CAIRO: Confidential documents leaked recently by the well-renowned whistle-blower website Wikileaks on the United States Embassy in Cairo holding secret meetings with some well-known Egyptian activists and political figures at the US Embassy in Cairo. The leaks have raised controversy and ire in Egypt, especially among those figures whose names were mentioned in the leaked cables, and highlighted by the al-Wafd news website. The cables, signed by the former US Ambassador to Cairo during ousted President Hosni Mubarak`s era, Margaret Scobey, said that the figures attended frequent meetings with the ambassador. The controversy was increased after al-Wafd highlighted the cable in a report referencing the America In Arabic news agency, which stated the cable mentioned that the Embassy funded these activists. Bikyamasr.com, however, read the cable on the website of Wikileaks, and found nothing related to American Funds given to these activists, and the cable stated the embassy held meetings with figures to support political reforms. The cable, no. 08CAIRO941, sent by Scobey, stated that the US embassy in Cairo “continues to actively support and promote the President's [George W. Bush] Freedom Agenda. We are in close contact with a wide range of Egypt's political opposition [figures], democracy and human rights activists, and journalists from independent and opposition newspapers, as well as bloggers who promote democracy and human rights.” The cable was translated into Arabic and published on al-Wafd and highlighted by a number of Egyptian and Arabic news websites including a list with the names, professions and workplace of the figures in concern. The cable also stated that the US Embassy in Cairo regularly utilizes public speaking opportunities and media outreach, “including ambassadorial appearances on Egyptian satellite TV shows, reaching millions of Egyptians, to promote democratic ideals and reform.” It added that the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and USAID's Democracy and Governance programs “constitute critical components of our mission's efforts.” The cable also mentioned that the ambassador held several meetings with democracy and human rights activists such as five leading Egyptian democracy figures: Hisham el-Bastawisi (the Court of Cassation justice who was one of the two judges at the center of the spring 2006 “Judges Crisis,” and a prominent and vocal advocate for judicial independence), Hafez Abou Saeda (Director of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights), Ghada Shahbender (head of “Shayfeenkum” or “We See You”, a civil society organization focused on elections monitoring and anti-corruption initiatives), Nasser Amin (Director, Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession), and Amr Choubaki (a senior political analyst at the al-Ahram Center, and one of the founding members of the political movement “Kefaya.” It said that other meetings were held in 2008, with five activists who had traveled to the US as “Freedom House Fellows” and stated their full names and professions. It also said that it held a meeting with with Gameela Ismail, the then-wife of at the time imprisoned former Al Ghad party leader Ayman Nour. It noted that Ismail was hesitant to attend such meetings with the ambassador evidently out of concern that such meetings “could have negative ramifications on the continuing legal efforts to get her husband released.” As the cable was spread across Egyptian media, Ismail, said on Tuesday that she filed a complaint against Suleiman Gouda, the Editor-in–chief of al-Wafd newspaper, and el-Sayyed el-Badawi, the head of the al-Wafd Party for publishing the cable and denied receiving any funds from the American Embassy. She accused al-Wafd`s leader of serving an agenda to “distort the image of political figures of Egypt, and the symbols of the Egyptian revolution.” She stated that her meetings with the embassy were part of her efforts to release Nour. Negad el-Borei, a human rights expert and lawyer, Director of the United Group, whose name was also mentioned in the cable, denied receiving any funds from the American Embassy in Cairo. He stressed that he has the “honor to deal with the US Embassy,” saying: “We were discussing human rights policies in the presence of officials from the Egyptian government, such as Nabil Fahmy, former Foreign Minister, and also Mufid Shehab, Minister of the People's Assembly and Shura Council, as the former representative of the Egyptian government.” He said sarcastically, “it is as if they consider that attending a dinner, with the ambassador, is a way to receive funds.” The cable leak comes after Egyptian security forces raided 17 international and local NGOs offices in Egypt, which sparked condemnation from the White House and the State Department. The Obama administration demanded last Thursday that the ruling military junta halt immediately the raids and confiscation of material at the NGO offices in the country, calling them “inconsistent” with US and Egyptian cooperation. The security forces, dressed in both uniforms and plainclothes, forced their way into the offices of the Arab Center for Independence of Justice and Legal Professions (ACIJP), The Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory, The National Democratic Institute's (NDI) Cairo and Assuit offices, the International Republican Institute (IRI), Freedom House and Konrad Adenauer, among others. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/V7Ef6 Tags: Activists, featured, United States, US Embassy, Wikileaks Section: Egypt, Features, Latest News, North America
