Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05CAIRO7783
2005-10-11 10:13:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Cairo
Cable title:  

PDAS ELIZABETH CHENEY'S MEETINGS WITH EGYPTIAN

Tags:  PGOV PREL KDEM EG OVIP 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 007783 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM EG OVIP
SUBJECT: PDAS ELIZABETH CHENEY'S MEETINGS WITH EGYPTIAN
OPPOSITION LEADERS

Classified by DCM Stuart Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

-------
Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 007783

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM EG OVIP
SUBJECT: PDAS ELIZABETH CHENEY'S MEETINGS WITH EGYPTIAN
OPPOSITION LEADERS

Classified by DCM Stuart Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) During their September 27-30 visit to Cairo, NEA PDAS
Cheney and DAS Scott Carpenter met with the leadership of
Egypt's two strongest opposition political parties, the Wafd
and the Ghad. From both, they heard strong complaints about
the way the GOE and the ruling National Democratic Party
continue to tilt the playing field against them. Both
parties also expressed doubts about the commitment of the NDP
to sustained political reform. PDAS Cheney sought specifics
from both parties on obstacles they continue to face and
urged the Wafd and the Ghad to take full advantage of any
expansions in political space to help transform Egypt into a
functioning multiparty democracy. End summary.

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Uncertain Tomorrow
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2. (C) PDAS Cheney and DAS Carpenter met on September 28 with
the leadership of Egypt's relatively new Ghad (Tomorrow)
Party. First Deputy President Nagui Ghatrifi, Party Vice
Presidents Hisham Kassem and Wael Nowara, and Gamila Ismail,
wife of Party President Ayman Nour, welcomed PDAS Cheney and
DAS Carpenter to one of the party's Cairo offices. (Note:
Party President Ayman Nour regretted at the last minute due
to the critical illness of his father. End note.) The Ghad
leaders described their "uphill battle" to make an impact on
Egypt's political landscape in spite of the many hurdles they
alleged the GOE had thrown in their path, particularly the
arrest and continuing trial of Ayman Nour.


3. (C) The Ghad maintains that the case against Nour is
politically motivated. Party VP Kassem told PDAS Cheney the
GOE's management of the case has been a "fundamental denial
of due process." Kassem admitted that, although the Ghad
aspires to build strong institutional foundations, the party
remains on an unstable footing and would not be tenable
without Nour.


4. (C) Despite Nour's legal woes, he placed second to Mubarak
in the September 7 presidential election, with an official
result of 500,000 of 7 million votes cast. The Ghad

leadership claimed to PDAS Cheney that Nour's actual showing
was significantly higher, and was manipulated downward by a
politically biased Presidential Election Commission. The
Ghad leaders also complained of an array of tactics they
alleged the GOE was employing to undermine the new party.
These tactics include threatening party leaders and
contributors with tax audits and using State Security to
intimidate party leaders with heavy handed surveillance and
questioning. Without major reforms in the way parties are
financed and gain access to the media, as well as
improvements in the legal environment (particularly the
repeal of the emergency law),real progress toward democracy
will remain elusive, they contended.

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Wafd: Egypt's Old Opposition
--------------


5. (C) On September 29, PDAS Cheney and DAS Carpenter visited
the headquarters of the Wafd, Egypt's venerable, if faded,
political party. Party President No'man Gom'a, who surprised
observers with a particularly weak third place showing in the
September 7 presidential elections, welcomed his guests and,
after rambling opening remarks on the bilateral relationship,
accused the GOE and the NDP of electoral fraud. The people
have no confidence in the political process, Gom'a asserted,
as evidenced by the low turnout in the elections. The ruling
NDP is dominated by "billionaries" and "steel tycoons" (an
obvious reference to Ahmed Ezz) he complained.


6. (C) The Wafd, Gom'a asserted, is Egypt's largest "real"
political party, with quality candidates and a solid
political program, but lacks the financial resources to
compete effectively. Gom'a described twin challenges posed
by the Muslim Brotherhood (expected to field up to 100
independent candidates for parliament) and the entrenched
ruling NDP. The MB challenge is relatively easy to manage,
Gom'a claimed, compared to the challenge posed by the
entrenched ruling class. (Note: The Wafd has always taken a
pragmatic approach toward the MB, even jointly fielding
successful parliamentary lists in the 1980's. The Wafd's
willingness to deal with the MB has led to an impasse in its
efforts to form an opposition coalition - leftist parties
remain implacably hostile toward the Islamists. End note.)

--------------
Seize the Day
--------------


7. (C) In both meetings, PDAS Cheney urged opposition parties
to take full advantage of openings in Egypt's political
space. The USG believes Egypt needs a number of strong
political parties in order to achieve its goal of multiparty
democracy. She assured her interlocutors that the U.S.
commitment to promote democratic reform in the Arab world was
a fundamental strategic pillar of our policy. PDAS Cheney
also rebutted Gom'a's complaints, folded into his opening
monologue, about U.S. policy in Iraq and Israel-Palestine.


8. (C) On Iraq, PDAS Cheney noted that the violence is being
caused by terrorists who do not want the Iraqi people to be
free, and who are willing to kill anyone to stop Iraq,s
progress towards democracy. Arab states and political parties
have a duty to condemn such acts and to work together to
stamp them out. On Israel-Palestine, PDAS Cheney reminded
Gom'a that the U.S. had played a strongly supportive role in
the withdrawal of Israeli settlers and forces from Gaza and
was now working to help Abu Mazen impose order and security
there. Arab states can and should do much more in the latter
effort, she added.

--------------
Comment
--------------


9. (C) The visits of PDAS Cheney and DAS Carpenter to Egypt's
two strongest opposition parties sent an important signal
about U.S. support for a multiparty democratic system -- a
concept which has yet to truly get off the ground in Egypt.
Discussions with both parties also revealed their continuing
weakness and many disadvantages in the face of the ruling
NDP's electoral leviathan.


10. (C) Both the Ghad and the Wafd face serious leadership
challenges -- Ayman Nour remains beset with legal woes and is
viewed as slick or crooked by many influential circles.
Other key Ghad figures, such as the prominent former MP Mona
Makram Ebeid and well-heeled businessman Mohammad Mansour,
dropped out when the political heat grew unbearable. The
Wafd's leadership challenges were neatly demonstrated in the
encounter with No'man Gom'a, who indulged in a number of
lengthy and disjointed monologues and virtually ignored his
assembled central board members. Internal maneuvers to
remove Gom'a, believed to be deeply unpopular with the party
rank-and-file, have long been rumored but somehow never
materialize. End comment.


11. (U) PDAS Cheney cleared this message.


RICCIARDONE