January 28th, 2011 by Naureen

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry (D-MA), House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee member Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Chairman of the Senate State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Patrick Leahy (D-VT) called on the Egyptian government to cease the use of violence against protesters. However, Kerry is alone in calling for free and fair elections this year. Schiff stated that while Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been a strong ally for the U.S., “that role does not excuse or justify his government turning the full might of his security apparatus on its own people.” Josh Rogin writing at a Foreign Policy blog, states that there seems to be a gap between the Obama administration and many on Capitol Hill about what America’s stance on Egypt should be as the crisis continues. The administration, he says, is caught between U.S. allegiance to Mubarak and its desire to not look soft on human rights. Rogin points, however, to calls from experts around Washington, like the bipartisan Working Group on Egypt, which has urged the administration to press for free elections since flawed parliamentary polls in November.

Update: Senator John McCain (R-AZ) also issued a statement expressing concern over violence in Egypt and called for the immediate release of Mohamed ElBaradei and other peaceful protesters. He also stated that he hopes “the current protests serve as wake-up call for the Egyptian government to undertake reforms” including “the repeal of the emergency law, restoring independent judicial supervision of elections, opening greater space for political parties to organize and compete peacefully for power, and permitting credible national and international monitors to be present in the upcoming presidential elections.” His recommendations echo those made by Obama and State Department officials in the period leading up to parliamentary elections.

Update: U.S. Congressmen Jim McDermott (D-WA), Keith Ellison (D-MN), and Jim McGovern (D-MA) issued a statement deploring the use of violence in Egypt and calling on the Egyptian government to reopen communication networks and implement democratic reforms

Update: U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released a statement condemning the “deplorable violence unleashed against peaceful demonstrators,” and called for re-opening of social networks. He also stated that he “looks forward” to potentially examining US military assistance to Egypt.

Posted in Congress, Egypt, Elections, Human Rights, Protests, Reform, US foreign policy |