NGO Crisis Deepens as Egypt Names the Accused

On Monday, Egypt’s judiciary released the names of 44 people indicted in the ongoing investigation into foreign funding of nongovernmental organizations operating in Egypt. The list included 19 American employees of U.S.-funded NGOs raided by Egyptian police late last year. Among the names is Sam LaHood, the International Republican Institute (IRI) country director, and his counterpart at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Julie Hughes. White House Spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that “these actions could have consequences for our relationship and for our assistance programs.” Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Aboul Naga, who is believed to have instigated the inquiry, said the announcement showed the “government’s seriousness about discovering some of these groups’ plans to destabilize Egypt.” The indictments came amid rising tensions between U.S. and Egyptian officials. U.S. Congressmen have called openly for withholding the $1.3 billion in promised military aid to Egypt, which is conditioned upon the Egyptian government achieving certain democratization conditions. Now observers believe there is little chance the State Department will certify that those conditions were met.

Steven Cook argues that halting the aid will ultimately be helpful because it removes a main point of criticism from agitators like Fayza Aboul Naga, who long charged that American funds undermine the government. Withholding aid will change the U.S.-Egypt military relationship from dependency to partnership, and would free up funds “to help others who actually might want Washington’s help.” Michele Dunne and Shuja Nawaz agree in the New York Times, writing, “continuing support to an Egyptian military that is bent on hobbling a liberal civil society would only strengthen Islamist domination.” For its part, the Muslim Brotherhood posted on its Arabic-language website that it supported the investigation, and said “spending American funds is a corruption of political life in Egypt.” Marina Ottoway adds that “Egypt’s actions toward American NGOs are problematic, but the threats to the Egyptian transition are much more serious”, and “a president needs to be elected as soon as possible for a one-year term” while starting work on the new constitution.