Egypt is touting its efforts to make Sharm el-Sheikh a more eco-friendly tourist destination as this year’s United Nations climate summit approaches. But it has also turned the city into a fortified zone, where activism and protest will be difficult.
“From the beginning, there was a big question mark on the choice of Egypt as a host country,” said one Egyptian activist, who was detained for over two years without trial during the government’s crackdown on dissent. He spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing he could be re-arrested. “They know that the choice of Sharm means there would be no protests.”
The government has repeatedly said its security measures are vital to maintaining stability in a nation of more than 104 million people after a decade of turmoil that started with the Arab Spring and was followed by years of deadly Islamic militant attacks.For decades, Sharm el-Sheikh has been the government’s favorite spot for conferences and high-level summits precisely because it is so easy to control. The 1996 Mideast peace summit attended by then-President Bill Clinton was held there.
“There is so much surveillance, so much control over who enters and who leaves the city, which is again an attempt to control who gets to speak to the international community,” he said. Security has always been high in Sharm because to the north, across the length of the peninsula, Egypt’s military has been battling a decade-old insurgency led by a local branch of the Islamic State group. In 2015, a Russian MetroJet plane crashed soon after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people onboard, an attack claimed by IS.
Another venue, the Green Zone, is for businesses, youth and civil society to hold events on the sidelines of the summit. It remains unclear where protests are meant to happen. A government COP27 website says that besides the 36-hour notification for protests inside the venue, a 48-hour notice via email is required for protests outside it.
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