A group of political parties and movements plan to arrange a public convoy to the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to raise the Egyptian flag there, in defiance of the recent maritime demarcation between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
In a joint statement on Saturday, the Revolutionary Socialists, Al-Dostour Party, Misr Al-Qawiya Party, and the 6 April Youth Movement announced the convoy will raise the Egyptian flag on the two islands to signify a rejection of the agreements for the islands’ “sale to Saudi Arabia”. More details on the exact date and arrangements will follow soon, the statement added.
Meanwhile, in a meeting on Saturday, a wider array of political parties decided to form nationwide committees to gather signatures for a petition against the controversial maritime demarcation decision.
The Social Popular Alliance Party (SPAP), Egyptian Social Democratic Party (ESDP), Al-Dostour party, among others said: “We strongly reject the surrender of the Egyptian islands, the violation of Egyptian sovereignty, and the secret negotiations process which allowed Israel to be informed of the decision before Egyptians were.”
According to a joint statement, the committees will gather signatures, which will then be presented to the parliament to push for their rejection of the decision.
This comes after security forces arrested hundreds of protesters on Friday. Anti-government protesters took to the street all over the country, defying the controversial Protest Law and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s orders to “not talk” about the recent Egyptian-Saudi maritime demarcation deal.
However, more protests are expected to take place on 25 April, further defying the security crackdown.
The transfer of sovereignty sparked controversy and divisive reactions over the ownership of the two islands. Egypt’s cabinet announced last Saturday in an official statement that Sanafir and Tiran islands are now officially included in the Saudi maritime borders.
The decision was concluded after nearly six years of discussions between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the statement read. The agreement came during the first official visit of Saudi King Salman Bin Abdel Aziz to Egypt.