Brussels, 22/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Union and its member states must support the call from Egyptian dissidents for presidential elections to be held as quickly as possible, ALDE MEPs said on Wednesday 21 December, heavily criticising the actions of the armed forces.
“The SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) has become a major obstacle to democracy in the country. The EU should increase the pressure on the SCAF to transfer power immediately after the parliamentary elections”, said Edward McMillan-Scott (UK), adding that Ayman Nour, leader of the Hizb al-Ghad (Party of Tomorrow), should be allowed to run for president, if he chose to do so. He is currently banned from standing.
“The security forces are there to protect the people, not to persecute them. Their actions against civilian protesters are disgraceful. We therefore support the proposal to appoint the President of the Parliamentary Assembly as the President of Egypt at the first session after the conclusion of the parliamentary election process. His or her only constitutional task should then be to organise presidential elections within 60 days”, said ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium).
The violence has to stop, MEPs stated. “It is impossible to hold proper elections while people are still being killed by security forces and female protesters are brutally treated”, McMillan-Scott said.
Since Friday 16 December, violent clashes between demonstrators calling on the SCAF, suspected to seeking to cling on to power, to resign and the armed forces have brought death to several people and injury to numerous others. (CG/transl.rt)