US embassy cable - 05CAIRO4123

UNCLAS CAIRO 004123 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KDEM, EG, Elections, Foreign Affairs 
SUBJECT: CHARGE PRESSES REFORM WITH EGYPTIAN COUNCIL FOR 
FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
1.  (U) Summary:  Members of the American-Egyptian Relations 
Committee of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs invited 
the Charge to discuss the bilateral relationship during an 
informal session on May 31.  The event provided an 
opportunity to stress the importance to the bilateral 
relationship of free and fair elections, and to promote the 
idea that international observers would increase confidence 
in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. 
End summary. 
 
2.  (U) The newly formed American-Egyptian Relations 
Committee of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA) 
invited the Charge to an informal session on May 31 to review 
the bilateral relationship.  The ECFA is a well-regarded 
group of former diplomats, lawyers, development consultants, 
and businesspeople.  The Charge began by giving a brief 
assessment of how U.S.-Egypt bilateral relations have changed 
over the past three years, noting that, on the whole, 
relations were better.  He singled out the upcoming elections 
as the most important factor affecting the future of the 
relationship. 
 
3.  (SBU) Most of the ensuing discussion focused on the May 
25 referendum and the upcoming Egyptian elections.  The ECFA 
members characterized the constitutional change to allow 
multiparty elections as a good initial step, though they 
acknowledged that it came too late to allow for a serious 
challenge to President Mubarak.  The Charge noted that the 
USG will follow closely how the election is conducted. 
Responding to a question on what would constitute a free and 
fair election, the Charge called for the absence of violence, 
or coercion, equal access to media for the candidates, 
freedom of association, and international observers. 
 
4.  (SBU) When asked what would happen to the bilateral 
relationship if there were no observers and the elections 
were not regarded as fair, the Charge noted that this outcome 
would likely color how the U.S. deals with Egypt for years to 
come.  One member asked what the USG has done or could do to 
help Egypt run a fair election.  The Charge noted that the 
USG has offered technical election assistance to the GOE, but 
has not received a response or any specific requests for 
assistance.  However, he noted that the Embassy is 
nonetheless moving forward with election-related activities 
to be implemented by Egyptian and U.S. NGOs. 
 
5.  (SBU) Comment:  While this group was openly supportive of 
further reform and interested in preserving a strong 
bilateral relationship, the members were very concerned about 
the prospects for fair elections.  The group seemed to be 
searching for an assurance that no serious damage would come 
to the bilateral relations even if the presidential and 
parliamentary election processes were not free and fair. 
They implied that the very introduction of a multi-candidate 
election merited recognition and should satisfy the USG for 
the time being.  End comment. 
 
 
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GRAY