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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Egypt's govt wondering why foreign embassies are closing shop


Canada and UK have closed their embassies since last week.  Before that, in November, Germany  closed theirs and Australia might do same soon.  Check the area I have highlighted for the possible reason.  Precaution is always better than having to regret later on that one did not have the foresight when needed.

Egypt .... you have a problem....a very BIG one.

Ahmad Jamaleddine writing at AlAkhbar:
The last thing the Egyptian regime needed was for powerful countries, like Britain and Canada, to close their embassies in Egypt. Such a reputation aggravates Cairo, which denies any factual reasons for the closure. The issue has raised the ire of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while diplomatic sources attributed the decision to exaggerated security fears.

Cairo – The embassies of the United States, Canada, Britain, and other countries are located In the upscale neighborhood of Garden City in downtown Cairo, just a few meters away from Tahrir Square, which is why the area is known as the embassy district. It is a diplomatic hub, around which the Egyptian authorities have imposed tight security measures since the events of September 11, 2001 until today. In addition to the high walls, and the surveillance and investigation of residents in surrounding houses, the government has banned the leasing of one of the towers overlooking the British Embassy garden. This means that the area is well-secured.

Here, cars are carefully inspected throughout the day, and more than 500 officers and soldiers protect the neighborhood. Residents, however, feel that their area has become akin to military barracks due to these measures. A bystander scoffs at the security concerns cited by the embassies of Britain and Canada given the tight security in place, despite the Ministry of Interior announcement that it has seized maps of diplomatic premises in Cairo from persons that were recently arrested.

The German Embassy announced that its consulate will be closed on Thursday, November 11. The US Embassy has also warned of the possibility of taking a similar decision based on the security situation, and the Australian Embassy has followed suit. This prompted Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab to go on an evening tour around the streets of Cairo, and take pictures with citizens to show that the security situation is stable. He made sure to take pictures just tens of meters away from the headquarters of the two closed embassies........

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