Verbatim report of proceedings

Thursday, 6 April 2006 - Strasbourg

12.3. Egypt: the case of Ayman Nour (debate)

  President. – The next item is the debate on six motions for resolutions on the case of Ayman Nour in Egypt.

  Nicholson of Winterbourne (ALDE), author. – Mr President, this powerful resolution calls Parliament’s attention to the fate of a beleaguered parliamentarian, Al-Ghad opposition party leader Ayman Nour, and requests the Egyptian authorities to respect our views.

We in the European Union are rightly proud of our deep and profound relationship with Egypt. Indeed, Egypt co-chairs the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly and, with Egypt, we have defined a European Neighbourhood Policy, which strengthens political dialogue and integrates us with Egypt – primus inter pares as Egypt is within the Arab League – to promote peace and stability. Egypt is instrumental in helping us in that task.

We bitterly regret, therefore, that after the recent presidential election and the parliamentary elections in Egypt in November and December last year, Dr Nour was arrested. It is hard to believe that the charges for which he has been given five years’ imprisonment could be true. Ayman Nour has hundreds, nay, thousands of supporters. It is very difficult to see why he would have bothered or needed to falsify some of the 50 signatures needed to have his candidature be legally effective. We are gravely disturbed at the deterioration of his health; deeply troubled that his appeal will be considered by a judge who could be considered to have a major conflict of interest; and indeed we wish to remind the Government of Egypt, and the courts of Egypt, that human rights are a fundamental basis of the European Union-Egypt Partnership and Association Agreement, which we value so very highly.

Indeed, we want to stress that our view is well in line with the laws of Egypt itself and so we request the Egyptian Government to look at this again and to regulate the framework, so that opposition candidates can stand and perhaps even Dr Nour’s judge might be reconsidered.

  Alyn Smith (Verts/ALE), author. – Mr President, we need to realise that this is the third resolution dealing with human rights in Egypt and Dr Ayman Nour’s situation in particular.

Dr Ayman Nour was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for the alleged crime of falsifying his political party’s registration documents. He came second in the last presidential elections and he remains in prison today where his health continues to deteriorate. It is positive, after a fashion, that his case will be reviewed by the Court of Cassation on 18 May 2006, but we must keep a watchful eye on this trial. In recital I of the resolution we commit ourselves to an ad hoc delegation at least trying to see him in the event that the trial continues his incarceration. It is clear, however – in the eyes of my group at least – that he should be released forthwith, because the crimes of which he is accused and indeed convicted do not appear to stack up in reality.

The Egyptian Government should be in no doubt that we will watch this case with interest. Dr Ayman Nour is an example of a wider difficulty in Egypt with human rights in general, and it is in this connection that this resolution presents some concrete steps forward. In paragraphs 7 and 8 of the resolution, which I would ask the Commissioner to comment on this afternoon, we call on the Commission to create a specific subcommittee on human rights in the framework of the EU-Egypt Association Agreement. There is a human rights deficit in Egypt that must be addressed. The creation of a specific committee to monitor and enforce the action plan will be a concrete way to give teeth to the warm words that this House too often produces.

Egypt is a valued partner of the EU and this House in the Middle East peace process, an ally in so much and a partner in development, but we must acknowledge that Egypt does not meet our standards. We must pointedly, if necessary, use the Association Agreement to assist in the development and building-up of Egyptian civil society for the betterment of the Egyptian people and a more constructive degree of EU-Egyptian partnership.

  Carlos Carnero González (PSE), author. – (ES) Mr President, I believe that the most important point of this motion for a resolution is the last point but one, which states, ‘Calls on the Parliament of the Republic of Egypt to engage in a process of democratisation and of enforcement of the rule of law and human rights with a view to it playing a leading role in the region as a future model of parliamentary democracy’.

Egypt is fundamental in the Middle East, it is crucial in the Mediterranean and it is, and must continue to be, a privileged partner of the European Union. For all of these reasons, however, there is no question that Egypt must be a democracy. Unfortunately, cases such as that of Mr Nour show us that that is not yet the case.

I met Mr Nour at the first session of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, following its creation in March 2005, in Cairo. Thanks to pressure from us, he was released. I met with him, together with Mr McMillan-Scott and Mrs Flautre. He is a democrat and, as far as I am concerned, he must be released, and there is nothing more to say.

That is what we want from the Court of Cassation which will meet in May, as a clear sign that Egypt is going to allow freedom of expression, of association and of thought and that everybody will be able to express their views freely during future elections.

  Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL), author. – (NL) Mr President, Egypt’s stability has, for a long time, been based on a single-party state. In the post-Nasser era, this party no longer represents a common ideology, but merely the common interest which being in power involves. It is possible these days for individual outsiders to take part in the elections outside of this monopoly of state power, provided that they do not constitute a threat to those established powers that be. That is why opposing candidates constantly run the risk of being hounded, intimidated or locked up. Above all, they are not given the chance to surround themselves with a soundly structured and permanent movement.

The state of emergency proclaimed in 1981 is still an important instrument for sustaining this situation. This time round, it was Ayman Nour, ex-parliamentarian and former presidential candidate, who was its victim. Due to Egypt’s contribution to the stability in the Middle East, particularly the peaceful co-existence with neighbour Israel since 1978, there is noticeably little criticism from Europe with regard to this situation. Quite the reverse: the European Union seeks good relations with all states along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. My group wholeheartedly supports the demand for Egypt to become more democratic, to put an end to the state of emergency and no longer to obstruct opponents.

  Ari Vatanen (PPE-DE), author. – (FR) Mr President, I should like to propose an oral amendment to insert a new paragraph 5a. The text is as follows: 'calls for the liberation of Dr Ayman Nour'.

Mr President, this morning we had the Belarusian opposition leader, Mr Milinkevich, here. He is free, but Ayman Nour is not free, although the two men are in a similar position in their respective countries. Mr Milinkevich said that when he went to an election debate, he had to take his own drinking water with him. Well, every human being has an in-built aspiration to drink the clean water of democracy; what Mr Milinkevich is doing in Belarus, Ayman Nour is trying to do in Egypt. He tries to give Egyptian people hope. He wants to give hope to those people who believe in a free tomorrow.

Egypt plays a crucial part, in many ways, in the Middle East. If it does not show the way to democratisation for the rest of that region, its future will be condemned in advance. Egypt plays an important part in terms of its relationship with the United States and its constructive approach to Israel, but if its relationship with the EU is to deepen, Egypt must take steps towards democracy. Egyptian people deserve democracy.

Why is Ayman Nour in prison? He is there because of flimsy charges; he is detained for nothing; he is detained because he dared to stand against President Mubarak. If we want democracy to blossom in Egypt, we must ensure that Dr Ayman Nour is freed. If he is freed, that will also free the democratic forces in that part of the world, which is also an issue concerning future stability in that part of the world.

  Markos Kyprianou, Member of the Commission. Mr President, I welcome the interest of the honourable Members of the European Parliament in the human rights issues in our neighbourhood, in particular in Egypt and in the case of Mr Ayman Nour.

The Commission has been following closely the trial of Mr Nour, the leader of Egypt’s opposition Al-Ghad Party, since his first arrest in February 2005. As you will be aware, in reacting to the five-year sentence given to Mr Nour last December, the European Union stressed that the imprisonment sent a negative signal about democratic reform in Egypt.

In our opinion, the case should be seen in the context of the process of democratisation in Egypt, as well as being related to the independence of the judiciary. The Commission expects the Court of Cassation to consider the case in accordance with the Egyptian judicial process and international legal standards. The Commission is ready to engage in a political and human rights dialogue with Egypt, in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy. The negotiations for the conclusion of an action plan are well advanced. We are confident about making further progress in the coming weeks and we hope to finalise negotiations in the coming months.

In order to monitor the implementation of the action plan – and this should answer Mr Smith’s question – a structure of subcommittees will be created in the framework of the Association Agreement. The subcommittees will deal with political and human rights reforms in Egypt.

  President. – The debate is closed.

The vote will take place at the end of the debates, in other words in a moment.