U.S. congressman Keith Alison presented an amendment for the U.S Foreign aids to Egypt last Friday, directly linking them to a number of conditions ahead of the Egyptian parliamentary elections, Al Masry Youm News reported Sunday. Alison said the completion of the parliamentary elections was an important step in the democratic transformation of Egypt. Another condition, he added, was prisons free of political detainees, according to him, especially holders of the American citizenship and that these conditions should be part of an official document to be presented by the U.S. Foreign minister himself. The amendment stated that President Obama had the right to modify the first condition related to the parliamentary elections as he sees fit for the U.S. national security interests in Egypt but that he would have to present a written document at least one week before changes. The written document should be addressed to the U.S. National Security Council and the Congress Foreign Affairs Committee, Alison stipulated. The U.S. aids to Egypt approved by the Congress are estimated at USD 1.45bn divided into USD 1.3bn of direct military aids (Equipment and weapons) and USD 150 million in cash.
