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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (44828)	10/20/2003 12:09:44 PM
From: NickSE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

Nice to finally see come calls for reform. Had one in SA a week or two ago, now Egypt... Police Ban Pro-Democracy Rally in Egypt by SALAH NASRAWI Associated Press Writer ajc.com!-327885958?urac=n&urvf=10666658045450.003154219121382029 CAIRO, Egypt (AP)--Police have banned pro-democracy activists from staging a rally to demand political reform in Egypt, organizers and police said Monday, despite recent government promises to make the country more democratic. Hussein Abdel Razik, coordinator of the Committee for the Defense of Democracy, said the state security authorities notified him that police will not allow a march to President Hosni Mubarak's office, where demonstrators had planned to deliver a petition calling for political reforms. The committee has started a nationwide campaign urging Mubarak to adopt reforms, like holding general presidential elections; abolishing emergency laws in place since 1981 that limit freedom of speech and assembly; and easing restrictions on forming political parties and publishing newspapers. Rally organizers said they will set another date for the protest, which was scheduled for Wednesday, and would challenge the government in court if such a rally is banned again. ``This is unconstitutional and illegal,'' Razik told The Associated Press. Police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ban fell under Interior Ministry regulations limiting street protests but did not elaborate. Razik said security officers told him the committee could send the petition, but not protest. In a statement, the committee described the move as ``a new human rights violation by a police state.'' Last month Mubarak promised a wide range political and economic reforms and urged opposition parties to engage the government in a national debate on expanding political participation. His ruling National Democratic party also promised plans to make Egypt more democratic, though many Egyptians remained skeptical. Mubarak has been president and party leader since Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981. Pressure for reform has also mounted from abroad following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and especially after the U.S.-led war in Iraq that ousted Saddam Hussein.