By Cam McGrath
"CAIRO, Jan 5, 2012 (IPS) - Raids on the Cairo offices of civil society organisations accused of receiving unauthorised foreign funds are part of a wider campaign by Egypt’s ruling military council to silence its critics, say rights groups.
"The goal of this campaign is clear to everyone, which is gagging us from exposing the violations and oppressive practices which are still being committed until this moment," the Arab Network for Human Rights (ANHRI) said in a statement.
Egyptian security forces raided the offices of at least six non-governmental organisations (NGOs) last week. The operation targeted the Arab Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession (ACIJLP), and the Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory (BAHRO) – two Cairo-based NGOs that were compiling evidence of corruption and rights abuses by Egypt’s military rulers.....
"It’s very clear that this is a campaign against civil society groups calling for democracy, citizenship and a civil state," he told IPS. "When (security forces) raided offices, it was these groups and not organisations receiving money from the Gulf (Arab states) that got shut down."
According to Al-Akhbar state newspaper, the Ansar Al-Sunnah Al-Mohamedeya group received over 50 million dollars from Qatari and Kuwaiti institutions since the revolution, making it the biggest recipient of foreign aid in the country. The paper alleged that the donations went to promoting the ultra-conservative Islamic Salafi movement in Egypt.
Al-Akhbar also reported that an institution created in memorial of Mubarak’s deceased grandson received nearly 15 million dollars from the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The opaque charity is believed to be controlled by the "feloul", that is, the remnants of the old regime.
El-Borai says the idea that NGOs should not be funded from abroad is absurd when the Egyptian military itself receives about 1.3 billion dollars a year in U.S. aid...."
"CAIRO, Jan 5, 2012 (IPS) - Raids on the Cairo offices of civil society organisations accused of receiving unauthorised foreign funds are part of a wider campaign by Egypt’s ruling military council to silence its critics, say rights groups.
"The goal of this campaign is clear to everyone, which is gagging us from exposing the violations and oppressive practices which are still being committed until this moment," the Arab Network for Human Rights (ANHRI) said in a statement.
Egyptian security forces raided the offices of at least six non-governmental organisations (NGOs) last week. The operation targeted the Arab Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession (ACIJLP), and the Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory (BAHRO) – two Cairo-based NGOs that were compiling evidence of corruption and rights abuses by Egypt’s military rulers.....
"It’s very clear that this is a campaign against civil society groups calling for democracy, citizenship and a civil state," he told IPS. "When (security forces) raided offices, it was these groups and not organisations receiving money from the Gulf (Arab states) that got shut down."
According to Al-Akhbar state newspaper, the Ansar Al-Sunnah Al-Mohamedeya group received over 50 million dollars from Qatari and Kuwaiti institutions since the revolution, making it the biggest recipient of foreign aid in the country. The paper alleged that the donations went to promoting the ultra-conservative Islamic Salafi movement in Egypt.
Al-Akhbar also reported that an institution created in memorial of Mubarak’s deceased grandson received nearly 15 million dollars from the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The opaque charity is believed to be controlled by the "feloul", that is, the remnants of the old regime.
El-Borai says the idea that NGOs should not be funded from abroad is absurd when the Egyptian military itself receives about 1.3 billion dollars a year in U.S. aid...."
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