CAIRO: Protesters in the Upper Egyptian city of Qena have allowed the flow of traffic on the Cairo-Aswan highway, but continued to close off the railway, paralyzing the movement of trains in and out of the city, according to residents.
While some noted that such actions were dividing the city, others stressed that the protests against the newly appointed governor were not sectarian in nature. One former MP said that tribalism and comparisons with former governors were fueling the protests.
Former independent MP Laila Mahmoud stressed that Qena doesn’t suffer from any sectarian strife and that the people outside Qena don’t understand the roots of the problem.
“The Muslims and Christians love each other in Qena,” Mahmoud told Daily News Egypt. “The problems and differences here lie between tribes whether Muslim or Christian.”
Thousands have been protesting since Friday in the Upper Egyptian governorate against the appointment of new governor Emad Shehata Mikhael, with some objecting to his career as a policeman and others objecting to him being Christian.
The protesters held a sit-in in front of the governorate’s headquarters and blocked highways and railway roads paralyzing the city.
Mahmoud explained that Qena had a great governor before General Magdy Ayoub called Adel Labib. When Labib was moved to Alexandria, Ayoub, a former police officer, was appointed instead.
She said that Labib oversaw great development in Qena and had Muslims and Christians working together to improve the governorate.
However, his successor, Ayoub, was weak and treated the Christians badly out of fear that he would be called an extremist, she added.
Ayoub was seen as submissive to the stronger tribes in Qena and followed their orders.
“People in Qena interpreted Ayoub’s weakness as the weakness of a Christian that couldn’t face the Muslim majority,” Mahmoud said. “Ayoub took us back 10 years and the people don’t want to relive that experience.”
“That’s why we all refused the new governor,” she said.
Qena resident and graduate of the American University in Cairo, Nada Nashaat, 22, explained to DNE that the people of the Upper Egyptian governorate are divided.
She said that most of the university students in Qena travel to nearby governorates like Assiut and Suhag to attend college.
“Now these students are stuck, unable to come back to Qena, while there are others who travel for medical treatment and are now stranded away from their homes,” Nashaat said.
“Many people in Qena are calling on the protesters to open the railway to allow people to travel back and forth.”
Government response
On Wednesday, the Cabinet delegated the interior minister to handle the crisis and guarantee security and the natural flow of public utilities as well as deal with any illegal actions, according to a statement issued on its Facebook page on Wednesday.
Cabinet added that it would take all necessary measures to restore stability and security and implement the rule of law, stressing that it “respects the citizens’ rights to peaceful demonstration and freedom of expression.”
The statement added that if normalcy is restored to Qena, this would help initiate serious dialogue and work towards satisfying citizens’ hopes, all within the boundaries of the law.
Sources close to the cabinet told DNE that there was a rift between ministers on whether to remove Mikhael or not. After news of his possible resignation circulated on Tuesday, Deputy PM Yehia El-Gamal said the governor will be staying in his post.
“The railways will continue to be closed off until Friday or maybe even later than that, if our demands aren’t heeded,” protester in Qena and lawyer Walid El-Qadi told DNE.
He said that the protesters were planning to have a million man march in the main square in Qena on Friday to call for Mikhael’s resignation.
But the lawyer said that he personally wasn’t supportive of closing off the railway, while others believed it was the only way to get the government’s attention.
The religion factor
The protests first began against the governor’s previous career in the police force, but then protesters were later joined by groups objecting to the fact that he is Christian.
El-Qadi said that the rejection was based on their experience with former governor Ayoub, who was also Christian and a former police officer.
“There were many sectarian incidents during the reign of Ayoub,” El-Qadi said. “We want an academic civilian who can think logically and deal with the people’s problems.”
“I have nothing against Christianity as a religion or any other Christian governor, but Qena can’t handle another Christian governor right now,” El-Qadi said.
According to state-run Al-Ahram daily, Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb said in a press conference on Tuesday that the people of Qena have no right to call for the resignation of Mikhael, as it shouldn’t matter whether the governor is Muslim or Christians, as long as he’s Egyptian.
However Sheikh Mohamed Khalil Gad, who works at the Ministry of Religious Endowments, insisted that the public demand in Qena should be met, adding that they will wait to see the outcome of talks between clergymen and political leaders in this regard.
A delegation including outspoken journalist and former independent MP Mostafa Bakry, Islamic scholar and member of the Muslim Brotherhood Safwat Hegazy and Salafi Sheikh Mohamed Hassan failed to calm protesters convince them to end the sit-in, during a visit on Tuesday.
Mahmoud stressed that the salafi groups weren’t popular in Qena and had no affect over the people.
Pointing fingers
Seventeen rights groups had submitted a memo to the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and Cabinet to put those who fueled the protests on trial. The rights groups accused Islamist, Salafi and militant religious groups of inciting the protests.
El-Qadi said that the Salafis didn’t control the protests.
“I’m not a Salafi or an extremist and yet I protest everyday for what I believe is better for Qena,” he said.
Former independent MP Talaat El-Sadat, however, accused Bakry of igniting the protests because he sought the position himself.
“If National Security doesn’t stop Bakry [from igniting sectarian strife in Qena], that means they’re using him to satisfy their own goals,” said El-Sadat, who was nominated president of the once-ruling National Democratic Party before its disbandment this week.
However, El-Qadi denied El-Sadat’s accusations, adding that the protesters had asked Bakry to leave the stage and stopped him from speaking publicly during his visit.
“Bakry’s name wasn’t even mentioned in Qena before [Tuesday] even though the protests began on Thursday,” El-Qadi said.
Bakry had previously accused El-Sadat of being a hypocrite and a supporter of the former regime, as well as obtaining illegal funds.
Bakry couldn’t be reached for comment by press time. –Additional reporting by MENA.
