New antiquities head at the SCA, but protests continue

Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref)

Following weeks of protests, which reached a head last week. One will just have to wait and see what happens next, but it sounds as though Abdel Fattah's resignation may have smoothed the way for Amine to secure finances from the Prime Minister to meet protester demands.

Today, in his first day in office, newly appointed Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Mostafa Amine met with protestors camped in front of the SCA’s Abassiya building for four days.

Amine told Ahram Online that he told protestors that he agreed with Prime Minister Essam Sharaf to immediately resolve their problems and to appoint all temporary staff who have spent more than three years working at SCA.

As a first step, he asserted, 4065 temporary employees will be immediately appointed to be followed by more appointments until the almost 12,000 temporary employees are all made permanent. The protestors were convinced and promised to end their protest. . . .

Asked about the fate of Egypt's ancient monuments under his tenure, given his specialty in Islamic and Coptic monuments, Amine assured that his training would not be an obstacle to caring for ancient Egyptian monuments. “My duty is to preserve Egypt’s antiquities, whether Islamic, Coptic, Jewish and Pharaonic,” Amine confirmed.

Amine told Ahram Online that he wants some time to reorganise the SCA and its administrative and archaeological works, but he promises to complete the SCA’s mega projects.

Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref)

Around two hundred temporary employees of the Supreme Council of the Antiquities (SCA) are picketing the front entrance of the Egyptian Museum demanding the quick fulfillment of promises made by their bosses.

Newly-appointed SCA secretary general Mostafa Amine earlier on Sunday agreed to grant permanent contracts to temporary employees.

But two hours after his meeting with protesters they were demonstrating once again in front of Cairo's main antiquities collection to ensure Amine's pledge is swiftly implemented.

One protester, Mahmoud Ahmed Meselha, told Ahram Online that temporary workers had resumed their protest because they did not believe the promises that had been made.