Egyptian Ambassador Discussion

Jonathan Beatty

Professor Craig

World Politics 001H

Date of Submission: 3 December 2011

Extra Credit Paper – A Discussion with Egyptian Ambassador to the United States Sameh Shoukry

On December 2^nd, I attended a discussion with the Egyptian Ambassador Sameh Shoukry in the SIS Founders Room at 3 PM.

The event started with the Dean of SIS introducing the Ambassador and the Ambassador giving the audience a brief overview of the last year in Egypt. Ambassador Shoukry stated that the objective for Egypt moving forward is democracy. He stated Egypt is managing a political road map of reconstruction; Egypt is conducting parliamentary elections, creating a constitutional committee to rewrite the constitution, and then conducting presidential elections. Ambassador Shoukry emphasized that in the future Egypt is looking to create a separation of powers. The parliamentary elections will consist of one-third popular representation and two-thirds individual election of candidates. The run-off election is on Monday.

The short overview was disappointing to me. The question-answer section ended up being extremely interesting. I am going to share some of the most interesting and revealing questions and responses. I promise it is an interesting and surprising read!

Question: What is the role in the future for the United States in Egypt? Do you see military generals continuing to be in control?

The ambassador responded that the United States has demonstrated interest in being involved and has provided economic aid to help Egypt recover from the revolution. The United States will not have any pertinent impact in the selection of the president. He said that presidents in Egypt have come from the military in the past so that might be a factor. He also said a future issue to be addressed will be the role of the military. He indicated that in the people’s minds the military is on a pedestal. But that he is unsure what the position of the military will be in the future.

Question: What are the prospects for an Egypt-Israeli Peace Treaty? Current situation?

The Ambassador responded that the government in Egypt knows this is an issue that needs to be addressed and that some form of a treaty is important. He stated that the relationship between Egypt and Israel is a “Cold Peace,” with the two tolerating each other.

Question: What was the culmination of factors that caused the revolution?

The Ambassador responded that it was a combination of mismanagement of the previous regime, the regime not addressing the needs of the people, the ruling party ignoring other parties in the government and ignoring the political and human landscape, liberalization in politics and media, the severity and brutality associated with suppressing those who did not agree with the ruling group’s views, the availability of technology which exposed the problems, and the unspoken issue of succession after the current president.

Question: Given current election projections, do you see minorities being involved?

The Ambassador responded ensuring equality and stating the two main parties are ambitious and might not be accepting, but the predominant moderate sections of these parties have demonstrated being open to Egyptian Christians, even saying one group would be fine with Christians in the President’s cabinet.

Question: I’m studying abroad in Egypt next semester, any recommendations?

The Ambassador responded quickly saying to spend less time at the university and more time in Cairo. I was disappointed by this answer.

Question: Will the military be privy to the removal of its special status?

The Ambassador replied saying that the military runs several enterprises which is what gives them influence. This has made them self-sufficient.

Question addressed to the Dean: Does the current US administration have an image problem promoting democracy when the tear gas used on the protestors was from Philadelphia?

The Dean replied that some countries see the United States as hypocrites because of this issue and because sometimes we do not support democracy when it goes against our national interests. In response to the comment about tear gas, he stated that tear gas was not a bad technique to deal with a violent crowd as opposed to force.

Question: 12,000 people have been arrested in Egypt for no reason so why is there still military tribunals even though change is occurring?

The Ambassador replied that the current constitution allows the military to conduct these tribunals. He said that most were actually arrested for normal criminal charges, not trumped up charges. He also stated that bloggers can be arrested because if they post things negative about the military, the military has the legal right to arrest them.

Question: Can you give us perspective on the United States’ hypocritical perception? To what extent can the United States be a positive influence?

The Ambassador answered by not answering the question and stating that violence was unacceptable and that tear gas is an internationally-recognized form of crowd control by saying it had been used to control the Occupy protests in the United States. He stated the United States should continue to support and advise, not to try and force influence on the upcoming elections.

Question: If Egypt is truly transitioning to democracy, why are members of the NDP not being held responsible for the crimes committed?

The Ambassador stated that most of the high-up individuals in the previous regime have been indicted and that the legal process takes time. There is a delay taking place because of the attorneys representing the civil suits calling for the judge to recuse themselves.

Question: Given journalists are being targeted, how is the freedom of the press increasing?

The Ambassador stated that he shares the anger over the capturing and torturing of journalists but he stated, not trying to justify it, that there are a large number of journalists who continue to operate without being captured and tortured.

Question: Will women be accepted into the political arena in Egypt?

The Ambassador replied that the Freedom of Justice party demonstrates supporting women. He said that he sees women as restricting themselves by not advocating for their rights and restricting themselves with skewed interpretations of Islam. The previous regime is partially to blame for this.

Question: What is the next step for the Egyptian economy?

The Ambassador replied stating political groups have not really showed economic platforms. He stated that since no one has presented a vision, everyone is hoping that the revolution has not hurt the economic infrastructure of Egypt. People hope that when the government is stable, the economy will stabilize. He said that the Freedom of Justice is advocating for a market economy with an emphasis on individual freedoms. The Leftists are leaning more towards socialist ideas in relation to the economy which he says will not work in the reconstruction of Egypt.

Question: How can you now represent post-revolutionary Egypt after being close to the past president and regime?

The Ambassador replied that the Foreign Service serves Egypt, not a regime. He also stated that toward the end of the last regime there had been improvement, including giving independent newspapers more rights.

Reaction: I was disappointed in the discussion. The Ambassador was honest, which was refreshing, but he danced around some of the questions like a true diplomat would. During the closing, the Dean stated that the Ambassador had made a transition from a traditional diplomat into an ambassador to the American people by speaking to groups around the United States about Egypt’s current situation. Personally I found the discussion engaging but the fact that he avoided some questions completely or responded to a question with an answer that did not answer the question at all made me feel like he thought he was wasting his time. I learned a lot, but it was disheartening.