Egypt widens crackdown on NGOs
Financial Times
By Borzou Daragahi

Just a month before presidential elections, Egypt has barred the Carter Center and seven other US civil society groups from operating in the country, and possibly monitoring elections, the country’s official news agency reported.

The official Mena news agency reported on Monday that the ministry of social affairs had denied the groups’ applications, citing concerns about their methods which it said “contradicted Egyptian sovereignty”.

The move and its timing may raise concerns about the transparency of the upcoming vote, the first since Hosni Mubarak’s removal. The election pits Islamists and a smattering of leftists against those with ties to the previous regime.

On Sunday, Egypt’s Supreme Presidential Election Commission, a panel of military-appointed judges with absolute power over the vote, announced that only groups accredited by the ministry of social affairs would be allowed to observe the elections. Last week, the panel disqualified 10 candidates, including the three frontrunners, and quickly rejected all appeals.

Activists who led the revolution against Mr Mubarak last year worry that the ruling might set the stage for a clampdown on civil society.

“The military wants to curb international organisations in Egypt because they [the military] still operate in the modus operandi of the Mubarak regime, where they see everything from a security point of view,” said Ahmad Naguib, a member of the Trustees Council of the Revolution, one of the organisers of the 2011 uprising.

“The ruling only shows ill intentions. If you have nothing to hide, you should allow anyone and everyone to monitor the elections.”

American democracy-promotion organisations first came under scrutiny in Egypt after the US Congress reallocated directly to them last year a portion of funds previously set aside as part of $1.5bn in aid for Egypt.

Security forces under the command of the Mubarak-era generals running Egypt late last year raided the offices of US and Egyptian NGOs for allegedly failing to operate with licences under arcane rules of the previous regime.

US employees of the organisations, including Sam LaHood, son of Ray LaHood, the US transport secretary, were barred from leaving the country and summoned to court. The judges ultimately withdrew from the case and all but one of the US defendants left Egypt, but the trial of Egyptian NGO staff continues.

Some of the US groups involved in that crackdown, including the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute and Freedom House, are largely funded by the US Congress and seen by some as instruments of Washington’s foreign policy.

But others, such as the Carter Center, are relatively non-controversial and are frequently invited to observe elections throughout the world. Diplomats and human rights groups say the rejection of the Carter Center’s application has come as a surprise.

“It’s a disappointing decision especially in light of the fact that without these groups we’ll have less observation during the presidential elections,” said Hafsa Halawi, a British Egyptian employee of NDI who was among those summoned to the court. “It seems to be this isn’t just about certain groups like NDI and IRI. It seems to be a widespread crackdown on all organisations.”