 Egypt's Parliament agreed yesterday to a two-year extension of emergency law requested by the government while it prepares replacing anti-terrorism laws.
| They've only been in a state of emergency for 25 years. What's another coupla years? |
The Muslim Brotherhood, the strongest opposition force, said there was no justification for extending the law, which President Hosni Mubarak last year promised to substitute with anti-terrorism legislation. Mubarak had already signaled that the law would be extended before bombers killed 18 people in the Red Sea resort of Dahab last week and attacked a police station and multinational peace force in the Sinai Peninsula.
| Just yesterday he was talking about how stable Egypt is. I'm not sure why a stable nation would need 25 years of emergency laws. |
Emergency law has been in force since October 1981, when militants assassinated President Anwar Sadat and Mubarak took office. It gives the government wide powers to detain people without charge and restrict civil liberties. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif asked Parliament to approve emergency laws for another two years or until the government had prepared the anti-terrorism law. |