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08 Nov 09

Phil Marfleet: Egypt's Deepening Crisis (June 1976)

  • As the situation becomes more desperate, Egypt has moved closer to, its American patrons. More arms deals have been signed, and a 1.8 billion dollar aid programme agreed. The bulk of this money will go to food subsidies (estimated £511 million this year) and payment for previous loans. At the same time relations with Russia have reached an all-time low. In mid-March trade and diplomatic agreements were torn up, and Russia denied any military facilities in Egypt. Aimed at disciplining Moscow for its failure to produce more arms, or to reschedule the enormous Egyptian debt, the move was seen by many as an irrevocable step towards the West. Sadat kept his Moscow line just open, however, by signing a new agreement on trade in early May.
  • Simultaneous with the break with Russia Sadat ordered Prime Minister Salem to introduce a full programme of ‘austerity measures’. This must be a bitter joke for the millions of Egyptians whose lives are already unbearably austere, especially in view of the wave of luxury consumption which followed the lifting of import restrictions. ‘Conspicuous consumption and corruption provokes anger and invites retribution’. (Sunday Times 29.3.76) Within two weeks Egyptian workers had responded with strikes and demonstrations. As reported in Socialist Worker (3.4.76) seventeen thousand textile workers at Damietta struck in protest at the withholding of bonus payments. Salem’s police attacked them with batons and teargas. In Cairo several hundred workers marched to demand wage increases to keep up with price rises, and for better living conditions. Sadat commented that ‘strikes, disturbances and pressure from any element against the government are strictly forbidden.’
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05 Nov 09

‭BBC Arabic‬ - ‮الشرق الأوسط‬ - ‮مصر تتراجع عن شرط وقف الاستيطان لاستئناف المفاوضات ‬

  • وعقب الاجتماع دعا أبو الغيط إلى استئناف المفاوضات بين الطرفين دون أن يصر على الإشارة إلى ضرورة وقف المفاوضات حسبما يطالب الفلسطينيون.
02 Nov 09

كلينتون تُطلق رصاصة الموت على السلام | جريدة الأخبار

  • أطلقت وزيرة الخارجية الأميركية هيلاري كلينتون، خلال محادثاتها مع الجانبين الإسرائيلي والفلسطيني بشأن استئناف المفاوضات بين الطرفين، أمس، رصاصة الموت على مطالبة الفلسطينيين بوقف الاستيطان شرطاً للتفاوض، معلنة تأييدها الموقف الإسرائيلي نحو السير في مفاوضات من دون شروط.
01 Nov 09

The Angry Arab News Service/وكالة أنباء العربي الغاضب: Obama is stuck in the folly of his policies

  • Obama is stuck. If he sends 20,000 more troops, conservative will say: he did not send enough troops. If he did not send additional troops, his critics will say that he is abandoning the mission and reversing course when he argued throughout his campaign that the war in Afghanistan is a war of necessity. Obama will not win, and he will be exposed as the a replica of Bush in foreign policy. In fact, if you look at it: Obama deviated very little from the path of Bush-Cheney in defense and national security.

Robert Fisk’s World: The truth about the Middle East is buried beneath the headlines - Robert Fisk, Commentators - The Independent

  • Our masters prefer us not to tangle with the bad guys as well as good guys. Years ago, a Time magazine reporter in Cairo packed his note-book with facts about the routine Egyptian police torture of prisoners. But the US ambassador in Cairo persuaded the bureau chief to hold off because he understood that Mubarak was going to "crack down" on such abuses. Ho ho! Time didn't run the story and, of course, the abuses got worse. Shortly afterwards, jail guards were forcing Egyptian prisoners to rape each other.
  • And nothing has changed. The big Western news agencies which have headquartered their Middle East offices in Cairo are as loath to touch these stories today as they were more than a decade ago. It's just the same in that other friendly Muslim ally of ours, Turkey. But let's start in Cairo. When the "peace process" – remember that tacky phrase? – was about to reach fruition almost 15 years ago, the big wire agencies poured millions into new offices and staffs in Mubarak's gleaming capital of democracy. And what happened? As usual, the Egyptian Mukhabarat security agencies inserted their own lads into the bureaux – or blackmailed Egyptian reporting staff – to spy on the journalistic output. All bureau chiefs in Cairo know who their local spies are. But, of course, they can't dismiss them.
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