by
Dina Ezzat
In an unusual
moment of agreement between the government and opposition both concurred that
the Monday visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had done little to
pressure the regime to bow to growing demands for greater political freedoms.
The apparent message of Rice's short visit to Sharm El-Sheikh -- where she met with President Hosni Mubarak -- and Cairo
-- where she conferred with opposition and civil society figures -- is that Washington,
no matter how impatient it is with the pace of political reform, remains sceptical over alternatives to the current regime.
"I think two
conclusions can be drawn from Rice's visit to Cairo.
One is that the US administration is willing to give the government and ruling
National Democratic Party (NDP) the benefit of the doubt over reform plans; the
second is that Washington is determined to communicate freely with opposition
and independent reformers, though not behind the back of the government,"
says Baheieddin Hassan,
head of the Cairo Centre for Human Rights Studies.
Hassan was one of nine political and civil society figures
from different backgrounds, including the NDP but excluding Islamists and Nasserists, who met Rice for a roundtable discussion that
lasted one hour, a little less than her 90-minute encounter with the president.
In a speech
delivered at the American University
in Cairo (AUC), and in statements during her joint press conference with
Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit, Rice made a strong
case for democracy.
"Liberty
is the universal longing of every soul, and democracy is the ideal path for
every nation," Rice said. "We are all concerned for the future of Egypt's
reforms when peaceful supporters of democracy -- men and women -- are not free
from violence," she added.
Rice spoke of the
need for the government of Egypt
to "put its faith in the people" and to allow for "free and
fair" elections observed by international monitors that reflect "a
sense of competition". She also spoke of the right of the opposition to
act without waiting for "the midnight
knocks of the secret police".
Such remarks
failed to head off complaints that the US Secretary of State had softened her
criticism of the government with many saying Rice had conspicuously failed to
offer meaningful support to the opposition and their demands that democratisation be speeded up.
Unimpressed by
Rice's suggestion that President Mubarak had
"unlocked the door for change" they argued that she should have
reminded the government of violations of basic human rights during the
referendum on amending Article 76 of the constitution.
"She said she
received clear promises from Abul-Gheit regarding the
fair administration of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
This is simply not good enough," said presidential candidate Ayman Nour, the leader of Al-Ghad Party, who expressed scepticism
over Rice's faith in the government's intention to make good on its promises.
Those who met with
Rice, those who turned down the invitation of the US Embassy in Cairo
to attend the roundtable and those who were not approached all agree that
foreign policy lay behind Rice's conciliatory tone towards the government.
"She was not
on a visit to Egypt
but on a regional tour aimed at securing US policy objectives in the Middle
East. Since the Egyptian government is willing to cooperate on
this foreign policy agenda Washington is willing to temper its criticisms of
the pace and scope of democratisation proposed by the
Egyptian regime," said Hussein Abdel-Razeq,
secretary-general of the left-wing Tagammu Party.
As long as Egypt
continues to facilitate the Palestinian-Israeli file, remains silent over the US
occupation of Iraq
and pressures Damascus to bow to
American demands to reduce support for any resistance to the occupation of Iraq
and Palestine "then the US
administration has no reason really to go against the regime" argued Abdel-Razeq.
"We see
eye-to-eye on most issues," Abul-Gheit said
during the joint press conference.
Reservations over
the line Rice adopted in Egypt
do not extend to the Wafd Party. Deputy leader of the
party and MP, Mounir Fakhri
Abdel-Nour, who insisted on participating in the
roundtable in his capacity as a reformer and not as a representative of his
party, argues that it is wrong for the opposition to expect the US
to support any change of the regime since regime change is not the real target
of reform.
"We are
perfectly willing to work with the regime provided it introduces the required
reforms. It is not regime change that we are after but stability and reform. As
such we have no differences with the Americans."
According to Abdel-Nour and to Hossam Badrawi, a leading figure on the reformist wing of the NDP,
if the US is
serious about encouraging reform than it should provide support rather than
criticism. Both Abdel-Nour and Badrawi
spoke of the need for US help in implementing educational and economic reforms,
including a free trade agreement.
"It seems the
US
administration is getting to see what is really happening on the ground and
coming to understand that calls for shock democratic therapy could harm its
interests," said a senior government official who requested his name to be
withheld.
He rejects
suggestions the government is trading foreign policy favours
in return for Washington's
accommodation of its reform agenda. "There is nothing new about our
foreign policy coordination with Washington.
We have been foreign policy allies for a long time," he said.
Officials say the
government offered guarantees to Washington
on two main issues -- succession and the monitoring of elections. The US
was told that the issue of succession is not on the table and that the
monitoring of elections had not, in principle, been rejected.
On Tuesday
Boutros-Boutros Ghali, president of the Egyptian
Council for Human Rights (ECHR), said his organisation
might play a role "in following the elections". Speaking to the press
after meeting with President Mubarak, Ghali said the ECHR "will meet within a few days to
examine the issue... and prepare a paper on the matter".
Egyptian officials
argue the US
administration, confronted with the possibility of chaos engulfing Egypt
or of the emergence of a theocratic regime, has been forced to reconsider
proposals by several think-tanks to up the pressure on Cairo
to pursue reform by restricting economic aid.
"We haven't
engaged the Muslim Brotherhood and we won't," Rice said, adding that
"if certain groups have one foot in the camp of democracy and the other in
the camp of terror than this democracy will not work."
Egypt's political
future need not be "caught between democracy and autocracy", said Hala Mustafa, the editor of Al-Ahram's
Democracy quarterly, in introductory remarks she delivered at the AUC before
asking Rice to take the podium. "We all admit that the path of freedom and
democracy is a long one, full of obstacles, but despite the legacy of the past
I believe better future will emerge," she added.
If opposition
figures were pleased to hear Rice allude to the long years of President Mubarak's rule, government officials were equally happy
with her call on the opposition "to abide by the law and accept the
results of the elections".
Both agreed,
ultimately, that foreign policy lay at the heart of the secretary of state's
visit. Rice conceded that for the past 60 years the US
has supported dictatorships. Should the Middle East's
regimes be able to guarantee the stable flow of oil, contain Islamist
resistance movements and accept Israel's
military dominance and economic integration in the Middle East,
few expect this long-standing policy to change anytime soon.
6/28/05
Source: Al-Ahram
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