Nubian groups in several cities plan to protest outside the Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday to call for the cancellation of ministry-announced efforts to sell land near Lake Nasser in Aswan.
Nubians have pressed for authorities to allow them to relocate back to their old lands in the area, which they had been forced to leave during the 1960s to pave the way for the construction of the Aswan High Dam.
But the announcement of the moves by an Agriculture Ministry agency to sell the land has sparked fury in the Nubian community, and groups are planning to demonstrate in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, Ismailia and Aswan.
Mounir Bashir, chairman of the Egyptian Nubian Association for Lawyers, said association members have agreed to join other Nubian groups in the demonstration, saying the groups have sensed an intention by ministry officials to dishonor their promises to backtrack on land allocations at the lake and to prioritize the relocation of evacuated citizens.
Bashir accused the ministry of seizing the lands around the lake under the pretense of investments, adding that the ministry, through the announced bids, is seeking to legalize squatter ownerships in the area for former regime investors.
He urged President Mohamed Morsy to fulfill the state’s previous promises concerning the repatriation of Nubians.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
