US embassy cable - 05CAIRO8238

S E C R E T CAIRO 008238 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR DNSA ABRAMS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, KDEM, EG 
SUBJECT: GOE RESPONDS TO ALLEGATIONS OF INVOLVEMENT IN IKC 
DISRUPTION IN ALEXANDRIA 
 
REF: CAIRO 8188 
 
Classified by ECPO Minister Counselor Michael H. Corbin for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (S)  The Ambassador spoke to Minister of Foreign Trade 
and Industry Rashid Rashid early October 26 to express his 
concern about allegations (reftel) that the GOE may have had 
a hand in the disruption of the civil society conference at 
Alexandria's Metropole Hotel on October 22-23.  Rashid 
expressed great dismay to the Ambassador and promised to 
raise the issue immediately with Minister of Interior Habib 
Al-Adly.  Later on October 26, Rashid called back to report 
that he had spoken with Adly, who assured him that the GOE 
security services had not/not played any role in encouraging 
or otherwise supporting the protesters.  Adly characterized 
the protesters as minor local (i.e., Alexandria) politicians. 
 
2.  (S)  Rashid stated the Ministry of Interior took the 
incident very seriously and was investigating the matter 
thoroughly.  Rashid provided the Ambassador (in confidence) 
with an internal Interior Ministry report on the incident. 
(Receiving an internal Egyptian police report is 
unprecedented.)  The Arabic-language memo reported factually 
on civil society meetings at the Ibn Khaldun Center (IKC) in 
Cairo on October 20, focused on the Foundation for the 
Future, as well as the October 22-23 events in Alexandria. 
Regarding the disruption to the conference on October 22, the 
memo noted that the perpetrators of the disruption were 
Ibrahim Abdul Malik of the Egypt 2000 party; Mohammad Hassan 
Al-Sayid, treasurer of an obscure local human rights 
organization; and Mohammad Mohammad Al-Sayid, a journalist 
with the pro-GOE newspaper Al-Gomhoriya.  The memo 
erroneously reported that conference organizer Saad Eddin 
Ibrahim canceled the proceedings on October 23.  (Note:  In 
fact, Ibrahim and the rest of the participants conducted the 
proceedings on October 23 in Ibrahim's suite, in order to 
eliminate the chance of a second disruption in the more 
public hotel meeting room.  End note.) 
 
3.  (SBU)  Separately on October 26, the Ibn Khaldun Center 
issued a press release noting that, despite efforts by 
"elements associated with circles that have an interest in 
preserving the authoritarian status quo" to disrupt the 
Metropole Hotel conference, the conference participants were 
pleased to announce the establishment of the Egyptian 
Democracy Support Network (EDSN) to monitor and support 
Egypt's "democratization." 
 
4.  (S)  Comment:  The GOE response indicates that the GOE is 
taking this issue seriously.  The Interior Ministry memo 
supports Rachid's assertion that, notwithstanding the GOE's 
intense interest in IKC's activities, the GOE did not have a 
hand in the disruption of the Alexandria conference.  End 
comment. 
 
 
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