Egypt hosts the Arab Lawyers’ Union but has not spent a dime for 20 years

The Algerian lawyer and member of the Arab Lawyers Union’s Executive Board, Abdelmadjid Sellini has disclosed to “Echourok” the most important issues to be raised during the union’s meeting due to take in Damascus, Syria, next Sunday and Monday.

• The issues on the agenda will include the denunciation of the act of burning of the Algerian flag by the Egyptian lawyers; the proposition to change the Union’s main statute, this has been transformed to an Egyptian private property financed by the Arabs’ contributions, in addition to the request for the relocation of the Union’s headquarters to another Arab country apart from Egypt.
• Talking at Echourok “Forum”, M Sellini has hinted to the reasons behind the Egyptian’s sway on the presidency of the Union as well its permanent location in this country adding that some of the principles on which this Arab institution was crated were false.
• In this respect, M Sellini declared “ they(Egyptians) have seized the opportunity to play the host of the union to use its budget for their own benefits and held sway on the union since its creation”. Having the majority with 30 permanent members as opposed to 2 for each Arab country, the Egyptian lawyers had always passed their laws without any opposition, he added.
• He went on saying that Egypt has never hosted the Union’s meetings, which take place twice a year, in order to save money, adding that he doesn’t recall that Egypt has hosted one of the Executive Board’s meetings since 18 years and that most of the meetings took place either in one of the Maghreban countries or some of the Middle East like Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
• For these reasons, Algeria has launched a campaign five years ago calling for moving the union’s headquarters to another Arab country and pave the way for an equal representation among the other countries.
• In case where a consensus isn’t reached concerning the condemnation of the heinous act perpetrated by the Egyptian lawyers, there is a probability to freeze the Algerian’s membership inside the union, but will not withdraw definitely.
• European lawyers cannot stand the Egyptian lawyers’  most reprehensible act
• M Bourayou has declared that he has received several calls from European and western lawyers in which they expressed their total indignation when they saw on the Egyptian satellite channels the burning of the Algerian flag in a country that hosts the Arab Lawyers’ Union.