Excerpts:Egyptian elections problem.Terrorists in Germany 5 May 2005

+++AL-AHRAM WEEKLY 28 April-4 May '05: "Debate heats up over QArticle 76"

HEADING:"Deputies from the Muslim Brotherhood railed against the ruling
party in parliamentary debates about Article 76 this week. Gamal Essam
El-Din reports"

QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"For amendments to be meanngful, Mursi said,'we nead a radical change in
the mentality of the regime.' "

"NDP would be exposing the regime to tremendous foreign (especially
American) pressure and accusations of fraud"

" 'it will be impossible for independent presidential hopefuls to obtain
the quorum required by the NDP' "
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EXCERPTS:
Stung by the arrest of 28 of their members, MPs from the outlawed Muslim
Brotherhood group took the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) to task
during two days of parliamentary hearings about amending Article 76 of the
constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections.
The Brotherhood's parliamentary speaker, Mohamed Mursi, said the amendment
would not bear fruit as long as security forces use the emergency law to
round up and marginalise political activists and political forces. For the
amendment to be meaningful, Mursi said, "we need a radical change in the
mentality of the regime."
Ali Laban, another Brotherhood firebrand, said the NDP was doing its best to
void the proposed constitutional amendment of any meaning. "The application
of the emergency law and abuse of human rights, ... are two major stumbling
blocks in the amendment's way." ... Laban alleged that the Interior Ministry
rewards security officers with promotions whenever they launch a crackdown
on the Brotherhood.
Stepping up their attack, Brotherhood MPs said the NDP had already decided
to rig the presidential and parliamentary elections. The NDP, said Hamdi
Hassan ... was "set to amplify its shameful and unprecedented reputation
for rigging elections" with this fall's contests.
A war of words ensued, with senior NDP MPs warning Brotherhood deputies
against "flexing their muscles". Parliamentary Speaker Fathi Sorour said he
would not permit the Brotherhood deputies to hurl direct insults and
accusations against the NDP and its leaders.
. . .
While the official NDP position on amending the constitution to allow
multi-candidate direct presidential elections will be announced next week,
the hearing sessions in parliament showed a consensus emerging among NDP MPs
on the principles that should govern the drafting of Article 76. According
to Hussein Megawer, NDP's official speaker in parliament, presidential
hopefuls should have to get the backing of 10 per cent of elected MPs in the
People's Assembly and Shura Council. They would also need the support of 10
per cent of elected members in municipal councils in 13 governorates (or
half the total number of governorates).
Those are the conditions for independent presidential hopefuls, Megawer
said; as for political parties, the NDP believes that each party aiming to
field a presidential candidate should have at least an elected MP in either
the People's Assembly or Shura Council. Brotherhood MPs were livid about the
NDP's guidelines. If the amendment of Article 76 turned out to be mere
window- dressing, Mursi said, the NDP would be exposing the regime to
tremendous foreign (specifically American) pressure and accusations of
fraud.
The Brotherhood's view is that presidential hopefuls should have to obtain
the direct support of 20,000 registered voters. "This is far better than 10
per cent of MPs in parliament," Mursi said. There is a total of 620 elected
MPs in both the People's Assembly and Shura Council. "With no more than 34
opposition and independent MPs in the People's Assembly and six in the Shura
Council, it will be impossible for independent presidential hopefuls to
obtain the quorum required by the NDP."
Independent MP Adel Eid, agreeing with Mursi, suggested that independent
hopefuls be required to get the support of 50,000 voters in at least 10
governorates.
The NDP's stance on the commission overseeing the presidential elections
also raised eyebrows with the opposition. Megawer said the ruling party
wants to see a mix of judicial and public figures. "Egypt abounds in
prestigious public figures who can be positive assets to this commission,
such as former UN secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali." The other side
thinks the commission should be confined to judicial figures.... t.
There was also debate over whether or not the presidential elections should
take place in just one day. ... . Brotherhood MPs said holding the
elections on a single day was a clear recipe for rigging. Since there are
only 11-12,000 judges and over 35,000 polling stations, Mursi said, it will
be impossible for the presidential elections to be placed under full
judicial control in one day.
The debate took place in light of an emerging constitutional crisis, with
hundreds of judges threatening not to supervise this year's presidential
elections. The judges are saying the 33- year-old law regulating the
judicial authority must be amended to give them full supervisory powers over
the elections, and have scheduled an extraordinary general assembly meeting
for 13 May to protest against the Justice Ministry's announcement that there
wasn't enough time to submit a new judicial authority law to parliament
during its current session.

+++HAARETZ 5 May '05:
"German neo-Nazi jailed for heading terrorist group"By Reuters

QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"A German court convicted a prominent right-winger yesterday of leading a
terrorist organization that aimed to set up a neo-Nazi dictatorship."

"the group had not formed concrete attack plans."

"the legal system had given a vital sign that it would defend the country
against right-wing terrrorism."
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FULL TEXT:
MUNICH - A German court convicted a prominent right-winger yesterday of
leading a terrorist organization that aimed to set up a neo-Nazi
dictatorship, and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

Martin Wiese was the ringleader of Kameradschaft Sued (Southern Comrades), a
group that wants to replace German democracy with an authoritarian
Nazi-style regime, the presiding judge said.

"All the members accepted that this would only be reached through a bloody
revolution," Judge Bernd von Heintschel-Heinegg told the court.

[IMRA: Hamas is worse but will be allowed to run in Palestinian elections.]

Prosecutors had charged Wiese and three others with planning a bomb attack
at a foundation-laying ceremony for a new Jewish center in Munich on
November 9, 2003, the 65th anniversary of Kristallnacht, when Nazis attacked
Jewish shops and synagogues.

The group's members were arrested before the ceremony, which was attended by
Germany's president and Jewish leaders. One of the accused told the court
that Wiese had repeatedly talked about bombing the center.

However, judges found that the group had not formed concrete attack plans.

"If this had been the case, the sentences would have been far more severe,"
Heintschel-Heinegg said.

The three other accused were also convicted of being members of a terrorist
organization. Wiese and one other man were also found guilty of illegal
weapons possession. All face prison terms.

Federal prosecutor Bernd Steudl said the legal system had given a vital sign
that it would defend the country against right-wing terrorism.

Bavarian Interior Minister Guenther Beckstein praised the work of
investigators and welcomed the verdict. "The brown (far-right) criminals
have received a hefty punishment," he said.

Wiese's attorney, Guenther Herzogenrath-Amelung, said the court's decision
was wrong.

The shaven-headed Wiese, using crutches due to a sports injury, waved to the
public gallery on his arrival at the trial which was held under heavy
security.

At a separate trial that concluded last month, five other members of the
group were convicted of belonging to a terrorist organization and given
suspended prison sentences.

The German domestic intelligence service has estimated that in 2003 Germany
had 42,000 right wing-extremists in 169 different groups, and that some
10,000 were ready to use violence.

Dr. Joseph Lerner, Co-Director IMRA