Scholarships

Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Five top U.S. lawmakers lead by Senator John McCain on a visit to Egypt on Monday urged the nation to prove its credentials on the path to embrace democratic principles and respect rights of the NGOs operating there.

In a statement at a press conference in Cairo, Senator McCain said, “Egyptians have the chance to turn the page from the Mubarak era and write a new chapter in the great history of their sovereign nation.”

Joined by four colleagues from the Senate – Senators Lindsey Graham, Jeff Sessions, Richard Blumenthal, and John Hoeven, Senator McCain confirmed, “the issue of the NGOs came up in all of our meetings.”

Addressing the issue that, “these NGOs are violating Egyptian sovereignty and meddling in this country’s internal affairs,” McCain said, “Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, the majority of the people who work for these organizations here in Egypt are not foreigners, but Egyptians.”

Senator McCain explained on behalf of the NGOs, “Their work – which is done at the request of Egyptian democracy and civil society groups – seeks to support these Egyptian partners in pushing for the rule of law, free elections, a free media, respect for the human rights of all people, and other core principles of a democratic society.”

Denying that the NGOs issue is “about America, despite the efforts of some to make it about America,” McCain said, “It is about Egyptian democratic and civil society groups, the inherent rights they possess, and whether those rights are respected and protected by the government.”

In a report American Forces Press Service cited the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff cautioning the Egyptians about the seriousness of the issue during his visit a week earlier.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told domestic television, he spoke with senior Egyptian leaders regarding the release of 19 Americans being held and how it could impact relations. “I can tell you we came to a very clear understanding of how serious this is,” he said.

“And also a clear understanding that our relationship would be somewhat stalled until this particular issue is resolved.”

Washington is clearing the mist that $1.3 billion in military aid from the U.S. would dry up if the ruling Supreme Council for the Armed Forces (SCAF) that overthrew Hosni Mubarak, does not stop blaming foreign hands for the continued unrest in the country more than a year after the popular uprising.

The crisis precipitated in December last year when a large number of civil-society organizations operating in Egypt were raided, including U.S. pro-democracy groups including International Republican Institute (IRI) which receive U.S. government funding.

Since then the Egyptian Ministry of Justice, after launching an investigation into working of the groups, have banned dozens of Americans including IRI country director Sam LaHood, son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, from leaving Egypt.

Last Friday before the long weekend in the U.S., the State Department had nothing new to offer on the issue. Victoria Nuland, the department spokesperson, when asked if there were any new developments said, “No, except that our legal team has had a number of senior meetings over the last 36 hours.”

“We continue to work very hard on these issues. So we need to let that work go forward and hope we can solve this in earliest days,” Nuland hoped.

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