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U.S. Steps Up Public Diplomacy in Egypt Crisis U.S. Warns Egypt’s Generals Against Jeopardizing ‘Second Chance’ at Democracy
(about 4 hours later)
CAIRO — In the clearest statement yet of the United States position on the Egyptian military’s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, a senior American diplomat warned on Monday that the generals would jeopardize Egypt’s “second chance” at a democratic transition if a crackdown on Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters continued. CAIRO — In the clearest statement yet of the United States position on the military’s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, a senior American diplomat warned on Monday that the generals would jeopardize Egypt’s “second chance” at a democratic transition if their new interim government continued to crack down on Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters.
“If representatives of some of the largest parties in Egypt are detained or excluded, how are dialogue and participation possible?” the diplomat, Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns, said, speaking briefly to journalists after a meeting on Monday with Egyptian military officials and the interim government they have appointed. “If representatives of some of the largest parties in Egypt are detained or excluded, how are dialogue and participation possible?” the diplomat, Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns, told journalists after meeting with generals and the interim officials they have appointed.
“It is hard to picture how Egypt will be able to emerge from this crisis unless its people come together to find a nonviolent and inclusive path forward,” Mr. Burns said.“It is hard to picture how Egypt will be able to emerge from this crisis unless its people come together to find a nonviolent and inclusive path forward,” Mr. Burns said.
His visit to Cairo was the first by a senior United States official since the takeover. Mr. Burns, the first senior United States official to visit Cairo since the takeover, spoke against the backdrop of a standoff between the military’s interim government and tens of thousands of Islamists who have staged a two-week sit-in to protest the ouster of Mr. Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president.
Mr. Burns spoke against the backdrop of a standoff between the interim government and tens of thousands of Islamists who have staged a sit-in protest against the ouster of Mr. Morsi. New clashes broke out between the Islamists and the police within hours of Mr. Burns’s statement.
Mr. Burns urged both sides to take steps toward reconciliation. “The government itself has said it wants inclusion of all political streams,” he said. “We have called on the military to avoid any politically motivated arrests. And we have also called upon those who differ with the government to adhere to their absolute obligation to participate peacefully.” Leaving their main encampment, thousands of Mr. Morsi’s supporters filled a major square, blocking a main bridge that is a central artery for the city’s traffic. They lit tires on fire to block streets and hurled rocks at police officers who tried to displace them. Riot police showered the Morsi supporters with bursts of tear gas, while opponents of the Islamists entered the fray and dragged some to a police station. By 1 a.m., the police had begun firing birdshot as well, state news media said.
He did not mention Mr. Morsi by name, nor the Islamist movement behind him, the Muslim Brotherhood. When an Egyptian journalist asked how the new government responded to American calls for Mr. Morsi’s release from detention, Mr. Burns said only: “We have made our views clear on that issue.” Crowds of Morsi supporters also gathered across the Nile River at Cairo University and in other cities around the country. At least 22 people were injured in the Cairo clashes, according to the city’s ambulance authority.
Speaking at a moment when anti-American sentiment is running high on all sides, Mr. Burns said he had “no illusions” about the number of Egyptians who have deep suspicions of the United States. Earlier Monday, Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula used rocket-propelled grenades to attack a bus, killing 3 people and injuring 17, state news media reported, part of an uptick in such attacks since Mr. Morsi’s ouster.
Mr. Morsi’s supporters accuse Washington of giving its blessing to the military’s removal of Mr. Morsi, the country’s first elected president. Their opponents say the Obama administration wrongly supported Mr. Morsi’s Islamist government. Banners in Tahrir Square — the frequent focal point of protest — and elsewhere denounce President Obama as an enabler of the Brotherhood and depict the American ambassador to Egypt, Anne W. Patterson, with a large X over her face. The violence reflected a near total breakdown in Egypt’s political life. Since the generals detained Mr. Morsi nearly two weeks ago, their soldiers and security forces have closed three Islamist satellite networks and arrested scores of their leaders.
Mr. Burns emphasized repeatedly that the United States did not back any individuals or parties in Egypt, only the principle of an open and inclusive transition to a democracy. He said Washington hoped the “ongoing transition” would be “a chance to learn some of the lessons and correct some of the mistakes of the past two years.” And the Islamists, whose candidates won three-quarters of the seats in the last parliamentary elections, have almost all denounced the military takeover as an illegitimate coup that overthrew a democratic government. They have refused to negotiate with the military-appointed officials or participate in their plans for a new political process.
He expressed hope that the new military-led government’s plan for constitutional amendments and elections would “hasten Egypt’s return to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible.” That plan, known as the road map, calls for a small panel of chosen judges and jurists to draft amendments that would be reviewed by a 50-person assembly for two months, followed by a national referendum. But the broader political process in Egypt has all but shut down, with the government locking up Islamist leaders and silencing their satellite television networks, while the Islamists — who took almost 75 percent of the seats in the last parliamentary elections — refuse to participate in what they consider an anti-democratic process. Mr. Burns urged both sides to take steps to reconcile. “The government itself has said it wants inclusion of all political streams,” he said. “We have called on the military to avoid any politically motivated arrests. And we have also called upon those who differ with the government to adhere to their absolute obligation to participate peacefully.”
But Mr. Burns said, perhaps optimistically, “My sense is that people realize that what is most important is that the process be transparent and inclusive,” with broad participation from an informed public. He did not repeat American calls for the generals to release Mr. Morsi. Mr. Burns never mentioned the ousted president, nor the Islamist movement behind him, the Muslim Brotherhood. When an Egyptian journalist asked how the new government responded to American calls for Mr. Morsi’s release, Mr. Burns said only, “We have made our views clear on that issue.”
Leaders of the Brotherhood said on Monday that they would escalate the street protests, centered in a Cairo neighborhood near the Defense Ministry and presidential palace. They have called for marches and possible street blockades in the afternoon and evening, after another day of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Seemingly all sides rebuffed Mr. Burns. The young organizers of the petition drive that preceded Mr. Morsi’s ouster, the ultraconservative Islamist party Al Nour and officials of the Muslim Brotherhood all said they would not meet with Mr. Burns. And state news media reported anonymous military officials saying that Mr. Burns was more determined than his Egyptian counterparts to ensure the continued flow of American military aid.
In a further sign of the country’s divisions, Islamist militants in Sinai used rocket-propelled grenades to attack a bus early Monday, killing three people and injuring 17, state media reported. The assault on the bus is part of a sharp uptick in violence in the relatively lawless Sinai region since Mr. Morsi’s ouster. Mr. Morsi’s opponents blame his Islamist allies in the Muslim Brotherhood for encouraging the retaliation, but leaders of the group say it has not condoned violence in Egypt since the British occupation. Mr. Morsi’s supporters accuse Washington of giving its blessing to the military’s takeover, while their opponents say the Obama administration wrongly supported Mr. Morsi’s Islamist government. Banners in Tahrir Square — the frequent focal point of protest — depict the American ambassador to Egypt, Anne W. Patterson, with a large X across her face.
Mr. Burns said he had “no illusions” about the suspicions of many Egyptians toward the United States. He emphasized repeatedly that the United States did not back any individuals or parties in Egypt, only the principles of pluralistic democracy.
He said Washington hoped that Egypt’s new transition would be “a chance to learn some of the lessons and correct some of the mistakes of the past two years,” and that the military-led government’s transitional “road map” would “hasten Egypt’s return to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible.”
At present, that plan calls for a panel of 10 chosen jurists to draft a sweeping constitutional overhaul in less than a month, and an assembly of 50 appointees from various constituencies to review the package two months after that. The package would then go almost immediately to a national referendum. Legal scholars say the process leaves almost no room for public debate or input.
Mr. Burns, though, struck an optimistic note. “My sense,” he said, “ is that people realize that what is most important is that the process be transparent and inclusive.”