EGYPT: Hopes Fade for US Help to Restore Civil Liberties

• by Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani (cairo)
• Wednesday, May 19, 2010
• Inter Press Service

'Obama has completely gone back on his promise to support democracy in the Arab world,' Hafez Abu Saeda, secretary-general of the Cairo-based Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, told IPS. 'He has obviously reached the conclusion that regional stability - i.e., keeping dictatorial regimes in power - is more in the U.S. interest than democracy.'

On May 11, Egypt's parliament, which is dominated by the ruling National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak, approved a two-year extension of the longstanding and unpopular Emergency Law.

The 30-year-old law, declared following the 1981 assassination of then president Anwar Sadat, gives the state wide-ranging powers of arrest and detention without charge.

The government has traditionally defended the law by appealing to the need for 'stability' and safeguarding 'national security.' Opposition figures and rights advocates, however, say the law has been used primarily to stifle political dissent.

On the day the law was extended, U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton hastened to express her disappointment, calling on Mubarak to fulfil a 2005 electoral promise to replace the law with anti-terrorism legislation.

'This extension is regrettable, given the pledge made by the government to the Egyptian people in 2005,' Clinton stated. 'A broad range of Egyptian voices…have called for the elimination of the state of emergency.'

But despite Clinton's ostensible regret, many local rights activists and opposition spokespeople continue to question the sincerity of Washington's stated support for Egyptian political reform.

'The West, namely the U.S. and European Union, is hardly a true champion for freedom and democracy,' Ibrahim Eissa, prominent political analyst and editor-in-chief of independent daily ‘Al-Dustour’, wrote in an Apr. 28 editorial. 'It only wants obedient Arab governments that will serve its interests.'

'As long as Mubarak remains a friend of western policy objectives and plays good neighbour to Israel, the West will give its stamp of approval to the regime and its blatantly rigged elections,' Eissa added.

Abu Saeda agreed, noting that, in terms of democracy promotion and human rights, the Obama administration compared unfavourably to the previous administration of George W. Bush - despite the latter's overwhelming unpopularity in the Middle East.

'During Bush's second term, the U.S. brought considerable pressure to bear on Arab regimes for democratic reform, which led to significant political movement in Egypt,' he said. 'Obama promised to maintain that pressure, but appears to have gone back on his word.'

Abu Saeda went on to note that, shortly after assuming the presidency, Obama reduced U.S. financial assistance earmarked for democracy promotion in the Arab world by more than 200 million US dollars. 'Still, this isn't as important as the U.S. moral support previously given to Egyptian political reform that fired the political activism seen in 2004 and 2005,' he said.

'In fact, since Obama became president, many Arab regimes have stepped up their violations of democracy and citizens' rights, in the form of arbitrary arrests, military tribunals, emergency laws, etc.,' Abu Saeda added. 'All of which the administration in Washington has either met with silence or with blasé statements intended merely for domestic consumption.'

Hamdi Hassan, MP for the Muslim Brotherhood - Egypt's largest opposition movement - and official spokesman for the group's parliamentary bloc, says the Obama administration 'doesn't care that the Egyptian regime is dictatorial, only that it conforms to U.S. policy objectives.'

'After briefly supporting democratic reform in the region following 9/11, the U.S. realised that democracy in the Arab world was not in its interest,' Hassan told IPS. 'This is because the Arab publics continue to overwhelmingly reject the Zionist entity - the security of which trumps all other U.S. concerns.'

'As it stands, Obama couldn't ask for a better regime than Mubarak's, which continues to sell out the Palestinian cause and has even become a de facto enemy of resistance groups,' he added. 'For this reason, the U.S. will continue providing Egypt with unprecedented political and economic support - no matter how anti-democratic the regime is.'

According to Eissa, this self-interest - often in the guise of 'democratisation' - is hardly confined to the West's dealings with Egypt.

'The U.S. and EU failed to condemn Sudan's rigged elections last month because [Sudanese President Omar] al-Bashir's victory will likely contribute to the secession of southern Sudan from the north - a longstanding western objective,' he wrote. 'Yet the West roundly condemned [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmedinejad's electoral victory last year, heavily supporting opposition claims that elections were rigged.'

'Nor did the West complain about Afghanistan's rigged elections last year, since [Afghan President Hamid] Karzai serves the interests of the U.S. and its allies,' Eissa added. 'The West also supports [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas - who maintains the post illegitimately since his presidential term expired in January - for the same reason.'

Hassan points out that Washington's pretended support for Arab democracy was most palpably belied by its reaction to the electoral victories of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in 2006 Palestinian legislative elections.

'When the Palestinian people chose Hamas, first Bush, then Obama, refused to speak to the group - even though the elections had been atypically transparent and democratic,' said Hassan. 'Why? Because Hamas refuses to yield to the Zionist occupation.'

Abu Saeda agrees that western double standards vis-à-vis democracy often extend to the issue of 'how Israel is treated.'

'Even though Hamas was elected democratically under the supervision of [former U.S. president Jimmy] Carter, the U.S. and EU both rejected the election results and continue to refuse to deal with it,' he said.

'And look at the Goldstone Report [detailing war crimes committed during Israel's 2008/09 'Cast Lead' assault on the Gaza Strip],' added Abu Saeda. 'Had those crimes been committed by an Arab regime, the international community would have had its president arrested and tried before an international court.'

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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