Human rights violations show Mubarak still rules, says EU ambassador in Cairo

Since Hosni Mubarak stepped down, many human rights violations have been committed against Egypt's revolutionaries through excessive use of violence, the European Union's Ambassador in Cairo Marc Franco on Wednesday.

At a press conference Wednesday, Franco said the European Union has strongly condemned these violations and said talks between Egypt and the EU are underway that aim to avoid such violations in the future.

“Certain things happening indicate that we are still under Mubarak’s regime,” he said. “Yet democracy is developing, which is important for us.”

Declining to evaluate the performance of the military council, Franco said, "I will not judge the future, but we cannot expect a quick transition to democracy after decades of authoritarian rule. For the road to democracy is full of obstacles."

He also said the EU held several meetings with Egyptian government officials to discuss the raiding of several civil society organizations in December. “We told them that those organizations have the right to disseminate democracy, and that the measures recently taken against them tarnish Egypt's reputation before the world.”

Franco added that the European Commission in Cairo has already begun communicating with the Muslim Brotherhood and the other groups elected by the people. “We have strong relations with them,” he said.

The Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party will control close to half the seats in the first Egyptian parliament elected since the uprising that swept Mubarak from power last year. The party has secured 232 seats, or 46 percent of the lower house.

The more hard-line Salafi Nour Party, which advocates the strict application of Islamic law, has emerged with 113 seats, or 23 percent, putting Islamists of different trends in control of more than two-thirds of the chamber, according to official figures.

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm


(2012-01-18/almasryalyoum)