Eutrusca
21-06-2005, 15:02
NOTE: A number of people on here have criticized the Bush Administration for not pressing some of our ... less democratic allies to move toward democracy. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has now done so, as the article below indicates. What now are your criticisms?
Rice Urges Egyptians and Saudis to Democratize (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/21/international/middleeast/21rice.html?th&emc=th)
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: June 21, 2005
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, June 21 - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, delivering a challenge to the United States' closest allies in the Arab world, called on Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Monday to embrace democracy by holding fair elections, releasing political prisoners and allowing free expression and rights for women.
"For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East, and we achieved neither," Ms. Rice declared at the American University in Cairo. "Now we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people."
Praising President Hosni Mubarak for taking some "encouraging" first steps toward democracy, she said Egypt's elections "must meet objective standards that define every free election," including freedom of assembly, speech and press.
As for Saudi Arabia, where Ms. Rice flew after speaking in Egypt, she said that "brave citizens are demanding accountability from their government" and that "many people pay an unfair price for exercising their basic rights."
She praised "some first steps toward openness" in the holding of municipal elections. But she condemned depriving women of the right to vote and the arrests of some dissidents.
Ms. Rice's appeal, some of the toughest talk in the Arab world from a secretary of state, drew a mixed reaction, including criticism from Egyptian opposition groups demanding an even harder line. On the other hand, the Egyptian foreign minister, dismissing her comments, said Egypt's planned elections were already going to be free and fair.
Some of the 600 listeners at the university complained that her call for freedom was undercut by American indifference to Israeli "war crimes," mistreatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and Abu Ghraib and the continuing violence in Iraq.
The criticism was similar to what erupted last month after Laura Bush praised Mr. Mubarak for taking a "bold step" in planning multiparty elections, even as protesters were being arrested and opposition groups complained about election requirements barring independent candidates.
"We were shocked at the statements made," Hany Enan, one of the founders of an Egyptian movement demanding that Mr. Mubarak step down, said of Ms. Rice's remarks. She added, "I don't think the content of her remarks met the expectations of the people or the opposition."
Officials traveling with Ms. Rice said they were prepared for such criticism. "Most of the region's leaders won't like what they hear, and most people will resent it," one American official said on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to prejudge Arab reaction. "But in the long run, her speech will make people think about the problem."
The reaction illustrated the quandary that the Bush administration faced in navigating the demands for sweeping changes and a desire not to offend close allies or to apply separate benchmarks to different countries, depending on their status as friends.
Ms. Rice criticized Egypt and Saudi Arabia for intimidating or locking up protesters, for example. She also met with Ayman Nour, a Parliament member whose arrest this year prompted the secretary to cancel a visit to Egypt. But she did not meet with leaders of the outlawed Islamist organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood, though it is probably the most popular opposition group.
"Egypt has its laws, it has its rule of law, and I'll respect that," Ms. Rice said, explaining the decision not to meet with the Brotherhood.
In her speech, she assailed Syria as a police state, and then Iran, where the election for president on Friday got no praise even though it has been more competitive than Egypt's is likely to be. "The appearance of elections does not mask the organized cruelty of Iran's theocratic state," she said.
Her criticism of Egypt, by contrast, came in a conciliatory tone, accompanied by reminders that the United States has its own history of slavery and racism. "The United States has no cause for false pride, and we have every reason for humility," she added.
In Riyadh, her remarks in Cairo received a curt reaction from Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, who dismissed her appeal for the release of the dissidents. "They have broken the law," Prince Saud said at a post-midnight news conference with Ms. Rice, adding that Saudi Arabia would use its own judgment of what changes were best.
Ms. Rice's speech had been billed in advance as a bold change for the United States. "This is a great region of the world, the cradle of civilization," she implored her audience. Noting that the entire region of 22 countries had a collective economy the size of Spain's, she added:
"How can that be the case? It certainly isn't anything about the intelligence of the Arab people. It certainly isn't anything about their aspirations. It's about the absence of freedom and the absence of liberty."
Even critics of the American administration say the increasing calls by President Bush for democracy have helped inspire the Egyptian movement known as Kifaya, or Enough, which calls for Mr. Mubarak to step down. He has served since 1981 without ever being challenged in an election.
Under pressure, Mr. Mubarak in February announced the first Egyptian election for president in which candidates will be able to run, but the National Assembly dominated by his National Democratic Party has been moving toward erecting an array of barriers against candidates outside its influence.
When Ms. Rice raised those problems at a news conference with the Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, she got what appeared to be an airy rebuff.
"Who would object to fair, transparent elections?" Mr. Gheit said, turning to the secretary. "Everybody wants fair, transparent elections. And it will be so, I assure you."
In another awkward exchange, Mr. Gheit reminded Ms. Rice that he had told her earlier that without "a settlement for the Palestinian problem," little could be done. "That is crucial!" he added.
Ms. Rice, who traveled to Egypt from Jordan and Israel, where she had sought to coax the Israelis and Palestinians toward a solution, retorted with a smile, "That's what we're working on."
Rice Urges Egyptians and Saudis to Democratize (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/21/international/middleeast/21rice.html?th&emc=th)
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: June 21, 2005
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, June 21 - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, delivering a challenge to the United States' closest allies in the Arab world, called on Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Monday to embrace democracy by holding fair elections, releasing political prisoners and allowing free expression and rights for women.
"For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East, and we achieved neither," Ms. Rice declared at the American University in Cairo. "Now we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people."
Praising President Hosni Mubarak for taking some "encouraging" first steps toward democracy, she said Egypt's elections "must meet objective standards that define every free election," including freedom of assembly, speech and press.
As for Saudi Arabia, where Ms. Rice flew after speaking in Egypt, she said that "brave citizens are demanding accountability from their government" and that "many people pay an unfair price for exercising their basic rights."
She praised "some first steps toward openness" in the holding of municipal elections. But she condemned depriving women of the right to vote and the arrests of some dissidents.
Ms. Rice's appeal, some of the toughest talk in the Arab world from a secretary of state, drew a mixed reaction, including criticism from Egyptian opposition groups demanding an even harder line. On the other hand, the Egyptian foreign minister, dismissing her comments, said Egypt's planned elections were already going to be free and fair.
Some of the 600 listeners at the university complained that her call for freedom was undercut by American indifference to Israeli "war crimes," mistreatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and Abu Ghraib and the continuing violence in Iraq.
The criticism was similar to what erupted last month after Laura Bush praised Mr. Mubarak for taking a "bold step" in planning multiparty elections, even as protesters were being arrested and opposition groups complained about election requirements barring independent candidates.
"We were shocked at the statements made," Hany Enan, one of the founders of an Egyptian movement demanding that Mr. Mubarak step down, said of Ms. Rice's remarks. She added, "I don't think the content of her remarks met the expectations of the people or the opposition."
Officials traveling with Ms. Rice said they were prepared for such criticism. "Most of the region's leaders won't like what they hear, and most people will resent it," one American official said on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to prejudge Arab reaction. "But in the long run, her speech will make people think about the problem."
The reaction illustrated the quandary that the Bush administration faced in navigating the demands for sweeping changes and a desire not to offend close allies or to apply separate benchmarks to different countries, depending on their status as friends.
Ms. Rice criticized Egypt and Saudi Arabia for intimidating or locking up protesters, for example. She also met with Ayman Nour, a Parliament member whose arrest this year prompted the secretary to cancel a visit to Egypt. But she did not meet with leaders of the outlawed Islamist organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood, though it is probably the most popular opposition group.
"Egypt has its laws, it has its rule of law, and I'll respect that," Ms. Rice said, explaining the decision not to meet with the Brotherhood.
In her speech, she assailed Syria as a police state, and then Iran, where the election for president on Friday got no praise even though it has been more competitive than Egypt's is likely to be. "The appearance of elections does not mask the organized cruelty of Iran's theocratic state," she said.
Her criticism of Egypt, by contrast, came in a conciliatory tone, accompanied by reminders that the United States has its own history of slavery and racism. "The United States has no cause for false pride, and we have every reason for humility," she added.
In Riyadh, her remarks in Cairo received a curt reaction from Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, who dismissed her appeal for the release of the dissidents. "They have broken the law," Prince Saud said at a post-midnight news conference with Ms. Rice, adding that Saudi Arabia would use its own judgment of what changes were best.
Ms. Rice's speech had been billed in advance as a bold change for the United States. "This is a great region of the world, the cradle of civilization," she implored her audience. Noting that the entire region of 22 countries had a collective economy the size of Spain's, she added:
"How can that be the case? It certainly isn't anything about the intelligence of the Arab people. It certainly isn't anything about their aspirations. It's about the absence of freedom and the absence of liberty."
Even critics of the American administration say the increasing calls by President Bush for democracy have helped inspire the Egyptian movement known as Kifaya, or Enough, which calls for Mr. Mubarak to step down. He has served since 1981 without ever being challenged in an election.
Under pressure, Mr. Mubarak in February announced the first Egyptian election for president in which candidates will be able to run, but the National Assembly dominated by his National Democratic Party has been moving toward erecting an array of barriers against candidates outside its influence.
When Ms. Rice raised those problems at a news conference with the Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, she got what appeared to be an airy rebuff.
"Who would object to fair, transparent elections?" Mr. Gheit said, turning to the secretary. "Everybody wants fair, transparent elections. And it will be so, I assure you."
In another awkward exchange, Mr. Gheit reminded Ms. Rice that he had told her earlier that without "a settlement for the Palestinian problem," little could be done. "That is crucial!" he added.
Ms. Rice, who traveled to Egypt from Jordan and Israel, where she had sought to coax the Israelis and Palestinians toward a solution, retorted with a smile, "That's what we're working on."