Apart from the issue of US behind Egypt, what is of interest is the pressure it seems to have applied to Religious conversions.
Come to think of it , US is more active when Christians are involved.
It becomes vociferous in Human Rights only when Christians are involved or if it needs the elblow room to convert people to Christianity.It does not mater to US if Muslims are killed.
Add this as well to Oil as US’s agenda.
Is it the U.S., under Obama’s watch that is putting an end to the 30-year rule of Egypt’s Mubarak? The Egyptian revolution is sending shock waves through the Middle East. Read this recent WikiLeaks release of Feb. 25, 2010 from the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Margaret Scobey, to Washington. The cable states that the government of Egypt (GOE) is “displeased” with U.S. pressure for Egypt to end its State of Emergency imposed by Mubarak nearly 30 years ago.
VZCZCXRO3347 RR RUEHROV DE RUEHEG #0253/01 0561513 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 251512Z FEB 10 FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0427 INFO ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CAIRO 000253 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA, DRL/NESCA, DRL/MLGA AND IO/RHS GENEVA FOR CASSAYRE, MANSFIELD E.O. 12958: DECL: 2035/02/25 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM UN KIRF EG SUBJECT: UPR REACTION: GOE DISPLEASED WITH THE U.S., ACTIVISTS CRITICIZE THE GOE REF: 10 CAIRO 187; 09 CAIRO 2395; 09 CAIRO 2277; 09 CAIRO 1948 09 CAIRO 1433 CLASSIFIED BY: Margaret Scobey, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) ¶1. KEY POINTS -- (C) GOE officials, including presidential advisor Soliman Awad, expressed displeasure with the number and the tone of U.S. recommendations at the February 17 UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Egypt's human rights record. -- (C) The MFA noted it had accepted U.S. recommendations to lift the State of Emergency and replace it with a counterterrorism law guaranteeing civil liberties, and to amend the legal definition of torture to be consistent with its obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture. -- (C) Human rights activists criticized the GOE for "wrongly" rejecting U.S. recommendations, and "denying the facts of its human rights violations." Activists said they would follow up with the GOE on implementing recommendations although the GOE's commitments are non-binding. -- (U) In local media coverage, independent outlets reported western countries' recommendations for the GOE to improve its human rights record, while the pro-government media emphasized GOE officials' responses to the recommendations. --------------------------------------------- --------------- GOE Displeased with U.S. Recommendations --------------------------------------------- --------------- ¶2. (C) On February 24, presidential advisor Soliman Awad expressed concern to the Ambassador over the number of U.S. recommendations. Awad said the U.S. should focus on principles regarding religious freedom, not conversions and proselytizing which "makes Egyptians suspicious," he claimed. MFA Deputy Director for Human Rights Omar Shalaby told us the GOE was displeased with both the number and the tone of U.S. recommendations, "especially in light of recent bilateral cooperation in the UN Human Rights Council." He said that on instruction from the MFA, Ambassador Shoukry had conveyed this message to Vice President Biden's staff during a meeting to discuss the Vice President's planned upcoming visit to Cairo, and the Egyptian Permanent Representative in Geneva had made these points to the U.S. Mission. Shalaby explained that although European countries made many of the same recommendations, the GOE was "less bothered" because it does not enjoy "the same level of cooperation with the Europeans." ¶3. (C) Shalaby disputed the U.S. recommendation to eliminate legal and bureaucratic restrictions on an individual's choice of religion, claiming that the obstacles are practical, not legal. We pushed back, noting court rulings against converts from Islam to Christianity. "The number of recommendations in itself is an issue," Shalaby noted, and he said the high number led to GOE speculation over U.S. motives. According to Shalaby, some in the GOE wondered whether the U.S. was under "external pressure" to be more "hawkish" on human rights in Egypt, or whether the U.S. intervention was "retribution" for U.S.-Egyptian differences over procedure during the 2009 Israel UPR. We told Shalaby that the recommendations reflect U.S. concern over a broad range of human rights issues in Egypt. (Note: The MFA's February 18 public statement did not mention U.S. recommendations. The statement welcomed the UPR process as an opportunity to demonstrate "Egypt's human rights progress," and rejected recommendations "by a few CAIRO 00000253 002 OF 003 western countries" on "issues related to homosexuals," and marriage and divorce. End note.) http://johnharding.com/2011/01/29/wikileaks-u-s-behind-egypts-unrest/
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