CAIRO: Egypt’s “endless” domestic human right violations cause embarrassment to President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s successful foreign policy, according to foreign affairs experts.
Under its “counter-terrorism” policy, Egypt has launched a campaign against the outlawed Muslim brotherhood members and supporters since the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and the dispersal of pro-MB sit-ins of Rabaa and Nahadh in 2013. However, such campaign was seen by other foreign countries as “crackdown,” particularly following the mass death sentences against the group’s convicts over charges of “terror attacks.”
Following mass death rulings against Morsi and 105 others over charges of prison break during the January 25 Uprising in 2011, Egypt’s Sisi was slammed by foreign countries and international organizations.
Morsi prison break trial – YOUM7/Maher Iskandar
Two weeks before Sisi’s visit to Germany in june3, Bundestag President Norbert Lammert, who belongs to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU,) cancelled a scheduled meeting between him and Sis over “human right violations.”
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his visit to Germany – REUTERS
“I would have liked that cooperation between the parliaments of both countries would be possible, but now in Egypt, there is neither a parliament nor a concrete view on relevant elections,” lammert told the German news agency (DPA) Wednesday.
During his visit to Berlin and due to the barrage of criticism, President Sisi clarified the mass death sentences that such rulings are not final and that the Egyptian Criminal Code allows up to three trials.
“We have to acknowledge that we have irregularities in the human rights record and the National Council of Human Rights report indicates that we have flagrant violations. We have to rectify ourselves,” member of Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA) Rakha Ahmed Hassan told The Cairo Post Sunday.
Egypt should not blame other countries for criticizing such violations, which “embarrass” Sisi’ foreign policy, Hassan added. However, he noted that Sisi’s foreign policy “succeeded as policy equals interests,” among the countries.
“Although Sisi’s visit to Germany was fruitful, the human rights remarks that were given by the Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel should be put into considerations,” he continued. Merkel said “I hope the problem of death sentences could be solved.”
Former Foreign Minister Aide, Hussein Haridi, told The Cairo Post Sunday that Criticizing Egypt over the human rights will continue as a “blackmailing process and continuation of pressing on Egypt. But Sisi’s foreign policy is successful,”
Decentralizing Washington
The foreign policy has succeeded in opening new relations with other countries and avoided “the centralization” with the United State, Haridi said.
Following the dispersal of pro-Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins, the U.S.-Egyptian relations soured when the U.S. military aid was cut. Hence, Sisi, when he was Minister of Defense, headed to Russia to new military cooperation.
Russian cooperation extended in many fields; Sisi and Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a number of agreements in February when Sisi announced that “Russia will assist Egypt to establish its first nuclear power plant, and enter into a free trade zone and industrial zone in Egypt.”
Allying with Russia has led U.S. lawmakers to voice their concerns. Chairperson of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said in U.S. congress session on May 19 “We cannot afford to allow Putin to undermine our ties with Egypt. It would be a serious blow to our international security interests,” she said, however, “it is also important that we take issue with Cairo’s lack of progress on the domestic front.”
In June 2014, the U.S. released $575 million in military aid to Egypt that had been frozen. And in November 2014, 10 Apache fighter jets, part of suspended aid, were delivered to Egypt.
Hassan sees opening new channels with Russia or China “does not mean that Egypt is abandoning the American ally, but for creating balance in the foreign policies.”
“Strengthening relations with Russia or China create channels for political solutions concerning other regional countries such as Syria and the Iran,” he continued.
African developing ties
“Unlike threats of the past, policies of negotiations and cooperation carried fruits with some African countries such as Ethiopia,” Hassan said.
Since Ethiopia announced building a new dam on the Nile Blue River in 2010, the relations between Egypt and Ethiopia have soured as Cairo has seen dam construction would affect its water share of the Nile. During Morsi’ term, politicians and decision makers threatened to strike the dam or financing “armed group” in Ethiopia’s neighboring countries.
However, the storm of a five-year-old controversy between Egypt and Ethiopia has calmed down since Sisi attended the 23rd session of the African Union Summit meetings in Equatorial Guinea in June after it unsuspended Egypt’s membership that had been frozen after Morsi’s ouster.
President sisi with Ethiopian prime minister during the conference – YOUM7
Since then, both countries along with Sudan had held tripartite talks and reached an initial agreement on the dam. In March, the leaders of three countries signed a charter of principles.
Egypt also signed cooperation agreements with other countries such as South Sudan and Kenya. In May, Cairo and Juba have ratified studies on establishing a dam on South Sudanese Wau River.
African Economic blocs summit kicks off in Sharm el-Sheikh
Cairo’s hosting of a summit of the biggest three African economic blocs – Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and East African Community (EAC) – on June 10 is an indication to Egypt’s good relations with African countries, Hassan said.
Regional role
“The relations between Egypt and Gulf State have been strengthened as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, except for a country [Qatar], had strongly supported Egypt politically, and economically,” Hassan noted.
After Morsi resumed relations with Iran in August 2012, several Gulf States have expressed their reservations. However, the oil-rich states announced their support to Sisi following Morsi’s ouster, pledging $12 billion in aid and investments. Since then, the Gulf support has increased in the March 2015 Sharm el-Sheikh Economic Conference.
“Gulf region security is an integral part of Egypt’s national security,” a refrain that Sisi states in most of his speeches. Egypt was one of Arab countries participated in Saudi-led Arab military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen.
The relation with Qatar, the ally of the Muslim brotherhood to which Morsi hails from, has been deteriorated over 17 months since the ouster. However, the tense relations have been eased amid brokerage of Saudi Arabia and GCC member states. The ties with Turkey did not see a breakthrough yet since it soured following the ouster.
Egypt’s regional roles have been reflected in its participation in finding solutions for conflicts in Arab countries such as Libya, particularly after hosting the meetings of Libya’s neighboring countries and Libyan tribal congress, Hassan noted.
As for the Syrian crisis, the situation has been developed; Egypt backs political solution that includes all conflicting parts in the dialogue, he added.
“There are threats against security and stability of all countries including Egypt,” said Haridi. The Qaeda-inspired Islamic State group is a major global threat against which Egypt is mobilizing the world.
Egypt has effective role against the IS branch in Libya, particularly following the mass executions of 20 Egyptian Coptic Christian by the group in Feb., he said.
Ethiopian nationals who had been kidnapped in Libya and are now freed, hold an Egyptian national flag as they disembark from a plane at the airport in Cairo – REUTERS
In cooperation with the Tobruk-based Libyan government, Egypt has launched airstrikes against the IS hotbeds east of Libya. After more than 25 of Ethiopians were beheaded by Libya’s Islamic State (IS) (IS) in April, the Ethiopian government was in talks with Egypt to participate in evacuation of their citizens there.