Echoing calls from nearly two dozen advocacy groups, 11 U.S. senators on Friday urged the Biden administration to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid from Egypt “absent improvements on human rights” in a nation where thousands of dissidents are imprisoned and almost all forms of political opposition have been crushed.
The senators — who include 10 Democrats and independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont — sent a letter led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) to Secretary of State Antony Blinken citing Egypt’s deteriorating human rights situation while calling on the administration to withhold $320 million in U.S. military assistance.
The U.S. government conditions the bulk of that aid on Egypt taking “sustained and effective steps” to:
- Strengthen the rule of law and democratic institutions and protect women and religious minorities;
- Protect fundamental freedoms, including the ability of NGOs and media to operate freely;
- Hold security forces accountable when they violate human rights;
- Investigate and prosecute cases of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances; and
- Provide regular access to U.S. officials to areas where U.S. assistance is used.
“Over the past year, the Egyptian government’s track record on these criteria has not improved,” the senators’ letter asserts. “Ahead of presidential elections scheduled next year, the Egyptian government has detained supporters and family members of a challenger who intends to run against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The government has forced NGOs to register under a draconian law that prohibits any activities it deems political.”
The letter adds that Egypt’s government “has not only failed to investigate allegations of human rights abuses, it has also continued to commit ‘significant human rights’ violations such as extrajudicial killings; enforced disappearance; torture and life-threatening prison conditions; and severe restrictions on freedoms of expression, assembly, and association as documented in the State Department’s latest human rights report.”
The lawmakers’ letter came on the same day that 23 human rights and civil society groups also implored the Biden administration to withhold the $320 million in military aid, accusing Egypt of perpetrating a “merciless crackdown on the press, political opposition, and civil society.”
“The Egyptian government’s actions in recent months demonstrate that it has not halted its repression campaign or delivered on commitments to meaningfully improve the human rights situation,” the groups — which include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Democracy for the Arab World Now, and Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) — said in a letter.
“Pressure works,” POMED tweeted Friday. “Over the past two years, the administration’s decision to reprogram some of the conditioned military aid to Egypt has led its government to take limited, albeit insufficient, steps to address U.S. concerns — without undermining the bilateral relationship.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today during our fundraiser. We have until midnight tonight to add 140 new monthly donors. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.