Six months after Sharm El Sheikh Terrorist Attacks, Remembering and Never Forgetting

On July 23, 2005 the Egyptian Red Sea City Sharm El Sheikh was brutally attacked in an act of terrorism. Six months have passed and still I feel a wound because my people and my city were unjustly attacked in cold blood. January 23 will mark six months after the horrific attack.

The terrorist attack did not lead to justice to those who have lost their lives or those who lost their beloved or punishment to the criminal perpetrators; however it led to unfair detentions to innocent minor groups without the right to trial. Sinai Bedouins were the victims of random investigations into the killings of more than 90 persons, mostly Egyptians.

Egyptian Interior Minister Habib Adli suggested that there were possible links between the attack and a series of bombings on Oct. 7, 2004, at the Taba Hilton, near Egypt's border with Israel, and two beaches farther south. Those attacks killed 34 people. The link was that Sharm El Sheikh attacks gave the ministry of the Interior the chance to continue detaining more innocent Egyptian citizens. That was the link that we learned about.

President Hosni Mubarak announced the convention of an Arab anti-terrorism conference and he got scolded by Algeria because he took the decision without consulting the Chair of the Arab League round at the time. The diplomatic conflict was not resolved. The Egyptian President’s face was saved by the death of the Saudi King, Fahd, as everyone pretended busy. The conference was not materialized in any form until today.

Egypt official and opposition press continue to denounce Israel’s separation wall at the time the Egyptian government took the decision to build another concrete separation wall around Sharm El Sheikh, believing they can protect the city that way.

It is still painful to believe that Taba and Sharm El Sheikh were attacked. However I cannot stop thinking about them as I am still terrified that another attack might happen since we were not assured by the government or even felt that the government is serious about solid investigations.

It puzzles me a lot that the two terrorist attacks took place at two important Egyptian National Days, 6 of October and Revolution Day, July 23. There must be a relation. And I keep asking myself what is the message a terrorist enemy would like to send to the Egyptians. The second common thing is that the two attacks happened on the soil of the Sinai Peninsula.

Agencies reported that in a statement posted on an Islamic website, a group calling itself the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, al-Qaeda, in Syria and Egypt, said it carried out the bombings, the AP news agency reported, although the claim has not been verified.

It even confuses me more that Syria was mentioned as a hub for a group that claimed responsibility for Sharm El Sheikh attacks. No follow up on the tip. There is no surprise. The Egyptian regime is the closest ally to the regime of Syria and will always cover its back, even if it was at the expense of the Egyptian people.

I am dedicating this week to Sharm El Sheikh.

Terrorist attack on Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
Sharm El-Sheikh Aftermath- My protest
Bits & Pieces: Sharm, Elections, Nancy Agram, British Council, Martyrs
Algeria Spanks Mubarak.....Not the first
Egyptian security tracks down on youth in hurghada .. arresting 8000 & sending them home with pretext of terrorism