CAIRO: Egyptian groups in the US urged Barack Obama to tackle issues such as political reform as well as the continuation of the emergency law with counterpart Hosni Mubarak when he visits the US on May 26.
The America in Arabic news service reported that the Egyptian groups in the US urged Obama “to bring up issues pertaining to reform and the cancellation of the emergency law and all laws restricting freedoms [in Egypt].
They also called for “the release of political prisoners and the creation of a true democracy based on the allowance of general and religious freedoms, in a statement released May 12 under the umbrella of the Egyptian American Organizations Coalition.
Mubarak is due to visit the US for the first time since 2004, an indication of the frostiness between the regime and the previous US administration of George W. Bush. Critics see the renewal of the visits as American interests in the region taking precedence over concern for democratic reform.
The letter in question was only found on the website for the International Quranic Center, not on the sites of the other groups supposedly cosigned to the letter, such as the Ibn Khaldun center headed by Saad Eddin Ibrahim.
The letter states that, “Given President Mubarak’s upcoming visit to the United States, we call on you to raise the issues of: revival of reform, repeal of the emergency law and all laws which restrict freedoms, the release of political prisoners and the establishment of true democracy based on permitting public and religious freedoms, the supremacy of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, and respect for human and minority rights.
“We assure you that peaceful reform is what Egyptians inside and outside Egypt seek, and they place their hopes on you to avoid instability in Egypt and the Middle East, the statement continued.
Obama in turn is due to visit Egypt and make a speech June 4 in which he aims to address the Islamic world. Obama’s visit has also been criticized for its apparent tacit approval for the ruling regime despite its authoritarian nature and poor human rights record.
