US call for democracy meets mixed reaction

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s calls for free and fair elections in Egypt has drawn mixed reactions from pro-democracy movements and the Egyptian government. After meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Rice delivered what the US State Department had termed a ‘major policy speech’ at the American University in Cairo in the heart of Egypt’s capital on Monday. While she cautiously praised the Egyptian president’s steps toward reform, she also criticised the Egyptian government’s violent response to pro-democracy demonstrators during May’s constitutional referendum. The referendum proposed an amendment to the constitution allowing multiple presidential candidates for the country’s September election, as opposed to the single candidate system used in Egypt for half a century. Under the terms of the amendment, candidates should be members of a political party that has been registered for at least five years. However, activists argue that this limits serious contenders. "We are all concerned for the future of Egypt’s reforms when peaceful supporters of democracy, men and women, are not free from violence. The day must come when the rule of law replaces emergency decrees and when the independent judiciary replaces arbitrary justice," Rice said to an invited group of 600 Egyptians, diplomats and foreign journalists. Cairo reacted to Rice’s speech by stating that free elections were already on the cards. "Who would object to fair and transparent elections?" asked Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit rhetorically. "It will be so, I assure you." The official Egyptian press saw Rice as trying to interfere with the national political process. In an editorial entitled "Egypt alone decides for itself its democratic choices," Egypt’s state-run daily Al-Ahram made it clear that outside pressure was not welcome. Veteran human rights activist and a leading light in the opposition Al-Ghad Party, Hisham Qaasim, was happy with the visit. Qaasim, along with a number of opposition party activists met Rice. "She was interested in listening to reformers," he said. Unlike many opposition politicians, who tend to distance themselves from the US, Qaasim said he believed that the Bush administration was truly interested in democratic reform in the region. In order to do so, however, he insisted they needed to stop supporting the region’s rulers. "The United State’s main role is to stop giving unconditional support to dictators. If the Egyptian regime wants to continue to benefit from American patronage, they need to bring about good governance, democratisation and transparent elections - all that the Bush administration is calling for." Some Egyptian democracy activists, however, criticised Rice for leaving the Islamic Muslim Brotherhood out of her dialogue with the Egyptian opposition. The brotherhood is banned from participating in politics in Egypt due to the dominance of religion in its agenda, but is by far the largest opposition group in the country. The movement calls for an Islamic political and social system and opposes Western power and cultural influence. In the past, the brotherhood was also accused of favouring state terrorism, hence the ban. "The US must engage in a serious policy dialogue on democratic issues that does not exclude the forces that the US finds a threat to its interests in the region, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood and the radical left," said Gasser Abdel Rezzak of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR). Abdel Rezzak added that Washington could play a key role in promoting Egyptian democracy. "The US has been the largest donor and trade partner of Egypt for so many years. They have what they both call a special relationship, particularly since the peace treaty with Israel. If the US is genuinely interested in seeing democratic reform take place in Egypt they can play a role," Abdel Rezzak said.