CAIRO: A fierce face-off is looming between Egyptian authorities and the West after 44 officials working in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were referred to the Cairo Criminal Court under allegations of receiving illegal foreign funding.
Observers debate whether this will affect the future of aid given to Egypt by the United States and Europe, amid increasing calls by US lawmakers to halt military aid.
"I think the whole probe was a proxy battle between Egypt and the West and these NGOs are being used as a pressure card," head of the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights, Nehad Abou El-Komsan, told Daily News Egypt on Thursday.
"I doubt that the ruling military junta ever thought of the political and economic repercussions of such a move. Egypt is suffering economically already. Egypt is paying too high a price for that," she added.
Among those referred to trial are 19 Americans, including the son of US Transport Secretary Ray LaHood. Also facing charges are five Serbs, two Germans, two Lebanese, one Jordanian and one Palestinian, in addition to 14 Egyptians, all of whom have either been banned from travel or have been placed on inbound watch-lists if they are outside the country.
The referral came one day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Egypt that failure to resolve the dispute may lead to the loss of American aid.
"I think we have to have every aspect of our relationship with Egypt examined until these people are removed from any indictment and allowed to leave or do whatever they need to do," The Associated Press (AP) quoted Republican Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, as saying in Washington.
The straining of relations was evident when an Egyptian government delegation abruptly canceled its meetings with US lawmakers in Washington set for Monday and Tuesday.
"We understand that we have a real strategic interest in keeping good relations with the Egyptians. It’s the biggest country in the Arab world," Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut told AP.
"But on the other hand, we can’t just sit back when Americans get charged and potentially incarcerated for what are trumped up charges, ridiculous," said Lieberman, who together with McCain spoke to reporters after a meeting with the Israeli foreign minister.
Abou El-Komsan said that the escalation of the case along with the timing are perplexing and unjustifiable, what with Egypt requesting financial support from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as it struggles to plug a budget deficit and depleting foreign reserves.
"If we take the German foundation of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung as an example, which has been operating legally in Egypt for 30 years, what is the reason behind referring two of its workers to trial? If they are operating illegally, why did authorities let them operate for 30 years?" Abou El-Komsan asked.
On the other hand, political researcher at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies Hassan Abu Talib told DNE that the investigation will not affect Egypt’s relationship with the international community, echoing the official line.
"From a merely legal perspective, the probe will not and should not affect the relationship with the West. These organizations operated illegally and do not have licenses, and according to the law, they should be referred to court," he said.
Abu Talib argued that bilateral relations with the US and Europe are a two-way street, and if the US uses the aid card to pressure Egypt to stop the probe, Egypt has its own ways to pressure the US.
"The US has to revisit its stance towards Egypt because after the revolution, Egypt will not be the country pressured by a $20 billion loan like in [Hosni] Mubarak times. Conditions have changed," he said.
Egypt has been receiving $1.3 billion in annual military aid from the US since it signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1979.
Abu Talib said that with Egypt holding many of the keys to the regional peace process, it is not easy for the US and Europe to give up this unique partner.
"Using financial and military aid as a pressure card will have a counter affect in the regional balance of power. Egypt is already suffering economically whether the government receives aid or not," he said.
Abou El-Komsan said there are better ways to resolve the issue without harming the national interests of the country.
"Egypt can warn these organizations by ordering them to issue licenses and work in line with Egyptian law, and if they are reluctant, authorities then have the right to shut down these organizations," she suggested.
"Escalating the matter in this way will make the situation worse," she said.
The Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) criticized earlier in a statement the campaign against NGOs, labeling it a plot by the ruling military junta to tarnish the reputation of rights organizations that have worked to expose violations by the military since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
"[The campaign casts] doubt over the real role played by these organizations and defames them, using one of the most prominent figures of the Mubarak regime, Fayza Aboul Naga, who found in this campaign an opportunity for vengeance [targeting] the human rights institutions that contributed to toppling the regime to which she belongs," the statement said.
ANHRI claimed it was also personal vengeance since rights groups exposed the rigging of elections in 2010, through which Aboul Naga had won a seat in parliament. Both houses of parliament were dissolved following the Jan. 25 uprising.
"ANHRI believes that the practices of US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson have paved the way for and fueled the campaign led by Aboul Naga against civil society. The ambassador breached rules of transparency and credibility by refusing to announce the names of the institutions that received millions of dollars from the US during the year 2011, despite the many requests submitted to her to announce these names," ANHRI said.
"The ambassador knows very well that several civil society institutions in Egypt, especially the serious human rights ones, refuse to deal with her as a representative of a government known for its repetitive human rights violations and lack of credibility for its double standards … which is the US government."
