EVENTS IN EGYPT

Evening Star, Issue 19855, 2 May 1928, Page 4

EVENTS IN EGYPT

BRITISH GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY SAFETY OF FOREIGN POPULATION (British Official News.) fntt Association — By Telegraph—Copyright. RUGBY, April 30. The general tone of the proposed Public Assemblies Bill may be indicated by one or two of its articles. Article 9 states: “The following will be liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding one month, or a fine varying from 200 piastres to 3,000 piastres:— First, any official who makes use of his authority to dissolve or attempt to dissolve a (private or a public meeting, except in the two cases foreseen in Article 5; and, secondly, whoever by force or threats prevents or disperses a private

or a public meeting, or attempts to commit one of these acts, as well as any official who . renders himself guilty of one of these infractions, apart from the two cases foreseen in Article 5.” Article 5 stipulates that a delegate of the Administration or a police officer “ may dissolve a meeting only if a written demand to do so is mado to him by the committee organising tho meeting; in cases of serious disorders, if order is restored the meeting may be resumed.” Article S places the maximum penalty for tho promoters of meetings leading to disorder at ono week’s imprisonment or a lino of 100 piastres. It will thus bo seen that agitators causing disorder run tho risk of extremely light penalties in comparison with those iullictcd on police officers who attempt, in pursuance of their duty, to prevent such outbreaks. Since agitators frequently make the foreign communities a target of their demonstrations, and since tho police authorities would be so obviously restricted in the performance of their duties, firm measures to prevent such a Bill becoming law become necessary on tho part of the British Government, which remains responsible for the safety of the lives and the property of the foreign communities in Egypt.

BRITISH PKKKS COMMENT. LONDON, May 1. The 'Daily Herald’ (Labour) says: “ It is hard to see how the proposed Egyptian law differs from, the normal practice. in civilised countries, or what it contains to justify the sending of an ultimatum in preparation for coercive military measures. IE wo believe in constitutional government, then the action of the Government towards Egypt is utterly unjustifiable, and violence will breed violence.” The ‘Daily Mail’ says it should.be clearly understood by the Egyptian Government that tho whole British nation, with the exception of a negligible minority of Communists and faddists, stands behind Sir Austen Chamberlain. —Australian Press Association.