EGYPT-ALGERIA: Football tensions hit academic links

Tensions between Egypt and Algeria - the worst in years between two Arab countries - have seriously damaged relations in various fields including academic links. People and media in both countries have been engaged in an angry war of words since 18 November when their national football teams met in a play-off in Sudan for the 2010 World Cup.

Egyptians accuse the Algerian government of sending hooligans and ex-convicts to attack them in the wake of the match, which Algeria won 1-0 to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa.

"The Egyptian government should sever all relations with Algeria for the acts of violence practised by Algerians against Egyptian fans in Sudan and Egyptians working in Algeria," said university teaching staff unions in a statement. "For our part, we decided to stop scientific research cooperation with Algerian research centres and universities," they added.

In the run-up to the crunch match, Egyptian businesses in Algeria were damaged by people infuriated by media reports that Algerians had been killed in Cairo. Officials in both countries denied the reports. Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country, has an estimated US$6 billion invested in Algeria.

In the aftermath of the alleged attacks on Egyptians in Sudan, Egypt's government recalled its ambassador in Algiers in protest and many professional unions announced boycotts of Algeria. President Hosni Mubarak vowed in a speech to parliament not to tolerate "anyone who hurts Egyptians' dignity". He stopped short of mentioning Algeria directly by name.

The university teaching staff unions asked officials in Egyptian universities "to immediately stop cooperation with their Algerian counterparts", said Hussein Eweidah, Chair of the union at Al Azhar University, a state-run Islamic seminary which also teaches non-religious disciplines such as medicine and dentistry.

"The Algerian people have emphasised their hatred towards whatever is Egyptian and Arab. They still feel attached to France," he added. France colonised Algeria for 132 years.

Several Egyptian universities, especially in Cairo, have recently been venues for angry student protests against the alleged Algerian assaults. The anger was apparently fuelled by scenes shown on Egyptian TV stations of young Algerians setting the Egyptian flag on fire.

Last week, Egyptian police clashed with protesters near the Algerian embassy in Cairo. Fifteen private and police cars were damaged in the clashes.

Mokhtar Hamed, an engineering student in Ain Shams University, Egypt's second biggest public university, said he could find "no good reason" for Algerian hatred for Egypt.

"They forgot how Egypt helped them until they gained independence from France in 1962. I wonder what more harm they would have done to us if we had beaten them in the (Sudan) game," he added. "Unfortunately, they turned a soccer match into a military battle."