September 1st, 2010 by Jason

Today at the National Press Club, a press conference was held to discuss the Mubarak government’s prominent role in the upcoming negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Hosted by The Coalition of Egyptian Organizations and the Egyptian Association for Change-USA and moderated by Tarek Khalil, the event featured a panel of Egyptian activists.

 For full notes continue below the fold or click here for PDF

 The first to speak was Sheikh Ahmed Subhy Mansour, a Muslim scholar and human rights activist. Mansour is the founder of the Muslim Quranists, a group which has suffered arrests and torture under the Mubarak government. Mansour believes that Egyptians had hope in President Obama, but that some in Egypt fear that hope was a “mirage.” He stated that after 29 years of suffering under President Mubarak Egyptians were saying “enough.”

 Next to speak was Ibrahim Hussein, an Egyptian born American citizen who served as Secretary General for the President’s Council, an initiative to promote trade and economic development between the U.S. and Egypt.  In his statement, Dr. Hussein emphasized that the “Two State Solution” could not move forward without progress on the “Four State Solution”, which includes Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but also the U.S. and Egypt as well.  He called for “…a wider discussion with President Mubarak that goes beyond the two state solution.” Hussein also expressed hope in President Obama, but says that he is “still waiting for bold principled actions.”

Omar Afifi, a former Egyptian police officer, lawyer, and President of Hukuk El Nas, a human rights organization, made his statement in Arabic. (Translation was provided) “If Mubarak claims he is achieving ’stability’, well, it is a fake stability. Mubarak has not ruled for even one day without an emergency law…” The statement goes on to ask the United States to “honor its own principles and values…” by ceasing unconditional support for the Mubarak government and not extending support to Gamal Mubarak, the President’s son and likely presidential candidate. “It will be utterly fraudulent if Mr. Mubarak Junior wins the presidency under the guise of ‘competitive presidential election’…how can it be competitive if the candidate’s dad controls everything in the country?” Afifi concludes by reminding the Obama Administration that “…supporting a regime like Mubarak’s will feed feelings of antagonism on  the part of the Egyptian people towards America.” 

Next to speak was Dina Darwish, a member of the Executive Board of the Egyptian Association for Change-USA. She focused on her  organization’s support for the National Assembly for Change (NAC) and their “7 Points”, a list of demands for the Mubarak government . She reiterated the point that U.S. support for repressive regimes was damaging to the U.S. and stressed that, “…change is coming regardless and the U.S. stands to lose credibility.” She also clarified that while the panelists all have differing opinions on many subjects, they are all in opposition to Gamal Mubarak’s candidacy.

Maria Dayton is the founder of Voices for a Democratic Egypt and emphasized that the U.S./Egypt relationship is between “…people as well as governments” and that the U.S. risks being on the “wrong side of history” in Egypt. She notes that Mubarak promised reforms after the elections of 2005 and that there has been serious “backsliding” since, making pressure from President Obama to continue the promised reforms very important. She also voiced support for House Resolution 200 and Senate Resolution 586.

Sam Gerges, a PhD student and former Senior Programs Coordinator for the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, provided background on the current political situation in Egypt. He pointed out that the Emergency Laws have been in effect for almost thirty years and that these laws were originally meant to be used against “terrorists.”  According to Mr. Gerges, it is now more common for these laws to be used against average citizens and that violations against rights are increasing. Organized labor is also feeling the effects as strikes are not allowed and protests often result in police violence and detentions. Torture is now widespread and no one is exempt from the practice.

At this point in the event, Khalil announced that Egyptian democracy advocate Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who had been hoping to attend the event, had been unable to make it due to his travel schedule. Ibrahim instead sent a statement that extends his apologies for missing the press conference and addressees the controversy surrounding his recent trip to Egypt. “I remain, and will always remain, a strong advocate against hereditary succession in any form, and I will continue to call for unequivocal commitment to free, fair, and transparent elections in Egypt.” He goes on to clarify his preference in the upcoming presidential election: “I have clearly stated my personal preference for Dr. Muhammad ElBaradei…Gamal Mubarak is not even on my own personal list of preferred candidates.” The frustration with Mr. Ibrahim was palpable in the room in spite of his absence and Dr. Hussein called Mr. Ibrahim’s signing of a petition supporting the right of Gamal Mubarak to run for president “despicable.” The moderator then closed this line of discussion until Mr. Ibrahim was present to defend himself.

Khalil then opened the floor to questions. The first questioner asked if the whole panel agreed on the “7-Points”, and the whole panel signaled in the affirmative.  The next question dealt with article 76 of the Egyptian constitution, which requires candidates to have 250 signatures from local officials before being able to run for elections, (effectively barring independents from running) and how to change it. Afifi answered the question in Arabic (translation provided by Khalil), and said that groups within Egypt were collecting signatures to change the article. The petition, which calls for the enactment of NAC’s 7-Points, calls for the removal of articles 76, 77 and 88 from the constitution and has collected 1 million signatures.

The next questioner asked whether or not the choice of Mubarak as a moderator between the Palestinians and the Israelis was hypocritical. Hussein answered in the affirmative, saying that there is a “false image” of Mubarak as the key to keeping a lid on the region. Khalil disagreed, noting that it is “a matter of need.” Another questioner asked how the Coalition of Egyptian Organizations can overcome the perception that change in Egypt (i.e. an independent winning the presidency) is bad for the peace process. Maria Dayton responded by saying that the U.S. needs to understand that the opposition groups could achieve the same ends through secular, democratic means and that the regimes rhetoric finds too much acceptance in Washington. She implored the Obama Administration to see that “the emperor has no clothes.”

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