The Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s opposition to the Gaza Freedom March has "hardened" since it announced on December 20 that it would not allow the Code Pink-organized demonstration to enter the Strip from Rafah, on the Egyptian border. So a friend informs, and the San Francisco paper confirms.
The Egyptians have also revoked a permit for a planning meeting of marchers on Sunday Dec. 27th in Cairo. And they have indicated that they will block travel by marchers to El- Arish in the Sinai desert, the stopping off point for the Gaza border. From the facebook page for the Gaza organizers:
At 8:30pm tonight, December 24, 2009, the Egyptian Foreign Minister said on Egyptian TV Channel 2, that neither the Gaza Freedom March nor persons accompanying the Viva Palestina convoy would be allowed to enter Gaza.
The Foreign Minister’s comments confirmed statements made to Ann Wright and Tighe Barry of the Gaza Freedom March steering committee during their meeting this afternoon with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of the Office of Palestinian Affairs Hisham Seif-Eldin and officer Ahmed Azzam.
Barry and Wright went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the December 20 disapproval of the entry into Gaza by the Gaza Freedom March…. See More
Mr. Sief-Eldin said that Egyptian embassies in Europe and North America had received a large number emails and phone calls since the announcement of the disapproval. He was visibly upset by what he described as the “tone” of some of the emails received and forwarded to him by Egyptian embassies in Europe and North America and said that emails contained threats to Egyptian interests by tourist boycotts and personal attacks and derogatory language toward staff members.
He said the position of the security and intelligence services of Egypt in disapproving transiting the Rafah border crossing had “hardened.”
Sief-Eldin said that the permit we had requested to hold an orientation meeting on December 27 at 7pm at the Holy Family complex was cancelled and that the permit for a press conference at the Pyramisa Hotel on December 27 would not be approved.
At the meeting we presented a written request to hold a conference on Gaza for delegates only on December 28 and 29 either at the American University Cairo or at hotel. Mr. Azzad said the Foreign Ministry would forward the request to the security agency but did not believe it would be acted on in a timely manner. The conference would be considered a “political” conference and would have to be approved by the Office of the Prime Minister.
Sief-Eldin in the strongest terms said security services would not permit gatherings with signs or banners.
He said that no group would be permitted to travel to al Arish or Rafah.
He said we should tell the 1360 delegates to “not come to Egypt” unless they were going to do only tourist things.
He said that in a change from yesterday, the Viva Palestina convoy has not heeded the Government of Egypt’s decision on where the convoy should enter Egypt and none of their delegates will be allow to enter Gaza, but the vehicles will enter eventually through a checkpoint in Israel.
We asked again why the Government of Egypt did not make its refusal decision early in the five months process that the Gaza Freedom March has been coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a decision that would have notified delegates not to spend thousands of dollars on airfare to get to Egypt. Seif-Eldin responded that the government makes its decision on its own time schedule, not on the time schedule of others.
He ended by saying that in Egypt, things are not done in the same manner as in the United States or Europe. The security services will not permit demonstrations or protests and will deal with them quickly.
I’ll update when I learn anything firmer.
Medea Benjamin said on Democracy Now today that she is still appealing to the Egyptians to relent. "[T]he Egyptian government, we have worked with them for months, since September, on this, and suddenly, this week, they told us that we would not be allowed to go in. So we are flooding their embassies around the world with phone calls and pleas to let the Gaza Freedom March proceed into Gaza."
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I would not like to waste my time re-writing about the modern Pharoah but I did write today a post on about another chapter in Zionists’ Hasbara (propaganda) – that’s the ‘Exodus’
Reconstructing ‘Exodus’ myth
http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2009/12/25/reconstructing-exodus-myth/
whats your point Rehmat?
You will have to forgive Yonira her “dumb blonde” act, Rehmat.
What the Egyptian government is doing is proper to protect its national integrity. It should not get involved in its neighbors quarrel. Particularly when both parties are in violent mode. Just like what a normal citizen would do appropriately; refer this to ‘higher authorities’. This is the job of international community…
It should not get involved in its neighbors quarrel.
I think strictly imposing the siege on Gaza because Israel wants it to is definitely getting involved in its neighbors ‘quarrel’.
Just like what a normal citizen would do appropriately; refer this to ‘higher authorities’.
Who are the Egyptian government’s ‘higher authorities’?
The only thing more pathetic than Zionist hasbara is Mubarak hasbara.
As we are fair and just, let us respect Egypt’s decision. Let us stop putting them in ‘hot water’. Nobody from the demonstrators warrants to help them anyway when they (Egyptian government) are in utmost trouble…
Yes, the heart of Egypt will hardened, because the hatred in not solely targeted to Israel anymore… but to Egypt in foremost…
The activist are not appealing anymore, they are putting Egypt into shame, sowing seeds of wrath…
What I am afraid is that Egypt will shut down the border to all other persons…leaving only authorized Palestinian citizens and goods to pass. For this will make them free from humanistic complexities…
The democracy now link goes to something called “Redux pictures”.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/24/gaza_freedom_march_planned_for_one
It is extremely unlikely that the Egyptian government will yeild to masses of phone calls or e-mails.
They will likely consider that confirmation that the demonstration is too far outside of their potential control, and will encourage similar dissent in Egypt.
They cannot be seen to accept that (especially by the switching of non-violent tactics, after violent tactics, for the purpose of revolution in Egypt). Admittedly, they are likely different groups, but Egypt feels and is at risk of revolution by at least indirectly allied groups to Hamas.
“Storming the Bastille” is clever, but not necessarily effective.
Nice fairy tale Witty and highly unlikely.
“[T]he Egyptian government, we have worked with them for months, since September, on this, and suddenly, this week, they told us that we would not be allowed to go in…”
Nothing has ever been done via the border without the triangulation with the reigning hegemony and its chosen representative (the USA and Israel), due to the fact that the retrograde Egyptian regime would not stand without the billion plus dollars given by the USA. As usual they went with their hat in hand to the dominants, as has been the case with every border decision. Just like there is currently full funding for the new wall via the same source.
So you can stop the protection of Israel in this instance that always squeals like a stuck pig to the USA when they fear some act, etc. Any other considerations are simply ancillary.
Let us, for argument sake, presume that Egypt talked and agreed with Israel, US, and with whatsoever foreign government they believed have important interest on this conflict…We may accuse the Egyptian government for such callousness as we wished. But one thing is assured, in their minds whether they are correct or wrong, they always have the greater interest of sustaining the stability of their government, and the welfare of their citizens…
We may dislike their decision because these did not served our intents, but at the end of the day, they would always comfort themselves, ‘they were just doing their jobs well’.
Leave it at “sustaining the stability of their government.” ie, “keeping the Mubarak dynasty in power.”
The welfare of their citizens – not so much.
“But one thing is assured, in their minds whether they are correct or wrong, they always have the greater interest of sustaining the stability of their government, and the welfare of their citizens…
We may dislike their decision because these did not served our intents, but at the end of the day, they would always comfort themselves, ‘they were just doing their jobs well’.”
The Egyptian government is a dictatorship with an abysmal human rights record. “Maintaining the stability of their government” involves a fair amount of hard work by their secret police. No doubt they rationalize all this to themselves.
Most of your posts seem as though you’re trying to demonstrate to everyone what a well-intentioned person you are, but you don’t have much content in them. This one is a good example. Yes, correct or not, the Egyptian government flunkies probably think of themselves as justified. Who cares?
“The US Army Corps of Engineers, which is reportedly involved, has worked with the Egyptians on preventing smuggling along this border for at least two years…Joint Egyptian-American patrols had been seen on the Egyptian side of the border, it said.”
US HELPS BUILD EGYPTIAN WALL FOR ISRAEL’S “SECURITY”
Anyone else smell a phone call from the State Department in this? Kind of like the one Abbas got regarding the Goldstone Report?
The Democratic Party is such a goddamn waste of time nowadays.
Medea? Is everything from you progressives phony? I guess she thought Medea sounded cooler than Susan.
I spent a lot of time in Egypt. The last thing they want is a major demonstration going through their country, It’s over “Medea”.
RE: The last thing they want is a major demonstration going through their country, It’s over “Medea”.
MY COMMENT: Someday our puppet dictator in Egypt will no longer rule. Our billions of dollars in military aid to the Egyptian dictatorship aren’t buying us love. Like they say, “money (given to dictators) can’t buy you love”.
RE: “money can’t buy you love”
MY COMMENT: Israel is a case in point! Many Israeli’s derisively refer to the U.S. as “the bank”.
DICKERSON3870:
“Someday our puppet dictator in Egypt will no longer rule. Our billions of dollars in military aid to the Egyptian dictatorship aren’t buying us love. Like they say, “money (given to dictators) can’t buy you love”.
Julian:
Someday anything can happen. There might be an Arab democracy, someday.
Someday Israelis may decide they like the idea of turning their state over to the Arabs.
Someday Israel may decide it’s economy is growing too fast and they would prefer to be more like their neighbors.
DICKERSON3870:
“W Many Israeli’s derisively refer to the U.S. as “the bank”.
Julian:
I’ve been to Israel several times. Do business with companies in Israel all the time and never heard that expression. Sounds like another progressive fairy tale.
Someday, Julian might care that his fellow neoconservatives lied to the American public and willingly send thousands of American soldiers to their deaths, let along over a million people that were killed out right and the millions more that have suffered directly due to stupid American policies that took place under the aegis of the idiots people like him support.
Someday, in a last desperate effort to try to resurrect the man it once at least arguably was, the USA will drop its sweetheart deals with Israel, and when Israel
seeks to fully substitute China or India fully it will find a much less malleable
partner. Ditto Russia for sure.
Julian, not sure if you’ve noticed yet, but facts really aren’t that important to the progressives on here.
This site is a big fair tail. Also I think you nailed it with this comment
Someday Israel may decide it’s economy is growing too fast and they would prefer to be more like their neighbors.
Sorry Yonira, but your the one that has never ever in the history of your commenting on this site argued with facts.
Virtually all of your accusations and arguments are premised on lies.
like what James?
Yes Julian, we know this is all you can come up with in regard to Medea Benjamin, some tripe about her name. We should find you are your “contributions” much more substantial, as a supporter of war crime and crimes against humanity, and the cheer leading section for genocide.
From: Just Foreign Policy (naiman@justforeignpolicy.org)
Sent: Wed 12/23/09 5:30 PM
Just Foreign Policy News
December 23, 2009
Just Foreign Policy News on Break Until January 6
The editor of the JFP News is going to Gaza for the Gaza Freedom March – if the Egyptians let us in.
[The Egyptian government has announced that it will not allow internationals to enter Gaza. Write the Egyptian Embassy in Washington and ask them to reverse the decision - http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/gaza-march ]
If Egypt does not let us enter Gaza, we will protest the blockade from the Egyptian side of the border. In either event, you can follow our progress by blog here –
http://bit.ly/naiman_gfm
and by Twitter here: @naiman.
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