CAIRO: British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday became the first foreign leader to visit post-Mubarak Egypt and will push for an end to emergency law, while refusing to talk to the influential Muslim Brotherhood.
The downfall of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and uprisings across the region have prompted Western governments to rethink their policies of supporting autocrats, but have also raised concerns about the rise of Islamist groups in their place.
The prime minister told reporters before his arrival in Cairo that he wanted to expand security relations with the new Egypt "in combating extremist terror." He also said: "We have got very important trading relationships we want to expand.
Cameron is at the spearhead of a diplomatic initiative to understand the new political landscape after the uprising in this key US ally which has a peace treaty with Israel.
During the visit, Cameron met Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who now heads the military council that governs the Arab world’s most populous nation. The council has promised to deliver free elections and civilian rule.
"The most important thing for us is to hear how we can help this transition be successful," Cameron said to Tantawi.
British officials said, however, that Cameron will not speak with the Muslim Brotherhood, which is regarded with suspicion in Washington, is Egypt’s biggest and best organized political grouping and which wants a democracy with Islamic principles.
It would be a positive sign to meet other, less organized opposition groups than the Brotherhood, to highlight the fact that Islamists are not the only alternative to Mubarak, the British officials said.
Cameron will specifically appeal to the military to lift emergency law, the cornerstone of Mubarak’s iron rule and implemented after the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981 by Islamist officers from his army.
The complete disbandment of the current cabinet, mostly appointed by Mubarak, the lifting of emergency law and the freeing of political prisoners are key demands from reformists and activists who toppled Mubarak.
Cameron’s arrival came hot on the heels of a visit by William J. Burns, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, who landed earlier on Monday. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is due to arrive in Egypt on Tuesday.
Civilian rule
"I think this is a great opportunity to talk to those currently running Egypt to make sure this really is a genuine transition from military rule to civilian rule," the British prime minister said, before arriving in Cairo.
Uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia have sent shockwaves through the Middle East, threatening entrenched dynasties from Libya to Bahrain. The West has watched with alarm as long-time allies and foes came under threat, urging reform and restraint.
The Muslim Brotherhood, once banned and playing a growing role in the new Egypt, rejected a government reshuffle on Monday, calling for a purge of the old guard cabinet.
Egypt’s new military rulers, who took over after an 18-day uprising ended 30 years of Mubarak’s rule, have said change in the constitution for elections in six months should be ready soon and hated emergency laws would be lifted before the polls.
In a bid to placate pro-democracy activists, the cabinet reshuffle named several Mubarak opponents but disappointed those eager for a new line-up as key defense, foreign, justice, interior and finance portfolios were left unchanged.
But for many democracy advocates, who want a completely new cabinet with no links to Mubarak’s corrupt and autocratic elite to govern Egypt, the military needs to put fresh faces in.
"No one offered us any post and had they done so, we would have refused because we request what the public demands that this government quit as it is part of the former regime," said Essam El-Erian, a senior member of the Brotherhood.
"We want a new technocratic government that has no connection with the old era," he told Reuters on Monday.
The Brotherhood is represented on a constitutional change committee, a council to protect the revolution and will register as soon as new rules allow.
"Open political space"
Uncertainty remains over how much influence Egypt’s military will seek to exert in reshaping a ruling system which it has propped up for six decades, with diplomats saying it is vital to "create an open political space." Wary of a clampdown, the Brotherhood took a cautious line early in the protests but has slowly assumed a more prominent role. It still treads carefully, saying it will not field a presidential candidate or seek a majority in parliament.
Any sign the army is reneging on its promises of democracy and civilian rule could reignite mass protests on the street.
Friday’s celebrations which marked a week since Mubarak’s overthrow served as a reminder to the military of people power.
The military on Monday announced an amnesty for weapons stolen during the revolution and there were pockets of protests in and around Cairo over pay and conditions despite an order aimed at ending strikes and protests damaging the economy.
In moves to appease democracy advocates, authorities said on Sunday they released 108 political prisoners and Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq on Monday ordered that streets be renamed to honor some of the 365 "martyrs" who died in the revolt. –Additional reporting by Edmund Blair, Shaimaa Fayed, Marwa Awad, Tom Perry
