This is what we need to do.
Rice Makes Case for Democracy in the Middle East
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 20, 2005; 10:15 AM
CAIRO, June 20 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday criticized autocratic U.S. allies and praised democratic reformers throughout the Middle East in a policy speech laying out the principles and goals of the Bush administration's democracy campaign.
Speaking to an invitation-only audience at the American University in Cairo, Rice mixed tough rhetoric with assurances that the United States is not planning to impose democracy. The United States, she said, "has no cause for false pride and we have every reason for humility."
Calling the ideal of democracy "universal," she noted that "for 60 years, my county, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region . . . and we achieved neither. Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people."
Across the Middle East, "the fear of free of choices can no longer justify the denial of liberty. It is time to abandon the excuses that are made to avoid the hard work of democracy," Rice declared.
In a careful balancing act, she hailed the U.S.-Egyptian relationship and praised longtime President Hosni Mubarak for agreeing for the first time to allow an opposition candidate to run against him in September's elections, but cautioned that the "Egyptian government must put its faith in own people" by not allowing violent attacks on pro-democracy demonstrators.
On May 25, the day of a national referendum changing the presidential election system, Mubarak supporters beat up peaceful demonstrators and molested women in the crowd.
After the address, Rice met with Ayman Nour, the opposition candidate whose campaign has been repeatedly harassed by the government, as well as representatives of other opposition parties. Rice had canceled a planned visit to Egypt in February when the government did not immediately release Nour from jail on what American officials considered trumped-up charges.
In the speech, Rice also criticized another close ally, Saudi Arabia, where "many people pay an unfair price for exercising their basic rights." She noted that three people are currently in jail for petitioning the government and declared, "That should not be a crime in any country." Rice was scheduled to fly to Riyadh later today to meet with Saudi officials.
Earlier today, before her speech, Rice met with Mubarak at Sharm el-Sheik, a resort area on the Sinai peninsula. Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters the Egyptian government was committed to "free, fair and transparent" elections.
Rice delivered her 20-minute speech in workmanlike fashion, drawing no applause from the audience of 600 people until the end. She then spent 40 minutes taking questions, with two -- on "war crimes" against Palestinians and reports of mistreatment of the Koran by U.S. soldiers -- earning loud applause. Rice told the audience the United States would follow Egyptian law and have no contact with the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition movement, which is banned by the government.
During the speech, Rice laid out a guide to principles that should be followed by both supporters and opponents of established governments. "They must accept the rule of law. They must reject violence. They must respect the standards of free elections. And they must peacefully accept the results," Rice said.
She also said governments must protect "certain basic rights for all their citizens," including the "the right to speak freely, the right to associate, the right to worship as you wish, the freedom to educate your children -- boys and girls -- and the freedom from the midnight knock of the secret police."
Rice decried militant groups such as Hamas, formally known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, which the United States calls a terrorist organization but which is participating in elections and gathering popular support. "For all citizens with grievances, democracy can be a path to lasting justice," Rice said. "But the democratic system cannot function if certain groups have one foot in the realm of politics and one foot in the camp of terror."
During a lively news conference with Rice, Aboul Gheit said he told Rice that the allegations of mistreatment of the Koran by U.S. troops and the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal had deeply hurt the U.S. image in the region.
"I told you also that there is anger in the region and that we have to work on this anger," Aboul Gheit said, turning to Rice. |
