Cairo tries to reassure citizens and Israel amid island controversy
The announcement that Egypt would be ceding control of two disputed Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia has provoked outrage domestically and raised concerns in Israel.
CAIRO — Despite the warm welcome given to Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud by Egyptian official institutions and media outlets from the moment he arrived in Cairo on April 7 on his first official foreign visit since ascending to the throne in January 2015, the visit was quickly marred by widespread controversy and anger. Soon after his arrival, official talks began and an announcement was made about the signing of a maritime border agreement, under which Egypt relinquished ownership of Sanafir and Tiran — two Red Sea islands — to Riyadh.
After a full day of secrecy about the provisions of the maritime border agreement that Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail signed April 8 during an official ceremony attended by the Egyptian president and the Saudi monarch, the Council of Ministers announced in a press release that the agreement recognized that Sanafir and Tiran islands were located in Saudi territorial waters. This thus gave Riyadh full ownership and sovereignty over the islands.
The government’s statement recognizing Saudi ownership over the islands caused anger that spread through social networking sites. Thousands of people used the hashtag #Awad_Sold_His_Land — in reference to an Egyptian folk figure who brought shame upon his family after selling the family farm — to express their ire concerning the abandonment of the Egyptian islands. In addition, numerous maps and documents, taken from official Egyptian websites or educational curricula, affirming Egyptian ownership of the islands were disseminated. Opposition to the agreement was not confined to Internet blogs, as a number of lawyers filed lawsuits before Egyptian courts objecting to their government’s signing of the agreement, while signatures were being collected rejecting the agreement.
The government attempted to contain the popular anger through a new press release that followed the Saudi king’s departure from Cairo on April 12, to which it attached a number of documents asserting Saudi ownership of the two islands since the latter requested that Egypt provide them with protection in 1950. The Council of Ministers’ statement also included a 1950 classified cable by the American ambassador to Cairo, as well as other Egyptian correspondence to the United Nations proving Saudi sovereignty over the two islands.
