CAIRO: Egypt member of Parliament Essam el-Erian, a leading member of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, who heads the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, said that American aid to Egypt is “connected and conditioned” with the Camp David agreement, signed by Egypt and Israel under American auspices in 1979. The MP said during a session at parliament, “US economic aid is part of the agreement and if the US administration decides to cut it, then Egypt has the full right to modify or withdraw from the peace treaty,” stressing that Egypt is the “only decision-maker in this regard and accepts no pressures from any parties.” His comments come after the US has hinted it could stop economic and military aid to Egypt after the Egyptian authorities' decision to refer 43 civil society organizations' workers to trial on charges of obtaining foreign funds without notification of the official authorities. At least 19 Americans have been charged in the case, which has sparked massive tension between Cairo and Washington. 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.” In late December, Egypt's 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/ebleq Tags: Aid, Camp David, Erian, featured, United States Section: Egypt, Latest News, Palestine
