By Abdel Rahman Youssef
ALEXANDIRA: Activists in Alexandria launched on Thursday a campaign called “Looted” aiming to expose corruption and raise awareness on Egypt’s stolen resources and fortunes.
Egypt is a rich, not a poor country, campaign coordinator Mona Hareedy told Daily News Egypt.
Hareedy, a 47-year-old housewife, said the campaign aims to reveal the allegations made in the media that Egypt is on the brink of bankruptcy and is in need of loans.
“[This is a kind of] fear mongering to divert the attention of the people from their basic rights. [The campaign also aims to] make Egyptians aware of the country’s fortunes that are owned only by the people,” she said.
“We also aim to increase public pressure by raising awareness among Egyptians about demanding their rights and holding the corrupted officials accountable.”
The campaign aims to “support lawyers who struggle to retrieve the Egyptian fortunes like Hamdy El-Fakharany and Khalid Ali because without public pressure nothing will be achieved.”
Both lawyers have filed and won cases challenging land and privatization deals, and have managed to return assets back to the state.
The 30 years during which ousted president Hosni Mubarak ruled the country is the focus of the campaign, in addition to the time in which the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) ruled. Theft and corruption continue, she said.
The campaign was launched in front of the main gate of Bibliotheca Alexandrina Thursday.
Hareedy said that launching the campaign in front of Bibliotheca Alexandrina comes in support of the library’s employees who are protesting against corruption inside their institution.
Using information gathered from official state institutions, economic experts, members of the parliament and lawyers, the campaign aims to expose corruption in different state sectors. The Soukary gold mine and privatized companies are at the top of the agenda.
Like the ‘3askar Kazeboon’ (Military Liars), ‘Looted’ is a decentralized campaign. Hareedy said it could be launched anywhere in the country, using the data collected already and posted on social media networks.
The members, she added, are independent activists. Members of political groups are welcomed as long as they keep their affiliation away from the campaign.
Haredy said the campaign is not restricted with a certain time frame. “It will continue until we get out stolen money back.”
