Egypt's NGO raids are a full-frontal assault on civil society
The Washington Post
David J. Kramer is president of Freedom House.
In her March 10 op-ed, "Why Egypt moved on the NGOs," Fayza Aboulnaga, Egypt's minister for planning and international cooperation, left out key facts and generally misrepresented the campaign she has been leading against civil society in that country. It is important to set the record straight.
Aboulnaga omitted from her Post column scurrilous charges she made against us last fall. "Evidence indicates an unequivocal desire and persistence to thwart any attempt at Egypt's progress as a modern democratic country with a strong economy since that will pose a threat to Israel and American interests," she said in testimony to prosecuting judges. She also testified that "Freedom House moreover was founded by the Jewish Lobbyists to hail accusations and criticisms against countries whose policies are not in line with US objectives." She accused our organization of working "in coordination with the CIA." Interesting that she opted not to repeat these absurd allegations in her op-ed. The anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism at the core of these assertions belie her insistence that this is solely a judicial matter.
Don't take my word for it. In a statement issued Feb. 15, 29 Egyptian NGOs condemned the "ongoing slandering and intimidation of civil society organizations, particularly human rights groups, and note that the referral of 43 Egyptian and foreign nationals to a criminal court is politically motivated." They described the December raids as a "crime for which the law was sacrificed. Armed forces were used to attack these offices, and no legal or non-legal explanation was given to justify the presence of these forces." A judge involved in the first hearing against us, on Feb. 26, later told the government newspaper Al-Ahram that the substance of the case was "nonsense."
Contrary to Aboulnaga's claims, none of our organizations funds political parties or candidates. We are in Egypt to support civil society organizations, encourage respect for fundamental human rights, promote the transition to an accountable democracy and share experiences with other countries that have gone through transitions. We would not be in Egypt were there no indigenous demand for the kind of work we do. Our agenda is an Egyptian agenda.