US Congress told to support Sisi, not democracy

A member of a pro-Israeli think tank told a congressional subcommittee on Wednesday that pressing Egypt on its human rights record would not result in democracy but hurt US-Egyptian relations.

Eric Trager, from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said: "Washington should be realistic about its ability to influence Egypt in a more democratic direction so long as the government and the Muslim Brotherhood remain in a life-and-death struggle with each other."

He was speaking at a hearing of the congressional subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa on the deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt. The hearing comes days after the an Egyptian court passed the death sentence on former president, Mohamed Morsi.

Sisi's government is a major opportunity for Washington, it is more closely aligned with US interests than the government that preceded it. Eric Trager

One of the founders of Trager's institute was a former director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, more commonly known as AIPAC.

Trager said: "The Sisi government represents a major opportunity for Washington, because it is significantly more closely aligned with US interests than the Brotherhood-dominated government that preceded it."

However, other participants in the committee did not agree, and called for political and economic support for Sisi's government to be linked to his respect for a basic standard of human rights.

In her opening remarks, committee chairwoman and Republican congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, known for her ardent support for Israel, said the US needed to find the right balance between security and democracy, and indicated that Sisi's pro-Israel supporters had been put in an awkward position after the verdict against Morsi.

Speaking after the hearing, Ted Yoho, a Republican congressman who welcomed the coup against Morsi said: "Morsi's death sentence will destabilise Egypt."

Other members of Cngress criticised the sentence and expressed their concern about it.

David Cicilline, a Democratic party congressman, said: "We absolutely must push the Sisi regime to enact democratic reforms and respect fundamental human rights. I fear that Egypt will find itself once again in the midst of volatile leadership change."

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.