EGYPT: Slapped over human rights record, Cairo swings back

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A recent resolution by the European Parliament criticizing the human rights situation in Egypt has caused a fuss and triggered a diplomatic counteroffensive. The resolution released last week called on Egypt to honor its obligations under the international human rights accords it has ratified, urging an end to the imprisonment of journalists and political activists and to all forms of torture and ill-treatment.

The declaration was quickly dismissed by the Egyptian government as an infringement on its domestic affairs. Although this is not the first time Egypt’s human rights record has been criticized, the government’s reaction was angry and quick. The Egyptian People’s Assembly decided to cut ties with the European Parliament. The Foreign Ministry summoned ambassadors from 27 European Union countries to complain about the resolution. The ministry also tried to throw the same accusations back at European states.

‘It would be more appropriate for these countries to look at the systematic violations of human rights which their own citizens suffer before they rule on the state of other countries,’ it declared.

The EU resolution called for the immediate release of Ayman Nour, the runner-up in Egypt’s 2005 presidential election, who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence on fraud charges that rights activists have questioned. The European statement came shortly after President Bush visited Egypt, during which he praised the country as having a ‘vibrant civil society.’

The resolution elicited a mixed reaction among Egyptian activists. While several welcomed the statement, many opposition leaders rejected any ‘foreign intervention’ in Egyptian affairs.

Yet the motion was seen by many as a clear embarrassment to Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Egypt’s foreign services.

‘The European Parliament’s decision, the rising tension between Cairo and Washington, and the waning of Egypt’s role in the region are due to the failure and the impotence of Egypt’s diplomacy,’ Magd el-Gallad, the editor-in-chief of Egypt’s most respected independent daily, al-Masry al-Yom, wrote this week.

— Cairo bureau