[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 37 (Thursday, February 28, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S1585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 EGYPT

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to briefly discuss the situation in 
Egypt, a country where unchecked repression has come to define the 
government of President el-Sisi.
  The 2011 Egyptian revolution brought hope of a democratic future for 
the country, but it has failed to materialize, subverted by aspiring 
autocrats. After winning historic democratic elections in 2012, the 
Morsi government sought to consolidate its control, issuing a 
declaration to provide the President with sweeping authorities and 
eliminating checks on Executive power. The response was another popular 
uprising and a military coup led by then-Defense Minister Abdel Fattah 
el-Sisi.
  Although cheered by some who favor President el-Sisi's crackdown on 
the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and anyone suspected of being 
affiliated with it, his Presidency has become a model for autocratic 
rule. His police have arrested human rights lawyers, journalists, civil 
society activists, and opposition politicians. Anyone who criticizes 
the regime or calls for a more democratic system is threatened, 
arrested, and accused of ``terrorism'' or some other vague crime 
against the state. Once detained, they have been subjected to physical 
and psychological abuse while they wait for months or more often years 
before being subjected to sham trials that make a mockery of due 
process.
  Earlier this month, President el-Sisi's government took another step 
to consolidate his rule. Egypt's rubberstamp Parliament approved 
constitutional amendments that would enable el-Sisi to remain in power 
until 2034, 12 years beyond the end of his second and final term. Other 
amendments would enable el-Sisi to tighten his control of the 
judiciary, create a second Parliamentary chamber dominated by 
Presidential appointees, and expand the authority of the military to 
codify its role in civilian political life. Egypt today is a civilian 
government in name only. The military, led by el-Sisi, effectively 
wields total control.
  In 2011, we all hoped the Egyptian people had a brighter, albeit 
challenging, political future ahead of them, but 7 years after the 
overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, the el-Sisi government is erasing any 
remaining hope for democracy in the country. The calls of those who 
flooded the streets under Mubarak and Morsi for greater political 
freedom and civil liberties, less corruption, and more accountability 
are treated not as visions for Egypt's future, but as threats to el-
Sisi himself.
  Regrettably, it seems that the only constant in U.S.-Egyptian 
relations over the last several decades, besides Egyptian Government 
repression and billions of dollars in U.S. military aid, is the 
reticence with which successive U.S. administrations have confronted 
this issue. There always seems to be an excuse for why now is not the 
time to insist on meaningful progress to advance democracy and human 
rights by our ally Egypt. If not now, when? What line would the 
Egyptian government have to cross for the Congress and the 
administration to recognize the threat that a brutal military 
dictatorship poses to stability in Egypt, and to our long-term 
interests in the region?
  Every U.S. administration has engaged, in varying degrees, in quiet 
diplomacy to address human rights abuses and corruption overseas and 
issued public statements or withheld foreign aid to encourage progress. 
Diplomacy, if backed up with consequences, can achieve results, but 
successive Egyptian Governments have gambled that, at the end of the 
day, we will look the other way in the mistaken belief that doing so 
serves U.S. security interests, and by and large, that has been the 
case.
  It is interesting to compare the Trump administration's selective 
condemnation of government repression in other countries, where the 
number of political prisoners is a fraction of those in Egypt, to 
President Trump's pronouncement that President el-Sisi as a ``great 
guy.'' What a sad commentary on what this country purports to stand 
for.
  We must acknowledge what history has repeatedly shown, that upholding 
our values is the best way to protect our interests. That does not mean 
cutting off all aid and walking away from Egypt. That kind of 
reactionary approach is equally short-sighted. What it does mean is 
that we need a more principled, measured, and consistent policy and 
make clear that our aid is not a blank check--that Egypt's leaders are 
not above the law; that freedom of expression is universal; that due 
process is a right; that torture, cruel and inhuman treatment are 
forbidden under international law; and that governments should be 
accountable to their people.
  At a time when President el-Sisi is seeking to manipulate the 
legislative process to cement his hold on power for life, senior 
officials at the White House, the State Department, and the Pentagon 
need to stand up for what is first and foremost in our national 
interest: the principles that define us as Americans.
  I hope all Senators will join me in encouraging the Trump 
administration to learn from the mistakes of its predecessors and 
realign our policy toward Egypt with our values.

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