CAIRO: U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson said President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are following events in Egypt with great interest, expressing the same happiness they had for the January 25 Revolution, for the elections. Patterson was interviewed by broadcaster Sherif Amer on al-Hayat al-Youm show and said the military council intended to hand power over to civilians. “The U.S. government believes a civil country must be ruled by a civil authority,” said Patterson. “That means civil rule must control all economic and police systems,” she added. Patterson also said holding parliamentary elections was the first step towards a civil rule in Egypt and hoped latest events in Tahrir would not affect the elections. “U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement about the transfer of power in Egypt was issued before Kamal al-Ganzouri's appointment as PM,” said Patterson. Patterson also said no one can predict the elections' results and that the U.S. is ready to offer all the help and support needed for the success of Egypt's democratic transition. “The U.S. will send monitors to supervise the elections and will announce the results in a clear report,” added Patterson. She said Egypt has all the economic and human facilities to develop, adding “We want Egypt to use its economical resources, however, disorder must end for stability to emerge and work to start,” she added. Patterson said she held discussions with all the political powers in Egypt and all of them are happy to hold elections. “We are talking to all the political powers including the military council,” said Patterson. She ended the interview saying, “Tahrir Square's latest events were unfortunate. We send our condolences to victims' families.”
