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Tue, Aug 30, 2011 | WikiLeaks

President George W. Bush on urged his successor to carry on what he called his "freedom agenda" of promoting human rights, democracy, and free trade around the world, Jul 24, 2008. (Reuters)

WikiLeaks: Outreach to Egyptian Democracy and Human Rights Activists

The US embassy in Cairo continues to actively support and promote the President’s [George W. Bush] Freedom Agenda. We are in close contact with the wide range of Egypt’s political oppositionists, democracy and human rights activists, and journalists from independent and opposition newspapers, as well as bloggers who promote democracy and human rights.

Source: WikiLeaks

Reference	Created	Classification	Origin
08CAIRO941	2008-05-07 08:22	CONFIDENTIAL	Embassy Cairo

 

VZCZCXRO7111
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #0941/01 1280822
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 070822Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9184
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000941

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR DRL/SEA, NSC FOR PASCUAL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2018
TAGS: PREL PHUM KDEM EG
SUBJECT: OUTREACH TO EGYPTIAN DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
ACTIVISTS

REF: A. 2007 CAIRO 2206
¶B. 2007 CAIRO 2601
¶C. 2007 CAIRO 3001
¶D. STATE 44903
¶E. CAIRO 902

Classified By: DCM Stuart Jones, for reason 1.4 (d).

¶1. (U) Embassy Cairo continues to actively support and
promote the President’s Freedom Agenda. We are in close
contact with the wide range of Egypt’s political
oppositionists, democracy and human rights activists, and
journalists from independent and opposition newspapers, as
well as bloggers who promote democracy and human rights. We
regularly engage with a variety of GOE officials, including
at the most senior-levels, to discuss both broad policy
concerns and specific democracy and human rights cases. We
regularly utilize public speaking opportunities and media
outreach (including ambassadorial appearances on Egyptian
satellite TV shows, reaching millions of Egyptians) to
promote democratic ideals and reform. MEPI and USAID’s
Democracy and Governance programs constitute critical
components of our mission’s efforts. A detailed discussion
of our democracy strategy programming was provided in ref C.
The bimonthly meeting of the Institutions of Democracy
Working Group (IDWG), chaired by the DCM, coordinates
democracy policy and programs among USAID and the Embassy’s
Economic-Political and Public Affairs sections.

¶2. (C) Since our last comprehensive report on support for the
Freedom Agenda (ref A), the Ambassador held the following
meetings with democracy and human rights activists:

– An August 2007 dinner with five leading Egyptian democracy
activists (strictly protect): Hisham El Bastawisi (the Court
of Cassation justice who was one of the two judges at the
center of the spring 2006 “Judges Crisis,” and a prominent
and vocal advocate for judicial independence), Hafez Abou
Seida (Director of the Egyptian Organization for Human
Rights), Ghada Shahbender (head of “Shayfeenkum” or “We See
You”, a civil society organization focused on elections
monitoring and anti-corruption initiatives), Nasser Amin
(Director, Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary
and the Legal Profession), and Amr Choubaki (a senior
political analyst at the venerable Al Ahram Center, and one
of the founding members of the political movement “Kefaya”).
(Ref B)

– A mid-autumn 2007 meeting with the leadership of the
National Council on Human Rights.

– A February 5, 2008 meeting with five activists who had
traveled to the US as “Freedom House Fellows”: Ahmed Samih
(director of Al Andalus Institute for Tolerance and
Anti-Violence Studies and editor-in-chief of Horeyatna online
radio), Mozn Hassen (Director of Nazra for Feminist Studies
Organization), Hamdy Kenawy (staff member of the Arab Penal
Reform Organization, and a founding member of the Arab Center
for Documentation and Legally Pursuing War Criminals), Doaa
Kassem (Executive Secretary of the Al Andalus Institute for
Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies, and a human rights
trainer), and Marwa Mokhtar (human rights activist).

– A February 12 meeting with Gameela Ismail, the wife of
imprisoned former Al Ghad party leader Ayman Nour. While she
meets regularly with poloff, Ismail is hesitant to meet
regularly with the Ambassador, evidently out of concern that
such meetings could have negative ramifications on the
continuing legal efforts to get her husband released.

– A mid-February meeting with Michael Meunier, President of
the U.S. Copts Association and founder of the Egyptian NGO
“Hand to Hand” (working to promote grass-roots political
participation in Egypt). The Ambassador also attended a March
opening reception for “Hand to Hand.”

– Repeated meetings (separately) with Hisham Kassem (winner
of the National Endowment for Democracy’s 2007 Democracy
Award, founder and former CEO of Al Masry Al Yom, Egypt’s
leading independent newspaper, and human rights activist),
Barbara Ibrahim (wife of democracy activist Saad Eddin
Ibrahim), and Ghada Shahbender (head of “Shayfeenkum”).

– Democracy and human rights activists, political
oppositionists, opposition parliamentarians, and journalists
for independent newspapers were regularly invited to the
Ambassador’s residence for receptions.

¶3. (C) In addition, the DCM also held a January 22 dinner for
several human rights activists: Soha Abdel Aty (Egyptian

CAIRO 00000941 002 OF 002

Initiative for Personal Rights), Hossam Bahgat (Egyptian
Initiative for Personal Rights), Moataz Al Fogairy (Cairo
Institute for Human Rights Studies), Engi Al Haddad
(Afro-Egyptian Human Rights Organization), Bahey Al Din
Hassan (Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies), Ahmed
Samih (Al Andalus Institute for Tolerance), Hafez Abou Sa’eda
(Egyptian Organization for Human Rights), and Mohamed
Shalaby (Legal Aid Association for Constitutional Rights).

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