SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — With its turquoise waters and coral reefs, Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh hotel is a scenic spot for this year’s United Nations global climate change summit, known as COP27.
But the appearances worthy of a postcard, it is a strictly controlled castle on the Red Sea. Climate activists say the restrictions will discourage protests that have been a way for the public to make their voices heard at past summits.
Many runners in tourism have been sent home; Those who stayed want special security cards. Tourists were turned away at security checkpoints surrounding the city. Hotel rates are ten times higher, which has charged a lot. Local staff can speak freely with visitors.
In a country where protests are virtually banned, the government has set up an express venue for climate protests, no one knows exactly where it is. 36-hour notice is required.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry responded to requests for comment. Beyond the statements, officials pledged to allow protests and activist participation.
In the run-up to COP27, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has touted his efforts to make Sharm el-Sheikh a more environmentally friendly city, with new solar panels and electric vehicles.
“From the beginning, there was a big question mark over the selection of Egypt as the host country,” said an Egyptian activist, who was detained for more than two years without trial for the government’s crackdown on dissent. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being arrested again. “They know that the selection of Sharm means there will be no protests. “
The scene is likely to be a stark contrast to last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, where some 100,000 more people marched through the streets in a demonstration and protesters gathered in public squares, parks and bridges.
On Friday, an activist organization took part in a small demonstration calling for action against climate on the African continent at a roundabout outside the convention site in Sharm el-Sheikh. A line of policemen was nearby.
A UN-appointed panel of experts expressed fear that Egypt’s environment would be conducive to full and open participation.
Since 2013, al-Sisi, America’s best friend with deep economic ties to European countries, has overseen a major crackdown, jailing thousands of Islamists but also secular activists involved in the 2011 popular uprising. Many others have fled the country. A human rights activist, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, intensified his hunger strike this week, also refusing water.
Outside the Sinai Peninsula, where Sharm el-Sheikh is located, human rights teams say more than a hundred people have been arrested in the past two weeks in Cairo and other cities as security forces stepped up their presence in major squares following rumors of protests. scheduled for 2. 11 November. COP27 begins on Sunday and is expected to last until November 18.
The government has continually said its security measures are important to maintain stability in a country of more than 104 million people after a decade of turmoil that began with the Arab Spring and continued through years of fatal attacks by Islamist militants.
For decades, Sharm el-Sheikh has been the government’s meeting place for high-level meetings and summits, precisely because it is so easy to control. The 1996 Middle East Peace Summit attended by then-President Bill Clinton was held there.
Isolated in the desert near the southern tip of Sinai, Sharm, as it’s called, is a six-hour drive from the capital, Cairo. of checkpoints along the road, allowing the government to repel those deemed undesirable.
A barrier of concrete and barbed cord surrounds parts of Sharm. One front is on a multi-story concrete wall, painted with a gigantic peace sign, a reference to the “City of Peace,” a nickname the government has tried to keep. Large boulevards in the desert link fortified stations, with few public spaces to gather.
Hussein Baoumi, Amnesty International’s Egypt and Libya researcher, described it as a “dystopian city. “
“There is so much surveillance, so much about who enters and who leaves the city, that it is an attempt to know who can communicate with the foreign community,” he said.
Hotel workers say security is strict for COP27: everyone will have to download security clearances and since Tuesday they have been banned from leaving their workplaces or homes. Some will return to their places of origin until the end of the conference.
“We are used to restrictions, but this time it is very much and there were no exceptions,” said a waiter at a four-star hotel.
Security has been heightened in Sharm because in the north, across the peninsula, the Egyptian army is battling a decade-long insurgency led through a local branch of the Islamic State group. In 2015, a Russian MetroJet plane crashed into a while after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh, killing the other 224 people on board, an attack claimed by IS.
Sinai was occupied twice through neighboring Israel: first the Suez Crisis in 1956, which also involved France and Britain, and later in the Middle East War in 1967. It was returned to Egypt in 1982 as part of the US-brokered peace deal between Egypt and Israel.
Since then, the government-approved progression has made resorts along Sinai’s southern coast an ideal destination for beach and diving.
The COP27 convention takes place in the large congress center of Sharm. As in previous COPs, only official UN-accredited delegates can enter the venue, known as the Blue Zone, which the collection is considered UN territory and subject to foreign laws. .
Another venue, the Green Zone, allows businesses, youth and civil society to organize side events. It is unclear where the protests will take place. A COP27 government website states that, in addition to 36-hour notification for on-site protests, 48 hours of email hosting are required for protests.
According to the few photos of the green zone in the official press, it seems to be on a stretch of road or parking lot with cafeterias installed. Gen. Khaled Fouda, the provincial governor, called the site “very elegant and clean” in comments on local television last month.
“Protests are allowed, but slander and insults are allowed,” he said.
The government sent 500 taxis to COP27 attendees, Fouda said, all equipped with cameras connected to a “security observatory” to monitor drivers’ behavior.
None of this bodes well for activism, climate protest leaders say.
Greta Thunberg, a young leader of the protest movement, said she would participate. “The area for civil society this year is incredibly limited,” he said on a recent occasion in London. “It will be very difficult for activists to make their voices heard. Heard.
Cost is another factor. The recently released Egyptian activist said many may simply not travel, with the cost of a plane ticket from Cairo out of success for many amid double-digit domestic inflation.
Cristine Majeni, a young environmental volunteer from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, raised thousands of dollars for her 10-day trip, after going through the accreditation process.
“It is up to us to have the opportunity to participate,” he said.