CAIRO,
April 8, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Egyptians,
government and opposition alike, expressed shock Friday, April 8, at the
unpredicted bomb blast that rocked Cairo’s most crowded tourist site a
day earlier, with observers saying the criminal act was more likely
individual, and not an organized campaign.
At
least three people were killed Thursday, including a French and an
American, in the bomb that went off in the Al-Hussein area of medieval
Cairo, that also wounded 18 others.
Reuters
cited Egyptian officials as saying a probable suicide bomb was the cause
of the attack.
An
Egyptian man whose remains have yet to be identified was thought to have
caused the explosion, raising speculations the attack was carried out by
a bomber in the tourist area in medieval Cairo.
“It
resulted from the explosion of a charge prepared in a basic way
containing gunpowder and nails,” cabinet spokesman Magdi Radi told
Reuters.
“It
is probable that the one who has yet to be identified was the source of
the explosion,” Radi added.
But
questions remain unanswered as to who carried out the attack and what
are the motives behind it.
Analysts
say the attacker could have carried out the assault on an
individualistic basis.
“The
way this was done shows it is individualistic and not organisational,”
Usama Saraya, chief editor of Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi,
a publication by the semi-official Al-Ahram establishment, told
Al-Jazeera.
But
General Fuad Allam, former head of Egyptian State Security, believes
that a minor terrorist cell gone astray may have been behind the attack.
Allam
was quoted by Al-Jazeera.net as saying terrorist attacks had been
constrained and limited in Egypt and everyone was caught by surprise.
Broader
Perspective
There
was no immediate indication of the motive or responsibility claim for
the attack.
One
political analyst, however, believes such attacks in Egypt appeared to
be against foreigners rather than the tourism industry, which Islamist
militants had targeted in Egypt in the 1990s.
“What
happened today was against foreigners and not against tourism. It’s
very close to what happened in Saudi Arabia, in Kuwait and in Qatar,”
said Dia Rashwan, referring to attacks in recent months attributed to
Islamist militants in Arab Gulf states.
“The
central event is the Iraqi occupation... the side effects are what
happened now in Cairo,” he said.
An
Egyptian man stabbed and wounded two Hungarian tourists in central Cairo
last month in what police said was revenge for Western policies towards
Iraqis and Palestinians.
Tourism
could probably be affected by Thursday’s attack in Al-Hussein, one of
the most famous tourist attractions in Cairo. The Egyptian economy is
heavily dependent on tourism and it has recently started to gain from
the stability and safety for years, despite minor attacks.
Reform
Plans
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The bomb went off at a very crowded downtown Cairo area. (Reuters)
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The
bomb blast, meanwhile, came at a critical time for the Egyptian
government, which is facing pressures at home and abroad for introducing
real democratic reforms.
Different
areas of the country have witnessed an almost-daily occurrence of
demonstrations to press for reform plans. The government reacted with
arresting activists or taking steps dismissed as cosmetic.
Some
analysts raised concerns the government would exploit Thursday’s blast
to muffle the loud voices for reform and divert attention from critical
reports about its record of human rights violations.
“If
the Egyptian government uses this as a cause to prevent demonstrations
and force emergency laws and immobilise presidential candidates, this
might lead to predictions that the explosion will hinder the democratic
reform process,” Hassan Nafaa, head of the political studies
department at Cairo University, told Al-Jazeera.
The
Democratic Reform for Change, known as Kifaya (Enough), said Friday it
would cancel demonstrations in Al-Azhar, not far from the blast scene,
that were due later in the day.
The
group calls for holding free and fair elections in a country long
dominated by President Hosni Mubarak and abolishing the emergency law
applied for 23 years now.
“The
attack will hold long-term implications affecting the economic,
political and security situation in Egypt,” said Rashwan.
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