US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to meet with representatives from Egyptian civil society organizations alongside the seventh Forum for the Future to be held in Qatar from 10 to 13 January. During a tour of the Middle East that will include Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman, Clinton will discuss the role of civil society in Arab countries, and ways to support democracy and education, said a state department official on the condition of anonymity. The US is concerned about the situation in Egypt, especially after the recent parliamentary elections, said the official. He hinted that Clinton plans to discuss several Middle Eastern issues with country leaders, such as support for the newly-formed Iraqi government, the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, and the upcoming six world powers' meeting in Istanbul on the Iranian nuclear program. Al-Masry Al-Youm has been informed that activists taking take part in the Forum for the Future include Hafez abu Saeda, head of Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR); Maged Sorour, head of One World Institution; and Saad Eddin Ibrahim, head of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies. Bahey Eddin Hassan, director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, will send a representative. In related news, Human Rights First urged president Obama to confront recent violence in Egypt and Iraq and clarify US commitment to protect freedom of religion. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
