one majority to pass. This is subject to criticism from the opposition as they believe the con-stitution requires consensus.

Badawy defended the rule, say-ing “the 50 per cent +1 rule is the rule of democracy; it represents the opinion of the majority... we can’t have a 100 per cent consensus, and if that was required we would spend our lives in referendums. Countries aren’t built that way.”

Fouda said the whole process of drafting the constitution lacks con-sensus.

“The conditions in which the constitution was issued are false,” he said.

“Members of the Constitu-ent Assembly said some articles passed without consensus inside the Assembly. Houssam El-Ghe-riany [president of the assembly] exercised pressure to pass certain articles.”

“Anyone who doesn’t acknowl-edge that this constitution is tai-lored to fit the Islamists’ standards is a liar,” Fouda said.

egyptian women wait outside a polling station in cairo to cast their votes

anti-Morsy protesters shout at pro-Morsy demonstrators during clashes after friday prayers in alexandria

administration court reviews the case filed against the constituent assembly in october

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Ziad Akl writes:

This constitution is nothing but a big mistake because of how it was written and by whom. How can a constitution be thought about in terms of majority and minority?

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Egypt votes on constitutionVoters from ten goVernorates decide on the draft constitution

alexandria standoff Al-Qa’ed Ibrahim mosque under siege for over 12 hours

is the referendum legal?Suspicions surround judicial supervision of the constitutional referendum and majority vote rule

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UN concern over women’s rights in constitution“Critical review of the draft constitution is still necessary,” say UN experts


2 Daily news egypt SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2012

By Nouran El-Behairy

As people lined up in queues wait-ing to vote on the constitution, de-bates continued on whether to vote “Yes”or “No”.

In Manial area in Cairo, some sta-tions had long queues of voters who had gathered before 8am; while other stations were relatively empty.

“I voted ‘Yes’ because I’m tired of all the protests. I want the country to be stable and this won’t happen without a constitution” said Ahmed, a civil engineer.

“The constitution is distorted by the media. I’ll vote ‘Yes’ because it lim-its the president’s authority, even the prime minister is accountable to the People’s Assembly” said Ahmed Anwar.

Another voter disagreed with Anwar, “this constitution offers the president unprecedented powers and impunity, it creates a new pharaoh” he said.

Nadia Saad, 32, a housewife said, “I salute the Constituent Assembly for their work. This is the best constitu-tion that could ever have been made in Egyptian history.”

Heba Ali, an English teacher com-mented, “I read the constitution four times, took notes and talked to lawyers. I debated with them for five days and my vote is ‘No’. Egypt deserves a better constitution,”

In Nasr City and Heliopolis, almost all stations were crowded with voters, mostly women.

“No. I won’t accept a constitution dictated by the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood. It clearly serves their every interest. This should be named the Brotherhood’s constitu-tion not Egypt’s” said Mariam, 21, a college student.

Omneya, a law student stated, “We all have to vote ‘Yes’. We have to stand against those who are raping girls in Tah-rir, why else would they set up tents?”

Sanaa’, a doorman’s wife in her six-ties, said, “I will definitely vote ‘No’. Look where trusting the Brotherhood has gotten us; they did nothing but work for their personal interests and try to control everything in the country.”

The woman standing behind her agreed, “The only thing Morsy did since he got in power was make our lives harder. Prices are rising; our youth are being killed every day, no

justice, no freedom and all his prom-ises are empty. Nobody trusts him anymore.”

Mohamed Omar, a worker in a ce-ramic factory, said that he read the constitution and he thought it was really good, “there are some con-troversial articles but we elect the People’s Assembly that drafts laws so the power is in our hands.”

Myriam Victor, a mass communi-cation student said she went to the voting station after reading on Twit-ter that Copts were prevented from voting in her area, “there was no such thing, the station was well organised; people were discussing their views on the constitution in groups without any clashes or violations.”

Fatma Abdel Hady, a retired teacher, offered a different view, “here’s how I thought about it, if we voted ‘Yes’ the

majority of people would be angry which will lead to more clashes and blood, but if we voted ‘No’ only the Brotherhood would be angry. That’s why ‘No’ makes more sense to me.”

“This constitution is for today’s youth and future generations; they are already struggling; let’s not add to their hardships in the name of reli-gion” Abdel Hady added.

Hala, 43, a doctor said, “I read the constitution and didn’t understand most of it. I’m unsure and that’s why I’ll vote ‘No’. If you’re not sure you shouldn’t risk the country’s future.”

At the Ain Shams Faculty for Girls, one of the biggest stations in Heliopo-lis, a man was kicked out by voters after he talked to people about how all Muslims should vote “Yes”.

“We’re fed up with people who use religion to persuade people” said Omar Hafez, 37, an engineer.

Youssef, 20, a political science stu-dent said, “You can’t build a country on false bases. I’m ready to wait for as long as it takes to have an accept-able constitution that preserves our rights and defines our duties. This is what we rebelled for and that’s what we will get eventually, no matter what the Brotherhood thinks”.

First Deputy of the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Khairat El-Shater was verbally assaulted by elderly female voters. They chanted against him and kicked him out of the polling stations along with his body-guards.

electoral monitors report referendum violationsNatioNal SalvatioN FroNt aNd other moNitoriNg groupS report violatioNS iN all 10 goverNorateS where votiNg iS takiNg place

alexandria standoff

By Ahmed Aboul Enein

Human rights and civil society organ-isations have reported hundreds of violations in polling stations across the country as Egyptians vote in the referendum on the draft constitution.

In Cairo, the Independent Coalition for Monitoring Elections reported 21 violations by 2pm.

The National Salvation Front, the largest opposition bloc, set up a ref-erendum monitoring control room in the headquarters of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party.

The front released a statement saying it observed violations in all 10 governorates in which the referen-dum was being held Saturday. They released seven violation reports by 3pm, listing a total of 356 violations nationwide.

It released another statement, ac-cusing the Muslim Brotherhood of attempting to rig the referendum results.

“The National Salvation Front’s operations room is extremely wor-ried and upset at the number of viola-tions reported in today’s referendum on the constitution. The size of these violations indicates a clear will to infringe on the will of votes by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to pass the Brotherhood’s constitution,” said the statement.

“We urge all authorities supervis-ing the referendum to assume their responsibilities in order to ensure the fairness of the referendum and we urge the Egyptian people to head to the polls and vote ‘No’ to prevent all attempts to falsify the will of the people.”

NSF spokesperson Khaled Dawoud told Daily News Egypt that although there were indications of attempts to rig the referendum, it was “too early to reach conclusions” regarding their continued participation.

“We are extremely worried over this, but there is a high turnout which shows that we have the power to mo-bilise,” said Dawoud. “The hundreds of thousands that have been protest-ing against this constitution over the past two weeks are now taking to the streets and voting ‘No’.”

The NSF said it faxed all viola-tions it reported to the Supreme Electoral Commission but the com-mission said it had received nothing from the front. The Egyptian Social Democratic Party released a photo-copy of the fax in response.

“We only published the violations we were able to prove, but we are actually receiving reports of 15 viola-tions per minute,” said Dawoud.

Most violations had to do with an absence of judges at polling stations or judges refusing to show proof of identity.

NSF monitors also listed observers of Islamist parties directing voters to vote “Yes” for the constitution.

The Supreme Electoral Com-mission announced the closing of 18 polling stations in the Karmouz area of Alexandria because no judges showed up.

The I Am a Free Egyptian campaign released two reports, listing viola-tions in Alexandria.

Violations mainly consisted of late-ness in opening polling stations to the public, of not having ink to mark vot-

ers’ fingers, or using the wrong kind.Several judges reportedly refused

monitors access to polling stations. They also reportedly directed voters to vote “Yes” or allowed Islamist moni-tors, election officials inside poll sta-tion and campaigners outside to do so.

Many poll stations had incomplete voter registration lists or none at all. Others used unsealed ballot boxes. Reports also indicated that in several polling stations only observers from the Muslim Brotherhood were al-lowed inside.

Some stations did not have any judges while over 50 had yet to open in Dakahlia alone by 2pm. In Cairo, some ballots were not stamped with the state official seal.

There were also reports of ballot stuffing in Cairo and group voting in several governorates. Some boxes were full before voting started in sev-eral stations, including 18 boxes in a Hadayek Al-Qobba station in Cairo.

There was at least one instance in a Cairo polling station where a voter found his name had been signed off in

the registration list despite him not voting yet. Names of dead citizens also appeared on several voter reg-istration lists.

In two Nasr City polling stations in Cairo, a judge reportedly did not allow Christian voters inside.

In front of a Ain Shams polling sta-tion, the Muslim Brotherhood were supposedly seen distributing sugar, oil and tea.

Bodyguards sealed off another Nasr City station as Muslim Brother-hood Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat El-Shater cast his ballot. Also in Nasr City, judges reported to have not checked identification of niqab wear-ing women.

The NSF reports also included several instances where instead of judges, deputy prosecutors or even lawyers were monitoring the refer-endum. In other stations, reporters for privately owned newspapers and television channels were banned from entering.

While most violations were in fa-vour of the “Yes” vote, there was one instance in a Katameya polling station where ballots with “Yes” votes were reportedly changed to “No” votes.

There have been over 1,400 com-plaints filed against individuals accus-ing them of impersonating judges, said Ghada Shahbandar from the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights.

Continued from page 1

“Even if Al-Mahallawy asked people to vote ‘Yes’ during the religious lesson he gives out every Friday after prayer,” Soudan said, “that is not wrong, as long as he didn’t say it during the prayer speech.”

Political activist Ramy Abdel Gelil, who attended the Friday prayer and witnessed the clashes which followed, claimed that Al-Mahallawy urged peo-ple to vote “Yes” during the prayer speech and not the religious lesson.

“Three of the anti-constitution demonstrators were then dragged into the mosque; they were released only after being severely beaten,” Ab-del Gelil said.

Musa Hassan, a political activ-ist, claimed in a video to have been dragged into the mosque by Al-Mahal-lawy supporters. They then claimed he was a Coptic Christian while beating and electrocuting him. Hassan, who is Muslim, alleged that the assault took place in the presence of Al-Mahallawy and that he didn’t try to stop the beat-ing. He was released after Al-Abd per-sonally interfered, he said.

Soudan denied that any of the anti-constitution protesters were beaten, though he admitted that Al-Mahal-lawy’s supporters dragged at least two of them into the mosque.

“The protesters were throwing rocks at Al-Mahallawy from outside the mosque,” Soudan said, “his sup-

porters dragged a couple in to put an end to their attacks.”

The siege on the mosque began soon afterwards. At around 4pm, swordfights occurred between the rival groups. At least two cars, with the Salafi Al-Nour Party badge on them, were wrecked. Al-Nour Party spokesperson Yousri Hammad de-nied the presence of party members within the clashes.

“Bearded people came out of the cars with sticks, Molotov cocktails and swords,” Abdel Gelil said, adding that one of them was spotted carrying an automatic rifle.

Soudan corroborated the arrival of Islamist-oriented people armed with weapons. He said that the group of

about 20 were outnumbered by the some 300 anti-constitution protest-ers, who were also armed.

Soudan claimed that Muslim Brotherhood and FJP members have steered clear of any clashes. He stated that they were only pres-ent to observe and report to their leaders.

“We were in constant contact with Al-Mahallawy who urged us not to in-terfere,” Soudan said.

Hammad claimed that the clashes were a conspiracy aimed at spread-ing violence before the referendum. “There have been calls since Thurs-day night rallying for the attack of Al-Mahallawy,” he said.

Abdel Gelil denied the accusations .

Voters look for their names at a polling station in Cairo

Egyptians line up to vote at a polling station in central Cairo

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Voice of the peopleDiscussing the constitution at polling stations

Questions over expat vote

By Joel Gulhane

Amid claims of voting irregularities the deadline for Egyptians voting abroad in the referendum on the proposed constitution has been extended until 8pm (local time) on Monday.

The announcement came in a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Friday. The ministry said on Saturday that the extension is to allow more time for postal votes.

The referendum for expats began last Wednesday and was scheduled to end Saturday.

The announcement comes after a series of claims of voting irregularities in Kuwait, Australia and Sweden.

Karim Kamal, an Egyptian who voted in Kuwait on Saturday, said, “the voting boxes are transparent so you can see the envelopes inside and when you put your vote into the box it falls irregularly.” He added, “the bottom third of many of the boxes are stacked very neatly and it looks like somebody has placed them there like that.”

Amr Roshdy, spokesperson for the MFA denied rumours of vote rigging on Friday. He said, “false rumours began to circulate several days before the start of the referendum process, including that 200, 000 ballots were printed to rig the referendum in Kuwait.” He pointed out, “it is officially documented that the total number of voters in Kuwait does not exceed 60, 000.”

In Sydney, the consulate general, Ayman Kamel claimed that people

have attempted to vote more than once, according to a statement re-leased by the MFA on Saturday. The statement claims that some voters attempted to vote in person but also sent a postal vote, with some sending more than one. The statement said these people have been referred to the appropriate authorities.

A statement released by the Egyp-tian embassy in Sweden denied accu-sations that the embassy was com-mitting fraud by telephone. The state-ment said, “there is no mass voting and it is naive to claim the existence of the so-called ‘vote by telephone’.” The statement named a man which it believes to have made the claims on social networking sites. The Swedish embassy stated the man is “a liar and is a resident of Cairo, not Sweden.”

These incidents come after the em-bassy in Saudi Arabia was accused of encouraging people to vote in favour of the proposed constitution, which the MFA denied at the time and reaffirmed its denial in the statement on Friday.

A staff member at the embassy in Paris confirmed that people demon-strating against the proposed consti-tution outside the embassy, stalled the referendum process for ten minutes on Wednesday.

Roshdy asserted, “the MFA is an in-stitution owned by all Egyptians and is not biased to any part or political orientation, especially in relation to any electoral process or referendum in order to enable Egyptians abroad to cast their votes and participate in the political process in the country.”

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A witness claims ballot boxes in the Egyptian embassy in Kuwait show signs of vote rigging as they contain neatly stacked voting slips at the bottom


SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2012 Daily news egypt 3

By Hend Kortam ,Rana Muhammad Taha, Fady Salah

The run up to the clashesThe year 2011 started with a

revolution in January, and ended with deadly clashes in December. In between, the country lived through some of its most turbulent times.

When former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February 2011, power was handed over to the Supreme Council of Armed Forces. Under military rule, thousands were arrested and tried in military courts, while violent stand-offs between se-curity forces and protesters were re-peated on a frequent basis.

The clashes between security forc-es and protesters that took place at the Cabinet Office headquarters on 16 December, 2011, were not an iso-lated incident. Soon to be known as the Cabinet Office clashes, it would result in four months of violence.

Fighting started outside the Israeli Embassy in September, then in Oc-tober outside Maspero (which hosts state-run television) and in Mohamed Mahmoud Street in November.

After protesters were violently dispersed in the Mohamed Mahmoud street clashes, amid a death toll in the dozens and with hundreds others in-jured, a group of protesters decided to start a sit-in by the Cabinet build-ing, located in Al-Qasr Al-Aini Street, just off Tahrir Square.

Protesters chose to hold their sit-in by the Cabinet Offices in opposition to the appointment of Prime Minister Kamal Al-Ghanzoury in place of Essam Sharaf. Al-Ganzoury was appointed days after Sharaf resigned, in the midst of the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes.

The Cabinet clashesFor weeks, the sit-in was peaceful,

except for the death of one protes-tor, Ahmed Sorour, who was hit by a Central Security Forces’ vehicle. Po-lice claimed his death was an accident.

The clashes on 16 December started when one of the protesters, Aboudy Ibrahim, was apprehended for almost an hour and severely beat-en by security forces.

Ahmed Doma, famous revolution-ary activist and poet, said he was one of the organisers of the sit-in. He added that he was not present in the cabi-net area before the incident started. At the time, he was buying food and other items for the protesters when he received a phone call saying that military forces had kidnapped Ibrahim.

“The military knows Aboudy very well, as he had always led protests against their rule,” Doma said.

According to Doma, protesters caught a military investigation officer who had infiltrated the sit-in, trying to get information about the protest-ers and their activities. He added that the officer was caught a few minutes before Ibrahim was kidnapped.

The revolutionary poet claimed that military personnel tried to con-vince protesters to exchange Ibrahim for the captured military officer. How-ever, the protesters refused.

“A few minutes later, a body was thrown out of the People’s Assembly gate. We checked the body to find out that it was Aboudy, who was beaten until blood covered his whole body,” Doma said.

A video of Ibrahim shows his face bruised, swollen and bleeding from the beating.

Earlier Ibrahim had approached an army officer, asking for his ID, explain-ing that he had heard security forces in the area were kidnapping people. The officer made a phone call and security forces showed up shortly afterwards from inside the People’s Assembly, close to the Cabinet Office headquarters.

“Yes, it is I, who has been kidnap-ping people,” the officer said, before beating Ibrahim on the head with the back of his gun. Ibrahim was then ap-prehended and beaten further.

Doma stated that the protesters were furious after seeing what hap-pened to Ibrahim and they started to insult military officers, before the situ-ation turned bloody.

“Military officers located on the top of the Cabinet Office and People’s Assembly buildings started to throw rocks and marble bricks on us, result-ing in many injuries and deaths among the protesters,” Doma said.

PM Al-Ganzoury, however, claimed the clashes started for a different rea-son. His Cabinet released a statement explaining that the protesters were playing football when the ball ended up inside the Cabinet Office building. “One of the protestors tried to re-trieve it from inside, but it seems he was badly treated,” the statement read.

The armed forces statement in re-sponse to the clashes declared, “[Do we not] have the right to defend the property of the Egyptian people, which we swore we would defend?”

Al-Ganzoury condemned the pro-testers for throwing stones at the Cabinet Offices. He resorted to the same vague claims used in response to the Maspero and Mohamed Mah-moud clashes; groups acting against the interests of the country were somehow involved.

The ensuing clashes between the army and protesters after Ibrahim was released, left at least 17 people dead and hundreds more injured. The clashes started in the early hours of Friday 16 December and continued for several days.

Testimonies of brutalityDoma claimed that during the clashes

officers sprayed protesters with teargas and burnt protesters’ tents. He added, “This violent attack led us to withdraw to Al-Qasr Al-Aini Street, where we left the field hospital behind us.”

According to Doma, protesters tried to notify military officers not to attack the hospital. Instead of retreating, offi-cers directed the teargas towards the area of the hospital; aware of the pres-ence of injured protesters inside.

Mostafa Abdel Dayem, a protester who received a gunshot wound in his spinal cord, said he was shot by a military officer while he tried to protect other injured protesters on 16 December. Abdel Dayem said he was transferred to Al-Helal hospital and then to Al-Qasr Al-Aini hospital, adding that both hospi-tals couldn’t treat his case.

Abdel Dayem is now undergoing treatment at the New Teaching Al-Qasr

Al-Aini hospital, suffering from paralysis.Mohamed El-Menyawy, another

protester, was injured in the head after being hit with a marble brick on the night of 17 December. “I was knocked out after being hit and woke to find myself in the field hospital. There were no tools available to treat me there, so I was transferred to Al-Qasr Al-Aini hospital,” he said.

El-Menyawy asserted that he was treated inhumanely by the Al-Qasr Al-Aini administration, who left him bleeding for two hours before a doctor came to see him. “I had 13 stitches in my head, and I paid for my treatment.”

“We don’t want money, we only want to be treated as humans,” stated El-Menyawy.

Fahd Ibrahim, student of architec-ture and revolutionary activist, said military forces wearing black t-shirts threw rocks and large marble bricks from the top of the Cabinet Office and People’s Assembly buildings.

He added that protesters did not have Molotov cocktails to begin with, explaining they created them dur-ing the clashes in retaliation to the violent attacks by military personnel. “Protesters hid behind a wall and prepared a Molotov cocktail, while we tried to throw rocks at the mili-tary officers. Nothing reached them because they were standing on top of the tall buildings.”

Ibrahim said military officers on the Cabinet Office ground floor fired bird-shots and live ammunition at protest-ers. He added that his leg was broken when a large marble brick fell on him.

“At that same moment, another protester was shot behind me and we were both carried to the field hospital. I left the hospital limping, while he left it in his shroud,” he said.

On 20 December, the armed forces released another statement calling for calm in order to identify the hired “thugs” behind the destruction and vandalism. The next day, the military released yet another statement assert-ing the right of the Egyptian people to peaceful protest without causing harm to public or private institutions. The army warned of a conspiracy against the country and called on protesters to be cautious and make sure that those “elements who are not trusted” do not infiltrate protests.

The girl in the blue braIf Egypt remembers mid-Decem-

ber 2011 as the “Cabinet clashes”, internationally it’s often recalled as “the blue-bra incident”. The shocking photo which made it to international, before national, front pages warned that the Egyptian revolution could be taking a drastically different turn.

The anonymous, veiled girl whose ‘abaya’ was ripped open as soldiers dragged her out of the square was per-haps the most scandalous attack on a woman seen during the Cabinet clash-es, but it was by far not the only one.

Political activist Hend Nafe’ was also beaten and had her veil and clothes ripped off by a gang of over 20 soldiers, she stated in a video filmed while she was recovering in hospital. She claimed to have been, along with nine other women, dragged to a room within the Shura Council building, where they were tortured by way of sexual assault, beating and electrocu-tion. Nafe’ is now a founding member of an anti-torture campaign entitled “Nation without Torture”.

Another female victim was doctor and blogger, Farida Al-Hessy, who head-ed to the makeshift hospital in Al-Qasr Al-Aini street on 17 December, in order to help those injured during the previ-ous day’s clashes. Caught up in a stam-pede where protesters were chased by army soldiers, Al-Hessy found herself on the ground, being viciously attacked by army batons. Human rights activist Nour Ayman Nour, who happened to be present during the fighting, tried to shield her from the soldiers’ beatings, only to be beaten up himself. Al-Hessy was then dragged by her hair into the Peoples’ Assembly building, where one soldier slapped, cursed and threatened her with sexual assault.

Perhaps what was most shocking, however, was the reaction of some public figures’ to the attacks. Islamist preacher Khaled Abdallah’s promi-nence spiked as he sarcastically made fun of Mohamed ElBaradie’s criticism of the armed forces’ attack on ‘the girl in the blue bra’, cynically referring to him as “the believer”. While political pundit Tawfiq Okasha, declared that the girl got what she deserved for wearing such an obscene outfit without an undershirt. “Who would wear an ‘abaya’, com-mando, in this freezing cold unless she’s

hot with liquor?” delivered Okasha without flinching. In fact, a large number of people at the time believed that the whole “blue bra incident” was a set-up, whereby revolutionaries wearing army outfits staged an assault on a female fellow-revolutionary in order to taint the armed forces.

Regardless, Egypt’s women didn’t cease taking to the square during the protests. Women’s marches, most no-tably one which started from Tahrir Square on 20 December, in the streets of downtown, where women chanted not only for their freedom, but also for their dignity.

Following the claims of abuse on fe-male protesters, the armed forces re-leased a statement saying, “the armed forces express their deepest regrets to the women of Egypt for the viola-tions that happened….” The military claimed that all legal procedures had been taken to punish the violators.

Fire at the Scientific CompoundOn 17 December, the Scientific

Compound, a building over 200 years old, containing thousands of rare books and documents, was set alight. The fire destroyed almost ev-erything. The building, which lies on Al-Qasr Al-Ainy Street, contained around 200,000 books including very rare documents, with some dating back to the 1700s. It cost of millions of Egyptian pounds to be renovated and re-opened in October 2012 with a collection of around 25,000 books.

Among those accused of burning it down were a number of minors. Adel Omara, former Deputy Defence Minister and member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), appeared in a press conference on 19 December where videos were shown of minors confessing to receiving money in order to spread violence and burn the compound.

Among those accused of funding the minors were Mohamed Hashem, owner of Merit Publishing house, and 6 April member Sherif Al-Rouby. News reports later showed that some of the minors were arrested before the Cabinet clashes took place; they were in custody at the time. Others later confessed to having been forced by the authorities to give false testimonies about their involvement in the clashes.

Human rights organizations con-demned the shooting and broadcasting of such videos, calling it a grave violation of children’s rights by the SCAF. Article 116 of child’s law (126, year 2008) pun-ishes anybody who distributes or broad-casts any information, data, drawings or pictures revealing the identity of a child subjected to danger or breaching laws.

The Muslim BrotherhoodAfter a day of silence and absence

from the clashes’ zone, the Muslim Brotherhood released their first state-ment on 16 December at midnight. In the statement, the Brotherhood ex-pressed their “shock” at the murder of civilians by the hands of the armed forces. They also suggested that chaos arrives whenever the state is moving towards development, adding that such action is usually an attempt to stall democratic transition of power.

The Brotherhood demanded the continuation of parliamentary elec-tions as well as demanding presiden-tial elections to be held in June 2012 as planned.

The statement was followed with another on 17 December, directly attacking Egyptian media outlets. The Brotherhood claimed that some out-lets were going against the peoples’ wishes and attempting to tarnish the electoral process. They added that the same media outlets used to endorse the elections which took place during former President Hosni Mubarak’s era.

As to the Brotherhood’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the statement released on 16 December didn’t stray too far from the points the Brotherhood addressed. Besides denouncing the clashes, the FJP stated that the clashes were an at-tempt to distract the public from the parliamentary elections. It also warned, in a statement released on 20 Decem-ber, of “treacherous powers inside and outside of Egypt”, which it accused of trying to dissolve the revolution.

Conversely, the party announced its rejection of what some political powers had proposed to resolve the clashes between the army and the revolutionaries. The proposition sug-gested holding the presidential elec-tions before the first anniversary of the revolution on 25 January. At that time, the Brotherhood and its party had not yet announced their intention to run in the presidential elections.

Through it all, neither the Brother-hood nor the party members joined the protesters who contributed to the clashes or the marches which closely followed. Several political and revolutionary powers thus accused the Brotherhood of caring only about their personal interests, embodied in the parliamentary elections, and hav-ing little concern for the interests of the revolution.

The aftermathOn Friday 23 December, a ‘million

man’ protest was held in Tahrir Square. In addition, marches were organised and symbolic funerals were held for martyrs. However, what the Cabinet clashes added to the revolutionary scene was a new strategy of protests. Before then, whenever people wished to voice displeasure with the authori-ties, they would all meet en masse in Tahrir Square. During the Cabinet clashes, however, very few protest-ers remained in the square. Instead, marches to Tahrir Square were held almost daily, coming from different di-rections. This acted as a prelude to a new form of protest which was enact-ed starting 25 January 2012. Protest marches gained momentum as more people would join in every street.

The parliamentary elections re-sumed after the clashes, and the Peo-ple’s Assembly held its first session on 23 January, just days ahead of the anniversary of the 2011 Revolution.

Clashes resumed in Mohamed Mahmoud Street in February 2012, following what came to be known as the Port Said massacre which left over 70 football fans dead.

The beginning of 2012 also saw the widening of a rift between Tahrir Square frequenters and the Muslim Brotherhood, who won the largest share of seats of the People’s Assembly.

Despite power being finally handed over to President Mohamed Morsy’s civilian rule in June 2012, it has be-come clear that even at the end of 2012 the abuses and violations faced by Egyptians are far from over.Protesters face off against the army on Qasr Al-Eini Street

Burned pages of a book lie in the charred remains of the Scienfitic Institute on Qasr Al-Eini Street A protester overcome by teargas is carried off to a field hospital on Mohamed Mahmoud Street

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Cabinet clashesanniversary of the street fighting that left many dead



another mass killing, another debate on Us gun controlWashington (AFP) - The deaths of 20 children in a devastating shooting ram-page at an elementary school in Con-necticut on Friday once again reignited the debate over US gun laws that until now has yielded little change.

After the latest massacre, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, President Barack Obama appeared on television with tears in his eyes to make an emotional plea for “meaning-ful action” in the wake of the latest outrage.

“As a country we have been through this too many times,” Obama said, men-tioning earlier shooting massacres, in Colorado, Oregon and Wisconsin.

Earlier, though, White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to discuss the political fallout, telling re-porters this was a day “to feel enor-mous sympathy for families that are affected.”

But congressman Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat, immediately responded, “if now is not the time to have a seri-ous discussion about gun control and the epidemic of gun violence plaguing our society, I don’t know when is.

“Yet another unstable person has

gotten access to firearms and com-mitted an unspeakable crime against innocent children. We cannot simply accept this as a routine product of modern American life,” he said.

“I am challenging President Obama, the Congress, and the American pub-lic to act on our outrage and, finally, do something about this.”

Obama’s presidency has been marred by several mass killings since 2009, including a 2011 attack on Dem-ocratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a point-blank shot to the head, and a rampage at a Colorado movie theatre in July that left 12 dead.

After a massacre this summer that killed six people at a Sikh temple, the White House rejected the idea of new gun control legislation.

Obama’s position was that the administration would do everything in its power to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and unstable indi-viduals, while protecting Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms.

The constitution’s Second Amend-ment is defended tooth and nail by the US gun lobby, which has been success-

ful in blunting past drives to restrict the sale of high-powered weapons.

To change the laws, Obama needs Congress to act, and so far the Re-publican opposition has blocked all reforms of the federal gun laws, in-

cluding a return of the ban on assault rifles passed under President Bill Clin-ton but which expired in 2004 under former President George W Bush.

The US media has once again re-vived the debate, as it did after the

killings in Aurora, Colorado this sum-mer and earlier this week after three people were killed in a shooting at an Oregon shopping mall.

“Today is not the day to talk about the politics,” USA Today’s Washington

bureau chief Susan Page told Politico. “Is this the tipping point? I don’t know the answer to that.”

“There has got to be some kind of measurable change, some kind of re-action,” said Alex Wagner, an anchor at MSNBC.

“One would hope that there will be some political capital to reform the way in which we handle gun and gun violence in this country.”

But defenders of the Second Amendment are unmoved. Just as af-ter previous killings, they insist that restrictions on the sale of semi-au-tomatic weapons is not the solution.

“There’s a good side of guns and you can’t forget about either,” said Alan Gottlieb, the head of the Second Amendment Foundation, told AFP.

“There was nobody in that school who was allowed to have a firearm to protect themselves or those children. And I find that to be deplorable”

“I’m sure the person who commit-ted this horrible act knew he could go in and do it because no one else could have a gun. He didn’t care about the law because he was going to break it anyway,” he said.

Continued from page 1

Seven women were present in the 100 member Constituent Assem-bly. Five women were among the 85 people who approved the final draft of the constitution.

“Political transitions offer a unique opportunity to address in-equalities of the past,” said Chan-drakirana. She also said, “despite offering unprecedented opportu-nities for progress, political transi-tions can result in regression and bring new forms of discrimination.”

The group “is of the view that critical review of the draft constitu-tion is still necessary.” The experts did acknowledge that the constitu-tion does call for equality for all citizens but they asserted, “it does not include in its substantive pro-visions the guarantee of non-dis-crimination based on sex necessary to give effect to the principle of equality between men and women in the preamble.”

The experts pointed out, “there is no provision that women’s right to equality in the family will be re-spected, protected and fulfilled by the state in accordance with inter-national human rights standards.”

The statement asserted, “human rights mechanisms have empha-sised that violations of women’s right to equality cannot be justified by reliance on religious or cultural tradition.”

The experts expressed concern

over article 4 of the draft constitu-tion which they believe gives the religious institution of Al-Azhar more power. They called on the government to ensure that recom-mendations made by Al-Azhar are “brought into line with the legally binding international instruments Egypt has ratified, including on women’s human rights.”

Chandrakirana called on the gov-ernment to guarantee the partici-pation of women in Egypt’s politi-cal transition and “guarantee their freedom to express their views, to be protected against violence in their political and public activities and have their voices incorporated in public discourse and in shaping the society.”

Women’s rights have been a ma-jor issue during the constitution drafting process. Various groups have condemned the proposed constitution for the lack of provi-sions for ensuring women’s rights.

Polling stations for the refer-endum on the proposed constitu-tion opened on Saturday. Egyptians abroad began voting last Wednesday.

Moscow (AFP) - Russian police Sat-urday arrested several opposition leaders, including well-known blogger Alexei Navalny, as hundreds of people packed a central Moscow square in defiance of an official ban to protest Vladimir Putin’s rule.

Scores of Muscovites, many hold-ing white roses, defied the authorities by turning up at Lubyanka Square, the seat of the FSB security services, de-spite temperatures of -14C and warn-ings that the unsanctioned rally would be broken up.

Navalny, possibly the most char-ismatic figure in the protest move-ment against the Russian president, was detained a day after investigators launched a new criminal probe against him for suspected fraud.

“It’s raving mad. [They] simply snatched me from the crowd,” Na-valny tweeted from inside a police van.

Besides Navalny, police also ar-rested Sergei Udaltsov, the leader of leftist group the Left Front, and ac-tivists Ilya Yashin and Ksenia Sobchak, the daughter of Putin’s late mentor Anatoly Sobchak.

“Looks like I am a very dangerous criminal,” Sobchak quipped on Twitter.

The prominent figures arrested

all noted on Twitter that the police vans holding them had been equipped with webcams to keep close watch on their behaviour.

Police put the turnout at around 500 people, half of them journalists and bloggers, but an AFP correspondent said the real number of the protesters appeared to be significantly higher.

People laid white lilies, carnations and chrysanthemums at the Solovetsky Stone, a monument to victims of Stalin-era purges adorning the square, as a helicopter hovered overhead.

One hour into the rally, the monu-ment was blanketed by piles of flowers.

“Our authorities are repressive,” one protester, 48-year-old business-man Andrei Genin, told AFP, sporting a white ribbon, the symbol of the op-position movement against Putin.

City authorities had earlier banned an opposition march through the city, and the opposition Coordination Council had urged Russians to simply turn up at Lubyanka Square.

On the eve of the protest, Russian authorities launched a second major investigation against Navalny, accusing the protest leader and his brother Oleg of embezzling 55 million rou-bles ($1.8 million, €1.4 million) from

a trading company.Navalny, who has already been

charged with embezzlement in an earlier case in which he faces up to 10 years in prison, vowed to press ahead with his political activism.

In a separate event, his support-ers convened in the Russian capital to establish a new political party that would represent the interests of mid-dle-class urbanities, the backbone of the anti-Putin protests.

Dubbed “The Popular Alliance”, the party will promote the “middle class and the European choice”, ac-tivist Leonid Volkov told Echo of Mos-cow radio, noting that Navalny himself would not be an official member.

The opposition movement is hop-ing to maintain momentum despite internal divisions between liberals, leftists and nationalists and the au-thorities’ tough crackdown on dis-senters since Putin’s return to the Kremlin in May.

Even supporters admit that the euphoria that marked the first op-position protests that erupted after fraud-tainted parliamentary polls last December has largely died down.

Up to 120,000 people gathered near the Kremlin walls at the peak of the

protests last winter, a huge number for a country that lost its taste for street politics after the turbulent 1990s.

The last major rally, in September, drew around 14,000 people, accord-ing to police, though the opposition argued many more had shown up.

Weeks after his inauguration, Putin signed off on a raft of laws that critics have attacked as a bid to quash dissent.

Scores of activists now face jail time for taking part in a 6 May protest on the eve of Putin’s inauguration and for alleged plans to overthrow the Russian strongman with the help of foreign sponsors.

Ahead of Saturday’s rally, Moscow prosecutors delivered a warning to leading activists, while police urged Russians to refrain from “provoca-tions”.

Smaller rallies were held in several cities across Russia.

Sixty people held a 40-minute march in Tomsk in western Siberia despite temperatures of -35C, a rep-resentative of the Solidarnost (Soli-darity) movement, Ksenia Fadeyeva, told AFP.

Fourteen people marched in the city of Krasnoyarsk in eastern Sibe-ria, police said.

Beirut (AFP) - Syrian troops shelled a besieged town near Damascus and clashed with rebels on the outskirts of the capital on Saturday as the coun-try’s conflict entered its 22nd month, a watchdog and activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Hu-man Rights reported fierce battles as the army sent in reinforcements and tried to storm the town of Daraya on different fronts.

Army artillery gunners were pounding the town, southwest of Da-mascus, the monitoring group said, after activists reported that troops had used rocket launchers and heavy artillery on Friday.

“This is the 28th day the criminal Assad forces have attempted to break into the town,” read a statement from activists in Daraya.

Troops tried to storm the town from several directions, but the Da-raya Martyrs battalion, a unit of the rebel Free Syrian Army, has kept them at bay, the activists said.

Air and artillery bombardments have focused on Daraya and the nearby town of Mudamiyeh in recent weeks, raising fears of a major ground assault.

Daraya “remains isolated from the outside world due to a communica-tions and power cut for the past 37 days. With ongoing fuel cuts, there is an urgent need for supplies to be re-stored as winter sets in,” they said.

Clashes also erupted in the Pales-tinian camp of Yarmuk in the south of

the capital on Saturday between reb-els and troops backed by pro-regime Palestinian fighters, the observatory reported.

The outskirts of Damascus have been at the heart of fighting this month as the regime launches opera-tions to reclaim territory within eight km of the city.

Overnight, the watchdog said, two explosions were heard in the south-ern Qadam neighbourhood, several

mortar rounds hit the Barzeh district in the northeast and army artillery targeted northeastern suburbs.

In northern Syria, fighting broke out around the air force intelligence branch in the Zahraa district of Alep-po city, according to the observatory, which relies on a nationwide network of activists and medics.

And in the southern province of Daraa, where the anti-regime revolt was born 21 months ago, rebels and

troops clashed in the towns of Sheikh Maskin and Izraa, as villages and towns came under army shelling.

The Observatory said 92 people were killed in violence across Syria on Friday, a third of them in and around Damascus.

A total of more than 43,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar Al-Assad’s rule erupted in March 2011, accord-ing to the observatory’s figures.

Free Syrian Army militants aiming fire at a base in Qusayr (File photo)

Heavily armed state troopers leaving the Sandy School in Newtown, Connecticut

Various groups have condemned the proposed constitution for the lack of provisions for ensuring women’s rights.

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orkUn concern over women’s rights in constitution

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syria troops press assault on town near Damascus

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2012 Daily news egypt 5Business

By Hend El-Behary

The heads of the Egyptian chambers of commence are in consensus that whatever the result of the refer-endum, the most important goal is achieving stability for trade to flourish.

“Whatever the result will be, the most important thing is to achieve stability especially, since the economy

is passing through a very hard time,” said the head of Alexandria’s chamber of commerce, Ahmed El-Wakiel.

El-Wakiel added, “we are witness-ing a state of deep polarisation and the only way to reach stability will be through reconciliation.”

Salah Taha, the executive head of the Giza chamber of commerce said, “Stability is the biggest concern

for traders. Many traders have their own comments on the constitution but they all agree on the need for stability.”

Taha continued, “Egyptians should accept the final result of the referen-dum, and not resort to protests and violence which will impact the econ-omy negatively. Whatever the result, it will lead to the dissatisfaction of a

great number of people.” Abdallah Qandil, head of North Si-

nai’s chamber of commerce, said trad-ers are looking forward to a result that can improve their situation.

“The constitution dashed traders’ hopes as it didn’t specify the country’s economic identity, especially when it comes to development and trade,” he said. “The focus on economic identity

is very important since it is the best way for investors learn about the Egyptian economy.

“I will vote against the constitu-tion, however I expect ‘Yes’ will be the result of the referendum, as the crowds of people voting for the ref-erendum seem stronger, especially since they exploit religion to influ-ence the voters.”

Mohamed El-Masry, deputy chairman of the Union of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce said, “we desperately need to achieve stability and without it, we will find ourselves in a huge problem.”

El-Masry added, “the constitution decides the labour relations in society so everyone can be in agreement, which is why it shouldn’t be determined based on the majority.”

By Ahmed Saad

Airline companies have said they are closely monitoring the results of Egypt’s upcoming referendum, and its effect on tourism in Hurgha-da, Sharm El-Sheikh and Taba, con-sidered to be the country’s three primary tourist destinations.

An official at Egypt Air claimed the average number of international flights coming into Egypt over the last two weeks has become consis-tent at 300 per day, a 25 per cent decrease compared to previous weeks.

The official claimed that the number of passengers entering and leaving Egypt per day totalled 30,000; an estimated 5,000 of these

passengers were foreigners.A source at Turkish Airlines

claimed that the number of flights entering Egypt has stabilised, de-spite the political instability in the country.

He added that Turkish airline companies have been forgiving pas-sengers for fees incurred as a re-sult of changing or cancelling their scheduled flight dates.

The number of Turkish tourists who visited Egypt in 2012 totalled 100,000, compared to 60,000 in 2010.

The official went on to say this in-crease may be the result of a drop in ticket prices for flights to Hurgha-da and Sharm El-Sheikh from EGP 1500 to EGP 800.

Mervat El-Alfy, director of British Airways in Egypt, said the number of flights coming from the UK has stabilised, despite the political in-stability.

She further stated that at least one flight leaves daily from the UK to Egypt and that she does not ex-pect that number, or the number of passengers on those flights, to change any time soon.

According to recent statistics from the Ministry of Tourism, air travel is still the primary transpor-tation for tourists, making up 97 per cent of arrivals. Furthermore, 60 per cent of all tourists enter-ing Egypt do so on charter flights, especially those to Aswan, Luxor, Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh.

By Nihal Mounir

Revenues from Egyptian exports in-creased six per cent in November, gain-ing EGP 9.8 billion. This is compared to EGP 9.2 billion in November 2011 and is the second highest monthly increase of its kind this year.

Revenues from exports increased in September by 14 per cent, reaching EGP 11.68 billion, compared to EGP 10.17 in 2011.

Total revenues from exports in 2012 decreased by two per cent, compared to 2011, from EGP 119.88 to EGP 117.09, according to a report by the Public Authority of Monitoring Imports and Exports.

The authority stated that the num-ber of Egyptian exports from January to November was 90 per cent of the country’s targeted goal of EGP 130 bil-lion by the end of the year.

Revenues from furniture exports reached EGP 1.796 billion for 2012, compared to EGP 1.586 billion in 2011. Revenues from furniture ex-ports for the month of November reached EGP 120 million, compared to EGP 88 million in 2011.

Proceeds from exported medical supplies rose to EGP 236 million for November 2012 compared to EGP 182 million for 2011, while revenues from exports in Egypt’s hide industry rose from EGP 54 million in Novem-ber 2011 to EGP 77 million for the same month in 2012.

Hisham Gazar, president of the Leather Export Council, attributed the rise in exports to recent decisions made by the Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Hatem Saleh, aimed at blocking illicit smuggling to foreign markets. This had previously led to an increase in leather headed for local markets, and a decrease in the coun-try’s official exports.

Revenues from agricultural ex-ports from January to November 2012 dropped by EGP 755 to EGP 9.104 billion, compared to EGP 9.824 for the same period in 2011. In No-vember 2012, proceeds reached EGP 755 million, compared to EGP 438 for the same period in 2011.

Industrial exports revenues from January to November 2012 rose to EGP 13.298 compared to EGP 13.197 for the same period in 2011. Income from exports for the month of Novem-ber in 2012 reached EGP 1.254 billion, compared to EGP 1.041 billion in 2011.

Despite a rise in revenues from EGP 332 million to EGP 431 million in yarn and textile exports in November 2012 compared to 2011, exports as a whole from January to November 2012 compared to the same period in 2011 dropped from EGP 4.820 to EGP 4.468 million.

Revenues from chemical exports from January to November com-pared to the same period in 2011 increased from EGP 24.773 to EGP 25.466 billion. Revenues from No-vember exports compared to 2011 exports also rose from EGP 1.168 to EGP 2.168 billion.

Revenues from the export of building supplies from January to November com-pared to the same period in 2011, wit-nessed a sharp drop from EGP 32.097 to EGP 29.924 billion. This came despite an increase in the amount of revenues from from EGP 2.310 to EGP 2.848 million in November exports, compared to the same month in 2011.

According to the report, Libya’s share of Egyptian exports increased the most from January to November compared to the same period in 2011, from EGP 2.552 to EGP 8.137 billion.

Hani Qesis, the president of the Export Council for Chemical Sup-plies, attributed the rise in the number of Egyptian exports headed for Libya to the relative stability of the country since 2011, in addition to recent devel-opment plans to rebuild the country’s infrastructure.

Saudi Arabia had the second larg-est increase in its amount of imported Egyptian goods, reaching EGP 10.858 billion from January to November.

The Turkish market saw a one per cent increase in Egyptian imports from January to November, compared to EGP 6.488 billion to EGP 6.546 billion in the same period in 2011.

The tourism industry took another blow after recent civil unrest

Chambers of commerce: stability is our top priorityHeads of cHambers of commerce empHasise tHe need for stability regardless of referendum’s results

25 per cent drop in flight arrivals since DecemberAirline companies closely monitoring the results of the referendum

november exports revenues total egp 9.8 billionLast month’s exports see a six per cent bump compared to November 2011

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E

Company Turn Over Market Cap.Name 1-Week YTD 12-Mths. Max. Price Min. Price (EGP Mill.) (EGP Mill.)

Commercial Bank COMI Banks 32.97 32.88 1.04% 75.83% 52.22% 34.50 32.46 105.24 3,200,620 20,389.35NSGB NSGB Banks 35.42 35.44 0.28% 74.50% 50.30% 38.01 35.42 1.048 29,587 17,453.14Ezz Steel ESRS Basic Resources 9.44 9.34 14.32% 150.40% 96.63% 9.49 8.23 10.45 1,119,607 4,889.39ELSWEDY ELECTRIC SWDY Industrial Goods and Services and Automobiles 22.00 21.98 6.96% 5.98% -2.05% 22.01 20.34 1.163 52,887 4,883.92MRRIDIVE MOIL Industrial Goods and Services and Automobiles 1.09 1.07 9.18% -11.47% -19.98% 1.09 0.99 8.69 1,314,441 372.74AIC Contracting AIND Financial Services excluding Banks 0.47 0.46 6.98% -11.54% -16.36% 0.48 0.43 3.242 7,026,786 240.58Amer Group Holding AMER Financial Services excluding Banks 0.73 0.72 9.09% 30.91% 10.77% 0.73 0.60 5.85 8,087,145 2,188.58EK Holding EKHO Financial Services excluding Banks 1.15 1.13 7.62% 15.31% 7.62% 1.17 1.07 4.140 593,756 923.22EFG-Hermes HRHO Financial Services excluding Banks 10.62 10.54 6.57% 5.29% 3.84% 10.71 10.01 30.53 2,897,257 4,998.18Pioneers Holding PIOH Financial Services excluding Banks 4.18 4.13 12.23% 86.04% 58.24% 4.22 3.73 5.957 1,441,093 2,010.00Citadel Capital CCAP Financial Services excluding Banks 3.4 3.37 12.33% 32.16% 19.08% 3.42 2.85 12.51 3,715,522 2,144.20Raya Holding RAYA Technology 5.16 5.08 13.65% 45.98% 30.26% 5.20 4.53 10.707 2,109,506 313.41Telecom Egypt ETEL Telecommunications 12.8 12.82 5.08% -2.95% -8.43% 13.00 12.25 15.99 1,247,083 21,884.66Orascom Telecom Media And Technology OTMT Telecommunications 0.54 0.54 8.00% 56.40% 56.40% 0.55 0.51 14.584 27,035,258 2,780.22Orascom Telecom ORTE Telecommunications 3.8 3.79 9.54% 119.28% 119.28% 3.82 3.51 33.27 8,775,571 19,199.23Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals SKPC Chemicals 12.82 12.79 6.05% 7.39% 0.79% 12.99 12.15 3.134 245,095 6,510.00Egyptian Financial and Industrial EFIC Chemicals 9.42 9.30 7.64% 4.38% -1.69% 9.48 8.70 3.10 332,836 637.58AMOC AMOC Oil and Gas 73.81 73.90 5.47% 10.40% 6.18% 74.00 71.00 0.920 12,447 6,318.02Juhayna Food Industries JUFO Food and Beverage 6.8 6.69 7.73% 71.54% 58.91% 6.80 6.16 0.50 75,417 4,490.50Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) OCIC Construction and Materials 242.30 243.28 8.91% 20.94% 15.31% 246.90 229.01 19.991 82,173 50,617.42Delta Construction & Rebuilding DCRC Construction and Materials 6.1 6.05 9.80% -21.33% -30.30% 6.21 5.57 1.01 167,635 135.63Modern Co. For Water Proofing WATP Construction and Materials 1.75 1.72 9.55% -25.22% -23.89% 1.76 1.57 1.197 694,902 171.36Palm Hills PHDC Real Estate 2.28 2.23 14.95% 104.59% 79.84% 2.34 1.96 37.26 16,720,379 2,232.92TMG Holding TMGH Real Estate 4.16 4.15 7.79% 40.20% 19.60% 4.20 3.87 18.100 4,361,670 8,419.33National Real Estate Bank NRPD Real Estate 18.75 18.42 9.38% -6.12% -17.18% 18.90 17.05 2.25 121,937 70.32Six of October OCDI Real Estate 18.99 18.76 10.68% 135.38% 85.56% 19.20 17.01 7.186 383,127 1,650.31El Kahera Housing & Development ELKA Real Estate 5.87 5.77 11.39% 48.71% 33.56% 5.87 5.25 1.67 288,975 521.25Arab Cotton Ginning ACGC Personal and Household Products 3.74 3.62 15.29% 71.56% 47.15% 3.75 3.14 14.420 3,988,271 910.97Oriental Weavers ORWE Personal and Household Products 23.2 23.04 9.19% -16.84% -18.07% 23.20 20.55 0.02 740 2,070.00Egyptian Tourism Resorts EGTS Travel & Leisure 1.01 0.99 11.24% 17.86% 5.32% 1.04 0.90 4.142 4,175,176 997.50

Week Performance Volume Trade

Reuters Code

Last Price

SectorClose Price

Returns

Individuals 52.31%

Institutions 47.69%

Trading Value Trading Volume

(EGP Mill.) (EGP Mill.)

Main Market 1,952.789 490.811 94,659

Bonds 341.55 0.302 ـــــNilex 4.460 3.650 969

OTC 350.38 4.921 461

Total 2,649.182 499.684 96,089

Index Value 1-Week Ch. YTD Ch.EGX 30 5,162.94 6.71% 42.53%

EGX 70 463.34 8.35% 11.49%

EGX 100 773.46 7.99% 20.28%

EGX 20 Capped 5,953.78 7.25% 51.67%

Markets Close Open ChangeTotal Listed Stocks 360.284 341.304 5.56%

EGX 30 197.088 184.389 6.89%

EGX 70 60.754 56.694 7.16%

EGX 100 257.842 241.083 6.95%

NILEX 1.042 1.027 1.46%

Markets # of Trades



Main Market 1,952.789 490.811 94,659


OTC 350.38 4.921 461

Total 2,649.182 499.684 96,089


EGX 70 463.34 8.35% 11.49%

EGX 100 773.46 7.99% 20.28%

EGX 20 Capped 5,953.78 7.25% 51.67%


EGX 30 197.088 184.389 6.89%

EGX 70 60.754 56.694 7.16%

EGX 100 257.842 241.083 6.95%

NILEX 1.042 1.027 1.46%

Markets # of Trades



Main Market 1,952.789 490.811 94,659


OTC 350.38 4.921 461

Total 2,649.182 499.684 96,089


EGX 70 463.34 8.35% 11.49%

EGX 100 773.46 7.99% 20.28%

EGX 20 Capped 5,953.78 7.25% 51.67%


EGX 30 197.088 184.389 6.89%

EGX 70 60.754 56.694 7.16%

EGX 100 257.842 241.083 6.95%

NILEX 1.042 1.027 1.46%

Markets # of Trades

Egyptians 69.22%

Arabs 7.02%

Non Arabs 23.76%

Trading value and volume during the week

Last week's EGX30 index performance

Market indices performance

Market capitalization in LE Billion

Investor's activity

Egyptians vs. Foreigners Individuals vs. Instiutions

www.thedailynewsegypt.com commentary6 Daily news egypt SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2012 Disclaimer: Commentaries published

by Daily News Egypt do not reflect the position of the paper, but the independent opinions of their authors.

Politics Editor Sara Abou BakrBusiness Editor Mohamed El-Bahrawi

Arts & Culture Editor Adel Heine

Published by Business News for Press, and Distribution under License from the Supreme

Council of Journalism12 Haroon St., Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

Tel: +202 37486853 | Fax: +202 37486936 [email protected]

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Daily newsegypt

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Chief Editor Saad Zaghloul

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Mohamed AminDo you want to go to heaven?Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper

Amin strongly opposes the constitu-tional referendum and asks voters to vote “No”. He notes how the referen-dum has turned into a religious battle, with Islamists using religious rhetoric to convince voters that the constitu-tion is the only way to achieve stability.

Remembering last year’s consti-tutional referendum, Amin says that if Egyptians had unanimously voted against the constitution, the country would have been spared the current chaos and would enjoy a proper con-stitution today.

The columnist denounces the Constituent Assembly and praises the decision of many judges to boycott overseeing the vote.

What relation does Islamic Shari’a have to the constitution? Egyptians are certainly not against Shari’a, but dragging the constitution into reli-gious debates results only in a mean-ingless mix of religion and politics, Amin believes. While we had a chance to live with the 1971 constitution, po-litical manoeuvres pushed us to par-liamentary elections first.

The writer addresses those who plan to boycott the referendum and

says their passive attitude will drown Egypt. He encourages them to line up and vote against the constitution.

For these reasons I will vote “Yes”Ahmed MansourAl-Watan newspaper

Mansour states he will vote “Yes” in the referendum. He argues that most of those who plan to vote against the constitution have not even read the document. They are rather influenced by the evening talk shows or views of controversial political figures. Man-sour praises the proposed constitu-tion, claiming it grants farmers and the underprivileged better rights. It sup-ports divorced and widowed women and provides the ordinary citizen “all secular rights”.

He asks whether those against the constitution have even read that a de-tainee could not be held more than 12 hours without charge? Do they know that they must be transferred to prosecution within 24 hours ac-cording to the new constitution? The columnist commends the articles that limit the powers of the president and affords more authorities to the prime minister. According to the new consti-tution, the president cannot dismiss the PM without the approval of at

least a third of parliament. Mansour states that the parliament will enjoy more powers to properly monitor the performance of the government, the president and almost all officials in the country. That’s sufficient for a good constitution to pass, in his view.

The constitution of masters and slaves will not pass without forgeryNehad Abul KomsanAl-Watan newspaper

Abul Komsan is against the consti-tution. She dissects the document, which includes 236 articles, claiming it includes specific terms that are tailored against certain individuals. Article 176 has been phrased to sus-pend the female counsellor Tahany Al Gebaly as well as a number of other judges, although she says they have contributed positively to judiciary. Despite the diverse opinions around the constitution, Abul Komsan de-nounces suggestions to change the

wording of Article 2 from “principles” to “rules” of Shari’a.

She chides Islamists for producing an article that suggests the “Arabisa-tion” of all subjects taught in Egyptian schools. If you are not rich enough to enrol your children in an international school or university, your child will hardly be able to read an English book or surf the internet. Abul Komsan be-lieves that the outcome of this consti-tutional article will be that the coming generation will be taught solely in Ara-bic, missing out on modern scientific research and methodology. Thanks to this constitution, Egypt will have poorly educated engineers and doctors failing to push their country forward.

She also censures article 10, which allows the state to protect the norms of the families through “protective groups”. This article denotes the ap-plication of ultra-conservative Islamist thought and the probable formation of committees for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice.

This constitution will return us back to the era of master and slave, she concludes and it will pass through electoral fraud.

The black referendumIbrahim MansourAl-Tahrir newspaperThe persistence of President Mo-hamed Morsy and the Muslim Broth-erhood in proceeding with the con-stitutional referendum as scheduled reflects their desire to return Egypt to village life. Mansour criticises the constitution and the referendum, be-

lieving it will only result in wasting the opportunity afforded by the 25 Janu-ary revolution. Saturday’s referendum means that Egyptians have merely re-placed Mubarak with Morsy. Mansour expects that the president’s inflexibil-ity in forcing through the constitution will mean many citizens will reject it, even if it passes. The Muslim Brother-hood, in the writer’s opinion, are only concerned with their aspiration to dominate the country.

The absence of judicial supervision means the referendum will be marred by a great deal of fraud. Moreover, the Islamists seem unmindful of the num-bers killed or injured in protests, the polarisation of the country, or the frustration of the media and judiciary. The focus on passing the constitu-tion means a total disregard of the demands of the opposition. A consti-tution produced from an illegitimate Constituent Assembly is invalid and unacceptable. It is a black referendum added to the black history of the Mus-lim Brotherhood, Mansour says.

“No” to the constitutionMohamed SalmawiAl- Masry Al- Youm newspaperSaturday was the day when the Muslim Brotherhood drove Egyp-

tians to blindly vote for the consti-tution, Salmawi says. It is a constitu-tion that should be unacceptable to all. It will turn Egypt’s political iden-tity to an Islamist emirate owned by the Muslim Brotherhood. Salmawi believes the constitution is a proj-ect through which the Islamists will punish those who disobey the group’s instructions. The writer en-courages all his readers to stand against the constitution.

He argues that the integrity of the referendum is marred by the absence of judicial monitoring, the split of the vote over two days and the fact it document being voted on was produced by an un-representative Constituent Assembly.

Unlike those that call for a “Yes” vote for stability, the author believes that voting against the constitution will open the door for a more stable future. A new Constituent Assembly would be formed and a well-written constitution could be produced.

The writer reminds Egyptians that the Muslim Brotherhood voted for the March 2011 referen-dum only to support the decision to cancel its constitution. These contradictions suggest Egyptians should not be blindly driven by such a group, he says.

columnists weigh in on referendumAs Egyptians lined up to cast their vote on the constitution Saturday, columnists were divided. Although some argued that voting for the constitution would lead to more stability and would grant citizens more state support, the majority considered the constitution and the referendum unsatisfactory.

It is finally here, the big event the Muslim Brotherhood has been ea-gerly waiting for. The constitutional referendum is finally taking place as this column is being written. There is no question that this referendum is indeed a historic moment that will be remembered. However, while I con-fess to the referendum being a his-toric event, I also believe it is historic for all the wrong reasons.

During the 18 days in Tahrir from 25 January to 11February, the idea of seeing a non-patriarchal democratic constitution being written by Egyp-tians for Egypt was such an inspiring dream. I admit to being one of those who thought about the day such a constitution would be put to refer-endum with a big smile.

But what is historic about this ref-erendum is not how it translates the principles and demands of the revo-lution into constitutional articles for the state to abide by, or how it carries the vision and the spirit of 25 January and delivers it to all Egyptians.

The real historic event is that Egyptians are voting in a referendum over a constitution that spells out political theft, majority domination and lack of equal representation. This referendum is nothing but a state-sponsored celebration of the Muslim Brotherhood’s vision for Egypt.

The constitution written by the Brotherhood, the Salafists and other Islamists is in fact a political and eco-nomic agenda rather than a repre-sentative constitution. The referen-dum is not only historic because it was written by one faction of society, it is historic because the same people who wrote the draft are the same people lobbying for a “Yes” vote, who also happen to be the same people responsible for monitoring and ad-ministering the referendum.

In other words, the constitution and its referendum come from the

Brotherhood, for the Brotherhood and through the Brotherhood. La-dies and Gentlemen, we are defi-nitely watching history.

What is even more ridiculous than the draft constitution is the condi-tions surrounding the referendum. Less than 24 hours ago, a new inci-dent of violence took place in Alex-andria. Nine days ago, similar violent clashes were taking place around the Presidential Palace. Blood was spilled and the ugly face of dogma was blunt-ly staring Egyptians in the eye.

But the violence fueled by the Mus-lim Brotherhood and the president’s polarisation of the public over the con-stitution did not stop Morsy’s adminis-tration from pushing the referendum forward. In fact, instead of trying to dif-fuse tension and limit the possibilities of violence through effective dialogue, Morsy held a dialogue with those who share his vision and gave the military the authority to arrest civilians in de-fence of the referendum.

Civil society organisations that ought to monitor the referendum were put under the authority of Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights. Hossam el-Gheryany who happens to chair the assembly that drafted the constitution also chairs the council. So another historical as-pect of this referendum is the fact that Gheryany’s council will monitor the referendum on the draft written by Gheryany’s assembly, what a man!

In the middle of these tensions, the people who wrote the constitu-tion are not busy in a dialogue over what they produced, they are caught up either lobbying and mobilising for a yes vote or discrediting and offending those who criticise and oppose their work. It was indeed ironic to see Mo-hamed Al-Beltagy, a member of an ille-gal entity like the Muslim Brotherhood, asking about the sources of funding of formal and legal political parties.

Constitutions are not political bat-tles; they are public dialogues about principles, values, practices and poli-cies. The Muslim Brotherhood and its allies have turned the constitution not only to a political battle, but to a cultural and religious one as well. What Morsy’s administration did over the past two weeks was employ all tactics of political aggression pos-sible to ensure that this referendum takes place. A politically enforced ref-erendum over a non-representative corrupt constitution is exactly what Egyptians are voting on.

Regardless what the final result of the referendum will be, this consti-tution is nothing but a big mistake because of how it was written and by whom. How can a constitution be thought about in terms of majority and minority? How can a constitu-tion represent all Egyptians when only one faction of them supports it? How can Egypt draft a constitu-tion without representation from the Coptic Church? “Yes” or “No”, it still is a referendum of shame.

Ziad Akl is a political sociologist and a

Middle East specialist at the Ahram Cen-

ter for Political and Strategic Studies. He

is a senior researcher at the Egyptian

Studies Unit and managing editor of

the periodical “Egyptian Affairs.”

[email protected]

Us Egyptians are proud and our hon-our reigns supreme. It doesn’t mat-ter if you’re a wealthy businessman or a struggling employee, an illiter-ate farmer or an erudite scholar, a petty thief or an upright gentleman, a teenager or a grandparent, Muslim or Coptic, this particular suscepti-bility prevails among all Egyptians. It is part of our cultural upbringing and our collective psyche; it has a fundamental influence on our be-haviour, our decision-making and our perception of one another. We certainly vary in how self-aware we are of the effect pride has on our actions and we also vary in our abil-ity to check that powerful emotion, but none of us is impervious to its influence.

Not that there is anything wrong with pride. But like all emotions, it can overwhelm the rational. Pride in particular has taken a hefty toll on our sociological welfare. It has come to mar our judgment, our respect for each other, our sense of right and wrong, and our will-ingness to reconcile ourselves with the idea of being mistaken or lack-ing knowledge of a certain matter. We’ve all become experts on ev-erything, and uttering the words “I don’t know” has become synony-mous to admitting defeat.

Ever come across those TV pro-grammes where they ask random pedestrians questions on geogra-phy or history? Seldom do the in-terviewees plead ignorance; they’d rather give a totally made-up an-swer rather than admitting they just don’t know. If we pause for a second and put aside the comedic value of the show, we’re left with a horrifying reality.

Today’s debates on the constitu-

tion follow the same suit. People passionately argue about whether the draft is “good” or “bad”, under the complete misapprehension of possessing the knowledge to differ-entiate. “I’ve read the constitution and I don’t see anything wrong with it”, or “I am going to vote against the constitution because I don’t want the Islamists in power”. That is the gist of the arguments I’ve heard over the past couple of weeks from ordinary citizens who do not nec-essarily have political affiliations (I am of course excluding the Shari’a arguments because they display a different level of misconception that is too distant from reality to argue with).

A tiny minority provided reasons that were a bit more substantive but for the most part, each group chose a side to defend without fully understanding what they’re stand-ing for or fighting against. And the more they disagreed, the more de-fensive they got, the more they dug their heels in and the more obsti-nate and dismissive of one another they become. Suddenly the pride of winning the argument became the core issue and the draft constitu-tion slid to the periphery.

Yes, Egyptians are mostly igno-rant on political issues, the consti-tution in particular, and it doesn’t take away from my nationalism and my love for my country and its people to admit this bitter reality. Over the past week accusations have been levelled at anyone who chose to openly acknowledge this fact. They were called elitists who despise the people and want to steal their rights to partake in the democratic process. Some went further and called them foreign

agents, traitors and infidels. Yet, those who make these ac-

cusations are the same people who are taking advantage of this ignorance, openly employing it to further their political agendas. They will surely condemn the acknowl-edgment of that fact, but they will abuse it nonetheless.

Since the majority appear to have chosen to partake in the referen-dum, we have to accept results, no matter how displeasing they might be. Whatever reservations I person-ally have towards the impartiality of the judges monitoring the elections (given that it is obvious which side they’re on) is no longer relevant be-cause the majority agreed to partic-ipate and therefore legitimised the process, even if it wasn’t legitimate to begin with.

They street will remain divided either way; it is a deep wound that will not heal any time soon. It will take years to raise political aware-ness among ordinary citizens so they’re able to make informed de-cisions. That is the reality we need to face and work with.

[email protected]

the referendum of shame Democracy and the egyptian experiment

ZIAD AKl

MohAMED El-BAhr AwI


SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2012 Daily news egypt 7

social networking

twitter

Once again, it is a referendum day. A new vote is held, after SCAF hosted a constitutional referendum on 18 March 2011. In a much more polar-ised climate, Egyptians are voting on the draft constitution. As the referendum started, social networkers started showing support to their side of the game. Some of those opposing the draft constitution perceived it as void, and decided to boycott its referendum. Others decided to go and vote “no” on the draft, while others remembered the death of Sheikh Emad Effat, who died in the cabinet clashes, one year ago. #Their_con-stitution_is_void #No_to_constitution #Emad_Effat. On the other hand, those supporting the draft constitution tried to convince people to vote in favour of it, by explaining why they believe it is a good draft. #Why_yes

referendum and polarisation

@MohaMeDraDy312

If you want somebody to kill your son and get acquitted because the president likes him, say yes to constitution “article 149”.

@oMar_shazly1Emad Effat, a year had passed with no punishment, and Egypt is moving from bad to worse!

@shehab_goMMaAfter one year, Emad Effat and Alaa Abdel Fatah’s rights have gone in vain.

@anasashraf6I wish that all Sheikhs were like you!

@Moh_tanawyA country that knows only the memory of death, and cannot recall the memory of punishment.

@ahMeDMohaMaDy5In the memorial of Emad Effat’s death, go and vote yes in favour of the Ikhwan constitution, it promises to fulfil the rights of the martyrs!

@Dr_raniayousryBecause it is a consensual constitution. Why should we waste more time looking for more consensus that would never occur?

@aMrsalaMaBecause article 68 made housing, food and water guaranteed rights for every citizen. Article 72 obliged the government to support disabled people financially, educationally and socially.

@MohsenowenTo put an end to this prolonged transitional stage, to start building state’s institutions, and because the constitution’s controversial articles doesn’t affect me or normal citizens.

@MohMDkhalifaarcOpposing the constitution? Vote no. If the constitution is adopted, choose someone to amend it in People’s Assembly. If he also lost the elections, don’t ever talk in the name of people again.

@ah_as3aDTo save millions of pounds that would be spent to form new ref-erendum and new elections.

@truthcallerTo build institutions, depose old regime remnants for 10 years, move towards stability and empower Shari’a.

#Their_consTiTuTion_is_void

One year after the events, this video takes us back to the most significant things that happened during the clashes that took place around the cabinet of ministers, in Qasr Al-Eini. The girl with the blue bra; beaten, uncovered and dragged along by the military police appears in the video, fallen among the many other dead and injured protesters.After the war scene, we see a man in weeping in distress saying “it is a black day, a black day in the history of the world,” and “Murderers, thugs.” However, the cause of his distress is not the deaths or injuries all around him. He thinks it is a black day because an “unoriginal” version of the “Description of Egypt” book was burnt during the clashes!

kharabeesh – black Day

@aMrhaMDonIn the districts predicted to vote no, referendum voting ballots are not stamped and most of the supervising personnel are not even judges!

@nohabrahiMIf we said no this time, no one would ever oppress or control us in the future.

@Moon_flower2To be realistic, this constitution will be adopted. This is a matter of life and death to Ikhwan, but the constitution won’t live for long and the people will revolt against it after they realise its repercussions.

@hennaloloA sectarian constitution.

@siiMMaaaI am standing in the referendum queue talking to women about constitution. We should really work hard, people know nothing about constitution.

@yasMine_nabilMost of those voting yes are voting “yes to Shari’a” or “yes to stability”. Did they read the constitution? I don’t think so!

@Dr_fara7atAnd the election boxes will say YES to religion and Shari’a, and the ticket to Canada is ready. (Referring to Islamist Sheikh who said after the constitutional referendum of 18 March 2011 that election boxes said YES to religion, arguing those rejecting the referendum results to travel to Canada).

@Dr_fara7atIt is important to participate and say no to a constitution that is not very different than its precedent. But it is also important to vote yes if you think this is the right choice.

@kariMtarek25If the renaissance project had led actually to a renaissance, we might have believed that the constitution would lead to stability.

@hani__3liSome people breathe freedom. Some people love slavery!

@ManarkholyToday was supposed to be the happiest day in the history of the Egyptian people!

Source: Egypt Sarcsam Society

Source: Asa7be

#emad_effaT

#Why_yes

#no_To_consTiTuTion

The “blue bra” girl, a guy shot in the eye, Egypt flag, and a num-ber of dead protesters lying in the area of the clashes The man crying “Murderers, thugs”The man crying “It is a black day”

The man turns out to be crying because a book was burnt Kharabeesh production“Description of Egypt” – unoriginal version

John Kennedy: The ignorance of one voter in democratic system ills the whole electoral process

The smiling face: Looks like we are going through Cholera (epidemic disease)(Referring to the rates of illiteracy and lack of political awareness in Egypt)

History will always remember that Hazem Abu Ismail and his supporters revolted to close down Dream, CBC, Al-Nahar and ON TV channels,

which hosted him during his presidential campaign, while he didn’t revolt against El-Tit TV channel (a channel accused of broadcasting banal songs).

(The first part of the picture is a screen grab from Freedom and Justice Party website)

The second part (from the official twitter account of Abu-Deif): “If Ikh-wan thugs are besieging the Supreme Constitutional Court, why aren’t

we holding a mass peaceful rally from Tahrir to break this siege?”

viral PosTs


art & CUltUre Art should make a statement and Culture is what surrounds us

Music

Sphinx Orchestra

If you are in the mood for Christmas, head over to the Open Air Theatre in the Cairo Opera House tonight where the Sphinx Orchestra will fill the grounds with Christmas carols. Tickets are available at the ticket office.Cairo Opera HouseEl Borg GeziraZamalek, CairoTel: (02) 2739 014416 December 8pm

The Riff Band

Swinging Jazz, jazzy swing and comforting classics in inventive new arrangements are all on offer tonight when The Riff Band performs in CJC. Reservations are recommended.Cairo Jazz Club197, 26 of July StreetZamalek, CairoTel: (02) 3345 993916 December 10pm

Wahabiyat

The Arab Music Institute hon-ours composer Mohamed Abdel Wahab Wahabiyat with a con-cert of his compositions tonight. Tickets through Cairo Opera House and Arab Music Institute.Arab Music Institute22 Ramsis StreetDowntown, CairoTel: (02) 2574 337316 December 8pm

Lecture

Lidwien van de Ven

Filmmaker and photographer Lidwien van de Ven uses her work to draw attention to events and images that are not reported in the press and the limitations of media reporting in general.Townhouse Library10 Nabrawy StreetDowntown, CairoTel: (02) 2576 808616 December 7pm

exhibition

The Journey

Marwa Adel explores women’s role in society in a ‘journey’ that will take you across different eras in nostalgic exploration. Opening starts at 6.30pm.Safar Khan Gallery6 Brazil StreetZamalek, CairoTel: 012 2312 700216 December 6.30 pm

Private Collection

Darb 1718 is hosting a new exhibition made up of the pieces that have been donated to the contemporary art centre from private collections and which now are open to the public. Attendance is free.Darb 1718El FustatOld Cairo, CairoTel: (02) 2361 051116 December 6pm

events

By Omar El Adl

When you hear a group of Europeans sing in colloquial Arabic, you do not expect it to be good. In fact, you brace yourself for laughter and prepare yourself to stifle it, while mentally rehearsing fake compliments. Fortu-nately, we did not have to do any of that with students of the International Language Institute (ILI). In fact, we ini-

tially mistook their singing to be the beginning of the actual recorded song; that is how good they were.

There are many ways you can learn a language; after all most of us do not learn languages solely in the classroom. We learn through immersion in a culture, in-cluding music and film. The ILI gives stu-dents the chance to take up singing, as an extra-curricular activity, and it vastly improves their pronunciation.

“It is like a glee club of some sorts,” joked Ulrich Berger, a German stu-dent of Arabic at the ILI.

Eman Samir, who has been super-vising the students’ singing, said the activity was relatively new but that it had received a very popular re-sponse from students. “We started doing this in April with a different group. At first, I would pick the songs but then the students would come

with their own choices as well which ensured they got further exposure to the culture.

“The idea began when my boss overheard me singing and wanted me to try it out; I used to sing with Selim Sahab. I was very reluctant at first but it simply took off and became very popular,” she said.

For their part, the students enjoyed the activity and there appeared to be

unanimous agreement that the singing helped their Arabic. “It helps with your pronunciation immensely,” said Vera Falk, a Norwegian student at the ILI.

The activity seemed to be especially helpful to those who think colloquial Arabic is more difficult than classical be-cause of the apparent lack of rules. “Col-loquial Arabic is not as standardised as Fusha, so it is easier to learn it through songs and culture,” said students Fran-cois Baudouin.

At the end of the course at ILI, the students put together a small concert under the instruction of Samir, who has coached them diligently through-out the preceding month. They sang songs by popular singers such as Mohamed Mounir and more recent ones such as Dayman Ma’ Ba’d made famous by a Mobinil ad.

The singing included solos, rapping and even some Nubian music. Besides the obvious enjoyment, the students looked, most of all, proud. Proud of the hard work they had put into per-fecting surprisingly difficult songs in a language they were only beginning to learn. The lyrics were sung almost identically to the original in many cases and not once did the audience struggle to figure out what song the students were singing.

Eman says she hopes the ILI can take the activity further. “We hope that one day it can be a course on its own, where you can learn the lan-guage through the culture.”

ili students sing in perfect arabic

Alexandria 20°C / 13°C

Aswan 23°C / 13°C

Cairo 21°C / 12°C

Hurghada 22°C / 13°C

Luxor 22°C / 12°C

Sharm El-Sheikh 25°C / 15°C

Suez 17°C / 7°C

Sunday, December 16

By Omar El Adl

It is hard to believe the tiny is-land of Zamalek can host yet another art venue in its already over-saturated art scene but a new art space has opened, sim-ply called Elmatrah, which in Arabic means “the place”. The new art space hopes to achieve more than simply showcasing art. It has the ambitious goals of removing obstacles for people wanting to become artists and reaching their true potential.

Elmatrah states it will support your “individual and unique ar-tistic competency” with special-ised services that include train-ing and workshops aimed at raising awareness about the role art plays in changing the lives of individuals. Elmatrah is interested in different fields and art forms; visual art, music, cinema, drama and literature.

Co-founder Ayman Abodoma said Elmatrah aims to help and support artists. “My friend and I have wanted to do this for a long time and we have finally opened,” he said.

Elmatrah’s services include special-

ised workshops in painting, drawing, pottery, poetry, photography, jewellery, silk and screen painting, critical discus-sion groups to exchange experiences with open dialogue and tolerance as focus points, film screenings, evaluation sessions for artists, and hosting reading and analysis sessions of artistic works.

Elmatrah will also organise guided tours and visits to museums and art galleries. “These tours will be with

companions who are special-ists in their fields and who will offer background information and commentary on the art-works that are on display,” Abodoma said.

Elmatrah has only been open for about a month and a half but it has already begun some of its activities, which are geared towards “reviving [the] arts as an integral component in the society.”

Abodoma said some of their activities are already in place such as the art workshops and the courses. “This is like a soft opening for us and we have yet to get the other activities up and running,” he said.

Abodoma made sure to distinguish between the space as an art centre and as a gallery. “We are not a gal-lery, we may show some of the artists’ work or screen films but it is impor-tant to realise that our primary goal is not to display art.”

Whatever direction Elmatrah will follow, it is open to the public and all its events and activities will be free of charge.

As a large part of the country lined up yesterday to cast their vote in the referendum on the bitterly disputed draft of the constitution, other Cairenes went about their business as usual. Sitting in a small coffeshop in central Cairo, a man enjoys a shisha as voters behind him stand in line at a polling station.

elmatrah removes all obstacles to art

the more things change...

new in the moviesThe Hobbit- An unexpected journey

Little men with big hairy feet, Orcs, pointy ears, creepy Gollum and one of the most entertaining wizards of all time are back in the first part of Peter Jackson’s trilogy of the adapta-tion of Tolkien’s book. In nearly three hours Jackson tells only a fragment of the story, as many critics point out, but he does it with enthusiasm and in high speed 3D. Received with hap-piness by the diehard fans, the film has received quite a bit of criticism too. Many feel that even if The Hob-bit is a wonderful book, there is not enough of a story to fill nine hours of film. Since LOTR many different adventure and fantasy films have been produced so the novelty value is gone and it will be a lot harder to convince the general audience to buy a ticket. But they should; because it is Peter Jackson, because Gandalf is there, but most of all because it is Tolkien.

Cairo: Galaxy Cineplex, Galaxy, Ramses Hilton, El-Salam Concorde Cinema, Plaza Cinema, Golden Stars, Stars Cinema, Odeon

Alexandria: Amir, Cineplex Green Plaza

FlightFlight features a spectacular plane

crash soon after the start, but no matter how impressively harrowing the scene is; it is in no way the high-light of the film. Flight tells the story of a pilot who gets through the day on booze and cocaine and Denzel Washington delivers the performance of a lifetime. True to Hollywood fash-ion, redemption is part of the story of addiction, but Washington stops the story from sliding into platitudes and director Robert Zemeckis keeps the focus on the man, rather than his problem. Flight has been highly praised

by the critics and both Zemeckis and Washighton are tipped for the major movie awards, so go see it.

Cairo: Renaissance Sun City, Genena, Renaissance Nile City Cinema, Renais-sance Metro Cairo, Renaissance 6th of October, Dandy Mall

Alexandria: Renaissance San Stefano, Renaissance City Center

Vamps

Oh yes, another fanged fiesta hits the big screen, this time teaming Alicia Silverstone with old friend, Clueless director Amy Heckerling. Vamps tells the story of two female vampires liv-ing in New York City and their tri-als and tribulations about aging and dating human men. What could have been hilarious (and some of the critics feel that it is funny), turns into a film that feels like a stretched out sit-com; moderately entertaining without much of a bite. And that is what Vamps is, a fluffy fang story that misses depth and humour but provides superficial entertainment to those who do not expect too much.

Cairo: Renaissance Nile City Cinema, Renaissance Downtown, Bandar Cinema (Maadi), Genena, Dandy Mall, Renais-sance Sun City

Alexandria: Renaissance San Stefano

The class of singing students with Eman Samir

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Egypt votes on constitution

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