Demonstration for Ayman Nour
The Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies of Cairo, will be holding a demonstration in front of the White House on Saturday, March 25, 2006, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., together with Freedom House to demand the release of jailed Egyptian opposition politician Ayman Nour. The organizations will be joined by members of the European Parliament and human rights activists from the Middle East, the United States and Europe.
Ayman Nour, currently imprisoned on what many claim are trumped-up charges, is a prominent figure in the Egyptian civil opposition movement. In the last presidential election, he ran against President Mubarak and came in second. He was thrown in prison by the Egyptian government immediately after the elections.
The Egyptian government has a long history of censoring political speech and imprisoning, on what are frequently claimed to be false charges, those who express opposition to President Mubarak’s regime. In many cases, members of the judiciary appear to closely endorse the government’s goals. The judge who sentenced Mr. Nour to five years imprisonment, Adel Abdel Salam Gom’a, is the same judge who previously sentenced Saad Eddin Ibrahim, the prominent democracy and human rights activist, to prison on similar charges. Mr. Gom’a is known among Egyptian human rights activists as the “regime’s judge.”
Freedom House and the Ibn Khaldun Center invite the media and all who wish to stand in defense of human rights, democracy, and reform in the Middle East to join the demonstration. The groups will urge President Bush’s administration to continue to pressure the Egyptian regime to release Ayman Nour and cease its persecution of Egyptian advocates of democracy and reform.
For more information, please contact the demonstration coordinators:
Magdi Khalil 202 725 3091
Anna Mahjar Barducci 202 701 7661
I am going to try my best to be there (I could have done with a little more notice and I’ll bet many more could have as well; my guess 50-100 people unless the hippies cant find another one and take up the cause as well) but if I do make it I’ll blog it for you.
Also don’t forget to sign the petition. Regardless of how good a presidential candidate you feel Nour may be he is a patriot. His current situation was not just a possibility to his actions last September; it was a guarantee, and he did it for his country which is much, much more than I can say for most of the rest of our legalized bandits.
-Karim Elsahy
Was it the Egyptian government that jailed him or was he put on trial first & if so, then he wad found guilty by a judge. If the judge is in cahoots with the government, then how come the Judges were praised in the past presidential elections? I disagree that ayman nour did it for his country, he did it for his own glory & until furtehr evidence to the contrary i will not change my view of that political impostor whos the equivalent of amr khaled in religion. (Comment this)
As for the verdict, technically Nour is guilty. I have it on good authority that the reason the signatures were considered forged is because they were not collected in person. His reps would call the prospective signers and upon their acceptance write their names on the petition for them. True that’s illegal but it is the norm and tolerated for every other MP. Let me ask you something; when was the last time an MP hopeful or even an underling knocked on your door and asked you to sign a petition. Comical isn’t it?
Another thing, do you honestly think 2,000 signatures would be much of an obstacle for him? I stood in a crowd of at least 10-20 thousand adamant supporters at one of his rallies.
For fame? Maybe. It certainly wasn’t to further his political career that could have blossomed into a cash cow like the rest of our glorious MP’s though. And how do you deduce that anyway; any proof? Why are we always so quick to condemn our own. Is it impossible for someone to genuinely be after the good of our country? Or have we become so accustomed to parasitical rule that we can’t fathom a patriot.
-Karim Elsahy (Comment this)
When I read the previous message I smile in front of so much political immaturity, knowing that Egyptians are allredy far in front of Tunisians.
The way is still so long. (Comment this)
Technically or not, these signatures would have been gathered long before many knew who was he anyway.
Whether or not he forged the signatures, it was an egyptian court & an Egyptian Judge that sentenced him, true or false?
A few thousand rallying for ayman nour is irrelevant whether he is guilty or not, & sure many others would have got away with similair actions.
You are talking about one aspect when i am talking about it & other aspects that surround ayman. The crises at the party & accusations after his release, whats her name, makram ebeid the party secretary who resigned & later doubted the true abilities of ayman to run a party, ayman's infatuation with conspiracy theories prior to the election & during it, accusing the government of that podium collapse was quite immature of him, i didnt judge him at first but i read his party's newspaper a few times, saw him on telly & frankly didnt like the way he spoke or presented his ideas.
The last Straw was when he went to the MB headquarters to seek their followers support in the elections from their leader/guide mahdi akef & prayed behind him the noon prayers.
In the end he didnt get their support but why suck up to them in the first place? will yuou downplay the significance of that visit?
If he believed in Liberal & secular values, why deny it & turn on it as he did by claiming the Quran is his (party's) Constitution & ibn Hanbal sect is their way?
You want to tell me that that ayman nour genuinely wants whats best for Egypt?
I have some news for you, millions in egypt want to see it better too, but how many know how?
If you think or truly believe ayman nour is an avid patriot & a competent politican & is not doing all this for his own glory then you have been abroad for too long & still young to understand how things really are.
If you mean by the parasitical rule the government, then you would be naive to think it will change. One of the main reasons behind the free officers revolution was to end government corruption, they sure did succeed as much as ayman nour & his likes will too.
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You dont need this political rubbish in Tunisia. May God preserve Tunis from this turmoil.
Things will get better even though its a slow gradual progress but dont think that rapid change will beget miracles.
(Comment this)
Actually I am severely harrassed only for asking for freedom of speech.
(Comment this)
I am sorry for your speech freedom harassment, i do agree with you on [that freedom of speech, freedom of opinion and freedom of conscience are imperative necessities to allow political maturity and development.] totaly, but that can only be with educated civil people.
In Egypt nearly half the population is illiterate,45% dont know how to read or write, how can they be part of any democratic process?
I visited Tunisia before & enjoyed it immensely although was in winter & rained alot but found tunisians to be decent, courteous & civil people. for the first time in my life i felt envy. (Comment this)
Only democracy can bring a garantee of protection and it begins with freedom of speech so you can help the political maturity of the illiterates.
We cannot allow that only radical Islamists take the front of the political scene through violence. Violence has never been a solution and Islam is meant to be peacefull.
So between autocrates and theocrates we need to support democrats.
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I cannot claim i know much about the whole situation in your country, but i never heard of any islamists in Tunisia, are they as vocal & violent as the ones in Egypt & saudi arabia? I pray not, i think its those who need to be harassed other than anyone else because they dont seek any liberties & if they take over anywhere, kiss the freedom you have goodbye.
In a way, there is a paradox here. sure freedom of speech is important but we see in many parts of the world Islamists who take advantage of this freedom to propagate their poisonous ideas which finds its way easily,through religion, to many people & that is when serious problems start. I have been watching in disgust for nearly 15 years as islamists preached hatred & violence in the UK & wondered why didnt any government do anything about them? why do british taxpayers have to pay for the likes of abu hamza al masri & others who clearly had no respect to british values or people, till the honeymoon was over but at what price? the July bombings in London is a wake up call to brits & i think now they are taking measures to stop such recurrences taking place again. What i am trying to say is, there is a difference between real & true democracy speeches & inciting hatred & revolt speeches. Arab governments should treat both differently, while hitting the latter hard & easing it on the former as long as its peaceful.
Environments in Middle Eastern countries are slow & almost still, & i think that change is inevitable anywhere in the world & so if change takes place suddenly or fast, then its results are surely going to be disastrous, but if the change is slow & gradual, its going to be healthy.
A minister in egypt recently said that egyptian people are immature politically & almost everyone assailed him even though he has a valid point. No one even wanted to think about it but if they did, they would find his remarks to bear many facts. They took it as an insult & not as criticism, they call for democracy from the government yet dont accept it when a minister speaks freely, this is part of the irony.
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I forgot to add before, have you visited any arab countries?
In my humble opinion, if you compared tunisia with most of them you will find that tunisia is better off.
1-Women have rights in tunisia, that others lack in the arab world.
I know that polygamy is prohibited & women can get a divorce as husbands divorce their wives in arab countries.
Even though many arabs attack that law, but they dont know its actually based on Sheikh Mohamed Abdou's teachings, who said polygamy should be prohibited & in rare cases be granted by a court judge. While women cannot even drive in saudi arabia, fighting for their rights to vote in others while in egypt they are in a serious relapse, so i am sure even you appreciate that & realise how important it is.
2-You dont have the word Arab in your official nomenclature. its Republic of Tunisia & not the arab republic of tunisia.
I dont know of a country that uses its racial identity on its official name except arab states. Why the need to confirm it, when half of them are not really arabs?
3-Tunisia is the only country with no political feuds with its neighbours or anyone. That is in itself an achievment.
I think the future is bright for tunis, the key is economic progress & i know that the trade agreement with the EU is going very well & Europeans are pleased with the progress in tunisia, i still feel sorry for your harassment though i dont know who you are, maybe you upset someone & they are hiding behind others, but all im trying to say is things are worse in other countries around you, if you already know this then im sure you have perspective on many things too, again im sorry my info on tunisia isnt so deep but i know its not as half bad as others.
what do you think of tunisian films? do they reflect the ills of society or they dont?
I personally watched a few & think they were good in delving into general problems, alot better than egyptian films do, & they seem to be influenced by french film making. (Comment this)
Today with TV stations like al manar and other, Islamic movements don't even need a leadership, they are growing everywhere spontaneously.
So we come back to freedom of speech to contradict radical Islam, since we are also Moslems and we need to defend our moderate and democratic views. This of course doesn't please autocrates. They'd rather terrorize the whole world by showing what islamist can do.
Of couse I know the Arab world, I've lived in it all my chilhood in different countries, since my father was ambassador specialised in the Middle East. Of course I am conscious that Tunisia is quite advanced, but we need to continue evolving towards modernity without taking a single risk of regression. We have no oil to easily rebuild what has been built.
Take a look at my web site and you will know much more about me and Tunisia http://www.plmonline.info
(Comment this)
It is a good thing that the islamists are dismantled & non functional, they cannot be reasoned with as they want to send society as far back as they can.
Islamists are a real danger, worse than autocrats.
When you say you are conscious, arent you grateful in a way that tunis is more advanced than others?
Women are half the living force in any community & half the communities in all arab countries are sidelined.So most arab communities are actually like a physically challenged person, with one arm instead of 2.
Where women are fighting for basic rights, women in tunisia enjoy the best status in the arab world & have rights that others envy & that to me isnt a small achievment,it is big.
& as long as there hasnt been any regression in that regard & economy is going forward, even if its slow, then things are going in the right direction,maybe its the speed of progress that is bothering you. (Comment this)
Please allways remember these three points
First: No citizen should be left behing. Islamist or not, every single citizen has rights.
Second: Theocrats are the consequence of autocracies.
Third: Educated women are the best barrier against theocrats. And educated men should be the best barrier against autocrats.
Think of it (Comment this)
Islamists have rights yet they strip it from others in the name of God, Theocrats are worse than autocrats in my opinion. No nation has progressed or moved forward with Theocrats & thank goodness you dont have any of them in your country
I am interested in history more, not in politics,i only look at politics from a historical point of view.what i see is that nowdays, many countries across the world are having serious problems,politically & economicaly.
Americans are displeased with George Bush & his neo cons, Britain is suffering from an autocratic Blair government turning Britain more & more into a soft totalitarian state.
If you Look at Russia, Japan, China, Taiwan & Turkey...they are having more serious problems on many fronts, yet progressing none the less!
Compare Tunisia with african & arab countries, & you will easily conclude that Tunisia is better off than them, including South Africa!!
Historically speaking, Theocrats are a natural product of the faithfull & their needs, autocrats using them is another thing but in all, theocrats are not the result of autocrats.
I dont agree with your last bit, if i understood it,besides its a weird classification for me. However education is the most important barrier against theocrats, but cant see how its against autocrats!
Theocrats are worse than autocrats in my opinion. No nation has progressed or moved forward with Theocrats & thank goodness you dont have any of them in your country.
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what stopped me from reading on is this guy trying to make Tunis a great place to look at, "Tunisia is the only country with no political feuds with its neighbours or anyone. That is in itself an achievment." ... damn us all arabs, we have just lost one of 21 parts... i thought 21 parts are already a shame and cant go any worse, will it just got worse, we first lost Somalia, and now Tunis!!! if tunisian people cannot relate to palestinian, solami, sudani, iraqi and lebanese problems, let them just remember: okeltu yawma ukela al thawr al abyad (eaten the day the white bull has been) and that the trick played upon us in early 1900s is WORKING ON TUNIS... the trick was: thou shall be twentttty one different countries... great job people, keep discussing politics, may god yeskhatna kolna!
and whomever "ayman" is, i just have to say, i dont read much papers (i dont believe it and it diverges my focus on making life a better place to be!!!) but whatever he did, he was the first to run elections, greetings for his courage, and may Allah awards him "and him alone" with whatever brings joy to his little couragous heart... at least he wasing sleeping, like all the other arabs; ... and tunis.. and somalia! and if he did forge those singnature, then AMEN, there are no rules in wars (Comment this)