Farewell to Pharaohs
The eight constitutional amendments announced on Sunday mark the end of the presidency being a lifetime occupation, reports Gamal Essam El-Din
The amendments to Egypt's 1971 constitution, unveiled on 26 February, are a major step towards dismantling the autocratic legacy first ushered in by the army in 1952. They represent a fundamental break from the past, not least by placing a fixed limit on presidential terms. Henceforth, it is an office no one will enjoy for life.
Tarek El-Beshri, the reformist judge who heads the committee tasked by the ruling military junta with reforming the constitution, announced that Article 77 of the constitution would be amended to limit presidential terms to a maximum of four years, with candidates eligible to serve two terms.
"This is the best way to ensure that future rulers do not have sufficient time to establish a power base strong enough to bring the old Pharaonic style back to the political system," said El-Beshri.
It will also, argues Gamal Abdel-Gawad, head of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, "help inject new blood and allow younger generations a chance of running the country".
Mubarak heads the list
New names are being added daily to the list of former government officials charged with abuse of office and corruption, reports Mona El-Nahhas
Egypt's Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud issued an order on Monday confiscating the assets, including bank accounts, real estate holdings and stocks and shares, of former president Hosni Mubarak and members of his family and imposing a travel ban on them.
Egyptian banks were ordered to implement the order immediately, with the Cairo Appeals Court setting a date next Saturday to examine the order at the Cairo Criminal Court.
According to Adel El-Said, assistant prosecutor-general and spokesman for the state prosecution service, the order was made as a result of documents accusing the former president and his family of illegal enrichment during his time in office. One set of documents were filed by former MP Mustafa Bakri, with copies being sent to the bodies concerned for examination.
The Illicit Gains Authority, part of the Ministry of Justice, is investigating bank accounts in the name of the former president, his wife, his two sons, his daughters-in-law and his grandsons and granddaughters, who are legally minors.
Burying the truth
A month after the beginning of the 25 January Revolution former interior minister Habib El-Adli is finally facing charges of ordering the police to fire on demonstrators, killing at least 361. But rights groups tell Amira Howeidy the death toll could be much higher
"I only want peace for myself and my mother and it won't happen until I get hold of the doctor who forged my brother's death certificate. And I don't care what happens to me after that, even if I go to jail."
Reda Sayed, 25, paused, his voice choked with tears before he allowed himself to cry over the death of his 22-year-old brother Mahmoud, shot with live ammunition between his shoulders and neck on the evening of 27 January. Mahmoud was taking part in a demonstration in downtown Cairo's Talaat Harb Square when he was shot. By the time his brother got him to Qasr Al-Aini public hospital it was too late. The next day Reda went to the hospital to receive his brother's death certificate from a doctor, in order to bury him.
"I didn't think of reading the death certificate until days later," Reda told Al-Ahram Weekly. "When I did I was shocked. It gave the cause of death as acute cardiovascular and respiratory failure."
The certificate has the required official stamp but lacks a doctor's signature.
For weeks Reda has been battling between his grief at the loss of his brother and a passionate desire for revenge on the doctor who lied about the cause of Mahmoud's death. "How did he have the heart to do this?" he asks. "Has he no fear of God?"
Antiquities attacked
An armed gang has attacked storage spaces at the Giza plateau, stealing various artefacts, reports Nevine El-Aref
During attacks on antiquities sites in the recent nationwide protests, an armed gang of around 60 thieves broke into two storage spaces on the ramp of the second pyramid of Khafre on the Giza plateau outside Cairo.
The thieves tied up the site's six guards and a policeman, threatening to kill them. They then succeeded in entering the storage spaces, formed by a plain rock-hewn tomb located on the southern side of the ramp to the Khafre Pyramid. Several artefacts were stolen.
According to Ali Al-Asfar, head of the Giza plateau area, the Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs (MSAA) is waiting for prosecutors to inspect the scene and has yet to take an inventory of the items.
Minister of state for antiquities affairs Zahi Hawass said that the army had withdrawn from archaeological sites when the police were re-deployed during the recent protests, having been withdrawn by the government on 28 January. This had made them vulnerable to robbery, he said.
An American view of change
From shoulder shrugs and defensive humour to smiles and laughter: Sarah Blakemore shares her experience of the Egyptian revolution
" Inshallah ", the cashier at the grocery store says in an apathetic voice when I ask him if the Branston pickle will arrive soon. It's October 2009, and I've been in Egypt for three days, but already I am accustomed to this sort of attitude. Nothing will happen unless God wills it to be so. I see it in the shoulder shrugs, the half smiles and the defensive humour. The word suggests a nod to Allah, but the tone of voice is defeat.
A little over a year later, on 25 January, when I watched the news I was amazed by what I saw... but still sceptical. "It won't last," I told myself. The police and the army will shut this down, and everything will return to the way it was before the demonstrations. Several days later, by the time the looting started, I was a bit scared but it reaffirmed what I had thought -- these demonstrations will lead to chaos. There will be no leadership. Everyone will simply look out for themselves, take what they can get and not think of the future.
Ways forward for Al-Azhar
Al-Azhar's stance during the Egyptian revolution delivered a further blow to the institution's dwindling credibility, though this may be about to change, says Gihan Shahine
There was something odd about the Azharite imam of a mosque in the district of Nasr City in Cairo instructing worshippers not to participate in the then- ongoing demonstrations in January this year on the grounds that "obedience to the ruler is a religious duty." His sermon provoked public uproar and worshippers asked him to step down from the podium.
This incident epitomises the widening gap between the government-affiliated institution of Al-Azhar, the Sunni world's most prestigious seat of learning, and the Egyptian public as a whole. During the revolution that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak, Al-Azhar adopted a discourse that largely toed the government line, further damaging the institution's already dwindling credibility.
However, all this may be about to change. Last weekend, thousands of Al-Azhar scholars protested against their loss of independence and the intervention of the state security in their work in front of the ruling Higher Council of the Armed Forces building.
According to the scholars, interviewed by the newspaper Al-Masry Al-Yom, under the previous regime state security "intervention included dictating the topics of Friday sermons to preachers." The "25 January Revolution has given us the hope of regaining our freedom," the scholars said.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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