-Caveat Lector-
Police open fire on angry crowds in Egyptian election violence
By MARIAM FAM
The Associated Press
11/4/00 5:17 PM
DAKAHLA, Egypt (AP) -- Police fired live ammunition and tear gas
Saturday in clashes with voters in three northern villages and,
elsewhere, fistfights between supporters of rival candidates in
the parliamentary elections turned to gunfire. As night fell,
four people were dead and more than 60 people were injured.
In Dakahla, 125 miles northeast of Cairo, the capital, police
tried to disperse voters angry that security forces had prevented
them from casting ballots.
An 18-year-old man, Hani Noaman al-Sabbouhi, died after being
shot three times in the head, according to hospital officials in
nearby Mansoura. At least 24 other people were treated there for
gunshot wounds or tear gas inhalation.
Egypt's largest Islamic group, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood,
enjoys strong support in Dakahla, and residents in some such
areas have complained throughout the three-stage elections that
security forces are limiting who votes.
Clashes with police are common in Egyptian legislative elections,
which are marred by allegations of widespread vote-rigging. In
earlier polling during the current elections, police opened fire
on a crowd of pro-opposition voters, killing one and wounding a
dozen. Thirty-four people were killed in the 1995 elections.
President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party controlled 97
percent of the seats in the outgoing parliament and is expected
to dominate the new one. Voting Saturday was for run-off contests
in the second stage of balloting and covered parts of the Nile
Delta, Sinai Peninsula and southern Egypt.
Word of trouble came from the Nile Delta.
"We just want our rights. Where's the freedom they are talking
about?" asked Mohammed Shabaan, who said he wasn't allowed to
vote.
In the village of Idyar, 50 miles north of Cairo, police clashed
with supporters of the ruling NDP candidate -- a far less common
occurrence. The reason for the clash, involving gunfire and tear
gas, wasn't clear.
Mohammed el-Sayyed Abu Abiyah and Mohammed el-Sayyed Hallah died
shortly after arriving at a hospital in Tanta, 13 miles to the
east, hospital officials said. Their ages weren't available.
Twenty people were wounded in Idyar, they said.
In Atmida, 30 miles southwest of Dakahla, villagers said Sayyed
Mohammed Imran, 45, was killed during clashes between police and
supporters of Muslim Brotherhood-backed candidate Shafiq el-Deeb.
Police said Imran died of heart attack.
Elsewhere in the area, at least 24 people were injured in
election-day violence. Villagers burned a police car in
el-Gamaliyah, 20 miles southeast of Dakahla, where fighting
between supporters of rival candidates injured four people,
police said.
Fistfights turned to gunfights between candidates' supporters in
Kafr el-Zaiyat, 60 miles northwest of Cairo. At least 20 people
were injured, police said.
The clashes in Dakahla stretched throughout the afternoon, with
villagers erecting barricades of hay bales on the bloodstained
dirt roads that they set fire to in attempts to prevent the
security forces from advancing.
People crowded around one man who stood, his head bleeding, in a
village street. Residents said police had cordoned off areas and
an ambulance driver outside the village said he was not allowed
to enter. Some of the injured were taken out in private cars
through back routes. Later, ambulances were allowed into the
village.
Many frightened residents stayed in their homes, only peering out
for a look, to curse security forces and to let in those in the
streets needing a place to hide.
"People are oppressed and humiliated, what can they do?" yelled a
woman, leaning out on her balcony. "May God punish them,"
answered another, referring to authorities.
The violence erupted when the villagers were denied access to a
polling station to cast their votes. Security forces had blocked
the roads to the station.
An independent candidate backed by the outlawed Muslim
Brotherhood enjoys strong support in the village.
Police fired tear gas again later when villagers demonstrated,
chanting Brotherhood slogans and the name of the
Brotherhood-backed candidate, Mohammed al-Falahgy.
Abdel-Aziz Salman, a representative of al-Falahgy, said he was
barred from entering the polling station and quoted an officer as
telling him: "No one will vote today. There is no law today."
Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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