RECENT EMBASSY EFFORTS TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CAIRO 004124

SIPDIS

FOR NEA, NEA/ELA, AND NEA/PI
NSC STAFF FOR POUNDS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2015
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM EG
SUBJECT: RECENT EMBASSY EFFORTS TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY IN
EGYPT

REF: A. CAIRO 4059 (NOTAL)

B. CAIRO 4025 (NOTAL)

C. CAIRO 4024

D. CAIRO 3953 (NOTAL)

E. CAIRO 3638 (EXDIS)

F. CAIRO 3627 (NOTAL)

G. CAIRO 3493

Classified by Charge Gordon Gray for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (SBU) Embassy Cairo continued in May its robust outreach
program to support the expansion of democracy and freedom in
Egypt, with a particular focus on international monitors.
Activities in May included the visit of the First Lady to
Egypt; a grants-signing ceremony for the latest civil society
recipients of the Self Help Program funds; a meeting with PM
Nazif, prior to his departure for Washington; a meeting with
G-7 COMs to push their support for democracy activities and a
briefing for the diplomatic corps; and various other
reform-oriented meetings by high-level visitors, the Charge,
and Embassy officers. End summary.

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Support for Civil Society
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2. (SBU) In a public diplomacy triumph, First Lady Laura
Bush visited Egypt May 23-24 and her activities included a
focus on reform in Egypt, particularly in the education
field. The First Lady also delivered remarks to a group of
60 prominent Egyptian women activists, from the Government,
NGOs, think-tanks, academia, and the media (ref D).


3. (C) On the margins of the First Lady's visit, the
Embassy arranged for NDI's regional representative to brief
NEA PDAS Cheney on NDI planning for Egypt. Also on the
margins of the First Lady's visit, PDAS Cheney delivered a
strong message on the need for Arab League leadership on
political reform to Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa
(ref A).


4. (SBU) PDAS Cheney's meeting with NDI built on previous
meetings that poloff--both alone and with MEPI-Tunis Regional
Director Mulrean--had held several times during May with the
NDI's regional representative to discuss NDI's efforts to
open a Cairo office and begin substantial programming in
Egypt.


5. (SBU) The Embassy's May 9 announcement of eight new
small grants, under the auspices of the Ambassador's Self
Help Program, to Egyptian community development associations
received generally positive press coverage. Most media
attention provided factual coverage of the details of the
grants as well as the Charge's remarks, which discussed the
range of USG development assistance programs in Egypt and
reiterated USG support for democracy-promotion activities by
civil society. A leading opposition daily, Wafd, and a
tabloid weekly, Osboa, sought to use the May 9 event as
evidence of continued "interference" by the USG in Egypt's
internal affairs, but these criticisms did not demonstrate
any staying power.


6. (SBU) On May 25, the Charge hosted a luncheon meeting
for approximately 15 civil society activists, including MEPI
grantees. In remarks to the group, the Charge underscored
USG support for civil society activism in support of
democracy and freedom.

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Support for Broad Political Participation
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7. (SBU) On the occasion of Senate Majority Leader Frist's
May 4-6 visit to Egypt (ref G),Senator Frist attended a
lunch organized by the Embassy which included a range of key
Egyptian reform advocates including prominent NDP reformists
Hossam Badrawy and Mohammed Kamal, Wafd Party leaders Mahmoud
Abaza and Mounir Abdel Nour, leading liberal intellectuals
Osama Ghazaly Harb and Hala Mostafa, and Ghad Party
Secretary-General Mona Makram Ebeid. The diverse guest list

SIPDIS
stimulated lively conversation and debate over the state of
Egypt's political reform and prospects for the future.
Senator Frist encouraged the guests to press forward with an
Egyptian-designed and Egyptian-driven reform process, and
affirmed U.S. interest in providing support, political and
material, toward achieving real progress. Senator Frist,
accompanied by the Charge, also met with Ghad Party leader
Ayman Nour the same day to signal support for a free and fair
campaign.


8. (C) On May 11, the Charge and ECPO Counselor met with
Shafiq Gabr, a prominent business leader with close ties to
the reformist wing of the NDP (ref F). In response to Gabr's
defense of the proposed new rules for direct presidential
elections (which were passed by Parliament on May 10, and
later ratified in a national referendum on May 25),the
Charge cautioned Gabr that the new rules would only be seen
as reasonable if upcoming parliamentary elections resulted in
truly diverse party representation in the People's Assembly.
(Note: According to the new rules, only parties with
representation of five percent or more in the People's
Assembly will be able to nominate candidates for president in
2011 and beyond. These rules will not apply to the 2005
presidential elections, which will allow any registered
political party to field a candidate. End note.) On May 30,
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counter-terrorism Fran Townsend met with Gabr to express,
inter alia, concern over the violence surrounding the May 25
referendum and press for GOE acceptance of international
election monitors. We are confident that this message will
be passed to key NDP decision makers.


9. (C) On May 17, the Charge discussed with Tarek Heggy, a
pro-reform intellectual, the significance of GOE-led reform
measures to date. The Charge urged Heggy to continue to use
his published writings (a selection of which may be seen at
www.heggy.com) to push for meaningful political reform.
Heggy, who is a neighbor of EGIS Director Soliman, is well
connected with senior GOE officials.


10. (C) On several occasions over the course of May, ECPO
Counselor advised Karim Haggag, senior advisor to Gamal
Mubarak, the presidential son and chairman of the NDP's
Policies Committee, of the need for the GOE to demonstrate
concrete additional steps on political reform. ECPO
Counselor pressed for GOE acceptance of international
election monitors and freedom for opposition candidates to
campaign effectively. In the most recent exchange with
Haggag (ref C),ECPO Counselor also pressed Haggag on reports
of violence on May 25 against opposition demonstrators by
regime supporters, with the apparent acquiescence of security
officials.

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Support for International Elections Monitors
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11. (C) On May 12, just before PM Nazif's visit to the
United States, the Charge met with the PM to preview the
visit (ref E). The Charge urged Nazif to be prepared when in
Washington to discuss the concrete political reform steps
that the GOE is taking. In particular, the Charge pressed
Nazif on the issue of international election monitors and
suggested that Nazif consider how the USG could provide
technical support to the GOE, for example to establish an
independent election commission.


10. (SBU) During the May 15 meeting of G-7 Ambassadors, the
Charge briefed the group on USG democracy-promotion
activities in Egypt, including programs by USAID, MEPI, and
DRL, and urged the G-7 countries to engage the GOE on the
issue of promoting free and fair elections in Egypt, with
international monitors. He followed up with the EU
Ambassador on May 22 to press for greater EU activism in
promoting democracy in Egypt.


11. (SBU) On May 26, during a briefing for the diplomatic
corps on the visits of PM Nazif to Washington and First Lady
Laura Bush to Egypt (ref B),the Charge exhorted the
attendees to urge their governments to press Egypt to accept
international monitors, as called for by President Bush
during his May 7 speech in Latvia.


12. (SBU) During a May 30 meeting with political officers
from "like-minded" embassies in Cairo (i.e., France, Norway,
the UK, Germany, Italy, Australia, the Netherlands, and the
EU),poloff urged his colleagues to seize any and all
opportunities to engage with the GOE on the issue of
international observers/monitors of Egypt's upcoming
elections.


13. (SBU) Finally, on May 31 the Charge used a discussion
with the members of the Egyptian Council on Foreign Relations
to warn that how the GOE conducted upcoming elections would
inevitably color the bilateral relationship (SEPTEL/NOTAL).


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http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo

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GRAY