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In Egypt, angry talk of Western UP FRONT A3
conspiracy over downed plane Wednesday 11 November

MARAM MAZEN Arab, Latin American Leaders in
Associated Press
CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian media have reacted with Saudi Arabia for Summit
fury as Britain and the United States increasingly point
to a bomb as the cause of the Oct. 31 Russian plane A. AL-SHIHRI the Gaza Strip. War,” he said.
crash in Sinai, with many outlets hammering home A. BATRAWY This is the fourth Arab- Some of the heads of state
the same message: Egypt is facing a Western con- Associated Press South American summit to attending the summit in-
spiracy that seeks to scare off tourists and destroy the RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) bring together top officials clude Sudan’s President
country’s economy. — Heads of state from from the Arab League’s Omar Al-Bashir, Jordan’s
The warnings of a plot have been widely promoted the Middle East and Latin 22 member states and 12 King Abdullah, Palestinian
by opinion-makers in print, online, and on TV, some- America arrived in Saudi countries from South Amer- President Mahmoud Ab-
times hinting and sometimes saying flat-out that the Arabia on Tuesday for a ica. bas, Qatar’s Emir Tamim
West has restricted flights to Egypt not purely out of summit aimed at boosting The meetings, held every bin Hamad Al-Thani, and
safety concerns for its citizens but because it wants to trade and policy coordi- three years, began in Brazil from Latin America Ven-
undermine the country or prevent President Abdel-
Fattah el-Sissi from making Egypt too strong. King Salman of Saudi Arabia receives Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro during his arrival to
And though they seem wild, these conspiracy theo- participate in a summit of Arab and South American leaders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday,
ries have apparently tapped into the Egyptian mind- Nov. 10, 2015. The two-day summit beginning Tuesday aims to improve coordination among po-
set — so much so that when Russia last Friday ground- litical leaders and civil society groups in the two regions, focusing on economics, science and
ed all flights to Egypt, some media speculated that technology, the environment and social and cultural affairs.
Moscow had fallen victim to British pressure and ma-
nipulation. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)
“The people defy the conspiracy — Egypt will not
cave in to pressures,” the state-owned Al-Gomhuria nation between the two in 2005, followed by sum- ezuela’s President Nicolas
newspaper proclaimed in a front-page headline this regions. mits in Qatar and Peru. Maduro and Ecuador’s
week. “Egypt stands up to ‘the West’s terrorism,’” an Saudi King Salman, who In his remarks at the sum- President Rafael Correa.
independent daily, El-Watan, headlined. greeted several dignitaries mit, U.N. Secretary-Gen- Other Latin American
The rhetoric reflects in part the deep reluctance in at the airport in the capital eral Ban Ki-moon noted countries taking part in the
the press to level serious criticism or suggestion of Riyadh, opened the sum- that Latin America has the summit are Argentina, Bo-
shortcomings by el-Sissi’s government. mit by commending Latin biggest Arab diaspora in livia, Brazil, Chile, Colom-
Government and independent media alike have American countries for the world and that sev- bia, Guiana, Paraguay,
constantly lionized el-Sissi and depicted him as Egypt’s their foreign policy stanc- eral Latin American presi- Peru, Uruguay and the
savior ever since — as head of the military — he led es, particularly with regard dents have been of Arab continent’s smallest coun-
the army’s 2013 ouster of Islamist President Moham- to Palestine. descent. “This history — try Suriname.
med Morsi after massive protests against Morsi and Latin American countries largely one of harmony, Egypt’s President Abdel-
the power of his Muslim Brotherhood. Since el-Sissi’s recognize a state of Pal- integration and achieve- Fattah el-Sissi said in his re-
election as president the following year, most media estine and several have ment — sends a powerful marks that trade between
have continued to laud him as working to bring sta- strongly condemned Is- message at a time when two regions has reached
bility. rael’s actions in Palestin- the world is wrestling with $33 billion, compared to
“Denial on behalf of the state that there is a crisis and ian territories, including last the biggest refugee crisis just $6 billion a decade
then trying to point to some kind of third party is very year’s bombardment of since the Second World ago.q
normal” in Egypt, Hebatalla Taha, an Egypt-focused
analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Stud- Colombian gets 27 years for taking US hostage
ies, told The Associated Press.
Conspiracy theories often run rampant in the Middle WASHINGTON (AP) — A in Washington following his after being held by the
East for a variety of reasons — poor education, suspi- U.S. judge has sentenced extradition from Colombia FARC in Colombia’s jungle
cion of others, a lack of government transparency, a member of Colombia’s last year. for more than five years.
limitations on speech, and the historical fact that largest rebel group to 27 Two other members of They had been captured
powers inside and outside the region do often work years in prison on hostage- the Revolutionary Armed after their single-engine
behind the scenes to sway events and conflicts. Of- taking charges stemming Forces of Colombia had plane crash landed in
ten, the theories are politically fueled. from the 2003 abduction already been convicted in southern Colombia.
Taha said the rhetoric is the “standard fallback” for of three American defense the same case. Navarrete was the armed
the state. Private citizens, she said, likely wouldn’t contractors. Contractors Marc Gon- jailer watching over the
have come up with the conspiracy theories on their Diego Navarrete pleaded salves, Thomas Howes and three men during much of
own, “but they’re very likely to adopt what state me- guilty in U.S. District Court Keith Stansell were rescued their captivity.q
dia is saying.”
Egypt’s media often point to “foreign hands” amid
crises.
During the 2011 uprising that eventually toppled
Hosni Mubarak, state papers accused foreigners of
fomenting protests. Over the past two years, com-
mentators have often accused the U.S. of supporting
the Brotherhood, which has been declared a terror-
ist organization, and trying to impose it on Egypt, in
response to Western criticism of Morsi’s ouster by the
military and the subsequent crackdown on Islamists.
They also complain that the West is not helping Egypt
enough in its fight against terrorism, including the Is-
lamic State’s branch in Sinai, which claimed to have
downed the plane.q