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      BFF

“Egyptian security officials have raided the Cairo office of Al Jazeera Mubasheer Egypt, roughing up its staff, detaining an editor and confiscating equipment, the news chief said on Thursday. This is the second time this month Al Jazeera Egypt Mubasheer’s office has been raided after Egyptian authorities said the station and its staff were operating without permits. Since its inception in March, the station was unique in that it carried live broadcasts of all major Cairo protests during the uprising that started in December. The station’s news chief, Ahmed Zein, said the station applied for permits, and was promised it would receive them next week.
Zein said security officers dressed in civilian garb forced their way into the office in the Agouza neighbourhood in central Cairo, refusing to identify themselves and shoving the office staff into one room. When a reporter asked them for identification and a search warrant, the security men pushed her ………..”

Egypt’s junta is resuming the old Mubarak-era raids on the media. They have apparently resumed their dislike for al-Jazeera, even though the network has made up with the Saudis and supports the NATO “mission” in Libya. It is these types of behavior that would endear the ruling military junta (SCAF) to the potentates of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, That may explain some recent rumors about a Saudi invitation for Egypt to join the GCC. If true, the next candidate could be Iran or Turkey or Israel (based on “keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer”). On a more “serious” note, the more logical candidates for membership would be Pakistan and Malaysia since the former sends mercenaries to the GCC and the latter has expressed willingness to send mercenaries. These all would come after Morocco and Jordan have joined.
Cheers
mhg


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