Hiding the state

Comrade Dina on the shady deals of the Egyptian state: "A lawsuit was filed to ban the export of natural gas to Israel. The courts ruled in favor of the petitioners. But this earlier ruling was overturned following a petition by the Egyptian Prime Minister, Finance Minister, and Minister of Petroleum. (Media Line Staff, “New Egypt-Israel Gas Deal Signed,’ Allheadlinenews.com, 7/28/2009) Again, hiding behind “private” economic structures, they argued that this is solely under the jurisdiction of the state and not the courts nor the State Council. But in a practical legerdemain, the state itself could not act to prevent this deal because it was an agreement signed by an Egyptian private company. Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi hid behind the ideology of privatization and free markets saying it is a private-stock company “established under investment law” and “we can’t ask this company to sell gas to some countries and not to others.” (2)

Disingenuously, EMG was granted a monopoly to export natural gas to the eastern Mediterranean without having to even submit a tender. (And unlike Israel, Jordan and Syria are charged market rates.) EMG is “owned” by Hussein Salem who is widely believed to be a front man for Mubarak. His investment vehicle is called Masaka Group. (Salem was formerly in Egyptian intelligence.) (“Egypt: Middle East oil refineries, (Midor),” Entrepreneur.com, 1/7/2008) The “deal” has been rejected by most Egyptians. A week ago, Egyptian ambassador Ibrahim Yusri has filed another lawsuit to stop the export of natural gas to Israel. He questioned the authority by which a national resource could be taken and “sold.” And he further asked that considering Egypt’s large and growing needs, does Egypt have any “surplus” gas to export? (Khaled al-Shami and Zuheir Andraus, “Egyptian ambassador Ibrahim Yusri: New deal to export gas to Israel means Egypt is now a private estate,” Al-Quds el-‘Arabi, 7/30/2009) This follows on the heels of Muslim Brotherhood objections last year to the start of pumping natural gas to Israel. (Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, “Egypt: Opposition Slams Gas Sale to Israel,” IPS News, 2/25/ 2008) Wafdists likewise questioned the validity of the deal because it contravened Article 51 of the Constitution which stipulates that a strategic agreement must be presented, discussed, and approved in the Peoples’ Assembly. (Gamal Essam el-Din, “Sales Strategies,” Al-Ahram Weekly, 2/26 -3/4, 2009)"