Egypt foreign minister condemns Clinton, US for interference
A teenager looks down as rocks continued to fall in Cairo.
CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr condemned the statements by American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this week that lashed out at the brutality meted out to female protesters by the military during the recent clashes in the Egyptian capital.
“Egypt does not accept any interference in its internal affairs and conducts communications and clarifications concerning statements made by foreign officials,” the state news agency MENA quoted Foreign Minister Amr as saying.
“Matters like that are not taken lightly,” he was quoted as saying, in his response to a question about Clinton’s remarks.
He was responding to Clinton, who spoke out in a rare Washington statement of criticism toward the military junta after videos emerged online that showed female protesters beaten brutally by army soldiers.
The recent clashes in Cairo left at least 14 people dead and over 700 wounded in violence that began last Friday when the Egyptian military attacked a peaceful sit-in at the country’s Cabinet building.
On Monday, Clinton blasted Egypt’s ruling military junta for its treatment of women, calling it “shocking.”
Other women, including an elderly woman, have been attacked in the recent clashes in downtown Cairo, in what activists are calling indiscriminate attacks against civilians by the armed forces, which have left over a dozen killed and hundreds injured.
“This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonors the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people,” Clinton said in a speech at Georgetown University.
It was arguably the first time an American official has lashed out at their military ally in Egypt, but the recent spate of violence, and especially the violence directed and women, appear to have finally gotten Washington’s attention.
“Recent events in Egypt have been particularly shocking. Women are being beaten and humiliated in the same streets where they risked their lives for the revolution only a few short months ago,” Clinton said.
She denounced a “deeply troubling patter” of military authorities and the major political parties alike keeping Egyptian women out of the decision-making process.
“At the same time, they have been specifically targeted both by security forces and extremists,” the top US diplomat added.
“Women protesters have been rounded up and subjected to horrific abuse. Journalists have been sexually assaulted and now women are being attacked, stripped and beaten in the streets.”
BM
Section: Egypt, Latest News, North America
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