[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 78 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 78

Expressing the grave concern of Congress regarding the arrest of Ayman 
 Nour, the leader of the Al Ghad party, by the Government of the Arab 
 Republic of Egypt and the support of Congress for continued progress 
                       toward democracy in Egypt.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 17, 2005

   Mr. Schiff (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Ackerman, and Mr. 
   Berman) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the grave concern of Congress regarding the arrest of Ayman 
 Nour, the leader of the Al Ghad party, by the Government of the Arab 
 Republic of Egypt and the support of Congress for continued progress 
                       toward democracy in Egypt.

Whereas the promotion of democracy, freedom, and liberty is central to United 
        States national security policy;
Whereas according to the 1999 World Values Poll, 98 percent of Egyptians support 
        democracy as the best form of government;
Whereas the suppression of political activity throughout the Arab world has 
        strengthened Islamic extremists;
Whereas the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 
        2003 states that ``[Egyptian] citizens did not have the meaningful right 
        to change their government'' and that ``[the] ruling National Democratic 
        Party (NDP) dominated the 454-seat People's Assembly, the 264-seat Shura 
        Council, local governments, the mass media, labor, and the large public 
        sector, and controlled the licensing of new political parties, 
        newspapers and private organizations'';
Whereas new political parties in the Arab Republic of Egypt must be approved by 
        the Political Parties Committee of Egypt;
Whereas in November 2004 the Political Parties Committee approved the formation 
        of the al-Ghad party;
Whereas the al-Ghad party advocates greater transparency, democracy and freedom 
        for Egypt's 73,000,000 citizens;
Whereas Ayman Nour has been a member of the People's Assembly of Egypt for 10 
        years;
Whereas on November 6, 2004, Ayman Nour was elected as president of the al-Ghad 
        party;
Whereas on December 21, 2004, the first meeting of the Supreme Council of the 
        al-Ghad party was held in Cairo;
Whereas the Government of Egypt accused Ayman Nour of furnishing forged 
        signatures in support of the application of the al-Ghad party to the 
        Political Parties Committee;
Whereas Ayman Nour denied the accusation of the Government of Egypt in a speech 
        to the People's Assembly of Egypt;
Whereas on January 29, 2005, Ayman Nour's immunity from arrest as a member of 
        the People's Assembly was lifted during a meeting of the Legislative and 
        Constitutional Affairs Committee of the People's Assembly;
Whereas on January 29, 2005, Ayman Nour was arrested by the Government of Egypt 
        and ordered held for up to 4 days, which was subsequently increased to 
        45 days;
Whereas Ayman Nour remains in custody in a cell with 80 other prisoners;
Whereas Ayman Nour has diabetes and has other health problems and his wife has 
        filed multiple petitions asking that he be transferred to a hospital;
Whereas on January 31, 2005, Richard Boucher, Spokesman for the Department of 
        State, said: ``We are concerned by the signal that the arrest sends. 
        [Ayman Nour] is one of Egypt's most prominent opposition leaders and the 
        arrest . . . raises questions about the outlook for democratic process 
        in Egypt. . . . We're on the eve of a long-planned national dialogue 
        between opposition parties, including Nour's and the ruling National 
        Democratic Party. That is a dialogue that we feel is very valuable and 
        we would--we find this arrest at this moment incongruous with proceeding 
        with that dialogue.'';
Whereas on February 8, 2005, Mousa Mustafa, the deputy chairman of the al-Ghad 
        party, was arrested by the Government of Egypt;
Whereas on February 9, 2005, Mousa Mustafa was released from prison, but he 
        still faces charges of forgery;
Whereas on February 2, 2005, President George W. Bush, in his State of the Union 
        address, stated that ``the great and proud nation of Egypt, which showed 
        the way toward peace in the Middle East, can now show the way toward 
        democracy in the Middle East''; and
Whereas on February 15, 2005, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, in a joint 
        appearance with the Foreign Minister of Egypt, stated that ``the 
        Egyptian Government has the opportunity and the responsibility to be as 
        great a leader for reform in the region as it has been a leader for 
        peace'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) condemns the arrest of Ayman Nour, the leader of the Al 
        Ghad party, by the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt;
            (2) calls on the Government of Egypt to release Ayman Nour 
        without delay;
            (3) calls on the Government of Egypt to ensure that if 
        tried, Ayman Nour and his deputy, Mousa Mustafa, be charged 
        according to regular criminal law and tried in a regular 
        criminal court and not a State Security or State Security 
        Emergency Court, and that Ayman Nour and Mousa Mustafa be 
        afforded the right to present a full defense;
            (4) expresses its support for the people of Egypt as they 
        struggle for democracy and the establishment of the rule of 
        law;
            (5) expresses its support for President George W. Bush's 
        call for greater democracy in Egypt, which he made in the State 
        of the Union address on February 2, 2005;
            (6) encourages the President and the Secretary of State to 
        reach out to human rights activists and the nonviolent 
        democratic opposition in Egypt, and to assist them in their 
        efforts; and
            (7) urges the Secretary of State to reconsider her planned 
        participation in the G-8/Arab League ministerial meeting in 
        Cairo on democracy and reform scheduled for March 2-3, 2005, 
        unless Ayman Nour is freed.
                                 <all>