And the Anti-Protest Law is issued !!

And Egyptian interim president Adly Mansour has issued the infamous Protest law today. Here is what I originally wrote about that protest law last month.
Amazingly I remember that deputy PM Ziad Bahaa El Din hinted out last month after his meeting with political parties that the law would be discussed in the new elected parliament but it turned to be an empty promise unfortunately. The Conservative/Deep State/Pro-Military/Pro-Police branch won after all.
Now here is an English preview for the law from Ahram Online. Also here is a collection of tweets from HRW Egypt director Heba Morayef about the law in English after the break.

Here is the original text in Arabic.
Anyhow revolutionaries are not stopped by this law , actually they are breaking it next Tuesday as . The final voting on the draft constitution will be allegedly on Tuesday.

revolutionary groups are organized a protest against the military trials for civilians in the constitution in front of the Shura Council where the Constitution Committee holds its sessions
BY the way for those who are supporting the Protest law and say that we should learn from civilized democratic countries that got a law to organize protesting and so on , well I tell them one thing : Give us the same freedom , the same democracy , the same accountability and the same respect of human rights before speaking about law that actually is against the right of protests.
Now here is the video of the day. A former Police general tells the police force to activate the law even ‘by the shoe’ aka ‘hit the protesters by shoes’ and TV host Dina Abdel Rahman reminds him that this “shoe” talk is the one that made as backward nation !!

By the shoe !!

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You Do not go to the streets after this law !!

Today Al Shorouk Newspaper published the draft protest law prepared by the government aka ministry of interior which is also being reviewed now by interim president Adly Mansour. According to the articles published in the newspaper protesting will be officially an impossible thing in Egypt.

Among the interesting articles : You have not only to notify the ministry of interior with not only the time and place but also the number of the protesters expected to come 24 prior to the protest. I do not know how anyone will be able to tell the expected number of protesters !!  The ministry of interior will then grant you the permission. Question : How anyone can predict the number of the protesters in any protest !!!
You also have to tell the ministry of interior the names of the organizers and their contacts as well the goals and demands of the protest.

 The million dollars question is : Will the ministry of interior allow a protest against itself ?
In another article the minister of interior and other ministry's officials can cancel the whole event if it violates the conditions and terms the ministry listed in the law.
Of course the draft law bans sits in. It also bans protests and sits in nearly vital governmental institutions except after 100 meters like Presidency palaces , governmental offices , ministries, embassies , governorates and courts !! Just go to the desert and protest there !!I think Tahrir square is off limits for real according to this law.
For the record the law states that there will be a space in every governorate allocated for protests !! 

From what we know there are voices inside the cabinet against the law , actually it is one and only voice : Dr. Ziad Bahaa El Din.


For the record Bahaa El Din allegedly warned the government of applying this law. Of course the social democrat politician can not stand against the deep state alone.
Anyhow outside the government there are some people who began to become vocal against the law.
Former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abu El Fotuh criticized it and attacked the current regime in Egypt because of it.

قانون منع التظاهروالاعتصام المزمع إصداره يحسم اﻷمرأمام كل متردد بأننا نواجه سلطة قمعية ليس لها مشروعية تستهين بحريات وكرامة وحقوق المصريين.
— عبدالمنعم أبو الفتوح (@DrAbolfotoh) October 17, 2013

"The proposed law to ban protests and sits in settles the matter , we are in front of an oppressive regime that got no legitimacy underestimating the freedoms , dignity and the rights of Egyptians."

Ezzedine Choukri , the writer and diplomat also is against the law.

مشروع قانون التظاهر يشكل انتهاكا لتعهد الحكومة الوارد في برنامجها السياسي بحماية حرية التعبير السلمي #قانون_التظاهر
— عزالدين شكري فشير (@EzzedineCF) October 17, 2013

"The draft protest law is considered a violation to the government's promise in its political program to protect the freedom of peaceful expression" 
Did not know that the government had a political program or promises already.
MP Mostafa Al Nagar also condemned the new draft law in his official Facebook page today. 

"The current protest law with its current form looks like a bastard child from Mubarak and Muslim brotherhood regime to join the temporary detention farce in an attack on freedoms. We want a law that organizes protests and not to ban protest, we want a law that criminalizes the murder of the peaceful protester not to legalize it, we want to widen the space of freedoms and not to tighten it up.We will bring down any law that can not be implemented for its unrealistic nature. The authorities should learn from the past mistakes and to respect themselves as well not to increase their enemies with their increasing stupidity."

Even the Pro-Sisi Pro-Military trials Tamaroud group is against the law for God sake !!

On Twitter the Pro-Revolution tweeps launched a hashtag Arabic "I_refuse_the protesting_law"

Ironically a similar protest law was drafted by the minister of interior in time of Morsi and was completely rejected by almost everybody, I do not know where "everybody" is now especially the liberal and leftist forces and icons !! Was the whole issue with those silent now that it would be issued during the time of the Muslim brotherhood's rule and was not about the oppression !? I fear part of the answer is yes , big yes.

The Pro-Military/Pro-Police state supporters think that Egypt needs this law to save it from chaos , of course they do not understand the lesson that popular revolutions and uprisings can not be stopped by laws when their time come. They do not want to understand unfortunately that they are giving up their right and the rights of children , what if their military savior turns in to another Omar El Bashir !? They speak about countries like UK and USA without realizing that these are developed democratic countries already not a country struggle for real to put its first step towards democratic transition.

 I remember the days when all the Pro-Military Facebook pages and twitter accounts begging the people to go to the streets to protest on 30 June 2013. I remember Egypt's new idol Abdel Fatah El Sisi begging the people to go to the streets to mandate him and the army in order to fight the terrorism to the end of that talk. I do not know why protests were not that bad then !!

The stability of Egypt won't restored by banning sits in and protests but rather through true democratic civilian transition. 

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#NGOs Draft Law is Here

The Egyptian Presidency has released the NGOs draft Law to the public at Mohamed Morsi’s official Facebook Page today. Oh yes because it is an official and professional presidency , it publishes the 40 pages draft law in a photo album
Anyhow to help others , I downloaded the draft law and transferred in to a PDF. You can read the draft law after the break as a PDF.

There is controversy about this law as expected and Egyptian NGOs have expressed their rejection to the NGOs law. Many independent activists as well expressed their refusal.
I am currently in a hurry so I will quote the objections of Heba Morayef , the human rights watch Egypt director which she stated on her official twitter account.
According to Morayef the draft law , specifically article No.14 allows government to object the Egyptian NGOs fundraising domestically as well to object any internal decision taken by the NGOs without any restriction according to article No.18.
She also added that according to articles 12 and 72 any NGO or club joins a foreign club or association or NGO or organization without informing the Coordinating Committee for the NGOs will be either suspended or disbanded.
One of the biggest points she raised also was the foreign funding. The law amazingly approves the foreign funding from individuals and NGOs inside and outside Egypt but it does not allow foreign governmental and inter-governmental funding to the NGOs.
Already you can read the human rights watch's report about the draft law here. 
The coordinating commission of NGOs is a new authority made by the government to supervise the NGOs and its location will be in Cairo. Of course activists outside Cairo are annoyed from this because centralization has already been killing the civil society in Egypt.
The law is heading to the Shura council and based on past experience , we should expect the worst from it. 

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