Human rights organizations, political movements and trade unions on Monday asked Prime Minister Hesham Qandil to freeze negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a US$4.8 billion loan to relieve the budget deficit and support the economy. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, the Popular Current and the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions said the negotiations are not transparent, nor is the government's economic reform program. They also said holding negotiations and making agreements without a parliament in place, while President Mohamed Morsy has legislative authority, violates the democratic principles of separation of powers and constitutional supervision of executive decisions. They added that the government did not consult all civilian groups and political forces about the loan, which makes any feedback it received not representative of the whole Egyptian society. The IMF had demanded total social consensus over the loan, especially as the austerity measures associated with it, such as the reduction of subsidies, could threaten the basic economic and social rights of the Egyptian people. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
