Cairo • An Egyptian Cabinet minister has stoked tension with the U.S. over funding nonprofit groups working for democracy in Egypt, accusing Washington of intentionally seeking to create chaos to prevent the country from prospering.
The comments published Tuesday in state media were made by International Cooperation Minister Faiza Aboul Naga, a leftover from the old Hosni Mubarak regime. She made them in October during testimony to two judges investigating allegations the groups used foreign funds to foment unrest in Egypt.
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U.S. top military boss pleaded with Egypt
Washington » The nation’s top military leader said Tuesday that he pleaded with Egypt’s ruling generals to resolve the crisis with Washington over the crackdown on American nonprofit groups that promote democracy in the Middle East, warning that the simmering dispute threatens billions in U.S. aid and the relationship between the two nations.
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, stopped short of saying whether his appeals during a recent trip to Egypt swayed the generals to drop charges against pro-democracy workers.
Egypt recently referred at least 16 Americans, including the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and some two dozen other employees of pro-democracy nonprofit groups to trial before a criminal court. The Americans were accused of illegally using foreign funds to foment unrest in the country.
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But the decision to release her testimony now suggests that Egypt is not trying to resolve the worst crisis with its top ally in some 30 years and her comments could make things even worse.
The clash began when security forces raided the offices of nonprofit groups that receive foreign funding in December, seizing documents and computers.
Egypt accuses the groups of using the foreign funds to foment pro-democracy protests against the country’s military rulers, who took over after Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising a year ago. The ruling generals have repeatedly accused the pro-democracy groups behind the ouster of their former patron of following a "foreign agenda" and of seeking to plunge Egypt into chaos or even topple the state.
The groups have challenged the legitimacy of military rule and are opposed to the military’s behind-the-scenes attempts to gain immunity from prosecution and protection from any civilian oversight after they hand over power.
Troops are blamed by activists for killing some 100 protesters since the generals took power. They also accuse the military of torturing detainees and hauling at least 12,000 civilians for trial before military tribunals. The brutal beating by troops of women protesters in December has created a huge uproar, drawing scathing criticism from rights groups at home and abroad.
Several of the groups targeted are American. And last week, authorities referred 43 employees of the groups, including at least 16 Americans, to trial before a criminal court. The Americans include Sam LaHood, son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
No date has been set for the trial, but all 43 are banned from travel.
The United States has threatened to cut off aid to Egypt — $1.3 billion in military aid and $250 million in economic assistance — if the issue is not resolved.
Aboul Naga claimed international and regional powers did not want Egypt to prosper following Mubarak’s ouster, so they resorted to the creation of chaos.
"But the United States and Israel could not directly create and sustain a state of chaos, so they used direct funding, especially American, as the means to reach those goals," she was quoted as saying.
She also claimed that some of the money came from the U.S. economic assistance to Egypt and that Washington has directly and illegally funded the nonprofit groups in what amounted to interference in Egypt’s internal affairs, a challenge to its sovereignty and harming national security.
"Evidence shows the existence of a clear and determined wish to abort any chance for Egypt to rise as a modern and democratic state with a strong economy since that will pose the biggest threat to American and Israeli interests, not only in Egypt, but in the whole region," she was quoted as saying.
The crisis speaks to the political turmoil in Egypt since Mubarak’s ouster and the military’s rise to power to replace him. Many suspect the quarrel with the Americans may have been timed by the ruling generals to help them achieve key policy objectives as they enter the home stretch of the transition to civilian rule. They have promised to hand over power after the election of a president in June.
"It may have been staged, but the crisis is now beyond the control of the generals," said Egyptian rights lawyer and activist Negad Borai. "In some ways, it may be a reflection of divisions with the ruling military council. It is also likely to be part of a struggle for power at a critical time."
The risk is the military could inflict irreparable damage to relations with the United States. And the magnitude of that risk was reflected in comments by the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey on Tuesday.
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