Palestinian and Syrian 'vilification' criticised

Palestinians and Syrians in Egypt are facing a growing campaign of hostility in the light of ongoing unrest in the country, a human rights group has claimed. The Cairo-based Arab Organisation for Human Rights (AOHR) said that tensions caused by the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies in Palestine and Syria had led some sections of the Egyptian media to launch an unprecedented campaign against citizens of the two countries, including those who have nothing to do with current political events. AOHR’s Programme Manager, Islam Abu al-Ainen, told Arab Today that his organisation appreciates the exceptional circumstances Egypt currently faces, and acknowledges reports of pro-Brotherhood individuals from Palestine and Syria taking part in the unrest, which have been referred to the public prosecutor. However, the human rights body is deeply dismayed at what it sees as hate speech and campaigns which generalise about Palestinians and Syrians and accuse them of betraying Egypt. Al-Ainen said such campaigns were undermining migrants from Palestine and Syria as a whole by identifying them with individuals who don't represent them, a fact he said was made clear to AOHR through its contact with human rights organisations in both countries. Al-Ainen added that this comes amid an increase in precautionary measures, adopted by the authorities in a bid to contain tensions, which have limited freedom of movement for the citizens of the two neighbouring countries. These include major restrictions on Palestinians seeking to move between Egypt and Gaza via the Rafah border crossing, and additional constraints on Syrians trying to enter Egypt. Al-Ainen said AOHR emphasises the importance of the rule of law as a fundamental guarantor of human rights, and that this requires the arrest and punishment of culprits involved, regardless of nationality of political affiliations, and the end of impunity for those found guilty. AOHR also called on the Egyptian authorities to reverse the precautionary measures as soon as possible, and to minimise their effects until that time.      The organisation also appealed for accuracy on the part of the media when reporting the involvement of individuals from Palestine or Syria in crimes that have taken place ?over the past two weeks, especially given that AOHR has found some of the media coverage to be based on incorrect information, and in some cases constituting a direct threat ?to the freedom of innocent people and the safety of suspects.