Governor of Egypt’s Luxor governorate resigns
Iran Press TV
Sun Jun 23, 2013 12:48PM GMT
Newly-appointed governor of Egypt’s smallest and ancient governorate of Luxor has quit his post after his appointment caused a huge outcry and the resignation of the tourism minister.
"We will not accept that one drop of blood be spilt because of a position that I did not personally aspire to at any time," Adel Mohammed al-Khayat said at a news conference broadcast live on television on Sunday.
"After consultations with other members of the Construction and Development Party, I decided to tender my resignation to Prime Minister Hisham Qandil, because we want to push away any more conflicts," he noted.
Khayat is a member of the Construction and Development Party, which is the political wing of the ultra-conservative al-Gamaa al-Islamyia group.
Al-Gamaa al-Islamyia is responsible for an attack that killed at least 58 tourists and four Egyptians in 1997 in the famed temple city of Luxor, located 635 kilometers (394 miles) south of Cairo.
The massacre crippled Egyptian tourism industry for several years, and resulted in the crackdown on the group under the rule of former dictator Hosni Mubarak.
Khayat has denied any personal role in the militant attack, and stated that he had a brief association with al-Gamaa al-Islamyia.
The appointment of Khayat as governor of Luxor last week provoked public uproar. Hundreds of protesters gather outside the Luxor governor’s office, and expressed their strong opposition to the move.
Political activists and tourism workers in the governorate said they would force touristic sites in Luxor to shut down if Khayat was not dismissed from office.
Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou resigned on June 20 in protest at the appointment of Khayat.
Egypt's tourism industry has suffered a major blow following the 2011 public uprising as political instability ensued in the North African country. Many countries have advised their nationals to exercise caution when travelling to Egypt.
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