Egypt's women protest despite brutal military attacks

CAIRO — Several army soldiers slapped, punched and kicked Mona Seif, hitting her with wooden batons while they dragged her inside the Cabinet Building shortly after they raided Tahrir Square.

Minutes earlier she had been told to leave, but she refused unless they released a child she was protecting amid the violence.

"The army officer was infuriated when I told them to release the kid," said Seif, a 25-year-old activist who leads the No Military Trials for Civilians movement. "He ordered the soldiers to take me where they will take the child." A young army officer in charge of the detention room continuously cursed at the female detainees. "I am as old as your mother; have some respect for me," said Khadiga, a woman in her 60s who sat on the floor beside Seif. "The officer exploded when she said that.

He kept slapping her over and over until she apologized," said Seif. "I thought they distinguished between younger and older women. They don't." "It's a planned strategy," she said. "... They want to scare off any girl thinking of joining a protest."

Seif was detained around the same time that footage was taken of several army soldiers stripping and brutalizing another female protester, a video watched by millions worldwide.

This week, thousands of Egyptian women protested in Tahrir Square against military generals who silently watched their soldiers lead assaults on female protesters.

The female protest came despite an apology published on the official Facebook page of the ruling military council, a failed attempt to defuse public anger that backfired. "The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces expresses its deepest regret to the great Egyptian women after the violations committed during the latest protests.

The council affirms its respect and appreciation for Egyptian women and their right to demonstrate and participate positively in political life," said the statement. Maha el Samadouni, a 62-year-old female protester, refused to accept any apology. "Our traditions define women as a red line that should never be crossed," she said.

"It's an unprecedented crime in the history of Egypt. The only way to stop this is by making an example of those who committed such a crime." "Women came out wearing black to mourn the dignity of Egyptian women that was killed at the hands of the military," added Samadouni.

She described the ruling military as "liars who denied any responsibility." Despite the shock caused by video images showing horrific assaults by soldiers on protesters, some seemed to have little sympathy for the victims.

"I am totally against violence, yet I don't think it was right for this girl to be on the street at 3 a.m.," said Gen. Sameh Seif el Yazal, a retired military and intelligence officer who now leads a strategic research unit.

But the now-well-known video of the female protester under attack was shot in broad daylight. "Yes, but she was in other videos at 3 a.m. on Tahrir Square," replied Yazal.

Egypt's military, which took over on Feb. 11 to replace the deposed President Hosni Mubarak, did not take long to prove that it is ruthless. On March 9, troops raided Tahrir Square and detained more than 150 protesters, including 17 women.

After a lengthy torture session at the Egyptian Museum, which was turned into a temporary detention center, seven of the female protesters were forced to undergo virginity tests. Only one pursued legal action. "It stems from the culture," said Nehad Abolkomsan, a lawyer and director of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights.

"People think it's acceptable to do anything to a woman if she goes out of line by their standards. The officers cannot view their female victims as sisters or mothers because of their backward traditions."

"It's a cultural disaster, the same beliefs that justify harassment for sexual violators who blame their victims and say she was wearing tight jeans." Abolkomsan said that Egyptian females are "imprisoned between political pressures and other social and religious taboos.

Some of the most well-known activists don't tell their families about their activities." "The only female that pursued legal action against the military after forced virginity tests was backed by her family, and this is a rare case," said Abolkomsan, referring to Samira Ibrahim, the victim who sued.

"A female protesting in public comes from a background that broke the backward constraints of being ashamed of public participation. On the other hand, the community considers them sluts and the military shares the same view," said Abolkomsan. She rejected the military's apology as "insufficient and useless."

A representative of Human Rights Watch in Egypt, Heba Morayef, argued that "military officers are preaching to soldiers that protesters are criminals destabilizing the country. It shows in the brutal attacks on protesters. It's not an attempt to disperse a protest, but it's a hostile personal attack.

They are filled with rage and hate toward protesters." As for the fair and transparent investigations promised by the military, Morayef said, "We don't know the names of a single officer that is standing trial for any violation, in cases of serious violations such as murder and sexual assault.

It means that the military decides the accusation and the flow of trial without any civilian, independent judiciary participation. "They see themselves as superior," Morayef said.

"They never see themselves as subject to any form of civilian monitoring, investigation or prosecution."

(Sabry is a McClatchy special correspondent.)

Source : McClatchy

Creator Of Lisp, John McCarthy, Dead At 84

John McCarthy

The Inventor of Lisp and Without exaggeration the father of modern artificial intelligence, John McCarthy, passed away this week. with the well known John Nash at Princeton he studied mathematics and, notably, He transmitted the moves in his first Computer Chess Game between the USSR and scientists in the US by telegraph.

the modern artificial intelligence godfather believed AI should be interactive, allowing for a give and take similar to AI simulators like Eliza and, more recently, Siri. His own labs were run in an open, free-wheeling fashion, encouraging exploration and argument. He won the Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery in 1972 and the National Medal of Science in 1991.

He was born in 1927 in Boston and taught himself higher math using Caltech textbooks when his family moved to the area, allowing him to take advanced classes when he enrolled as a teenager. He received a Ph.D. from Princeton in 1951.

According to McCarthy’s own articles, he created Lisp in order to create Turing machines in the limited computing environment at his disposal.

In this month of fallen giants, it’s nice to think that McCarthy’s work lives on in the many systems – seen and unseen – that control the way we interact with computers and the Internet.

The information of his passing came first from his daughter through informal channels, and was confirmed by Stanford this afternoon.

"If computers of the kind I have advocated become the computers of the future, then computing may someday be organized as a public utility just as the telephone system is a public utility... The computer utility could become the basis of a new and important industry."

— John McCarthy (speaking at the MIT Centennial in 1961).

Mona El-Tahawy beaten and sexually assaulted by CSF

Mona El-Tahawy

Renowned Egyptian American columnist Mona El-Tahawy says she was subjected to physical and sexual assault at the hands of the Central Security Forces (CSF) after being arrested at Mohamed Mahmoud Street on Wednesday night. El-Tahawy is a New York-based columnist for Canada's Toronto Star, Israel's The Jerusalem Report and Denmark's Politiken.

El-Tahawy’s arrest was first known Wednesday night when she sent a tweet saying that she was beaten and detained. After several hours of silence, El-Tahawy tweeted again “I am free” and then began to speak of her terrible experience.

After arrest, El-Tahawy was moved to the Ministry of Interior’s where she waited for three hours before being interrogated by military intelligence officers while she was blindfolded. It was at this time that El-Tahawy was also sexually assaulted: “5 or 6 surrounded me, groped and prodded my breasts, grabbed my genital area and I lost count how many hands tried to get into my trousers.”
Mona said that she had to answer questions at first because she had no passport with her, but later refused to cooperate with the military intelligence as a civilian.

The military intelligence apologised for what CSF forces did to El-Tahawy, even recording her statement about the assault and taking photographs of her bruises before releasing her.

El-Tahawy shared a photo of her swollen hand and said that she was going to hospital for a checkup. According to x-rays, both her left arm and right hand are broken. El-Tahawy attacked the CSF on her Twitter account, calling them "bastards" and promising to write an article about her terrifying experience.

The El-Tahawy incident is not the first involving a journalist during the latest clashes in Tahrir Square. Many Egyptian and foreign journalists reported attacks by the security forces. Two reporters lost an eye, including Al-Masry Al-Youm photojournalist Ahmed Abdel Fatah.

Two days ago, Al-Akhbar Daily newspaper’s correspondent Sarhan Sanara in Alexandria was arrested by security forces during his coverage for clashes in front of the Alexandria security directorate and was badly tortured for hours there before being released.

The Journalists’ Syndicate issued a strong-worded a couple of days ago condemning the attacks on journalists and accusing the Ministry of Interior of targeting the media. The syndicate threatened to sue the ministry in case of any further attacks on journalists.

Source : Ahram

Military trials threaten Egypt's democracy

CAIRO — Through three decades of iron-fisted rule, Hosni Mubarak suspended the rights of 2,000 civilians and ordered them to face military tribunals in a campaign to crush the Islamist opposition that threatened his rule.

General Hassan El-Rewini 

The military courts, which were empowered by Egypt’s so-called Emergency Law, were seen as a violation of the Egyptian constitution and of international law and their use ignited a firestorm of criticism by human rights activists around the world.

Now in the aftermath of demonstrations against such human rights abuses that led to the toppling of Mubarak in February, Egypt’s ruling military council has hauled 12,000 civilians before similar military tribunals — six times the number under Mubarak in just 10 months, according to a report by Egypt’s leading human rights organization.

So it’s understandable that human rights activists in Egypt and abroad are asking what has really changed, and whether the ‘January 25 Revolution’ has ushered in a military coup that is far surpassing the Mubarak regime’s erosion of civil rights. On the eve of the November 28 election, a mounting anger directed against the military has triggered more protests and more violent crackdowns in and around Tahrir Square.

And the role of the military in a new Egypt is now perhaps the central question in the upcoming series of parliamentary elections and the process of adopting a new constitution.

“We thought it was a transitional period and the change is happening. We found out that the transition hasn’t even begun,” said Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, which led independent investigations into violations committed by the military and police.

A leading presidential candidate Ayman Nour found that out the hard way. After a conviction on trumped-up charges related to signatures on petitions for his party which challenged Mubarak in the 2005 election, Nour lost his appeal on October 16. Now calling for a more independent judiciary, Nour has vowed to continue his political career even though a prison sentence hangs over his head.

“The use of military trials and emergency law is a threat to the fairness and transparency of the upcoming elections and unfortunately the military is using the same Mubarak policies we revolted against,” said Nour.

And throughout the nine months since Mubarak was toppled, the arrests of civilian protesters who are forced to face military tribunals is continuing at an aggressive pace. 

One political activist was arrested by military police on October 18 for taking part in the Black Circle Campaign sponsored by April 6 Youth Movement to highlight members of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party who are still running for the upcoming elections.

Ali El Halabi was arrested for painting graffiti, taken before military tribunal and awaits sentencing.

Mubarak’s military trials were used to crush an Islamist opposition and were only heard in cases of terrorism. Judgement was swift, there was no real process for appeal and sentences ranged between lengthy jail terms and death sentences.

SCAF has now broadened the use of military trials, putting civilians in front of the tribunals for unlawful gathering and a long list of charges like weapons possession, violating military facilities and attacking military personnel. Sentences are shorter,but affect many more civilians and their families.

General Hassan el Rowini, Commander of the Central Military and member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces indicated in June 2011 that military prosecutions are justified “because Egypt is ruled by the military, it is a military jurisdiction.”

After months of pressure by human rights activists and organization, the military softened its tone, but activists say its actions remain largely unchanged.

“Now they only apply military laws in cases of violations against the military, such as protesting in front of the military court or prison,” said Ragia Omran, lawyer and top officer of the “No Military Trials” movement, which produced the finding that more than 12,000 civilians have been brought before military tribunals since February 11 when the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) took power. “In other words, they are applying military laws on protesters and opinion holders.”

“Yes they are accepting appeals and less people are standing military trials,” she added. “But it remains a great violation to civil and human rights, even if it’s used against criminals.”

Despite the military’s decreasing use of military law to prosecute civilians, around 9,000 people remain in different prisons across Egypt serving military terms they were handed in the months following the revolution.

Members of “No Military Trials,” reported that hundreds of protesters were charged with violating military forces that were dispersing protests. They faced speedy trials which human rights activists say denied them due process and they received sentences of between 3 to 5 years in jail.

Abul Maati Ahmed, a 21-year-old martial arts champion was protesting with the rest of his family on Tahrir Square starting January 25. On February 3, he was arrested coming into the square and taken to the nearby Egyptian Museum, which was used by the security forces as a processing center for those arrested.

“We never knew where he was, his brother saw the officers arrest him but we never knew where they took him after,” said Ahmed Abu Arab, father of Abul Maati.

“We filed to the Military Prosecutor and we were informed on February 18 that he was sentenced to 5 years for assaulting the military,” said Abu Arab, the father.

Ahmed Abu Arab visited his son for the first time on February 20. At that time, the father learned that his son didn’t even know that he had been sentenced.

“He told us that he was never taken to court, he never saw a judge, he was shocked when we told him that he was sentenced to 5 years,” said Abu Arab.
Activists against military trials condemned the military prosecutors for the lack of proper and thorough investigations into the cases.

“Some of the trials took three days in total, from arrest and sentence, it is absolutely illegitimate,” said Omran of the “No Military Trials” movement.
Despite accepting some appeals, Omran points out that compensating those who are acquitted in their retrial was never a subject of discussion.

“They arrested my son and tortured him, they destroyed his life by their injustice. He is now a smoker in jail instead of a Kung Fu champion,” said Abu Arab.

“We called for a civil state during the ‘January 25 Revolution,’ said Omran. “And if we accept military trials we might as well accept the military in power for long years.”

(Correspondent Mohannad Sabry’s reporting for this story was supported in part by a grant to GlobalPost from the Ford Foundation.)

Source : Global Post

Violence in Nile port city sparks worry about Egypt military's tactics

DAMIETTA, Egypt — A deadly clash between soldiers and protesters in this Nile Delta city is sharpening concerns that the Egyptian military has decided to confront peaceful protesters with harsh tactics, including live ammunition, in the volatile weeks before parliamentary elections begin Nov. 28.

One person was killed and a dozen injured on Sunday when Egyptian troops armed with assault rifles opened fire on about 50 demonstrators who'd camped overnight to demand that a fertilizer factory stop dumping chemical waste into the waters of this port town.

In the days since, protesters have paralyzed this city's busy port, turning away hundreds of cargo trucks and vowing not to lift the blockade, even though the Egyptian government has said it has suspended the factory's operations while its toxic effects are studied. The protesters also have blocked access to the security forces' barracks nearby.

"We don't trust the government," said Mohamed Eissa, 37, a furniture factory worker who has been protesting for the past week. "It's a temporary shutdown. They never reacted to our demands or cared about our environment and health. They attacked us with live ammunition instead of listening to our complaints."

The protests here are the latest in a string of incidents across Egypt in which security forces appear to have adopted the same harsh tactics that were prevalent during the era of deposed President Hosni Mubarak. That in turn has Egyptian analysts worrying that as voting unfolds, violence will intensify.

"I am very concerned about the state of security during the coming elections," said Ziad Akl, a political researcher at the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. "There will be regrettable consequences if the security gap is not contained before elections."

In the past few days alone, clashes between protesters and security forces have erupted in widely disparate parts of Egypt.

In the northern Sinai Peninsula, thousands of residents marched to protest sweeping raids that security forces conducted after the bombing of a natural gas pipeline.

In the southern city of Aswan, protesters outraged by an officer's alleged killing of a sailor torched the local police club and a police station. Several protesters were injured when the security forces used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to Egyptian news reports.

In Damietta, an industrial city on the Mediterranean coast about 250 miles from Cairo, the protests erupted Nov. 8 after the government licensed the expansion of the MOPCO chemical fertilizer factory.

Protesters complained that the factory's chemical waste had poisoned the waters of the Mediterranean and the Nile River branch that cuts through the city. Farmers said their crops had died, and fishermen lamented that the water had become too contaminated to fish.

The protesters had spent the night outside the factory when troops arrived about 6 a.m. Sunday, witnesses recounted.

When the army opened fire, said Ikarmi Abdel Azim, 33, he and another protester, Islam Amin, ran.

"As soon as we ran into that fruit orchard he screamed and held his abdomen, five steps later he fell there," Azim said, speaking of Amin. "I had to run away. They continued to shoot."

Amin's body was found later in the orchard by his brother, Abdelsalam, who had raced to the scene on his motorbike when he heard that gunfire had broken out. When he and another protester attempted to carry away the body, Egyptian soldiers launched a fresh attack.

"One of them hit me with his rifle butt, and the other kicked me in the face when I fell down," Abdelsalam Amin said, tugging down his shirt to reveal bruises across his chest.

The death of Islam Amin spurred further protests, with demonstrators carrying photocopies of his autopsy report, which said Amin had been "shot by a 7.62 x 39mm live bullet tearing through the abdomen and chest, causing hemorrhage and immediate death."

Damietta's prosecutor general, governor and security officials declined to comment.

Only hours after the bloodshed, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, announced the shutdown of the factory and an investigation into its hazardous effects on the environment. Two days later, interim Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's office announced "a full suspension to all operations of the fertilizer factory MOPCO until the authorities are through with investigations into the environmental effects of the operation."

None of that was enough for protesters, who vowed to continue demonstrating until the factory was closed. They've already made a dent in the local economy. Port authorities said Tuesday that 22 cargo ships had been stuck at the port for a week, with 30 others arriving and also waiting for an end to the unrest before trade resumes.

Ahmed al Zeini, head of the Damietta Cargo Transport Association, an umbrella group for local transport companies, said losses so far had "reached $3 million due to suspended work in the port."

Dozens of workers also said they'd boycott the elections because none of the candidates has addressed their issues; a few went so far as to threaten attacks on polling stations.

"We haven't seen a single candidate campaigning or talking to us. They only serve the businessmen — no one cares about poor workers like us," said Mohamed Salem, 20.

"No elections will happen here until we see a government that cares about us and candidates that will truly work for our benefit and future," he added. "We won't allow either the opening of the fertilizer factory or elections."

(Sabry is a McClatchy special correspondent.)

Source : McClatchy By Mohannad Sabry

The Egyptian Parliamentary Election 2011

the upcoming days will be so excited for all the world specifically for the Egyptians, because the first Parliamentary election after Mubarak era will be held in Egypt in the current month November 2011.

this election is so important for all because It comes after the Mubarak era and I think all the Egyptians remember the latest election in 2010 " the counterfeit election " and all the world know that this elections was one of the reasons of Egypt revolution at the beginning of the year 25 Jan.

this election comes after a long transitional phase which was full of problems, the most important problem and I think It's still exist "The Sectarian strife", a lot of accidents like " Attfeh " and " Mary Mina Church in Embaba " and the latest one " Maspero " which happened between the Christians and the Egyptian Armed forces.

this election comes with a lot of fears that It will not succeed because of all the current events, the conflicts between the Egyptian political movements, the Islamic including Salafi Party and Ikhwan Party and the conservative parties and the Liberal parties and those who call themselves " The Egyptian Seculars " and the dangerous side " the National Party Remnants ".

all the Egyptian parties now are trying to attract the Egyptian Citizens to gain their trust, they all know that All the Egyptians now thinking about future and what will happen in the upcoming days, they are looking for improving their financial status.

and all of what I mentioned above is nothing beside the upcoming conflict with the Military Council, the conflict will happen because of The Council behavior and All his members actions, after Tantawi and Sami Anan testimonies in Mubarak Trial when they said that they didn't receive any orders to use the violence in dealing with the protesters which came against what they said in the early time of the revolution. this testimony created a lot of fears in the Egyptian community that The Military Foundation was deceiving from the beginning and a lot of people said " It's just a movie ".

the most optimistic are saying that this election will never succeed because of the bad security situation, thugs and criminals, and all the people are saying that a disaster will happen in the upcoming election.

the election system will be (( two thirds of the parliament will be elected by the closed party lists and the other third will be elected by the individual system, this election system will divide Egypt into 83 counties. ))

To be Continue.