Obama’s ‘MERE WORDS’
A leader of the Muslim Brotherhood this week met with the American ambassador and a top State Department official at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and scoffed at President Obama’s commitment to democracy in Egypt.
“The Egyptian people consider America’s claim that it respects democracy and freedom as mere words,” said Abdul Rahman, a member of the fundamentalist Islamist group’s steering committee, called the Guidance Bureau.
The Brotherhood, now the most powerful political force in Egypt, also criticized Mr. Obama on its website and accused him of failing to keep promises made during his June 2009 visit to Egypt.
“President Obama’s promises, made during his visit to Egypt, have not been fulfilled, and Egyptians want to see more concrete steps in this regard,” the Brotherhood said.
In his meeting with Ambassador Anne Patterson and Michael Posner, assistant secretary of state for democracy and human rights, Mr. Rahman also questioned whether U.S. pro-democracy groups are operating legally in Europe.
In December, the ruling military council ordered security forces to raid seven nongovernmental organizations that were helping Egyptian political parties and other groups organize elections.
Police raided the offices of the Washington-based International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House. The three groups denounced the raid and said they had government permission to operate in Egypt.
As he concluded a four-day visit to Egypt on Thursday, Mr. Posner criticized the raid on the pro-democracy groups with a warning to the newly elected government and the temporary ruling military council.
He called on the government to guarantee human rights and lift the “difficult environment in which civil society groups are operating, especially those advocating for human rights and democracy.”
Mr. Posner said the United States is “encouraged” that the military council lifted an emergency law imposed after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981.
However, he also expressed U.S. worries about the ongoing “sectarian tensions,” a reference to attacks on Christians by Muslim extremists.
Mr. Posner arrived in Egypt to observe the opening of the new parliament, dominated by Muslim Brotherhood allies, and the Jan. 25 anniversary of the start of the 18-day revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak.
NOT A REVOLUTIONARY
The new U.S. ambassador to Moscow this week defended himself against charges that he seeks to undermine Prime Minister Vladimir Putin by meeting with the political opposition.
View Entire Story© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
James Morrison joined the The Washington Times in 1983 as a local reporter covering Alexandria, Va. A year later, he was assigned to open a Times bureau in Canada. From 1987 to 1989, Mr. Morrison was The Washington Times reporter in London, covering Britain, Western Europe and NATO issues. After returning to Washington, he served as an assistant foreign editor ...
'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Political satirist and Christian apologist Bob Siegel discusses religion and politics.
Columns from Voices around the World talking about the events, people, politics and social issues that concern us wherever, and whoever, we are.
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
13 Photos
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
18 Photos
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
11 Photos
