"Lethal Weapon" star Danny Glover has turned down an invitation to be guest of honor at this year's Cairo film festival because of the September 11 hijacked plane attacks on New York.
Festival organizers said the attacks had kept around 25 foreign journalists and some other film stars away from the film extravaganza, which is showcasing nearly 200 movies from around the world this year.
"For the past three years I have been trying to get to the Cairo film festival, and each time something out of my control has kept me away," Glover said in a message to the festival which opened on October 9.
"This time it is the uncertainty of the aftermath of the events that occurred a few weeks ago in New York," he added.
Glover, who made his name starring alongside Mel Gibson in the series of four "Lethal Weapon" movies, said he hoped to return to Egypt after visiting for the first time earlier this year.
The 25th Cairo film festival has awarded Glover its lifetime achievement award and he was due to attend the opening screening of the French blockbuster film "Emelie."
Fears of massive demonstrations of public anger in Egypt against US-led strikes on Afghanistan in response to the September attacks have not materialized, although there have been protests in universities.
The strikes on Afghanistan began just two days before the Cairo international film festival opened -- AFP
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