CAIRO: Egypt and the United States are battling over the barring of at least 6 American citizens from leaving the country, including Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's son. The White House demanded that Egypt “immediately” lift the travel ban on Americans. US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said top officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have gotten involved. She said the administration so far knows of “four or five specific cases” where Americans have tried to leave and “had difficulties.” “We are urging the government of Egypt to lift these restrictions immediately and allow folks to come home as soon as possible,” she said, later adding: “Frankly, we don't know how this is going to come out yet.” The moves come little more than one month since NGOs were raided by Egyptian security forces in the country over their funding in the country. According to Politico, Sam LaHood is the director of the Egyptian program at the IRI and attempted to leave the country on Saturday but was not allowed to depart. The US government has been outspoken in its frustration with the ruling military junta's crackdown on NGOs in the country, but have been unable to end the dispute. The report did not say how many American citizens have been barred from leaving the country. The US State Department last month called on the Egypt government “to immediately end the harassment of NGO staff, return all property and resolve this issue.” Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said US ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson and the top US diplomat for the Middle East have spoken to Egyptian officials about the situation and “made very clear that this issue needs immediate attention.” 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 Assiut offices, the International Republic Institute (IRI), Freedom House and Konrad Adenauer. According to the statement from the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the employees of the organizations are now under investigation by the public prosecutor. Additionally, with regards to the ACIJP office at least, “authorities restricted access to the entire building, preventing people from entering or exiting the building,” during the raid. CIHRS said that the move is part of the ruling military junta's “campaign” against civil society and human rights groups in Egypt. In recent months, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has accused local NGOs of receiving money from abroad, and have argued to the public that the recent unrest in the country is by “foreign hands.” “The NDI, IRI, and Freedom House have been previously investigated by the ministry of justice on charges of receiving foreign funding, while the Arab Center for the Independence of Justice and Legal Professions has not been yet investigated,” said CIHRS. Local NGO officials have expressed concern to Bikyamasr.com over the raids and crackdown on their activities in the country, but were hopeful the situation would be cleared up “in the near future.” Investigations of the Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory were due to start in late December. “The storming of NGO offices is an unprecedented move in the recent history of Egyptian NGOs. In February 2011, during the 18 days Egyptian revolution, Military Police have stormed the office of Hisham Mubarak Law Center (an Egyptian NGO based in Cairo) and arrested several of its members as well as staff members of other international organizations that were present at the scene,” the statement continued. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Dl1Py Tags: featured, NGOs, Travel Ban, White House Section: Egypt, Human Rights, Latest News
