Cameron: Egypt Isn't an Islamist Revolution
The Daily Telegraph reports:
David Cameron arrived in Egypt today as the first Western leader to visit the country since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.
The Prime Minister flew into Cairo urging Egypt’s new military leaders to make good on promises of full democracy.
Speaking on the flight to Cairo, Mr Cameron said he would tell the military to “make sure this is a genuine transition from military rule to civilian rule.”
Mr Cameron is meeting Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Higher Military Command that has ruled Egypt since Mr Mubarak’s removal earlier this month. He will also meet Ahmed Mohamed Shafik, the military-appointed prime minister.
Mr Cameron was also due to meet members of the anti-Mubarak opposition, but not members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest political organisation in the country.
Some Western analysts say the Brotherhood promotes extremism, and Mr Cameron said he had deliberately chosen to meet non-Brotherhood members of the opposition in order to bolster them and their role in post-Mubarak Egypt.
He said that it was not inevitable that open elections in the country would lead to a government dominated by the Brotherhood.
“This is not an Islamist revolution, it is not extremists on the streets,” the Prime Minister said.
Mr Cameron said that he believed the “huge ties of history and culture” between Britain and Egypt put him in a good position to make the case for greater freedom and democracy in the country.
The Cairo visit is part of a Middle East tour that will see the Prime Minister argue that regional leaders should respond to popular uprisings with reform, not repression.
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