'We'll not bow to US pressure'
2007-10-02 09:49
Cairo - President Hosni Mubarak says that Egypt will not bow to foreign pressure in an apparent response to recent criticism from the United States over allegations that his government has increased human rights abuses.
In a nationwide speech, Mubarak also promised that his government would continue its decade-long efforts to bring "peace, security and stability" to the troubled Middle East.
Washington recently had escalated its criticism of Mubarak, a long time US ally and a key catalyst in Arab-Israeli peace efforts.
Earlier this month, the White House voiced displeasure with recent decisions in Egypt to crack down on dissenting voices within the media and to close a human rights group, saying it was "deeply concerned" about the moves.
'We'll not accept pressure'
Mubarak did not mention the US by name, but Egyptian state-owned media had recently been lambasting the Bush administration for its criticism of Mubarak.
He said: "We extend a hand of friendship and co-operation with all, but no one can impose on us what we don't accept and which does not comply with our position toward Egyptian and regional issues."
We "will not accept pressure or interference in our internal affairs", he said.
Last month in an unusual public statement of discontent with Mubarak's government, the White House said the latest crackdown "appears to contradict the Egyptian government's stated commitment to expand democratic rights".
The statement came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was having dinner in New York with Egypt's foreign minister.
Bush meets critics of Mubarak
In recent months, President George W Bush had also met with two key critics of Mubarak - human rights activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim and the head of the Egyptian Organisation of Human Rights, Hesham Qassem - a move the Egyptian government considered as unfriendly.
There also had been rising tension between Mubarak's government and those who questioned its leadership. Authorities had imprisoned hundreds of members of Egypt's most powerful opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, in recent months.
Last month, an Egyptian court sentenced the editors of four outspoken tabloids to a year in prison for defaming Mubarak and his ruling party after they criticised senior officials in the government.
One of the editors also appeared in court on Monday in a separate case on charges of allegedly spreading rumours that the 79-year-old Mubarak was in poor health.
The government had also targeted organisations unrelated to the transfer of power. Authorities closed the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid, which had been involved in the first lawsuit against a state security officer for torture.
Egyptian officials said the group had received funding without the necessary permission, but fellow human rights groups said the closure was related to the torture case, which ended with the officer's acquittal on September 05.
- AP