#Hala’ib triangle in Photos : The City of Hala’ib

Ok in this cold weather accompanied with a wave of depressing news from Egypt , one can find an escape as well in solace in photos from around the globe and from Egypt itself.
We are back to the Hala’ib triangle photo series. If you remember last month we stopped at the Camel market in Shalateen , well today we will head to the city of Hala’ib itself.
Here is a photo gallery showing the city of Hala’ib itself by Yasser El Rasoul

The city of Hala’ib is not as open as Shalateen , you have to get the permission of military intelligence to film and to photograph in the border disputed city. The city itself is extremely poor as you can see from the photos but the people do not complain from the lack of modernity or lack of infrastructure. When Resala sent a relief expedition there , they thought that they would hear tons of demands but what they heard actually was a simple demand to have a mosque !!
Only today I read the ministry of religious endowment will build new 4 mosques in the city. Of course I believe hospitals and schools as well other infrastructure. I think the government with simple few houses operated with solar energy in this environment won’t cost it huge sum considering the billions spent every year. We are speaking very small population that need true help to feel that they are truly recognized by the state.
From couple of weeks ago , I read a news that the government will start huge development and mining projects in the area. I hope that they are true and not just fake news to cheer up the public in Cairo

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Regarding The Reuters' Poll about Arab Women : My two cents

I think it is never too late to speak about that Reuters' poll concerning women’s rights in the Arab world and its shocking result that Egypt is the worst place for any woman to live in. Even worse than Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Somalia !!
Yeah Egypt is even worse than Saudi Arabia where women can not take off their black Abayas and can move or do anything without the approval of their male guardian’s approval.
Yes Saudi Women “especially the rich” can have access to better health care and education but only with the approval male guardians. The Saudi women already need male guardian to drive them to hospitals official to get that treatment we do not have in Egypt. Ironically this poll hurts the struggle of Saudi women activists who are fighting for real to gain fundamental rights like driving their own cars for God sake !!
In Sudan women get imprisoned and flogged for wearing trousers while in Yemen girls as young as 9 years old are forced to marry. In war torn Syria , Syrian women are raped , killed , tortured and imprisoned for God sake !! I can go after each Arab country to prove my point that it is equivalent hell for ladies in neighbor countries in a way or another.
I will not speak about the progress of women has achieved in this country or the historical milestone of pioneer ladies in Egypt that fought to gain their rights starting with the education right. I will not lie and say that Egypt is the best place for women now but I will say that it is not entire hell either comparing to our dear sister Arab countries.
Of course the poll caused a lot of controversy and angry among women activists in Egypt and they have to be. Many asked about the methodology and the sample,the questions as well the timing of the poll. 
Also interestingly this poll is based upon CEDAW treaty , yes the Controversial CEDAW that many Muslim and Arabic countries got their objections and reservations about that treaty like for instance Saudi Arabia where it said clearly that it would not implement any term in the treaty that contradicted directly with the Islamic Sharia “according to the Wahabi doctrines”.
I am not fooling myself Egyptian women are facing lots of challenges but again just as it is not paradise nor hell , it is only Egypt.

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#Hala’ib Triangle in Photos : Camels Market in #Shalateen

Here is the third part of the Hala’ib triangle in photos series. After the amazing photos of Shalateen port and the village of Abraq in Shalateen , this time it is about the famous Camels market in the city of Shalateen.
The Camels market is one of the most famous landmarks in the city. It is the biggest market for camels in Egypt. The camels come from Sudan in a long trip led by their herders. Their temporary stop is at that market in Shalateen waiting to be sold to the camel merchants that come from all over the country in a long trip.
Now this time the photo slide show is a mix of photos by photographer Yasser El Rasoul and famous Photo journalist/dear friend Hossam el-Hamalawy.

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#Hala’ib triangle in Photos : The village of #Abraq by Yasser EL Rasoul

And here is the second part of The Hala’ib triangle in photos series. I started it with a photo slide show from Shalateen Port. This time the slide show is from the small village of Abraq in Shalateen.

These amazing photos were taken by talented photographer Yasser El Rasoul.

Abraq is 130 kilometer away from city of Shalateen in the North West.

Its people are from the Beja people ethnic. The Beja people are from the oldest ethnic groups in North Africa , it is enough to know that they used to fight along with the ancient Egyptians. Yes sir they are so old and so unique.

Now the village of Abraq is extremely poor as you can see in the photo , its main water source is that water well bearing the village name in the slide show “it looks amazing”. It is not about living in nomadic environment , it is about zero supplies and utilities. The people of Arbaq work mainly in pasture but some of them go to the mounts searching for coal in order to trade it with food especially Wheat in Shalateen main market.

What I say in this post is based upon the testimonies of the young humanitarians that went there and saw what they were not prepared for.

Amazingly the people there are content and they do not ask for more. They also are not angry from the valley or from the State that it neglected them.

The Egyptian Food Bank and Resala helped the people of Abraq before , there are also independent youth mostly from Islamists organizing food and medical supplies caravans.

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#Hala’ib Triangle in Photos : Shalateen Port by Yasser El Rasoul

As expected after raising the disputed Hala’ib triangle in the Egyptian media thanks to El Bashir’s officials statements earlier this year , it is no longer on radar and the neglected disputed rich-in much need of development is back to the abyss of oblivion. 

Well I did not forget this area and today I share with you those photos from there giving you a glimpse of the neglected triangle there. The photos are taken by photographer Yasser El Rasoul in 2012. I gathered the photos from his Facebook Page in to storify Slideshows to be published in a series through out this week here in the Egyptian Chronicles.

I will start the series with photos from Shalateen Port in the city of Shalateen.

Here is Shalateen port on the map.

 

Only last September 2013 the minister of transportation in the interim government agreed to found an international marine port in Shalateen.

Yasser El Rasoul took over 100 photos from different areas in the triangle. Of course I must hint out that he is one of the best photographers in Egypt to use HDR in nature photos. These photos should not be only published on Facebook but rather in some Egyptian National Geographic if we are speaking seriously.

They are amazing photos and honestly I will use them in order to make you back here and read more about that part of Egypt.

You can go to Shalateen easily.According to my friends who went there , there are two humble hotels there.

Insh Allah One day I visit this place with my little camera and document life there in Egyptian Chronicles. It is on my bucket list. Hopefully soon insh Allah I will make it.

This series is dedicated to late Mindy Bahaa El Din.Her birthday is today. 

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Strike4Sudan : The Sudanese Won't give up

You may think that things have calmed down in Sudan after two weeks of protesting against El Bashir , you may think that Sudanese gave up quickly. Well they did not give up and they know that this is just the start in a path that will end up with freeing Sudan from the iron fist that dictatorship they were cursed with. 

Sudanese activists have started since yesterday a 5 days hunger strike. Yes 5 days hunger strike for those specific demands.

1. Release of all political detainees.
2. Bringing those responsible for the killing of protesters to justice and allowing people to demonstrate without fear of detention or use of force. 
3. Freedom of expression and allowing journalists to resume their role and lift the bans on newspapers.

You can follow the updates of the strike4Sudan in this blog. 
Also this blog "Sudan Martyrs" follow the list of Sudanese martyrs fallen in the past weeks. 

You can follow the updates of the strike on the following hashtags on twitter : #Strike4Sudan and #اضراب_للسودان in Arabic
By the way I am so astonished on how the West has been silent on what was taking place in Sudan , was not Omar El Bashir a criminal wanted by the ICC !? Was not he wanted for his crimes in Darfur !? Is not he a dictator ? I know that there is an iron curtain when it comes to media inside Sudan but this is too much. 

This video below is Mosireen Collective production about Sudan. It is Arabic and has not been yet translated. It is called "Revolution continues ..Sudan".Please share it.
I am shocked to see such footage now especially when it comes to the massacres in Nuba mounts !!

Indeed Revolution does not only continues but it grows day after day

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#Sudan_Revolts : It is Martyrs Friday “Graphic”

It is Friday and people started to protest against El Bashir regime while facing his security forces and their weapons bravely as usual. This is the fourth day the Sudanese head to the street protesting not only now against the lift of subsidies but against the massacre that took place in the country.

There are lots of development going on in Sudan and I am afraid our sources of updates on the ground are Netizens.Luckily for us the internet has not been cut yet by the government. Some sources say that some foreign “Mainly Western” embassies expressed their concern on how the internet was cut from two ago. Ironically and sadly enough the government officials are claiming that the protesters were the ones who sabotaged the internet lines in the country !!

Here is a photo gallery for the protests

The Sheikhs and preachers in the mosques in Sudan today spoke about the bad saboteurs and their bad protests. In some areas especially in Omdurman the mosques have been closed. The shops and markets are closed once again. The protests are now in Omdurman , White Nile , Al Jazeera and Khartoum as well North Kordofan. Here is a UShahadi map with the protests in Sudan.

Now there are reports coming from Omdurman and other major cities that security forces are using live ammunition and tear gas grenades. There are martyrs falling down by hour.

Nevertheless the protests are not stopping. Some of the chants the protesters are saying “People wants to topple the regime” , “Freedom , Freedom” down with the military rule”. Nile river unity rocks.

Sudan : Freedom , Freedom and The people want to topple the regime.

Here is a video showing the security forces firing at protesters.

Sudan : Firing at protesters

A video for the protests

Sudan : More protests

Sudan : Opening fire on the protesters

Another graphic video showing one of the protesters after being shot in the protests.

The Sudanese regime detained the Al Arabiya TV channel reporter there for a while then released him and closed its office there. Sheikh Youssef Qaradawy sent a message to El Bashir reminding him that he is an Islamist and he should not do what the regimes in Syria and Egypt !! Ironically the renowned Sheikh forgot the war crimes committed by that Islamist president against humans including Muslims in Darfur !!

Anonymous has hacked the Youth ministry website. The UN issued a statement condemning the killing of the protesters.

Again Sudan is cursed by the worst type religious backed up military regime. It will take some time to topple it. This is another step towards removing this rotten corrupted regime.

I believe that Sudan has not seen protests like this from very long time.

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#SudanRevolts : Returning Back online , Returning Back to Streets #Abena

From two hours ago the internet is back to Sudan and with it news are pouring from there and they are not good. It seems that yesterday was a night of hell.

According to the photos , videos and testimonies of eye witnesses online Omdurman has witnessed a massacre. Officially the government is saying that 27 only were killed while activists and opposition movements say that over 130 protesters including women and children have been killed in the past 48 hours. Hundreds are transferred to hospitals every hour as far I could tell from the tweets and updates I read on Facebook. The director of Omdurman hospital was arrested after speaking to the media.

The tragedies continue and activists are reporting that the Omdurman morgue refuses to let the families to bury their relatives except when they sign papers that those relatives are thugs and criminals. In fact it is much worse to know that there are racism in it , light Skin Sudanese protesters are considered thieves while the dark skin Sudanese protesters are considered murderers in the eyes of the bloody El Bashir regime. 

The photos from Omdurman hospital gives you the impression that there was an actually massacre going on in the city. “Warning : Extremely graphic”

It was like a déjà vu of January 28 ,2011 in Egypt where the regime’s forces and security thugs unleashed a night of horror that ended at about 5 AM. Tweeps are reporting that protesters arrested security agents wearing civilian cloths trying to break an ATM. The people there are also saying that those security agents aka thugs go and set fires at the fuel stations.

For the third day in row protests continue not only in the cities Khartoum and Omdurman but in other areas as well including North Kordofan , Al Jazeera and Port Sudan. The protests are still going despite the crackdown. People are extremely angry. They are holding night protests.

Shops and markets are closed . The streets are deserted in some areas in Khartoum. Some areas there reportedly suffer from bread shortage. In some cities angry protesters have blocked the roads.

It is serious as it seems El Bashir cancelled his visit to the UNGA , some say that he is afraid from the warrant on his head but personally I believe it is not only the warrant. He is afraid of further developments in Sudan as well.

Interestingly the Sudanese minister of defense interrupted his visit to Jeddah and returned back to Khartoum earlier today. I do not know if he is going to pull a Sisi move considering that he was visiting the Kingdom that is vowing to bring the Muslim brotherhood everywhere or what.

I will not speak much because now we got material coming from Sudan after a crazy night.

Here is a footage taken from TV channel “I do no know which one” showing the security forces using live ammunition.

Sudan : Security forces shooting protesters.

Here is another video showing the protests in Omdurman yesterday.

Protests in Omdurman yesterday.

Here is another graphic video showing a protester shot down.

Tomorrow the Sudanese are planning for big protests. You know our Fridays in the Arab world as you know. There are strong rumors that the Sudanese regime is going to cut off the internet in the country for the upcoming 48 hours.

Protests are planned right after the Friday prayers. I see now online statements from political groups with demands like completely accountability for those responsible of the killing of the protesters and lowering the prices of the commodities. I have not seen the famous demand of forcing the president to step down.

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#SudanRevolts : The Sudanese are doing it again “Graphic”

I am already taking some time off away from the blog and social media altogether yet I am forced to return back with all the developments taking place right now in Sudan.
For two days now protests are rocking the Sudanese cities especially in Khartoum and its surrounding suburbs. Protesters set the headquarters of the ruling party “NCP” on fire as well some police stations and checkpoints after they were attacked by security forces that did not hesitate in live ammunition.

Late Hazaa

As usual the peaceful angry protests are met with violent crack down. The latest numbers we got at 21 have been killed and hundreds have bee injured. The fatalities are caused by live ammunition fired by security forces. Updated : Numbers are jumping as eye witnesses are telling Girifana that Omdurman hospital’s morgue got at least 30 bodies while another witness told the famous political group that he saw 17 dead bodies at a police station in the area.
Not less than 1500 protesters have been arrested in the protests in the past 48 hours.
Updated @11:41 Cairo Local time :
 According to some estimation the death toll in Omdurman has become 73 at least. Some say even bigger numbers.
The students are playing role in this uprising especially in high schools and universities as far as I understand. One of the young student martyrs whose picture is shared online earlier was Hazaa Jafaar who was killed yesterday. Today the Sudanese security forces attacked his funeral by tear gas grenades." I have seen this before in Egypt , same tactics and same moves”
The protests erupted after the government’s decision to raise the fuel prices by 75%.
Now as Omar El Bashir is stupid as other dictators like Mubarak, the Sudanese regime  cut the internet off the country for several hours
The internet was cut off Sudan for 2 hours starting from 1 PM to 3 PM then it returned back for only 10 minutes then it was cut off again since then and returned back at 9:52 PM Cairo local time for short time and again it is cut !!
Here is a diagram showing how the internet is completely cut off in Sudan earlier. 
Five private TV channels were also shut down temporarily but they are back on air according to Girifna “We fed up” group. Please follow this group on Facebook to get the latest updates from Sudan. Here is its twitter account. 
Also follow those hashtags for live updates from Sudan : #SudanRevolts and #Abena “We reject"
A TV host called Salafa Abadafeera was arrested for criticizing the crackdown.The Sudanese Journalists Network announces a general strike follow the prevention of newspapers from publishing tomorrow according to journalist Ashraf Ghalay.
It is not all about the fuel prices in Sudan , this is an accumulated anger and if you remember last year the Sudanese revolted but their revolt was dispersed violently. Through the year Sudanese activists have been reporting of the human rights violations committed by Omar El Bashir’s regime against Sudanese citizens and the activists.
The fuel prices are like the last straw.
I would like to hint out that El Bashir’s regime is the worst mix of regimes ever : Religious+military regime in one shot !!
There is no enough media coverage and I think this is what El Bashir holds on keeping an iron curtain for real in Sudan. Foreign correspondents are not that free to move around with cameras , in fact I got two friends who used to work as  foreign correspondents in Sudan but were kicked out from there for doing their job.
Anyhow here is a photo gallery for the protests yesterday.

Here is also also a storify photo gallery showing the protests in the past 48 from social media. Not much though.

Now here is a video clip allegedly filmed today.

 Here is another video clip. I do not know when it was filmed but it was uploaded today before the internet cut.

Another graphic video showing a student shot down and killed by security forces.

Post by ‎اللجنة السودانية بالخليج لدعم ثورة التغيير‎.

There is no enough media coverage for what is happening in Sudan for real.

Before the internet was cut , some protests were live broadcasted shortly on Bambuser.

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#Sudan launches its #Nafeer But will anyone hear its call ?? "Updated"

Sudan is literality drowning. The floods and heavy rain hit East of Sudan drowning thousands of houses and cutting off villages from outside the world.
The damage reached to areas inside Khartoum like Ombada and Omdurman as well several areas in East Nile region. 
The official death toll announced by Sudanese are 36 dead , 60 villages and not less 10,000 houses have been destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of citizens are displaced. The Sudanese activists believe that the death toll can be more. I believe it is more already especially with the media blackout in the country thanks to El Bashir’s regime.
This is the worst wave of floods and heavy rains Sudan has witnessed from five years ago. There are more heavy rains expected this week too.
Here is a photo gallery with photos from Sudan showing the crisis they got. The aerial shots can show the size of the disaster they are facing now. 

Here is a video for a Sudanese lady from Ombada region in Khartoum recounting how she lost her two daughters in the floods.

Ombada : A lady lost two daughters in flood

Here is another short video earlier shot this month by mobile phone camera showing the floods in an area called El Marabee in Khartoum. 

 

The activists and social media users in Sudan launched online campaign to help the people there called “Nafeer” which means “Call” or “Mobilization” in Arabic. If it were not for this campaign , we would not know about what happen in Sudan.
Here is the English Facebook Page of the Campaign as well its Arabic Facebook Page, they are asking for help and I hope the world helps them because their government does not really care.Nafeer has already attracted not less than 1400 volunteers to joined it.
Here is a photo gallery showing a glimpse of how things are in Sudan.
On the other hand,the Sudanese president and government as well officials care less for the disaster. They are congratulating each other on the occasion of Eid ignoring the agony of the citizens who are having a very bad Eid. Yesterday I read that the officials in the country blamed the people for having poor houses !!
Here is a video testimony from one of the locals living in the East Nile in Arabic unfortunately.

Testimony from East Nile area

There is a crisis indeed in Sudan yet Sudanese regime refuses to recognize it as a crisis in order to receive help.
Activist and blogger Usamah Mohamed asked the UN office in Khartoum on twitter why the UN does not help the Sudanese people and the answer came that the Sudanese government should ask the help of the UN officially.

@simsimt, UN hasn't asked for the situation to be declared as crisis. UN does need to be formally asked by Gov't to help respond to floods
— UNIC Khartoum (@UN_Sudan) August 11, 2013

I believe that Egypt should help Sudan and it is not about money but rather aid whether medical aid or relief efforts. This is the least we can do to amend our relations the Sudanese regardless of their government.

Updated :

Egypt is offering aid to Sudan now.The minister of irrigation in Egypt gave his orders to the ministry to send immediate aid to Sudan on Monday.

Nafeer’s activists need help and they are not asking for money as much as supplies from equipment, medical supplies , clothes. Here are the campaign’s numbers in several countries. Click to zoom in

Click to zoom in

For those interested in helping the Sudanese in Egypt , you can contact Ms. Shimaa on twitter. Ms. Shimaa is the coordinator of Nafeer in Egypt. 

Update #2 : 

 The UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs issued a press statement today about floods in Sudan estimating the number of Sudanese affected by the floods by 150,000

Here is an initial estimation based on areas.

•  Khartoum : 84,000 Citizens
• River Nile : 16,000 Citizens 
• West Kurdfan : 12,000 Citizens
• El Gazira : 10,000 Citizens
• North Darfur : 8,000 Citizens 
• Blue Nile : 6,000 Citizens 
• Red Sea : 4,000 Citizens 
• South Darfur : 1,000 Citizen.

This is an initial report , I repeat it again just an initial report.

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Camera and National Security Do not Mix Dear Presidency

I believe today the national dialogue held by the Presidency earlier this morning to discuss the Nile river crisis with Ethiopia will be an example of failure in international politics and international relations as well international crisis management. A total fiasco without doubt.
The first part of the meeting was fine. Khaled Qazaz, the president’s aide discussed the summary of the trilateral commission’s report then President Mohamed spoke and lost people with his technical knowledge.
Then came the second part of the meeting and the madness started. Aside from the common words “ We have to mobilize the people and unite them around the Nile , it is matter of life and death .. bla bla bla” , we found ourselves watching a live part of Dr. Stranglove’s film !!
Now to the memorable suggestions of the parties’ leaders :

• Younes Makhioun of Al Nour Party  : We will use all our cards including the intelligence card in bringing down the dam if we have too.
• Ayman Nour of Ghad El Thawra Party : We should spread rumors to scare Ethiopia like claiming that we bought aircrafts to strike them, the Ethiopian society is weak and we should use this for our advantage as well we need an intelligence team and not an embassy work. Sudan's position sucks !!
• Magdy Hussein of Al Amal party : It is fake threat , we are being manipulated by US and Israel. We should open the Rafah crossing. We can send Abu Tarika to Ethiopia as they love him there.  We can have joint electricity projects with Ethiopia and there is no need for the high dam !!

Bassem Youssef should air this meeting as it is.
I think that meeting will make our relations worse with Ethiopia.
I have got several questions in my mind and I can not find answers
Why did the Presidency broadcast this meeting on air ?? Where were the intelligence and the ministry of foreign affairs from that meeting ?? It was important to hear what they have got.
Why did not the Presidency or the intelligence cut off the broadcast when they saw this human tragedy on TV ?? I just do not understand it for real.
Now speaking realistically here I am not shocked from the radical suggestions presented by the Egyptian politicians because actually many Egyptians think in the same way whether offline or online. Many Egyptians believe that Egypt is being humiliated and we should use power to restore our position in the world.
Amazingly all those who spoke in the language of war and covert operations against Ethiopia on air like Ayman Nour and Mohamed Anwar Sadat JR are saying that they did not know that it was on air.

مندهش من اذاعة جلسة الحوار الوطني بالرئاسة حول ازمة اثيوبيا. دون احاطةالمشاركين علما مسبقا رغم حساسية الموضوع المثار
— Ayman Nour (@AymanNour) June 3, 2013

I am astonished that National dialogue session about the Ethiopia crisis was broadcasted in advance without the knowledge of the speakers despite the sensitivity of the topic discussed.

 It is worth to mention that both men Nour and Sadat were from the active political figures participating in the public diplomacy delegations in Africa. 
Pakinam El Sharkawy , the president’s political affairs aide apologized on her official Facebook page claiming that broadcasting the meeting on air was last minute decision. She added that she forgot to tell the speakers that they were on air.
Anyhow just from few minutes ago on ONTV , Amr Hamazawy, the liberal politician revealed that he asked Dr. Pakinam El Sharkawy on Sunday about whether there would be transparency with the public, the President’s political affairs aide told him that the meeting would be broadcasted on air.
I think Morsi’s administration learned one hell of a lesson today : National security matter and cameras do not mix.
Updated :
Mohamed ElBaradei apologized on his twitter account to Ethiopia as people and government for what was said yesterday in the meeting.

أعتذر لأثيوبيا والسودان شعبًا وحكومة عما صدر أمس في "الحوار الوطني" من إساءات، وأطالب رئيس الجمهورية بتقديم اعتذار مماثل باسم الشعب المصري
— Mohamed ElBaradei (@ElBaradei) June 4, 2013

He also demanded the president to present an official apology on behalf of the Egyptian people

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The Trilateral Commission Report's Summary is Here

The Egyptian presidency published a summary of the trilateral commission report about the Ethiopian dam aka Renaissance.
It is in Arabic and you can read it after the break. Here I will summarize the important points.

• Ethiopia did not present all the detailed and extensive studies about the Renaissance dam especially about its negative environmental and social impact on the downstream countries. They are not sufficient
• The Ethiopian government did not present extensive studies about a very alarming scenario : The collapse of the dam. It is a study that has to be presented.
• In flood season this dam will make it hard for the High Dam to generate electricity While in drought season will reduce our water share especially in irrigation.

The original report got an index of more than 600 pages and it is full of technical details. It is not that good according to the experts. The Trilateral commission is made of experts from UK, France and German and 3 delegations representing Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

ملخص تقرير أعمال اللجنة الدولية للخبراء المعنية بدراسة وتقييم سد أثيوبيا by Egyptian Presidency

Amazingly this report is totally contradicting what the ministry of foreign affairs in Ethiopia claimed on Sunday. Yesterday the MOFA in Ethiopia claimed that the Trilateral commission supports the dam and that the dam has not got any negative impact on Egypt or Sudan.
According to international laws expert Egypt has a legal right to reject the construction of the dam as long as Ethiopia does not present the required studies. 

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#Nile Crisis : Dear Egyptians We Are in Deep Water !!

It seems that we are in deep water when it comes to the Nile crisis , we are in this alone. We counted on Sudan but it seems that surprisingly the Islamist Pro-MB regime in Khartoum is playing for its own gains.

Together for the Nile Valley Renaissance

After officially denying that Sudan will head to the Arab league seeking help against Ethiopia , the Official Spokesperson of the Sudanese government , the minister of culture Ahmed Belal Othman stated that Sudan supported the dam. Othman also added of course the whole thing depends on coordination between the three countries.
Now I do not understand the Sudanese government position considering their so-close relations with the Muslim brotherhood after all the International organization of MB held its annual meeting in Khartoum last year.
Turkish news agency Andolu says that Sudanese experts say that the relations with Addis Abba were better than Cairo and that Khartoum may use the water card with Egypt in order to claim Hala’ib triangle. In other words the unnamed experts say that Khartoum may or is actually blackmailing Egypt.
Amazingly Sudan will be harmed from that dam badly and according to experts if this dam collapses while it is being operated in its full capacity many parts of  Sudan will be drowned.
The trilateral commission report has not been issued , it is delayed. It should have been issued  yesterday but it is delayed. According to Ahram Newspaper the report is delayed because Ethiopia is pressing to omit "any part condemning or harming the current Ethiopian policies". In other words the Ethiopian government does not want anything negative about the dam.
Already there have been leaks about the report say the Ethiopian government did not cooperate as it should hiding information about the dam.
Officially despite the military choice talk was brought up in the Egyptian mainstream and social media, the Egyptian Presidency says it clearly that the military choice is not option. I believe that it is not option but the Egyptian Presidency and government have not told us the other options available.
What I see clearly now that our southern neighbors are taking advantage of political woes. It is not the first time this happen in our long history. Also I see clearly Morsi's administration seems to be lost , I do not know if the Muslim brotherhood believes that Ethiopia is part of their future MB caliphate like Sudan so the dam issue is not a big deal or what. 
We are paying the price of Mubarak’s bad policies in that critical file yet it seems that Morsi and his MB administration are not even willing to try to stop us from paying that price. Anyhow Morsi will pay even more as his support in the street at least in Cairo in the past 72 hours thanks to the Nile Crisis. In shops and taxis people are mad at him and how the Ethiopians are belittling him and belittling Egypt to the level of diverting the Nile course without Egypt’s approval.
I do not understand why the ministry of foreign affairs or even the Egyptian Presidency summoned the Italian and Chinese ambassadors to have talks with them and express Egypt’s official rejection. Of course I am totally against using the Suez canal against them like what Hamdeen Sabbahi suggested but I am with the idea of using our cards with them. We are not a small or weak or insignificant country.
I think we should learn from the past and God we have a very long full of lessons history. We can learn from Suez crisis on how we can have a diplomatic confrontation without losing the world’s support.
We should learn from the Pre-1967 six days war defeat lesson and start to amend our relations with other Arab countries like Gulf states in order to find a support and coordination.

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#Nile Crisis in #Cairo Thanks to Renaissance Dam

The Nile in Aswan

Whether the Muslim brotherhood likes it or not , the current Nile crisis with Ethiopia is the biggest challenge facing President Mohamed Morsi, the biggest for real. This is the Nile Challenge.
It is now his true capabilities as a President are being tested. This is not Gaza where Hamas, the MB branch in Palestine is , this is Egypt’s national security and future we are speaking about.
For those who do not know what I am speaking , today in a provoking move the Ethiopian government diverted the course of the Blue Nile preparing for a new stage in building the Grand renaissance Dam.It is provoking because the diversion of the Blue Nile was supposed to take place after the trilateral commission’s report in September 2013.
The trilateral commission is made of experts from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia as well foreign experts who are studying the effects of the dam on the downstream countries “Egypt and Sudan. The commission’s report was already going to be issued by the end of this month. The last meeting in Cairo , this month. Update : On Wednesday the report will be issued and the Egyptian presidency will declare its position accordingly. Leaks in the report say that Ethiopia did not fully cooperate with the commission and withheld information about the dam.
According to this report we will know if the dam is truly a threat to Egypt and Sudan. If it is a threat , there will be supposedly negotiations and so. After all this is an international river.
The diversion of the Blue Nile was supposed to take place in September 2013 if the dam  gets an ok after the Nile flood.
I believe Ethiopia did this move to twist Egypt’s arm like we say in Arabic , to make us face the reality seizing the opportunity of Egypt’s internal woes and weaknesses as well. I can not blame them , I will blame the current Egyptian administration starting with the President , his aides, his advisers , the intelligence and the ministry of foreign affairs.

The high dam in Aswan

The Mubarak administration as well Omar Suleiman had gone with the wind , they are from the past now. All those months some had to pay attentions to our Upstream neighbors especially Ethiopia. Yes Morsi was the first President to visit Ethiopia but as I see that there is no big impact for his visit now.
China is sponsoring this dam and yet this was not raised in the Egyptian Chinese talks during President Morsi’s visit !! The Turks and Iranians got investments in Ethiopia , we can use them. For God sake Mubarak used the Arab Gulf relations in his fight with Ethiopia over the dams.
I do not need to tell you that many Egyptians believe that the military choice is the best one but I am afraid that the military choice is not an option whether from diplomatic view or technical view. Diplomatically you will start a war in hard times. Yes technically we can not afford air strikes to go to the heart of Ethiopia except with the help of neighbors and I do not think that neighbor countries will be welcoming to join us in war !!
I think EGYPT can pull some cards for its once sake but it seems these cards do not appear except for the Muslim brotherhood branches in other countries !! I am sorry to say that. By the way I hope the Muslim brotherhood supporters stop saying “Hey you and other speakers as well the the opposition , what will you do or what are you going to do !?”
I am sorry but I am not the President for God sake. The President and his administration are in trouble. Already the Egyptian ambassador in Ethiopia said that Morsi was informed by the decision to divert the Blue Nile course 12 hours prior his return to Egypt while the Presidency's spokesperson is denying this and belittling the whole matter.
People are praising the Sudanese official reaction from expression rejection and anger as well heading to the Arab League. Of course I wonder what the Arab League will do !!
Of course now all the night talk shows got nothing to speak about it except the Nile crisis and the Renaissance dam.
Now some will say why Egyptians are so angry and do not want this dam to exist at all. Well it has nothing to do with , well I would like to share with you this online study “unfortunately in Arabic” about the dam. This report details the pros and cons of the dam, there are 6 pros fro 9 cons.
I will focus here on the cons :

1. Extreme high cost of building this dam
2. Forest land and irrigated land “extreme rare in Blue Nile” will be dumped and drowned in the dam’s

   

   An illustration for the Renaissance dam

   lake , no other land available for irrigation in nearby area.
3. Mining areas with minerals like Gold and iron as well quarries will be drowned.
4. Nearly 30,000 Ethiopians will be forced to be displaced.
5. The dam’s age is short “between 25-50 years” due to sedimentation that will affect its efficiency.
6. There is high chance that the dam can collapse due to geological factors and the high speed of water current in the Blue Nile , if it collapses  , this may create a tsunami that can drown Sudanese villages and towns.
7. High chances for earthquakes.
8. Egypt and Sudan will lose lots and lots of water share starting from the first year, in fact the first year of operating this dam we will lose huge quantity of water.
9. Political tensions with Egypt and Ethiopia.  

I was planning to write something different tonight ,but important things should not be ignored.
Ironically it comes at the same time the Muslim brotherhood is preparing huge celebration for his first anniversary as a President.

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#Hala’ib Triangle Again and Again

We want to know what Mohamed Morsi promised the Sudanese officials regarding Hala’ib triangle during his visit to Khartoum because what we hear from the Sudanese officials needs a stand. Yes the issue is back again resurfacing after the Presidential Statement about Hala’ib triangle and the army hints here and there that it will not allow a single inch of our territories to be taken away from Egypt. The presidency claimed that Morsi did not speak about the disputed triangle at all during his talks with the Sudanese counterparts.

The last leak was the most powerful one from them all , from the meeting between Morsi and SCAF members above them El Sissi from couple of days ago.

People are alarmed in Egypt after the statements of Sudanese minister of environment on Monday in Alexandria.  Sudanese minister of environment Hussein Abdel Kader told Egyptian reporters while attending some conference in Alexandria that Hala’ib triangle is Egyptian Sudanese common land “which is true” and that there should be projects in the triangle under Sudanese administration. “He repeated this as you can see in the video below”

Minister of environment in Sudan : Hala’ib and Shalateen are Egyptian Sudanese territories

MENA , the official news agency on the same day published that the minister hopes the return of of Hala’ib and Shalateen to Sudan ‘He did not say so in the video’.

The thing is that people are now digging the MB archives and knowing how the MB as a group does not recognize borders especially between Islamic countries with Islamist rulers from their own point view like Sudan , people are worried.

Mahdy Akef speaks about Hala’ib

Here is an old video for former MB guide Mahdy Akef saying that it does not matter whether Hala’ib under Egyptian rule or Sudanese rule as we are all Muslims. Well the man did not lie and this is how the MB members think.

What I fear of that this issue with current Anti-MB sentiment feelings in public can create anti-Sudanese sentiments just like the there are these anti-Gazan sentiments . Many Egyptians now believe that Hamas is going to invade Sinai and at the same time is helping Mohamed Morsi by creating chaos in Egypt.

Of course Hamas leaders deny any involvement in Egypt or that they want Sinai but Sudanese officials do not deny that they want Hala’ib triangle.

Now the poor rich triangle needs a post , yes I want to go there but unfortunately not now. But my friends have gone and I think I will ask them if I am able to use the material they got from photos.

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#Hala’ib Triangle back to the spot : Some things need clear and Urgent statement

Ok aside from Bassem Youssef episode on Friday , Salafists’ protest at the Charge d’ affaires residence to Liberals and Upper Egyptians protests in solidarity with the Sheikh of Al Azhar , we have another thing to debate about on Friday’s night : What President Morsi said regarding disputed Hala’ib triangle during his visit in Sudan.

Al Jazeera official website in Arabic published that Al Bashir’s assistant Nafe’a Ali Nafe’a said that President Morsi promised to return back things in Hala’ib triangle to what they had been pre-1995. 

In 1995 Egyptian armed forces restored back the disputed cities to Egypt.

There were no more details on how things will return back or what will happen so people thought that Morsi was going to give up Hala’ib triangle to Sudan especially the Freedom and Justice News portal posted a news without Hala’ib in our borders the map “at least showing it as disputed”

Anyhow after few hours we found  ambassador Ehad Fahmy , the official spokesperson of presidency denying what Al Jazeera publishing on TV saying the President did not speak about Hala’ib in his visit and that Hala’ib triangle is an Egyptian region.

Unfortunately people do not know what to believe and it is not a secret that they do not trust the presidency in Cairo so easily.

I believe the Egyptian presidency should act quickly and issue a statement about what happened in Khartoum regarding this particular issue. Some things should not wait till the morning.

The thing is the Muslim brotherhood really believe that it does not matter if Hala’ib triangle was following Egypt or Sudan or even Turkey as all this is part of the Islamic Nation.

By the way it is not a secret that Hala’ib triangle is a military zone in Egypt so if by any chance Morsi spoke with the Sudanese officials giving them any kind of promise this would create another problem between presidency and the army.

I think I spoke about Hala’ib triangle in this blog for year and the implications of such case on the Egyptian Sudanese relation before. I remember that I used the old books in my search and it did generate huge discussion.

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