| Clinton reaffirms support for Egypt transition |
CAIRO US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday reaffirmed Washington’s ‘strong’” support for Egypt’s democratic transition, after talks with newly-elected President Mohamed Mursi.
“I have come to Cairo to reaffirm the strong support of the United States for the Egyptian people and their democratic transition,” Clinton said at a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr.
“We want to be a good partner and we want to support the democracy that has been achieved by the courage and sacrifice of the Egyptian people,” she said.
“Democracy is hard. It requires dialogue and compromise and real politics. We are encouraged and we want to be helpful. But we know it is not for the United States it is for the Egyptian people to decide.”
“We are very, very keen to meet you and happy you are here,” Mursi told Clinton as they went into the meeting at the presidential palace in Cairo’s Heliopolis suburb.
During her two-day visit to Egypt, the top US diplomat will also meet Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi — the country’s interim military ruler after Hosni Mubarak was ousted in an uprising last year — as well as women activists and Coptic leaders, US officials said.
“The United States supports the full transition to civilian rule with all that entails,” Clinton said during a news conference after her meeting with Mursi, commending the military council for its role during Egypt’s transition.
“But there is more work ahead. And I think the issues around the parliament, the constitution have to be resolved between and among Egyptians. I will look forward to discussing these issues tomorrow with Field Marshall Tantawi and in working to support the military’s return to a purely national security role,” Clinton said.
Clinton will discuss with Egypt’s leaders “the steps that the Egyptians are planning to take... on the constitution, on the parliament and the other aspects of institutions that will ultimately result in a full transition to democratic civilian rule,” a State Department official told reporters.
“These are questions that only the Egyptians can answer. She’s not coming with prescriptions, or with a specific set of proposals but rather is going to seek to understand better how they intend to proceed,” the official said.
Clinton steps into the political maelstrom of a complex power struggle between the Islamist president and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) that ruled Egypt after Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year.
She will seek to “underscore her view that dialogue among the stake-holders to develop a consensus on the way forward is crucial to avoid the kind of instability or confrontation that could derail the transition,” the official said.
Agencies
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