DISORDERS IN EGYPT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19929, 24 April 1928, Page 12

DISORDERS IN EGYPT.

.POLICE TO EE HAMPERED. 'PROVISIONS OF NEW BILL. *;• r ■ . ■■ , :: LONDON PAPERS* CRITICISMS. British Wireless. RUGBY. April 22. A copy of tho text of the proposed t Assemblies Bill, which is to come before the Egyptian Senate on April 30, has roached London, and is the subject of unfavourable comment in the press. When the Egyptian Government re- - Sooted the draft Anglo-Egyptian treaty which had been negotiated by Sarwat Pasha, ex-Prime Minister of Egypt, and Sir Austen Chamberlain, British Foreign Secretary, it was reminded in a communication sent at tihe beginning of March that the British Government would not permit the discharge of its responsibility for the protection of foreigners in Egypt to be endangered by Egyptian legislation. The present bill is regarded by the press as likely to have the effect of facilitating political agitation and weakening the hands of those'whose duty it is to maintain order.

Among tho clauses which have attracted comment are those which stipulate that police officers may attend meetings, but can only dissolve them in two cases, namely: (1) If the committee responsible for the meeting requests in writing that this should be done. (2) In casu of grave disorder, in which event « meeting can bo resumed if calm is considered to have been restored.

Lighter penalties are to be imposed on demonstrators who contravene the law than on officials who dissolve a meeting in cases other than those indicated in the bill. Neither Dignified Nor Prudent. The terms of the measure arc reported to have created misgivings among foreign residents in Egypt, and among the Egyptian police who would have to wait for a definite breach of the peace before they could take executive action. The Times says the late Zaghlul Pasha considered that the existing law governing public meetings required to be strengthened rather than relaxed, and it could only be supposed that the extremists in or behind the Wafd Party had simply made up their minds to impose an irresponsible gesture upon the Egyptian Government. * Political exchanges in Egypt had almost always been accompanied by antiforeign rioting. There were fully 100,000 foreign residents in Egyptian towns and others, especially Greeks, were scattered about the country. The value of the property of these foreigners is considerable, and in times of trouble they were regularly menaced by local "roughs" whom the Egyptian authorities had always found difficulty in restraining, and whom they would hardly be able to restrain at all if the Public Meetings Bill became law.

Until the proposed law had been definitely passed by the Senat9 and signed by King Fuad, there was always hope, says the paper, that wiser counsels would prevail at the last moment, and that even the wilder spirits would realise that some gestures were neither dignified nor prudent. Measure a Dangerous Farce. The bill receives further severe criti- - -cism in the Sunday Times. It says the --most objectionable feature of the measure is that it would not only licence " d all kinds of assemblies and processions, - but would provide for severe penalties ■v against the police for intereference un"/lesß an actual breach of the peace occurred. It would thus debar the authorities from exercising their preventive powers as a precaution in doubtful circumstances, and also paralyse the police ,Vfrom taking action because of a fear of „ithe penalties.. The Observer describes the provisions the bill as constituting a dangerous ..farce. It says that by an almost unbeivJievable chain of perversity the bill would not only discourage i.he Egyptian from preventing disorder, but would penalise them if they took almost any preventive measures whatsoever. - An Egyptian policeman would be fined £1 in some cases, and £3O in others, ■ n '£t he interfered with the holding of likely to lead to disorder. If «-he allowed disorder to run its course he would be regarded as a good and faithful- servant of the new order.' There was yet time to withdraw the bill before the damago was done.