Egypt's EEZ Agreement with Greece Sparks Outcry in Egypt

They called on the army to intervene...

Egyptian opposition figures: border delimitation agreement with Greece is "invalid".
On Sunday, Egyptian activists condemned an agreement between Egypt and Greece on the delimitation of maritime boundaries, considering it a threat to Egypt's national security and a squandering of the country's economic wealth.
In a statement, the activists, including professors of political science, former members of parliament and political figures, said: "We are following with great concern the foreign policies of the Sisi coup regime in Egypt, which from its first day has carried an agenda at the expense of Egypt's national security interests, contrary to the fundamentals of Egyptian foreign policy and its historical rights established under international agreements, as well as the systematic squandering of its economic wealth and geographical borders."

The statement noted that this "squandering" began "with the signing of the maritime border delimitation agreement with Cyprus in December 2013, followed by the Declaration of Principles on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in March 2015, the surrender of the Egyptian islands of Tiran and Sanafir in April 2016, and finally the crime of delimiting the maritime border with Greece on 6 August 2020."

The signatories of the statement said: "We regard all these agreements as null and void, that is, as nonexistent, and we do not recognize them from the outset, based on our absolute concern for our country's strategic interests, historical rights and natural wealth."

The statement said that "the ruling regime in Egypt acts according to an agenda that first and foremost supports its regional and international backers, who guarantee its survival and continuity in power, even at the expense of Egypt's national interests."

The statement added that "the regime uses its hegemony over the state's political, military, security and media institutions to suppress all civil forces and political parties that reject its policies inside and outside Egypt, in order to pass such suspicious agreements, whose texts and annexes are not officially disclosed, as a consistent approach."

The statement said: "The maritime border agreement with Greece not only means handing over large areas of Egypt's economic waters and natural resources worth hundreds of billions of dollars, but also eliminating the Egyptian state's opportunities to benefit from future wealth. Owing to the suspicious agreements signed with Cyprus and Israel, Greece signed an agreement to build a pipeline carrying gas to Europe, so that Greece, not Egypt, would become the main hub controlling gas supplies to Europe."

The statement called on the Egyptian military establishment to play the required role in confronting these policies and subsequent agreements, on the grounds that national security, border security, protection and defense are matters of national security rather than of monopolizing domestic political life and dominating the state's economic capabilities.

Egypt and Greece signed an agreement on the delimitation of economic zones in the Mediterranean despite the agreement signed between Türkiye and the internationally recognized Libyan Government of National Accord in Tripoli.

The signing angered Türkiye, which described the agreement signed between Cairo and Athens as "invalid" and baseless.

Türkiye subsequently declared that it would defend its interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and reaffirmed the agreement it signed in November 2019 with the Libyan Government of National Accord on the delimitation of maritime boundaries and economic zones between them.

Last Friday, one day after the signing of the maritime agreement between Athens and Cairo, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the resumption of hydrocarbon exploration in the disputed area of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean have escalated in recent years following the discovery of large gas reserves in the region.

The Turkish President said his country had resumed exploration operations in the Eastern Mediterranean after Greece failed to fulfill its commitments regarding the exploration of energy resources in the region.

Signatories of the statement
Dr. Ayman Nour, leader of the Ghad Revolution Party.

Dr. Tariq Al-Zomor, Freedom Center for Political Studies.

Dr. Essam Abdel Shafi, professor of political science.

Former Minister of Investment Yahya Hamed.

Dr. Mohamed El-Feki, Chair of the 2012 Parliamentarians' Group.

Dr. Osama Rushdie, former member of the National Council for Human Rights.

Former member of parliament Hatem Azzam.

Ghada Naguib, political activist.

Magda Mahfouz, political activist.

Ashraf Tawfiq, Secretary General of the Najda Human Rights Organization.

Nizar Ghorab, former member of parliament.

Mohamed Musaad Al-Imam, former member of parliament.

Tamer Makki, former member of parliament.

Yasser Hassanein, former member of parliament.

Adel Ismail, former member of parliament.

Ahmed Gad, former member of parliament.

Tarık Mursi, former member of parliament.

Ahmed Abdel Basit, university professor.

Sıddık Abdul Muttalib, political activist.

Ezz El-Din Al-Koumi, former parliamentarian

Ahmed Shaboun, political activist.

Salah Al-Doubi, activist in Switzerland.

Ahmed Rushdie, journalist.

Tarık Mursi, political activist

Mohamed Al-Adly, political activist

 

الخارجية المصرية أدان ناشطون مصريون، الأحد، اتفاقية بين مصر واليونان لترسيم الحدود البحرية، معتبرين أنها تمثل تهديدا للأمن القومي المصري وتفريطا في الثروات الاقتصادية للبلاد. وقال الناشطون وبينهم أساتذة في العلوم السياسية وبرلمانيون سابقون وشخصيات سياسية، في بيان: " نُتابع بقلق شديد السياسات الخارجية لنظام السيسي الانقلابي في مصر، والذي جاء منذ اليوم الأول، مُحملاً بأجندة على حساب مصالح الأمن القومي المصري، وتتعارض وثوابت السياسة الخارجية المصرية، وحقوقها التاريخية الراسخة بموجب اتفاقيات دولية، وكذلك التفريط الممنهج في ثرواتها الاقتصادية وحدودها الجغرافية" 

وذكر البيان أن هذا "التفريط" جاء "بداية من التوقيع على اتفاق ترسيم الحدود البحرية مع قبرص في ديسمبر/كانون الأول 2013، ثم إعلان المبادئ الخاص بسد النهضة الإثيوبي في مارس/آذار 2015، والتنازل عن جزيرتي تيران وصنافير المصريتين في أبريل/نيسان 2016، وأخيراً وليس آخراً جريمة ترسيم الحدود البحرية مع اليونان في السادس من أغسطس/آب 2020" 

وقال الموقعون على البيان: "نحن إذ نتعامل مع كل هذه الاتفاقيات على أنها باطلة، أي أنها والعدم سواء، ولا نعترف بها ابتداءً، انطلاقاً من حرصنا المطلق على مصالح بلادنا الاستراتيجية وحقوقها التاريخية وثرواتها الطبيعية" 

وذكر البيان أن "النظام الحاكم في مصر، يتحرك وفق أجندة داعمة أولاً وأخيراً لداعميه الإقليميين والدوليين، الضامنين لبقائه واستمراره في الحكم، حتى لو كان ذلك على حساب المصالح الوطنية المصرية" 

وأضاف البيان أن "النظام يستغل هيمنته على مؤسسات الدولة السياسية والعسكرية والأمنية والإعلامية، لقمع كل القوى المدنية والأطراف السياسية، الرافضة لسياساته داخل مصر وخارجها، لتمرير مثل هذه الاتفاقيات المشبوهة، التي لا يتم الإعلان الرسمي عن نصوصها وملاحقها، كنهج ثابت لهذا.....

لقراءة المقال بالكامل يرجى الضغط على زر "إقرأ على الموقع الرسمي" ادناه. 

 

 

Source: Al Jazeera