The Week in Quotes: Oct 9-Oct 16

Egypt Today rounds up this week’s news and milestones

 

By Ahmed Mansour and Kaylan Geiger

Week in Quotes Universities Open in Egypt, Unrest Continues The start of the academic school year across university campuses this week was marred by violence and politics as students gathered to protest the use of private security firms on campus. Although the use of private security firms on campuses was a vocal point of concern among protesting students, most protests carried the same banners of the previous term, which denounce military rule and call for all arrested students to be released. To quell protests, security forces entered the campuses of Cairo University and Al-Azhar University, both of which were a hot bed for violent protests during the previous academic year. After protests erupted on October 12, the Ministry of Interior released a statement claiming that protests were being led by the “terrorist Muslim Brotherhood,” adding that the use of security forces on campus is only ordered by university presidents. In a report published on October 14, Human Rights Watch condemned the arrest of over 100 students during the first two days of the academic year, calling for Egyptian officials to release the detained. Seventy-one students were reported arrested on October 11 and another 57 were arrested the following day. “I would have to say that this Falcon Agency that the government hired to secure the university is not qualified enough to handle the security of a premises as big as Cairo University. As much as those kinds of incidents were highly expected […] they claimed they know how to disperse the students without harming them, the outcome was really disappointing and there is no one to blame but the Ministry of Interior.” — Mohamed Shawkat, former university security officer at Cairo University, to Egypt Today. “There is no other way to see what happened, of course the Muslim Brotherhood was waiting for the new academic year to start so that they would tell the people that they are still on the streets and they are mad. Also, in my own humble point of view, I think the trail of Mubarak was postponed so that the real revolutionaries wouldn’t join those lines of the MB in the universities of Egypt.” — Lora Heikal, political activist and member of Strong Egypt Party, to Egypt Today. “As much as they were trying to avoid this from happening, in Cairo University specially, the Falcon Security failed miserably. Obviously the Ministry of Interior didn’t believe they are qualified to do the job, because eventually their forces interfered to disperse the demonstrators. So my question is why hire the Falcon Agency in the first place? But now I know the answer, and it is that they need someone else to let the people point their fingers at.” — Marwa Khalil, political activist and student at Cairo University who was present during the demonstrations, to Egypt Today.   Ansar Beit al-Maqdis Leader Killed in Rafah A top leader in the Sinai-based Islamist militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which aims to overthrow the government, was reported killed on October 10, according to Army Spokesperson Mohamed Samir. The leader, Shehata Farhan, was accused of targeting police and security forces and was killed during a raid near Rafah on the shared border with Gaza. The army spokesperson said that 21 other terrorists were killed in North Sinai the previous week, and that security forces continue to crack down on Islamist militants in Sinai. Officials also killed a field commander of the Islamist militant group, Mohamed Abu Shatiya, during clashes south of Rafah in the previous week. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis released a video on October 5 that allegedly depicts the group’s militants beheading three Egyptians they accuse of being informants for Israeli intelligence. The video sparked concern over the group’s use of tactics similar to that of the terrorist group fighting in Iraq and Syria, DAISH (Dawlet al-Islam fil Iraq wal Sham or Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS)), which has released several videos of beheadings in recent months. “Those are the actions of real terrorists, and they do not relate to Muslims. The fact that they roam freely on our lands terrifies us, as the people, and the government needs to conduct a manhunt, and bring them all to justice” said Mohamed Refaat, Admin of the Facebook Page All against Terrorism, to Egypt Today magazine. “I highly recommend that the government remove the video off the internet, and increase the amount of net surveillance to prevent videos such as this from being broadcasted to the people; because videos like this always threatens the national security and the hope of people for a better world” said Mosheera Motaaz, Phycology professor at Alexandria University, to Egypt Today Magazine. Accident in Aswan Kills Dozens A road accident between three minibuses in Aswan province, near Edfu, on October 13 killed at least 30 and injured 15, according to Egyptian officials. The accident took place on the west bank of the Nile River and was reportedly caused by speeding. The accident is the latest event in Egypt’s long history of deadly traffic accidents, often blamed on poorly maintained roads and loosely enforced regulations and speeding laws. Thirty-one people were killed and 41 were injured in a road accident near Sharm El-Sheikh in August. The World Health Organization reported that Egypt has an annual roads fatality rate of almost 12,000 people every year, which means 42 deaths per every 100,000 of the population. “We shouldn’t always point fingers regarding everything that happens in Egypt, and I seriously consider this to be bad press. This is the work of God, people die sometimes and it’s not always the government’s fault.” — Amr Anwer Hassan, general in the Armed Forces, to Egypt Today. “In London, for a person to be the conductor or the driver of any means of public transportation they must take four years training, and the reason why advanced countries do that is to avoid such incidents. The drivers and the streets are not qualified to transport people. So of course accidents will occur and people will die and, besides it being God’s intentions, we all know who’s to blame.” — Amr Hassan, human rights lawyer, to Egypt Today. “Almost all the drivers are under the influence of drugs, and they do so to be able to drive the long distances they have to, not to mention the broken, poorly lit streets. Accidents like these should provoke the people to ask for the resignation of the Minister of Transport. There shouldn’t be one major accident for him to resign, and many small ones would have the same death toll as a major one. I personally ask for his resignation.” — Galal Montaser, member of Social Democratic Party, to Egypt Today. Milestones Won, Yasmine Raees the award for Best Actress at the Swedish Malmo Arab Film Festival. Raees won the award for her performance in director Mohamed Khan’s film “Factory Girl.”   Announced, Abou Tarek and Engezni to attempt the Guiness World Record for the world’s largest plate of Koshari. The pair will attempt the world record in Zamalek on November 22, aiming to create a Koshari plate 10 meters in width and 1.2 meters high. Won, Egypt’s football team claimed a double win over Botswana with a 2-0 victory on October 15. Egypt hopes to claim a place at next year’s African Cup of Nations in Morocco. Sentenced, eleven Muslim Brotherhood figures to 15 years in prison. Giza Criminal Court sentenced Brotherhood leader Mohamed El-Beltagy, preacher Safwat Hegazy, Al-Jazeera channel host Ahmed Mansour and Brotherhood member Hazem Garouk for torturing a lawyer in Tahrir Square during the January 25 Revolution. Won, American University in Cairo Professor of Chemistry Hassan Azzazy the Global Innovator Award from the Texas Christian University. The award is given to individuals who conduct groundbreaking research that would have an important impact on society.