Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for Egypt
Newsline: Saudi ambassador returns to Egypt
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Egypt returned to Cairo after tensions briefly spurred the kingdom to pull its envoys and shutter its missions. Ambassador Ahmad Kattan resumeed his duties on Sunday, the Saudi Press Agency said. Saudi Arabia called back Kattan and closed its embassy and consulates last Sunday after raucous protests in Cairo over the imprisonment of Ahmed Mohammed el-Gezawi, an Egyptian human rights lawyer. Throngs of Egyptians had gathered in front of the Saudi Embassy, calling for the release of el-Gezawi. The decision to pull out Saudi diplomats came after protesters’ “attempts to storm and threaten the security and safety of its (embassy) employees,” the Saudi Press Agency said. “What has happened in the recent days of repercussions in the relationship between the two countries is painful to every honorable Saudi and Egyptian citizen, and our decision to recall the ambassador and the closure of the embassy were only to protect its employees from other situations that could have developed with dire consequences,” the Saudi Press Agency said, quoting King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. “We will not allow this incidental crisis to prolong.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/05/world/meast/saudi-arabia-egypt/
Newsline: Saudi Arabia to reopen Egypt embassy after protests
Saudi Arabia has announced it will reopen its embassy in Cairo after it was shut last week following protests. The Saudi ambassador was recalled after protesters gathered to demand the release of an Egyptian human rights lawyer being held in the kingdom. Saudi King Abdullah ordered the reopening of the embassy and consulates in Alexandria and Suez from Sunday. A high-level Egyptian delegation had visited the kingdom to defuse tensions. Egyptian human rights lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawi was detained on arrival in Saudi Arabia in early April and accused of insulting King Abdullah. His family says he had gone to perform a pilgrimage, but Saudi authorities say Mr Gizawi was found by airport officials to be carrying drugs – allegedly more than 20,000 anti-anxiety pills – in his luggage. Egyptian activists say he was held after lodging a complaint against Saudi Arabia for its treatment of Egyptians in its prisons. Many Egyptians work in Saudi Arabia and some claim they have been mistreated under Saudi law. After the protest outside the Saudi embassy in Cairo, the Saudis recalled their ambassador and closed the embassy and consulates citing safety concerns. However, there has been no word yet on the fate of Mr Gizawi who is thought to still be in custody in Saudi Arabia. Observers say this has been the worst diplomatic falling-out between the two regional allies since Saudi Arabia severed ties after Egypt signed a peace deal with Israel in 1979.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17960084
Newsline: Saudis urged to reconsider Egypt embassy closure
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) issued a statement regarding the ongoing diplomatic row that has led to the closure of Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Cairo. “The Freedom and Justice Party has called upon the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to avoid increasing tension between Cairo and Riyadh and to reconsider its decision to shut its embassy in Cairo and consulates and recall its ambassador for consultations,” the party declared. The FJP went on to state that Egyptian activists protesting outside the Saudi embassy in Cairo in recent days were simply “expressing their opinion that insulting the dignity of Egyptians abroad is no longer tolerated – not after the peaceful revolution [early last year] that restored their will, their voice and their dignity.” The party called on Saudi authorities to allow an Egyptian team to join ongoing investigations into the case of Egyptian lawyer and political activist Ahmed El-Gizawi, who was detained last week by Saudi authorities. Results of investigations, the party added, should be announced in an “unbiased fashion to the public.” Egyptian activists have been staging anti-Saudi rallies at the kingdom’s embassy in Cairo for the last four days to demand El-Gizawi’s release and denounce the alleged mistreatment of Egyptians by Saudi authorities. El-Gizawi was allegedly detained on charges of “defaming the king” after he filed a lawsuit in a South Cairo court against Saudi monarch King Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz Al-Saud on behalf of Egyptians held without charge in Saudi prisons. Following reports that El-Gizawi had been sentence to 20 lashes and one year in prison, Saudi officials denied the claims, stating that the Egyptian lawyer had been arrested after being found in possession of more than 21,000 pills of anti-depressant drug Xanax, the illicit sale of which is proscribed in the kingdom.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/40429/Egypt/Politics-/Brotherhoods-FJP-urges-Saudi-to-reconsider-Egypt-e.aspx
Newsline: Iran plot to kill Saudi envoy in Cairo foiled
Egyptian security services foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Cairo several months ago, the legal advisor of the kingdom’s embassy said in local dailies. Egypt “arrested three Iranians planning to assassinate the ambassador, Ahmed Qattan,” Al-Hayat quoted Sami Jamal as saying. “Egyptian authorities informed concerned parties at the Saudi foreign ministry of the details of the plot, but the Saudi side opted to keep silent on the matter,” Jamal said. The arrests were made three months ago. Questioned about the reports, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, told reporters in Tehran that the allegation was “absolutely incorrect.” “Manufacturing such issues can only help divisions among Muslim countries and benefit the Zionist regime (Israel),” he said. Riyadh on Saturday recalled its ambassador from Cairo after angry protests outside the Saudi embassy in Cairo over the arrest of an Egyptian human rights lawyer in the Gulf kingdom. Saudi state news agency SPA said the Cairo embassy as well as the kingdom’s consulates in the Mediterranean cities of Alexandria and Suez were closed. In October, the United States accused Iran of plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington. Iran has fiercely denied any involvement in the alleged plot.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4223427,00.html
Newsline: Egypt Seeks To Woo Back Saudi Ambassador
Saudi Arabia is reported to be reconsidering the decision to recall its ambassador to Egypt, after leaders in Cairo worked to heal a rift between the Arab neighbors. The Saudis closed their mission in Egypt following anti-Saudi protests there. Egypt’s de-facto leader, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, reached out to officials in Saudi Arabia in an attempt “to contain the situation.” Egyptian state media said he began efforts to heal the rift within hours of the Saudi decision Saturday to bring its ambassador back home. Protesters had besieged the embassy in Cairo and other Saudi missions around Egypt for several days last week, protesting the detention of Egyptian human-rights lawyer Ahmed el-Gezawi. His supporters say he is being held in retaliation for a lawsuit he filed against the Saudi monarchy over the treatment of Egyptian workers in the kingdom. Saudi officials counter that Gezawi was trying to smuggle in vast quantities of a banned anti-anxiety medication. The diplomatic rift is the worst in decades between two of the most influential Arab nations, and caught many average Egyptians by surprise.
http://www.eurasiareview.com/30042012-egypt-seeks-to-woo-back-saudi-ambassador/
Newsline: Saudi Arabia shuts down embassy in Egypt
Saudi Arabia closed its embassy in Egypt and recalled its ambassador following protests over a detained Egyptian human rights lawyer in a sharp escalation of tension between two regional powerhouses already on shaky terms because of uprisings in the Arab world. The unexpected Saudi diplomatic break came following protests by Egyptians outside the Saudi Embassy in Cairo to demand the release of Ahmed el-Gezawi. Relatives and human rights groups say he was detained for allegedly insulting the kingdom’s monarch. Saudi authorities said he was arrested for trying to smuggle antianxiety drugs into the conservative kingdom. Egypt’s military ruler, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, has asked King Abdullah to reconsider the decision, the Saudi news agency reported. The news agency said the king would look into the matter.
http://www.freep.com/article/20120429/NEWS07/204290597/Saudi-Arabia-shuts-down-embassy-in-Egypt
Newsline: Egypt refuses to rent building to Israeli embassy
Israel’s embassy in Cairo has been operating out of a temporary residence for the past seven months because Egypt is refusing to sell or rent out a building to Israel. Israel’s ambassador to Cairo Yaakov Amitai has been working out of his hotel room since Israel cleared out its embassy building in Egypt last week. Israel has not used the embassy since the attack in September, when protesters ransacked one of the embassy’s offices, dumping Hebrew-language documents out a window and trapping six Israeli staff members inside for several hours. The protests were in response to the killing of six Egyptian police officers near the border by Israeli forces. The Egyptian security expert further said that “the current crisis derives from the fact that every time the Israeli embassy finds a new embassy building, the owners’ then refuse to sell or rent the property after finding out who the buyer is.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4210848,00.html
Newsline: Israel asks to clear Cairo embassy contents
Israel has asked Egypt for permission to send planes to remove the contents of its Cairo embassy, Egyptian foreign ministry and airport sources said, highlighting deteriorating ties between the two states since Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year. It was not immediately clear what prompted the request but a parliamentary committee issued a statement last week in the wake of Israeli raids on Gaza demanding the Israeli envoy be expelled from Cairo and for a review of ties with the Jewish state. It was not clear whether or not the move would also involve evacuating staff. Israeli diplomats in Cairo could not be reached and Israel’s Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment. The Israel’s ambassador was evacuated from Cairo in September last year after demonstrators stormed the embassy in protest at a deadly border shooting incident in August. The ambassador, Yitzhak Levanon, briefly returned in November for farewell assignments at the end of his tour. A new Israeli ambassador, Yaacov Amitai, took office in February. An airport source also said a request to send two planes had been submitted, and that the airport had already received approval for the planes to land.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-egypt-israel-embassybre82k033-20120320,0,6859390.story
Newsline: Egypt’s parliament wants Israel’s ambassador out
Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament has unanimously voted in support of the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador in Cairo and for a halt to gas exports to the Jewish state. The Monday vote was taken by a show of hands on a report by the chamber’s Arab affairs committee that declared that Egypt will “never” be a friend, partner or ally of Israel. The report described the Jewish state as the nation’s “number one enemy.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2017731006_apmlegyptisrael.html
Newsline: Diplomats aid beaten NZ woman in escape
A Tirau woman claims she was beaten with a slave whip, starved and scared, and believes she would still be a hostage of her Egyptian husband if it wasn’t for a team of New Zealand diplomats who helped her escape. Sharon Churchill says last month she was was sleeping with a steel pipe for protection, and claims she was suffering emotional abuse and beatings from her husband of five months – a man she once called the love of her life. With the help of New Zealand embassy officials from Cairo, she escaped on February 14 and is warning other women about the dangers of holiday romances. In letters the 41-year-old has sent to Prime Minister John Key and other Government ministers, Ms Churchill credits a team of diplomats with saving her life by working with Egyptian authorities to get her safely out of the house and on a flight back to New Zealand. One of those who assisted her was Barbara Welton, the same diplomat who has been helping a Northland woman locked in a child custody battle with her husband in Algeria. Ms Welton is understood to have sat on the floor during a tense stand-off involving dozens of police, soldiers and Algerian locals. She refused to leave the property “without my citizens”. Back home in Tirau, Ms Churchill had some words of advice for any woman considering a holiday romance in the Middle East: “Have a fling.”
http://www.rotoruadailypost.co.nz/news/diplomats-aid-beaten-nz-woman-in-escape/1299832/
