Egypt: Report on US NGOs False
26/04/2012
By Haitham Tabei
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=29402

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat- Muhammad al-Dimirdash, legal adviser to the Egyptian
Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs and vice chairman of the State
Council, has denied that Cairo recently refused to grant licenses to foreign
or US organizations to operate in Egypt. Al-Dimirdash explains that the
media reports on this issue are based on dated figures and information.

Al-Dimirdash has stressed to Asharq Al-Awsat that only five foreign
organizations applied for licenses in 2012, only one of them satisfied the
conditions, and it has been granted a license to operate in Egypt.

Official Egyptian Middle East News Agency [MENA] published that the Ministry
of Insurance and Social Affairs refused to grant licenses to operate in
Egypt to eight US organizations. This has aroused angry reactions in the
civil society against Cairo's severe restrictions on the operation of the
Non-Governmental Organizations [NGOs] after nearly four months of raising
the issue of foreign NGOs operating in Egypt illegally, and their receiving
illegal financing. This was the crisis that made the relations between Cairo
and Washington tense for a brief period, until Cairo released the foreigners
accused in the case at the beginning of March 2012.

According to Al-Dimirdash, the published number of the organizations that
were rejected is extremely old, and has been done along the past years, and
not only recently." Al-Dimirdash continues: "Most of those organizations
were rejected because they did not satisfy or adhere to the conditions of
the Egyptian law; also some of them were rejected because of national
sovereignty considerations."

The official news agency attributed to an official Egyptian source: "The
organizations were rejected because their activities are not compatible with
the sovereignty of the state over its territories."

According to Justice Al-Dimirdash, currently there are 74 NGOs operating in
Egypt, including 23 US organizations, which have satisfied the conditions of
operating according to the Egyptian private organizations law.

Al-Dimirdash reveals that five foreign organizations have submitted new
applications for licenses to operate in Egypt. Al-Dimirdash says: "The
application of the US NGO, Little Lamb, which cares for marginalized groups,
and women's affairs in Nile Delta and Upper Egypt, has been accepted."
Al-Dimirdash stresses that currently applications by foreign NGOs are being
examined and studied in order to decide them in the light of the law and its
rulings. Al-Dimirdash explains that none of these new applications has been
rejected so far.

Observers say that tightening the restrictions on the work of the human
rights organizations, which focused on exposing the human rights violations
during the era of the previous regime, has continued during the assumption
by the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces [SCAF] of the
administration of the country, especially after Cairo launched an extensive
campaign against the work of some human rights organizations in December
2011 in what is known in the media as the "case of foreign funding of the
civil society organizations."

In his turn Al-Dimirdash stresses that Egypt does not hinder the work of the
NGOs in the way claimed by the media. Al-Dimirdash says: "All the
organizations that have been rejected steer up fanaticism and sentiments
hostile to the national spirit, such as the slogans of the Coptic
citizenship and Nubian citizenship, which contradict the cohesion of the
state." Al-Dimirdash continues: "Some of the rejected organizations also
call for values and ideas against the ethics of the society, such as
programs for supporting perverts and for homosexual marriage."

Cairo has rejected the application of the International Nazareth Evangelical
Church, which works in the field of humanitarian relief, in addition to the
American Security Institute, Global Education Organization, and Seeds of
Peace Organization, also the Coptic Orphans Organization, w hose work
focuses on social work, finding ways to help orphan children, and raise
their standard of living, and US Latter Day Saints Center. Observers say
that Cairo is afraid that some of these organizations, most of which are
Christian organizations, might practice evangelical activities; however
Al-Dimirdash denies this stressing that no evangelical activities have been
observed by any foreign organization in Egypt.

In the case of "foreign funding of civil society institutions," 43 human
rights activists are on trial before the Egyptian criminal court. The 43
activists include 16 US citizens and 14 Egyptians, who belong to five
foreign organizations: US International Republican US Institute, National
Democratic Institute, US Freedom House, US International Center for
Journalists, and German Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. Al-Dimirdash explains that
currently there are meetings between Government sides and representatives of
some of these organizations to discuss the resolution of the crisis through
some flexibility and understanding on both sides; however Al-Dimirdash
stresses that Cairo will not allow these organizations except through the
current law, or they can wait until a new law is ratified.

An Egyptian official acquainted with the dossier of the civil society
organizations has said that regional and international powers are
implementing their own agendas in Egypt, and they are spending millions of
pounds for this purpose. The source, who stipulated the condition that he is
not named, has said: "Naturally, some of these organizations threaten the
national sovereignty through infiltrating the fabric of the Egyptian
society, and implementing different agendas on the Egyptian soil." The
official added that, "the ideology of spying in the traditional form no
longer exists. What happens is infiltration of the societies through the
civil society organizations."

While press reports say that the application of Carter Center, which aims to
deploy monitors and observers of the elections to work in teams across Egypt
to monitor and assess the pre-elections preparations has been rejected, the
Egyptian official says that the Carter Center can continue its work and
monitor the elections without obtaining a license to operate in Egypt,
because of the difference between the activity of monitoring the elections
and opening a bureau for the center in Cairo.

Within the same context, Interpol has said that it has erased arrest
warrants issued against employees of US human rights organization accused in
the case of "foreign funding" from the Interpol database at the
international level. The removal of the names has taken place after the
Interpol ruled that including these names was primarily a violation of the
ban imposed by Interpol of involvement in political cases.