Egypt has unsurprisingly rejected a recent Department of State report criticizing the country’s deteriorating human rights record. The report can be found on the DOS website here. An article on the report in the popular independent paper Al-Masri Al-Youm relates that:
…in statements given to Al-Masri Al-Youm, [Egyptian] political experts warned against “dependence on the United States to spread democracy.” They added that the interest of the new administration in democracy and human rights will recede just as it did in the in the final period of Bush’s rule, because America cares only about achieving what is in its own interests…
Some Egyptians might be feeling a little confused as to why the DOS is criticizing Egypt so harshly for its human rights record, even if rightly so, while the US has greatly toned down its calls for political reform in the country and continues to provide it with financial and military support. For more on this and how it relates to the recent release of Ayman Nour, read Matthew Axelrod’s post here.
In other news, an American teacher was stabbed on Friday by a mentally ill man near the Khan Al-Khalili bazaar, in the same area as last week’s bombing. The man was reported as saying that he stabbed the teacher because he hates foreigners because of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. In addition, a firebomb was thrown in a Cairo metro station on Saturday according to reports. No one was injured and the attacker’s motives are unknown.
These incidents occur of course in light of the terrorist attack against foreigners last week near the area of the Hussein Mosque and Khan Al-Khalili. The stabbing is likely an isolated incident; though the attacker has a history of mental instability, his disdain for Israel’s attack on Gaza and what many see as the Egyptian government’s inadequate response to it is certainly a sentiment shared by the majority of Egyptians.