When visiting US Congressmen met the Muslim Brotherhood's parliamentary spokesman, it provoked more than a little anger from the NDP, reports Gamal Essam El-Din US relations with Egypt were placed under strain this week when President Hosni Mubarak's office reacted angrily to a meeting between members of the US Congress and an Egyptian parliamentary delegation that included the banned Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman Saad El-Katatni. "We know the US does not establish relations with banned groups, whether in Egypt or elsewhere, and that when it makes contacts with independent MPs it does so because they are MPs and not because they represent a specific political trend," said President Mubarak's spokesman Suleiman Awad when asked about the meeting. But the US position, when it comes to members of the Brotherhood, Awad added, is flawed: "the US says it meets with Brotherhood members as independents and not because of their political background yet when it comes to the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, the US refuses to make such a distinction and will not meet its members, regardless of whether they are parliamentarians, or even ministers in the Palestinian cabinet." What irked the president's office is that it was not the first time El-Katatni has met US officials. Little more than a month ago, US House Majority leader Steny Hoyer met El-Katatni at the People's Assembly, then later at the residence of Francis Ricciardone, the US ambassador to Egypt. US Embassy spokesman John Berry said at that time Hoyer had met El-Katatni in his capacity as independent MP, though the latter reported he had been introduced to Hoyer as the leader of the Brotherhood parliamentary bloc. Others attending the meeting at Ricciardone's residence confirmed that El-Katatni and Hoyer had a 20-minute conversation in which Hoyer asked El-Katatni about the Brotherhood's relations with Hamas and what their view of Israel would be if they were ever to govern Egypt. On Sunday, the four Congress members, Gwen Moore, David Price, Jeff Fortenberry and Nick Rahall, were officially received by President Mubarak before heading to the People's Assembly building, where they met parliamentary speaker Fathi Sorour, the chairmen of five committees, ruling National Democratic Party spokesman Abdel-Ahad Gamaleddin, leader of Wafd Mahmoud Abaza, and El-Katatni, who was introduced as independent. Sorour says the meeting focussed on the situation in the Middle East, especially problems in Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and Iran. "Egyptian parliamentarians told the Congress delegation that while solving the Palestinian problem is the key to bringing stability to the region it is only Washington that is in a position to press for a just settlement of the Palestinian problem," said Sorour. He also revealed that the People's Assembly will host a conference for Euro-Mediterranean parliamentarians in the autumn to discuss the Middle East conflicts. "For Israel to be invited we have stipulated that it must first free the chairman of the Palestinian parliament who has been in detention for more than a year now," Sorour said. It was a message the delegation promised to convey to the Israelis when they met Knesset members the next day. Congressman Price explained that the delegation's visit to Egypt, and three other countries in the Middle East, was to review political and democratic developments in the region. Chairman of the House Sub-committee entrusted with providing democratic support, Price said "the delegation has nothing do with offering financial assistance to countries like Egypt but it is concerned with providing assistance to parliaments for the sake of advancing democracy". Commenting on the meeting, El-Katatni told Al-Ahram Weekly that, "in the April meeting with Hoyer at the US ambassador's I was introduced as spokesman for the parliamentary bloc of the Muslim Brotherhood." El-Katatni said that following the Sunday meeting with Sorour and other MPs, the Brotherhood had no plans of holding a separate meeting with the Congress delegation. "We know that the US is concerned with exploring the viewpoints of Egypt's political elite but the Brotherhood has no need for separate meetings. The Americans know our position on all issues." Wafd Party leader Mahmoud Abaza criticised those who regularly denounce meetings between Egyptian and US parliamentarians. Such meetings with members of the US Congress, said Abaza, "provide an opportunity to speak freely and openly about critical issues". The NDP's Abdel-Ahad Gamaleddin argued that while such "meetings with Congress people are good for exchanging views freely and openly, Congress members must realise that Brotherhood is a banned group and that holding separate meeting with its members is against Egyptian law". Gamaleddin revealed that many NDP MPs had called for US-Brotherhood meetings to end. After their meeting with parliamentarians, the Congressional delegation went to ambassador Ricciardone's home to meet representatives of civil society. They included publisher Hisham Qassem, President of the American Chamber of Commerce Taher Helmi, businessman-turned- writer Tarek Heggi, and civil society activists Hoda Badran, Youssef Sidhom and Ahmed Samih. Qassem said the Congressional delegation had expressed concern over democratic conditions in Egypt and appeared keen to find out how much freedom secular parties had to pursue political activities. During a visit to Alexandria last week, Ricciardone spoke to the Weekl y on several issues. He emphasised that, "neither the American Embassy nor American officials aim to establish contacts with Brotherhood members." "We respect Egyptian laws and are keen not to establish contacts with a banned group," said Ricciardone. "When American Congress people come to Egypt they meet Egyptian parliamentarians in their capacity as majority, opposition or independent MPs." Ricciardone also revealed that the American Embassy is preparing to organise visits for Egyptian parliamentarians to the US in the near future. "In fact," said Ricciardone, "the speaker of the People's Assembly Fathi Sorour and chairman of the Shura Council Safwat El-Sherif asked us to organise these visits." "A lot of Congress people have showed interest in meeting parliamentarians from the Arab world, especially Egypt. We hope these visits, which will be conducted via the US State Department's International Visitor Programme, will create more understanding between the two sides." While Ricciardone said Washington knows President Mubarak believes in democratisation "US officials and parliamentarians think the process should be faster". On criticisms levelled in the US State Department's reports on human rights abuses in Egypt, he insists "the two countries are always able to contain the differences which arise". Mubarak, said Ricciardone, is always welcome to visit the US. "We know that American newspapers level criticism at President Mubarak as much as Egypt newspapers level criticism at President Bush." What Washington's man in Egypt really deplores, though, is that some Egyptian newspapers insist on describing America as an "enemy". "They do this although America is on top of those countries which invested billions in Egypt. This is why there is a desperate need for exchanging views and creating more understanding at both political and parliamentary levels."
