Brussels, 02/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 1 April, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy called on the EU to help his country and work with it but refrain from interfering in its decisions.
Addressing the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, he said that “the EU should help us become better Egyptians but not Egyptians who know their place… I'm prepared to listen to the Europeans who are so close say to us: 'These are international standards and principles to respect'. Our national policies have to be in line with these standards but they are national and we require a certain coherence but without any interference”. He added that “we need help to build and implement structures for governance”.
The minister returned to the subject of the ongoing transition process and explained that the presidential elections would be held in the third week of May and the general elections later, at the end of summer. Fahmy asserted that “the president, who will take office in June, will; relaunch the economy, guarantee security and bring the Egyptian people together”. He also said that, in an effort to respond to economic needs, growth of between 8 and 10% a year over the next decade was required, when current growth rates stood at only 3%. The minister stated that, if economic development were to occur, the first thing needed was to re-establish security. He said that the country was regularly the target of violence and terrorism and “this needs to be tackled, without threatening democracy, which is a balancing act”.
He also said that “any Egyptian who respects the constitution and who is non-violent has the right to participate in our political future”. According to the minister, “the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood is not inclusive”. He did, however, say that, “if they are converted to behaving peacefully, there won't be a problem”. Fahmy said that, contrary to certain information according to which over 500 members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been sentenced to death (see EUROPE 11032), “there has been no verdict and no death sentences against these 529 people. The court has sent the dossiers to the Mufti to decide whether the death penalty should be applied or not. I cannot deny that the transfer to the Mufti is a serious decision but there has not been any sentences”. The foreign minister explained that the procedure is far from over. In connection with the Muslim Brotherhood, he informed MEPs that, “in your countries, terrorists are not above the law and such a situation does not exist anywhere. Everyone has the right to a fair trial but no one is above the law”.
When MEPs criticised the fact that the constitution allows military courts to try civilians, the minister called on them to “read the text”. He added that “civilians are not going to be tried in a military except for attacking a military base or exercise”. (CG)