DATE=10/28/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=EGYPT ISLAMISTS ARRESTS
NUMBER=5-44641
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Egypt's government has ordered 20 senior
members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood movement to
be tried by a military court for holding illegal
meetings and trying to undermine the government. They
have been detained for nearly two-weeks under
emergency measures. Correspondent Scott Bobb reports
from Cairo the arrests appear to be connected to
coming elections in several powerful professional
unions.
TEXT: It was a quiet Saturday in the Maadi suburb of
southern Cairo, when Egyptian security forces swooped
down on a nondescript office of the engineers union.
In the office, security forces arrested 16 prominent
Islamist union leaders.
On the same day, they arrested four other leaders in a
suburb of Giza, not far from Egypt's fabled pyramids.
Those detained include a prominent Islamist lawyer and
former member of Parliament Mukhtar Nouh, and senior
officials of the unions for Egypt's doctors, lawyers,
engineers, accountants, and veterinary surgeons. Most
are believed to be senior members of the Muslim
Brotherhood, an outlawed but generally tolerated,
Islamist group.
The arrests surprised many Egyptians because they
follow promises of political reform by President Hosni
Mubarak during his uncontested campaign for re-
election last month.
The deputy leader and spokesman of the Muslim
Brotherhood, Ma'rsquo-oun al-Hodeibi told V-O-A the
arrests are related to coming syndicate elections,
which historically have been a springboard for
national political office.
/// AL-HODEIBI ACT ///
There will be some elections for the syndicates.
So they gathered to discuss this matter. The
government does not like something like this, so
they arrested them.
/// END ACT ///
In Egypt, national politics are tightly controlled by
a series of laws that restrict opposition parties.
But historically controls were less tight in union
elections. In the 1980's, Islamists gained control of
a number of syndicates, in particular the lawyers and
engineers syndicates. In response, the government
suspended the leadership of these two unions and
imposed tight restrictions on all syndicate elections.
The suspension was overturned recently after a lengthy
court battle, paving the way to new syndicate
elections early next year.
A researcher at Cairo's Al-Ahram Center for Political
Studies, Diaa Rashwan, says the government is trying
to keep the Muslim Brotherhood from participating in
these elections.
/// RASHWAN ACT ///
The Egyptian government has the monopoly of the
power in Egypt. And it feels, perhaps, that
they (Muslim Brotherhood) represent a political
danger for its position as a monopole government
of Egypt.
/// END ACT ///
/// OPT /// The Egyptian government made a similar
raid on the Muslim Brotherhood in 1994, one-year
before the previous parliamentary elections. These
leaders were convicted by a military court and
sentenced to prison terms of one to five-years. The
last group of these detainees is due to be released in
January.
/// OPT /// The Muslim Brotherhood is Egypt's oldest
Islamist group, founded in the 1920's. Although the
Muslim Brotherhood seeks to achieve its goals by
peaceful means, the Egyptian government considers it
to be a core from which other, violent groups have
emerged, like the Jihad and the Islamic Group. ///
END OPT ///
Egypt is due to hold parliamentary elections in
November of next year, culminating a 15-month
political season that began with the re-election of
President Mubarak last September.
President Mubarak ran unopposed, as he always has, but
during his campaign he promised political reforms. He
was elected with 93-percent of the vote. But many
Egyptians say they have been disappointed by the lack
of change.
Mr. al-Hodeibi of the Muslim Brotherhood, says he
thought the political reform was meant to include the
syndicate elections.
/// AL-HODEIBI ACT ///
When Mubarak was running for re-election last
month, he asked people to take (a) share in the
election. But now, they imprison those people
who are interested in these elections.
/// END ACT ///
A group of intellectuals and civil rights activists
formed a pro-reform committee during the campaign.
This week it highlighted the sense of disappointment
and criticized, in particular, the arrests.
It said Egyptian society would not achieve political
maturity if it continues to be restricted. And it
indicated opposition is rising to the government's
decade-long economic reforms, saying their negative
social repercussions cannot be overcome without an
active civil society free from government restraint.
(SIGNED)
NEB/SB/GE/RAE
28-Oct-1999 13:22 PM EDT (28-Oct-1999 1722 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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