Cairo: President Barack Obama has dramatically cut funds to promote democracy in Egypt, a shift that could affect everything from anti-corruption programmes to the monitoring of elections.
Washington's cuts over the past year — amounting to around 50 per cent — have drawn accusations that the Obama administration is easing off reform pressure on the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to ensure its support on Mideast policy, including the peace process with Israel.
"Obama wants change that won't make the Egyptian government angry," said Ahmad Samih, head of a Cairo-based organisation that in 2005 used US funds to monitor parliament elections. "And in the Egyptian context, that means there will be no change."
In a statement, USAID — Washington's main international aid agency — said: "The United States is committed to the promotion of democracy and human rights and the development of civil society in Egypt."
It said the cuts came as Washington was drawing down non-military aid to Egypt in general over recent years.
The administration has made similar cuts in democracy aid to Jordan, another US ally.
The policy in part reflects a change in focus, with more development and economic aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan. It also reflects how Obama has moved away from his predecessor George W. Bush's aggressive push to democratise the Middle East.
Egypt was the centrepiece of the Bush policy, straining US ties with Mubarak — although by the end of the Bush administration, the American reform push had already seemed to fall by the wayside.
The democracy cuts for Egypt are "of particular concern as the environment there becomes increasingly restricted — as evidenced by recent crackdowns against political activists, bloggers, and journalists", the US-based democracy watchdog Freedom House said in a report released on Friday.
Top recipients
Egypt has been one of the top recipients of US foreign aid ever since it became the first Arab country to sign a peace accord with Israel, in 1979. The aid was as high as $2 billion (Dh7.34 billion) a year in the past, including $1.3 billion in funds for Egypt's military. But since the Bush administration, Washington has been reducing the non-military part of the package.
This year's aid, like last year's, is $1.55 billion, including $250 million in non-military aid.
The changes come at a murky time for Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation. Presidential elections are due in 2011, but the recent illness of the 81-year-old Mubarak has raised questions about whether he will run.
Mubarak does not have a clear successor.
