Sunday, January 30, 2011

The U.S. should respect rights and demands of Egyptians

Photo: Sulekha.com.
Egypt is in chaos as thousands of Egyptians have taken to the streets to demand political reform and an end to 30 years of repression under the leadership of President Hosni Mubarak. For the past five days, demonstrators have suffered in the hands of President Mubarak's so-called "no-nonsense" security agents who suppress the rights and demands of Egyptians - including the right to association, assembly and expression - with lethal  force powered by live bullets, batons, boots, water canons and teargas reportedly made in the U.S.

The oppressive Mubarak regime is the second largest recipient of U.S. aid (largely military aid). This revelation has amplified calls for the U.S. to stop funding an undemocratic regime and respect the rights and demands of the Egyptian people.

It's interesting to note that according to Reuters, the U.S. has given Egypt an average of 2 billion dollars a year since 1979. In 2010 alone, Egypt received 1.3 billion dollars in military aid.

President Mubarak has been in power since October 1981 without the support of a majority of Egyptians. But he enjoys the support of the U.S. and considered a "key" U.S. ally. This is testament to the fact that the U.S. has religiously supported 30 years of oppression in Egypt. For more than 30 years, successive U.S. administrations have closely worked with a regime that cracks down on basic rights and freedoms of its citizens.

Egyptians have had enough and have taken to the streets to protest and voice concerns over 30 years of [U.S. funded] oppression.

Watching the demonstrations on a program titled "Egypt in Crisis" on CNN International this Sunday morning, an embattled demonstrator held up a slogan that caught my attention. The slogan which read: "USA Stop supporting Mubarak..." was hard to ignore. This is a genuine concern.

The U.S. should respect the rights and demands of oppressed Egyptians and stop supporting a government which is neither "by the people" or "for the people."

2 comments:

  1. Indeed! The US always believes that its interests outweigh the rights and interests of others. This is sad for a country that claims to be democratic but uses that to promote its own goals and agenda. I really hope things calm down in Egypt and I really hope it culminates in Mubarak leaving. It will send a message to the other African leaders. If not, it will just encourage more of the same repressive tactics to quiet a disgruntled populace.

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  2. we accept we have a less and under developed democratic institution but the world powers are now trying to sell the people and their rights for fuel to run their own countries
    this can be seen in the case of Ivory coast so far so good the UN has done nothing relative to their capacity
    same is the case with France being one of the first to address the matter all because of their own selfish interested and social ties
    when will the holy spirit come over here?????

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