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Trespassing lands of farmers of Menyet Sandoub
Many farmers of Menyet Sandoub village has submitted their complaints to land center, where they complain from the harms they suffered because the endowment department had sold their lands to an organization called "The organization of construction and housing for the counselors of state council in Dakahleyya". Endowment department had sold 9 Fadden in Om Zeina basin, the piece of land no. 721, the endowed land by Mrs. Fatima Ismail; it is the piece of land possessed by farmers since their grandfathers, since 1952, and edited between the farmers and endowment department, using lease contracts till 2008.
Where the farmers were shocked when the endowment department had sold the nine Fadden to the organization of counselors in October 2007, as a violation to the law, which state that priority in sale is for those who seize the land.
Based on that sale, the endowment department had terminated the lease relationship with the farmer, and it has notified them about this in May 2008.
The farmers had received, with shock, the decision of expropriation of the lands from them, by a warning sent to them from the counselors' organization, requesting the farmers to deliver their land before 31/10/2009.
Farmers had a long journey of struggle to preserve their lands, where they submitted a trial before the state council, challenging the decision of the minister of endowment, and claiming that the contract concluded between the endowment department and the counselors' organization. Farmers, also, submitted another trial against the endowment department, where they offered to buy the land from people who seize and possess it, with a 10% raise than the price of purchase by the counselors' organization.
It is worth mentioning that residents of Menyet Sandoub village have gathered and marched before state council in order to replace the judge, who adjudicates their trial vs. the counselors' organization and the endowment department, with another one, as they knew that the judge is related to a chancellor member of the organization that seized the land.
It is worth mentioning that the village has 600 Fadden owned by the endowment department, where the price of each single Fadden is higher than one million L.E., because it is near from Mansoura city, and considered as a piece of land that is located inside the housing bulk. So, it is not surprising that governmental departments that fail to develop the society, corrupts and penetrating men inside the state institutions would be greedy to possess these wealth owned by the landless farmers. More than 1/2 billion dollars might be stolen by some corrupts and tycoons in the region, and they might fire the crops, the food, and the job opportunities for small farmers, by trading and building on these agricultural lands without paying any consideration to the risk of this trade on the social and economical aspects, and the enhancement of our country.
But this savageness that infected the performance of most of the departments and businessmen would lead, in the near future, to a social disruptions, displacement of thousands of families, and serious disturbances, where its results will be paid by all of us.
Therefore, the center calls upon the minister of endowment, and the minister of agriculture to stop selling the lands of the department, except to farmers who seized the lands, to commit to the law, and to stop circumvention and fraud inside the governmental departments. In addition, the center calls the chairperson of endowment department to issue decisions that sell the lands of Menyet Sandob to those who seize the land, as a guarantee to their rights, and as an application to laws, constitutions, and International Agreement of Human Rights, so we can assure the social peace, and a source of income to thousands of families.
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