Sunday, January 30, 2011

Washington ready to review its aid to Egypt

After several days of awkward silence, the White House has said, Friday, January 28, "very concerned" about the situation in Egypt, taking the measure of the increase happened among his closest ally in the Arab world. "Very concerned about Egypt. The government must respect the rights of Egyptians and restart social networks and the Internet," he wrote on his Twitter Robert Gibbs, spokesman for Barack Obama.

Opting for a more firmness displayed, the United States were willing to review aid, including military, they bring to Egypt. "We will review our assistance based on events taking place in the coming days," said Robert Gibbs. This initiative suggests that the U.S. reconsider the range of means at their disposal to put pressure on Cairo.

With some 1.3 billion dollars in military aid a year, Egypt is a major beneficiary of U.S. aid. Hillary Clinton, the chief U.S. diplomat, was called shortly after the Egyptian government to end the blockade "unprecedented" for communications in the country. She invited him to commit "immediately" in reform, "do everything in its power to restrain the forces of order" and to "stop the unprecedented steps taken to block communications , "a reference to cutting of the Internet.

"As partners," she finally said in a solemn tone, his face closed, "we strongly believe that the Egyptian government should immediately communicate with the people of Egypt to implement economic reforms, political and social skills." The full text of his speech in English, is visible below: It's the American reaction the deepest and most critical against the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, since the early protests demanding his departure four days ago.

Philip Crowley, the spokesman for American diplomacy, has also described the situation as "deeply disturbing", calling for "respect fundamental rights, prevent violence, and allow communications. "Reform is vital to the welfare of Egypt in the long term," Crowley said in a new tweet: "The Egyptian government must consider its people as a partner, not as a threat." Democratic Senator John Kerry for his view on Friday that Egypt had to choose a new leader in 2011 during elections "free, transparent and democratic." Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs U.S.

Senate, John Kerry has called in a statement the Egyptians in demonstrations "peaceful", referring to the previous non-violent Gandhi and Martin Luther King. The situation in the country poses a dilemma for the United States, likely to support democracy, but Mubarak is the closest Arab ally.

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, had estimated on Tuesday that the government in Cairo was "stable" before the Obama administration will soon put the emphasis on the need to respect the right to protest. The Egyptian army has received grants last year totaling U.S. $ 1.3 billion. The U.S.

has however financed to the tune of tens of millions of dollars to organizations promoting democracy in Egypt, to the chagrin of President Mubarak, according to notes obtained by Wikileaks and published Friday by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.

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