Egypt and its neighbours

Wedenesday night, I went to sleep with the news that Hamas and Fatah had signed a make-up-and-have-elections agreement; Thursday morning, I awoke to news that the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Nabil El Araby, is going to visit Gaza and Ramallah next week. Tectonic plates are shifting in the region.

El Araby was appointed on March 6th and has since set to work recalibrating Egypt’s relations with its neighbors. He has moved toward normalizing relations with Iran, and declared that Israel should be held to its treaty obligations. (“Why should Egypt be one of only three countries, along with Israel and America, without diplomatic relations in Tehran?” I was asked more than once.) During the revolution, nobody in Tahrir Square talked much about Israel, but in the months since the issue of relations with “them next door” has bubbled up. A couple of weeks ago, when there were several hundred thousand people in the square, a voluble phalanx of demonstrators was waving Palestinian flags and chanting: “To the Embassy! To the Embassy!” And, over the past days, demonstrations have sprouted up at the bottom of the anonymous office-tower block on an urban highway that houses, on an upper floor with no identifying national flag visible from the street, the Israeli Embassy.

Yesterday evening, I had dinner with two Jews who live in Egypt. There are two active synagogues in Cairo and a direct flight (mandated by the Camp David accords) to Tel Aviv, and while many Egyptians make a distinction between individual Jews and the state of Israel, others freely intersperse the two terms. Both my dinner companions carried North American passports, but tended to hide any Israeli connections; one of them was gay—double jeopardy.

We were eating at a Uighur restaurant that serves the small community of Uighur students who come, along with other religious scholars from all over the Muslim world, to study Islam at the venerable Al Azhar University. We sat outside at a lopsided plastic table, with excellent handmade noodles in beef broth with coriander and chili oil and a bright salad of chopped red cabbage and tomato, washed down with bottles of Pepsi. We lamented the Egyptian addiction to carbohydrates (why restrict yourself to just one in a dish, when it turns out that rice and macaroni and lentils and chickpeas all go so well together and you can call it the national dish: koshari?) and talked over the day’s news: a masked gang had blown up the gas pipeline to Israel. Apparently the fire at the blown-up pipeline was still burning; Egypt has said it won’t pay compensation for the disruption because it happened during “a state of emergency.”

The pipeline to Israel was completed in 2008 and now supplies half of Israel’s natural-gas needs. The gas is purchased by Israel at a preferential rate and this apparent discount is deeply unpopular with Egyptians and seen as part of the corrupt practices of the Mubarak regime that bent its priorities. For many Egyptians, Mubarak shamed the country by taking American money (Egypt was the second largest recipient of direct U.S. aid after Israel) in return for, as they saw it, deferring to Israel’s interests when it came to foreign policy. Earlier this week Sameh Fahmy, the former Energy Minister associated with the deal, was jailed.

Some days there is too much news. I talked to a Syrian friend of mine today—“it’s worse than the eighties,” he told me, referring to the Hama massacre in 1982 when Hafez al-Assad killed more than twenty thousand people to put down an uprising. I asked after mutual friends and he said they were O.K., but his voice sounded dreadfully worried, traumatized, and frightened.

Meet Egypt’s Revolutionaries… in NYC

What a great week! Well, at least for an Egyptian living in New York. Several young Egyptian activists who helped plan the protests and were prominent participants in the revolution that toppled the 30-year-regime of former President Hosni Mubarak were here this week.

It started off on Monday with Jon Stewart’s interview with political activist Gigi Ibrahim.

The infamous Wael Ghonim was also in New York. Ghonim was on top of Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

The 30-year-old former Google executive created one of the key Facebook groups which called for the January 25 protests. Two days into the uprising he was arrested by state security and disappeared for 10 days. His TV interview after his release is often credited for reigniting the protests.

Last but definitely not least Ahmed Maher and Waleed Rashed of the April 6 Youth Movement. The group was a key contributor to the revolution. I had the pleasure of meeting them. They told me incredible stories about the meticulous planning for the protests, including sending teams with stopwatches to calculate the time it would take to reach Tahrir Square from different points in Cairo. The group was featured in a Frontline documentary ”Revolution in Cairo.”

U.S.-Made Tear Gas

The U.S.-made tear gas used by Mubarak’s security forces against the peaceful protesters was a recurring theme. It was mentioned by Ibrahim on The Daily Show. Rashed even brought some tear gas with the “made in the U.S.” on it to show to audiences during his presentations.

The young activists were critical of the U.S.’s long support of Mubarak. Some were also wary of its present and future role. “The U.S. only supports democracy when it serves its interests,” said Rashed. Ghonim recently tweeted a statement that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made three days into the uprising saying the U.S. “wishes to maintain its partnership with the Egyptian government.”

April 6 Denies Getting U.S. Support

The April 6 movement is also taking the visit as a chance to refute information about receiving U.S. support prior to the revolution, as published in a New York Times article on April 14, based on a Wikileaks document.

“This is our revolution,” insisted Rashed. “Was Mubarak a friend or an enemy of the U.S.?” he asks sarcastically, hinting that the U.S. would not have supported an uprising against the former president.

Not Scared of the Islamists

The fear of the role of Islamists in the new Egypt was also a recurring question.

There seems to be agreement on two things when it comes to the political Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood, which was banned under Mubarak’s regime: they have the right to be part of the process and they are not as powerful as many believe. “They are like any Christian party in Europe. They can’t be dangerous if there is a strong political system and constitution,” said Maher of the April 6 movement. He adds that the group was attractive during Mubarak’s regime, as it was a way to reject the existing system, but now there are other options.

Many analysts believe the group would get between 20 and 30 percent in the parliamentary elections.

Marketing A Revolution Through Taxis

Some of the most intriguing information I learned from the April 6 movement was on how they “marketed” the January 25 protest.

In addition to using social media, graffiti and distributing flyers, they resorted to other creative tactics to spread the word. Anyone who’s lived in Egypt knows how chatty its taxi drivers are. The April 6 movement decided it was an asset to be used. The group sent teams to ride cabs. Instead of directly telling the driver about the protest, they would start talking about it on the phone, knowing that the driver was listening and would pass on the information to other riders.

Now What? Maher: ‘Worried And Optimistic’

Maher admits there are challenges facing Egypt, but is optimistic that the country will get there in time — two to three years, he estimates. As for the April 6 movement, it won’t become a political party and will not join one, but will be a “political pressure group.” Maher said they will work on raising political awareness through campaigns like the “Know Your Right” one they have launched. He said the group would support candidates, but right now it’s “more interested in the how and not the who.”

Ghonim recently announced he was leaving Google to start an non-governmental organization to “help fight poverty and foster education in Egypt.” He spoke passionately about his project at the event this week.

It was energizing to get a taste of what’s happening in Egypt here in New York. I sensed tremendous dedication, focus and determination that I fell will ensure a bright future for Egypt.

Follow Hoda Osman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hoda_osman

Egypt to open Gaza border permanently

The decision comes as Egypt seeks to chart a new foreign policy course, in the wake of the uprising that saw the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, that could strain its warm relationship with the United States and its ties with Israel.

Israeli officials have already expressed dismay over Egypt’s decision to restore full democratic relations with Iran for the first time since the revolution that overthrew the Shah in 1979.

The unease has grown after an opinion poll released earlier this month showed that 53 per cent of Egyptians supported the annulment of the country’s peace treaty with Israel, seen as vital linchpin of stability in the Middle East.

“We are troubled by the developments in Egypt, by the voices calling to annul the peace treaty, by the rapprochement between Egypt and Iran and by the upgrading of relations between Egypt and Hamas,” an Israeli government official told reporters.

“These developments potentially have strategic implications for Israel’s national security.”

Under the supervision of Mr Mubarak, the ousted president, Egypt participated willingly in the controversial blockade of Gaza, which has been under full Hamas control since 2007, by closing the territory’s southern border crossing at Rafah.

Mr Mubarak had little affection for Hamas, an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which the former president outlawed and suppressed while in power.

But since the revolution that toppled Mr Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood has been allowed to operate once more and the transitional military government has come under pressure the popular mood in Egypt, which is broadly sympathetic to Palestinian aspirations.

Egypt’s foreign minister, Nabil al-Arabi, said the blockade on Gaza had to be lifted in order to alleviate the “suffering of the Palestinian nation.”

Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which was partially eased last year, has been widely criticised for imposing what has been seen as “collective punishment” on its 1.5 million residents. David Cameron, the prime minister, last year described the territory as a “prison camp”.

By opening the border, however, Hamas will find it easier to transport rockets into Gaza which will then be turned on Israeli towns and cities, officials in Israel said.

Both Britain and the US have designated Hamas as a terrorist group.

One Israeli official said: “In the past, Hamas was able to rearm when Egypt was making efforts to prevent that. How much more can they build their terrorist machine in Gaza if Egypt were to stop?”

Despite its determination to become more independently assertive, Egyptian officials said they were determined to preserve the country’s peace treaty with Israel and steer a midway course between regional and western interests.

The decision to restore relations with Iran and to exchange ambassadors, they said, brought Egypt into line with its neighbours but did not mean that Tehran and Cairo were now “friends”.

“All the world has diplomatic relations with Iran with the exception of the United States and Israel,” Menha Bakhoun, a spokesman for the Egyptian foreign ministry, was quoted as saying.

“We look to Iran as a neighbour in the region that we should have normal relations with. Iran is not perceived as an enemy as it was under the previous regime, and it is not perceived as a friend.”

It comes after Fatah, the party of the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas announced a reconciliation after four years, following a meeting in Cairo.

In another move that will be seen as incendiary to Egypt, leaders of both parties have been invited to sign the unity agreement in Cairo on Wednesday.

Meanwhile an Egyptian soldier of the border guard unit was killed after exchanging gunfire with tunnel smugglers near the Gaza border.

The soldier was shot in the chest late Thursday night after spotting the smugglers near the Salah al-Din gate in the border town of Rafah, the officials said, adding the smugglers fled after opening fire.

The incident occurred hours before the border announcement.

Muslims Protest At Church in Cairo

Thousands of Muslim demonstrators gathered in front St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo, vowing not to leave until they know the whereabouts of Coptic women, especially Camilia Shehata, who allegedly converted to Islam but are held against their will by the Coptic Orthodox Church in monasteries and churches. The sit-in was called for by the newly-founded Coalition for the Support of New Muslims.

At the time of the Muslim demonstrations, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III was not present in his residence within the grounds of the Cathedral. The head of security at the Cathedral closed the gates and it was reported that Christians have been asked not to come to the Cathedral to avoid altercations with the protesting Muslims.

The Cathedral was cordoned off by the military police and security forces. Cairo saw today three separate protests staged by Salafis against Pope Shenouda and the church, marching afterwards to the Coptic Cathedral in Abbasiya. The first demonstration was in front of El-Fatah mosque in Ramsis Square, the second in front of Al-Nour mosque Abbasiya Square, and the third came out of the Sharia Association mosque in Ramsis.

The protesters demanded the resolution of the “ten demands”, which they called for last Sunday, during their protest in front of the el-Kayed Ibrahim mosque in Alexandria, mainly the “trial of Pope Shenouda”, ” the release of Camelia Shehata and Wafaa Constantine” and “inspection of monasteries and churches to look for Muslim women held by the church.”

The Muslims chanted “Islamic, Islamic, against your will, Islamic” in front of the Cathedral and “They abducted Wafaa Constantine, By Allah we will not be silent” and “With our souls and blood, we will defend Islam.” They held banners and photos of the alleged Muslim converts who were allegedly abducted by the church, as well as banners calling for an Islamic State.

At the time of their afternoon prayers, thousands of Muslims prayed with the organizers, who asked the demonstrators to turn their backs to the Cathedral.

Islamic lawyer Mamdouh Ismail gave a speech in which he called for the realization of human rights and the rule of law, pointing out that this sit-in is not directed against the cathedral as a house of worship for Christians, whom he described as partners in the homeland. He also asked the Christians “to participate in the demonstrations demanding the appearance of Camelia.” In the same context, Khalid Al Harbi, director of the “Islamic Observatory against Proselytizing,” said “we will not go and we will not plead with anyone, but we will take our rights with our own hands.”

A difference of opinion emerged between the organizers of the protest about when to end the protest. Renowned Muslim Salafi leaders Dr. Yasser Borhamy, from Alexandria, sent a message to the protesters asking them to disperse, saying the reason behind the protest was to deliver a message and so that no sectarian strife should occur because of the Salafis, while others like Abu Yehia, who claims he was with Camelia when she converted to Islam, wanted to break into the Cathedral.

Dr. Naguib Gabriel, head of the Egyptian Union of human rights organization, told Voice of the Free Copts that although demonstrations are legal, the Salafi demonstrations aim at incitement to sectarian strife in Egypt. “They call for the release of Camilia Shehata, who said she was a Christian and will live and die as a Christian,” he said. “Also, the authority who can say if she converted to Islam is Al-Azhar and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar confirmed two weeks ago that Camilia never set foot there. Do they want a confrontation with the Copts? Do they want bloodshed just because these people are making illegal demands?”

Gabriel said that the Supreme Council of the armed forces should put an end to these demands and the insults to Pope Shenouda and the church as they did last week and on April 25 in Alexandria. He pointed out the disgrace of Egypt being designated a “country of particular concern” by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. He added that the armed forces have to protect the Copts from the Muslims, otherwise he will go to the International institutions to do so.

Egypt receives $300 million from the U.S. every year to improve on human rights, “So where is this money?” Says Gabriel. “Do we take it to put it in our pockets? Where is this improvement?” He said that a Coptic conference will be held on May 8, to discuss the dire situation of the Copts after the January 25 Revolution.

Islamic lawyer Ismail said after the sit-in was called off , that he has reached an agreement with the army to solve the issue of Camellia Shehata by bringing her out on one of the satellite channels to declare whether she converted to Islam or not , and in exchange the Salafis are to suspend until such time all their demonstrations and sit-ins.

14 killed when bus slides off Nile ferry

Fourteen people traveling to a cemetery were killed Friday in Egypt when a minibus slid off a ferry into the Nile River.

The dead were all residents of the village of Beni Haydar, al-Masry al-Youm reported. Twenty bus passengers, all from the same village, survived, three of them with injuries.

The ferry was in the middle of the river at the time of the accident. The bus boarded the ferry at Ashmant, about 50 miles south of Cairo.

The victims, all men, ranged in age from 18 to 50, although most were in their 20s and 30s.

Hamdi Farouk, a prosecutor in Beni Suef, ordered the arrest of the owner and operator of the ferry pending the outcome of an investigation into the accident, the Egyptian newspaper said.

Egypt to open Rafah crossing

Egypt is preparing to open the Rafah crossing with Gaza for the first time since Hamas seized control of the Strip in 2007, Cairo said Thursday, in order to “put an end to Palestinian suffering”.

Also Thursday, four Palestinians were injured from IDF artillery fire, medical sources said. The sources added that ambulances had evacuated the four, which include a woman and a child. The army said it had fired at a terror cell attempting to plant an explosive device.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil El-Arabi told the al-Jazeera network that the Rafah crossing would open “in a few days” because it was the only way for Gazans to leave the Strip. “Egyptian national security and Palestinian security are one,” he added.

Other Egyptian officials responded Thursday to the truce deal being formed between Hamas and Fatah.

Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Higher Military Council that took control of Egypt after former President Hosni Mubarak was deposed, said on his Facebook page that “the threat against the Palestinian government has enraged Arab nations, which may augur disastrous results”.

Sami Annan, the Egyptian chief of staff, also made remarks on Facebook. “The Israeli government must show restraint when it discusses peace talks. It must refrain from intervening in internal matters of Palestine,” he wrote.

The Muslim Brotherhood also responded to the truce. Leader of the movement, Mohammed Badie, commended the agreement and Cairo’s instrumental role in bringing it about.

Badie called on Palestinian factions “not to listen to Zionist threats that reject this deal, which reveals their hostile stance towards a Palestinian truce that will return rights to Palestinians”.

The Muslim Brotherhood also called on the government to prevent the continuing supply of gas to Israel out of “solidarity with the Palestinian people besieged in the West Bank and Gaza”.

U.S. Embassy resumes normal operations in Egypt

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo has resumed normal operations and the State Department is lifting the “ordered departure” status for its non-emergency staff there, according to a travel alert issued Thursday.

“Given the continuing improvements since the January 25 Revolution, the ordered departure status for the U.S. Embassy has been lifted as of April 29, 2011, and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo has resumed normal operations,” the State Department alert said.

The State Department previously ordered the departure of all non-emergency U.S. government personnel and their families from Egypt on February 1, at the height of the uprising that ousted ex-leader Hosni Mubarak.

Thursday’s notice alerted U.S. citizens traveling in Egypt or heading there of possible “sporadic unrest” because Egyptian security services had yet to fully redeploy in the aftermath of the revolution.

Mubarak is being investigated in connection with the deaths of hundreds of activists during the uprising that led to his departure from office on February 11. The former leader is also under investigation for allegations of corruption and misuse of state funds.

Mubarak was under detention in a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Red Sea resort city, where he has been treated for health problems, including heart palpitations and blood pressure issues. He has been living in the resort city since he was ousted from power.

On ‘60 Minutes,’ Logan describes assault in Cairo

After two months of silence, CBS News correspondent Lara Logan has returned to work and she describes in an interview Sunday with “60 Minutes” the sexual assault she endured.

Logan and her crew were reporting in Cairo’s Tahrir Square about the historic fall of Hosni Mubarak’s government when her translator heard some of the men in the crowd tease in Arabic that they wanted to take Logan’s pants off.

Within seconds, a powerful mob of 200 to 300 men did just that and sexually assaulted Logan, who was on assignment for “60 Minutes,” covering the Feb 11 uprising.

Logan was grabbed away from her bodyguard, a former member of Britain’s elite military special services. The mob ripped off her clothes and beat her for more than 40 minutes. She prayed she would survive, according to pre-released transcripts of her first television interview since the assault.

“There was no doubt in my mind that I was in the process of dying,” she tells Scott Pelley, who conducted the interview. “I thought not only am I going to die, but it’s going to be just a torturous death that’s going to go on forever.”

The promotional clip shows a steely and determined Logan, interspersed with chaotic crowd footage taken by a CBS cameraman moments before she was separated from her producer, Max McClellan, and cameraman Richard Butler by the mob.

Logan’s attack ended when a group of Egyptian women and soldiers helped her. The soldiers drove her and her team back to their hotel, according to CBS. She returned to the United States the next day and was treated in a hospital for four days.

Logan will also appear in an interview on the “60 Minutes’’ webcast, 60MinutesOvertime.com.

Her attack spotlighted the dangers for female journalists working abroad, especially in countries with unfolding wars and a crumbling rule of law where protections for women are stripped away and there is often little recourse. ABC’s Christiane Amanpour and Fox News Channel’s Greg Palkot and Olaf Wiig also faced physical assault and intimidation during the protests that swept Mubarak from his post.

After Logan’s attack, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began a wide study of female journalists working around the world and the sexual violence and daily threats they face, said Lauren Wolfe, senior editor.

“We have spoken to dozens of journalists around the world, both local and foreign, who have told us about instances of sexual violence from groping to rape. Logan’s attack ended the code of silence about this issue,” said Wolfe, who added that Logan is on the board of CPJ. “We’re also studying the treatment of local women journalists who live in these countries and may endure even more trauma. ”

Women journalists often fear reporting more-daily cases of groping and sexual violence because they don’t want to be taken off the story. Logan’s case was an extreme example of the abuse females face covering stories.

Logan, who began her first full day back in her “60 Minutes” office this week, told colleagues that she hoped her story would give courage to other victims of sexual assault and she looked forward to returning to the field.

Snapshot: Egypt, Tourism and Islam

In spite of the apparent calm in Egypt after the historic “overthrow” of the Mubarak regime, travel, a major source of income for the country, has not recovered.

While some cruise lines have reinstated Egypt as a port of call, travel to the North African country is stagnant.

Veteran Travel Weekly reporter, Nadine Goodwin just returned from the region on a press trip with US travel professionals.

She reported that the famed pyramids of Giza, for example, which normally attract upwards of 10,000 visitors a day, had but a few tourists.

Apparently the usual bustle of camels, horses, carriages simply didn’t exist, and the hugely popular Light and Sound Show was mostly empty.

But as we have said, the Egyptians are a very resourceful people.

Amr El-Ezabi, the director of the Egyptian Tourism Authority is reportedly already marketing Tahrir Square, the heart of the historic uprising, as a product that “helped push Egypt to Democracy”.

El-Ezabi told Goodwin that he senses a tourism rebound among Europeans, and at least the country’s tourism problems stem from a positive event, not something negative like terrorism.

Interestingly, according to an Associated Press report on Newser most Egyptians want their laws to be affected by, and linked to the holy Quran.

But, overall, they are quite moderate in their religious outlook.

And while newly-liberated Islamic parties are poised make gains in upcoming elections, Egyptians are not prepared to swap democracy for religious extremism.

At the same time, only about 20 percent of Egyptians look favorably upon the United States and, Newser reported, half of Egyptians polled wanted to annul the 1979 peace accord with Israel.

Neither polling result bodes well for a recovery of the country’s critical tourism industry.

Egypt’s military rulers face crisis of confidence

As former officials go on trial for ordering the killing of protesters, some Egyptians still lack confidence in the ruling military, reports the BBC’s Leana Hosea in Cairo.

Egypt’s Supreme Military Council has promised that those responsible for abuses of power in the former government will be brought to justice.

On Tuesday, former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly appeared in court on charges of ordering the shooting of activists in the country’s popular uprising. He denies the allegations.

Mr Adly has recently been joined at Tora prison, on the outskirts of Cairo, by many other officials linked to the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Also under detention are Mr Mubarak’s two sons, Alaa and Gamal, who are being investigated in connection with the violent suppression of the uprising as well as for allegations of corruption.

The public prosecutor has also said Mr Mubarak, who is detained at Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital, will be moved to a military hospital. He faces similar charges.

A big effort is being made to show that nobody is above the law. Yet many people still have concerns.

Slow process

In a Cairo suburb, Islam Raafat’s parents have turned their small living room into a shrine for their son, who was run down by a white van that ploughed into protesters on 28 January.

“I’m happy the army have arrested Mubarak, but I’m also frightened because it is taking so long,” says his mother Kouther Abllah Mahmoud. “My son was killed three months ago.”

Some fears linger that Mr Mubarak will find immunity from prosecution.

“It’s been said that the army made a deal with their former commander-in-chief, Hosni Mubarak, not to press charges against him,” says retired Brigadier General Ayman Salama.

He believes that mass rallies on 8 April, pressing for a trial, pushed the military into a corner.

“After the ‘Cleansing Friday’ protests, the army felt they had to meet the people’s demands, or civil unrest and strikes would not stop and the army’s reputation would be damaged,” he says.

Continuing abuses

Human rights groups suggest there are other ominous signs that the army might not deliver on the demands of the revolutionaries.

They include hundreds of allegations of torture which they say are not being investigated.

According to the Egyptian Initiative on Personal Rights, a human rights group, more than 5,000 civilians have also been sentenced in military courts since the February revolution.

On 11 April, 25-year-old blogger, Maikel Nabil, was sentenced to three years in prison for insulting the military and spreading false information.

He had set up a movement against compulsory military service and suggested in his blog that the military could be as harsh as the Mubarak government when dealing with dissenters.

In a statement, Human Rights Watch described his conviction as “the worst strike against free expression in Egypt since the Mubarak government jailed the first blogger for four years in 2007″.

The sentencing of the blogger took place without his lawyer being present.

“What surprised me was that Maikel was sent to a military court and Habib el-Adly, the former interior minister, was sent to a civilian court,” says human rights activist Maged Maher.

“He was convicted in 13 days and Mubarak is enjoying his rights. This contradiction is raising many questions.”

In custody

Human Rights Watch says the army is replicating many familiar patterns.

Recently, I too was arrested and held for several hours with a group of Egyptian activists when reporting on a meeting about alleged human rights violations.

An army officer and plain-clothes policemen broke up the gathering on the grounds that false rumours were being spread against the military and that foreign spies were trying to ruin the revolution. Later an apology was issued.

However, democracy advocates foresee more trouble with the military leadership.

“We are not happy with the military and the way things are going,” says Alfred Raouf.

“More political confrontation with the army is inevitable”.

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