Background:
Witnesses of the 1996 terrorist attack on tourists in a Cairo hotel (killing 17 Greek tourists) report what they have seen and how they evaluate the situation.
At a press conference, Egyptian diplomat ʾUsāma al-Bāz addresses his government’s policy toward Sudan and the state of the Middle East process after the Qana massacre two days earlier, where the Israel Defense Forces fired artillery shells at a United Nations compound, killing 106 Lebanese civilians.
Side A:
A Greek tourist called Peter told an unidentified interviewee that he was in a group of a hundred Greeks of which five were killed, including his 38-year old girlfriend. They were waiting to go to Alexandria. Some people were in the lobby, some were having breakfast and others were outside at the bus station. There were five or six bodies in the lobby and a number of bodies outside too. Minibuses stopped by and took the wounded to the hospital. One hour later, the police came. The group was on a religious trip; they had already been to Jerusalem and St. Catherine and were supposed to be in Cairo for three days before leaving to Alexandria. A Greek-Australian member of the group called Barbara Desedora-Kanaris had breakfast when the attack happened and describes what she has seen. There are other European tourists at the hotel too. She says feels shocked and disgusted at the moment of the interview. It is reported that there is no care-taking by the hotel staff, with the blood still spread on the floor. Her brother took photos of the event, but the police ripped the film out of his camera. She says she has not been questioned by the police, just by reporters.
Dr. ʾUsāma al-Bāz, an Egyptian diplomat, explains in a press conference Egypt’s policy toward Sudan; Sudan is seen as a twin country to Egypt and no policy could be taken which hurts the Sudanese people. However, there is an argument about the Sudanese regime’s cooperation with terrorist organisations. He says Sudan allows training, indoctrination and armament of terrorist individuals and gangs on its soil; and helps them getting smuggled to Egypt in order to commit crimes against the Egyptian people and their security. The Egyptian government believes that Ethiopia presented a strong case against the Sudanese government by extraditing criminals who planned a felony against the Egyptian head of state and his delegation attending a conference in Addis Ababa. The Egyptian government further believes that the UN Security Council would be justified to impose certain sanctions on Sudan, which should not harm the Sudanese people however. The sanctions should also not lead to a partition of Sudan, which would not be in the interest of the Sudanese people. In response to a journalist’s question, he briefly addresses the Arab leaders’ perception of Israeli commitment to the Middle-East peace process in the aftermath of the Qana massacre. The Israelis should be put under greater pressure to change its behaviour. Asked about the regional standing of Egypt, he states no country could isolate it since Egypt is the region’s most important and pivotal country. Egypt would further stand vehemently opposed to any secessionist desires in Iraq as it would open pandora’s box in the region, destabilise it and create a Shia belt from Iran to Lebanon. He also briefly discusses suspicious about Libya developing a chemical weapon arsenal and assures Egypt’s trust in the Libyan government.
Side B:
Al-Bāz continues and says the Qana massacre does not alter the consent between the peoples of Lebanon, Syria and Israel to pursue peace. The peace process had gone beyond the point of being affected by “an operation here or there“ and on the contrary should lead to more determination to accelerate it, as peace would be the answer to all these challenges. Bilateral peace treaties of Israel with its neighbors would mean a sharp decrease of violence in the region.
