Washington to Ask Egypt to Find a Legal Framework in Dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood

 


Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat- With U.S government officials and research organizations showing great concern for the results obtained by the banned Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian parliamentary elections currently underway, a source in Cairo revealed US Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs, Paula Dobriansky, will visit Egypt next week. She will meet government officials and urge them to support the Middle East Partnership Initiative.


While it was not yet know if the Brotherhood’s latest election success would feature in the talks, US non-governmental sources confirmed this would form part of the discussion on how best to deal with new political powers in Egypt, especially the Brotherhood.


Asharq al Awsat has learnt that a team from the National Democratic Institute completed a report it will present to the State Department calling on the Egyptian government to find a legal framework to deal with the Brotherhood.


An official at the U.S. embassy in Cairo said it was unlikely Dobriansky would meet Brotherhood officials on her trip adding that according U.S officials considered the group to be banned according to Egyptian laws.


The NDI’s president, Kenneth Wollack, who visited Cairo lately, told Asharq al Awsat he did not object to meeting Brotherhood officials in the future but had not done so on his last visit. He also reported that his team of monitors raised a number of concerns during the first round of the election.