CAIRO: The Coalition of the Youth of the 25 January Revolution rejected an invitation to attend a meeting with U.S. Secretary of the State Hillary Clinton, who is beginning a two-day visit to Egypt and Tunisia Tuesday, announced the coalition on its Facebook page on Monday. “As we are keen on working in a transparent manner, with the masses of the revolution, the Coalition announces that it has received an invitation to meet with the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and due to her negative stance towards the revolution during its inception and the approach of the US Administration towards the Middle East Region, we decided to refuse this invitation,” the statement of the Coalition said, without clarifying any other reasons for turning down the invitation. Clinton stated on the first day of the revolution that the Egyptian regime was “stable,” a statement considered by many demonstrators as clear support for the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak. Clinton is set to arrive in Cairo today, Tuesday, as the first senior U.S. official to visit the country following the ouster of Mubarak. She will meet with Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, and Foreign Minister Nabil al-Araby. Following the steps of other senior Western officials, Clinton plans to visit Tahrir Square and meet with a delegation of opposition forces that was slated to include the coalition of the youth and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood at the U.S. Embassy. Clinton will discuss developments in the region, especially Libya. She met with a delegation from the Libyan rebels in Paris on Monday. BM
