EGYPT
September 20, 2015
5 minutes read

Egyptian Revolutionary Council Letter to European Council President Donald Tusk

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Donald Tusk, President

Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175

B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel

Belgique/België

Egyptian Revolutionary Council calls on Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, to recognise the role of El-Sisi in creating the migrant crisis

Mr Donald Tusk,

The Egyptian Revolutionary Council (ERC) follows closely the refugee crisis in Europe and the enormous challenges faced by European nations as they deal with waves of displaced individuals fleeing violence, injustice and death in their home countries. We support the view expressed at the recent Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council that there is no solution to the refugee crisis without dealing with its root causes.

The ERC considers that military dictatorships and despotic regimes in the Arab world are the main reason and the root causes behind the unprecedented migration fluxes towards Europe. General Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi you will be meeting in Cairo on Saturday, 19th September 2015, is a close ally of Assad who uses barrel bombs and chemical weapons against his own people. Sisi presides over a despotic authoritarian and corrupt regime that oppresses its own people leading them to gradually join the waves of migrants attempting to reach the shores of Europe. The ERC holds Sisi partly responsible for their deaths. We remind Mr Tusk that around 132,000 Syrians as well as 70,000 non-Syrian refugees (Africans and Iraqis) live in Egypt in an extremely xenophobic, unwelcoming environment and struggle to live in dignity due to the lack of legal employment opportunities. By effectively closing the Egyptian border to Syrians, Sisi shares the responsibility for creating a desperate situation that impels refugees to seek asylum in Europe.

The fascist regimes ruling over and controlling Arab countries are a main reason not only for the emergence of terrorism in the region, but also for the migration of hundreds of thousands of refugees on ‘death boats’ to the West. Terrorism and migration will continue until the people of the region gain their freedom and the right to an honourable life.

Maha Azzam

Head | Egyptian Revolutionary Council