Support for the Egyptian People and their Demands

To The Rt Hon William Hague MP, 28/01/2011

We are writing to you as British citizens who feel a deep compassion for the peoples of the Middle East.

The events that are unfolding in Egypt currently are a reflection of the intense desperation that Egyptians, and Arabs from Tunisia to Yemen, have felt about their social, political and economic situation for decades. The Egyptian regime's brutal crackdown on its citizens this week is in complete contradiction to the right to freedom of expression and the freedom to assemble, which we in this country are privileged to consider a fundamental part of democracy and human justice. We call upon you, in the name of humanity, to act to prevent the massacre of Egyptians in Cairo in the coming days at the hands of an overwhelming police force, an intricate network of secret services and the NDP's corrupted conscience. Stopping the bloodshed now is the first step on the path for a more equitable future for Egypt, one ruled by a non-military administration chosen by the people. Only then can the needs of its noble population be met.

The West has nothing to lose and much to gain. The Egyptian people are currently not rallying around the Muslim Brotherhood and the rhetoric of the movement is secular in its expression. They are speaking our language by demanding their huquq (rights), their hureya (freedom) and the ilghaa qanun al tawaariq (abolition of martial law) and we have an obligation, and an opportunity, to nail our colours to the mast and stand up for what we and the Egyptian people believe to be true. As for the question of the Egypts so-called stability, we do not adhere to the argument that if Mubarak loses power the region will be plunged into Islamist chaos or that Israels security will be put at risk. In his Manifesto For Change, the leader of the opposition Muhammad Baradei, now reportedly imprisoned illegally, has rightly said that there is a whole rainbow variety of people who are secular, liberal, market-oriented, and if you give them a chance they will organize themselves to elect a government that is modern and moderate. This is the voice of the political future of the Middle East and we must support it. The greatest danger is that, by not responding, the Egyptian people will lose faith in their secular approach and begin to turn, out of desperation, to the clear-cut identity and unifying force of Islamic fundamentalism, potentially resulting in a new partner for Iran. The time to act is now, and we must not delay.

Do not take this to mean however that we are advocating military intervention, instead we implore you to use all the diplomatic power within your means to put pressure both on Egypt and the United States to facilitate a programme of dedicated social and political change in a country that for so long has denied its eighty million citizens a chance to live in a free and fair society. The $1.5 billion dollars of annual foreign aid that Egypt receives from America ($1.3billion of which was spent in 2010 equipping the very military that is now beating and murdering its own people) must be the first matter to be put under review.

The internet service has been cut out, the telephone networks are down and as I write a curfew has been forcibly imposed. Egypt is burning and no one can hear its people scream. We urge you to act now in their defence.