It's not a Coup: The American Egyptian Strategic Alliance's Letter to President Obama on Egypt

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement by the American Egyptian Strategic Alliance:

Dear Mr. President,

As is evidenced by the actions of January 25, 2011 and June 30, 2013, it is crystal clear that the Egyptian people want a better country, real democracy, genuine improvement of their economy, stronger democratic political institutions, better daily living conditions, a restored sense of security and most of all, hope in their future. Millions across Egypt recently came out to say that President Morsi and his government have failed miserably in providing any of the above.

To retake the reigns of their January 25th revolution and correct its course, the Egyptian people took to the streets again on June 30th in the largest demonstration the world has seen to date. Egyptians filled the streets throughout Egypt asking President Mohamed Morsi and his administration to step down. President Morsi did not comply with the people's demands, thus the Egyptian army facilitated a handover of power to save the country from collapsing into chaos and violence.

The military intervention in this case should not be categorized as a coup-d'etat. In fact, it was a combined decision between political and religious forces in Egypt. The head of the constitutional court was immediately sworn in to be the interim president until early presidential elections are held. The Egyptian Army declared that it is not interested in playing a role in politics, but rather that it was acting according to its mandate of protecting Egyptian national security.

Mr. President, we at AESA believe the U.S. has a vital role to play in maintaining its credibility with the Egyptian people. We recommend the following five key steps:

1) Call for the start of a reconciliation dialogue among all Egyptians

2) Support Egypt's transition to democracy by clearly supporting the transition roadmap announced on July 3rd by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's and civilian and religious leaders.

3) Publically declare that the July 3 actions were not a coup. The Egyptian military, based on the request of the Egyptian people, acted swiftly to ensure the protection of internal sovereignty of Egypt and its citizens. As the Egyptian Ambassador to the U.S., Mohamed Tawfik, declared on July 3rd: this is not a coup; it is a popular uprising that was met with support by the Egyptian Army who are protecting the aspirations of the Egyptian people and their revolution.

4) Announce an economic assistance package to the caretaker government that shows the Egyptian people that the U.S. government supports the emerging Egyptian democracy.

5) Hold the military and the caretaker government accountable for delivering on the Jan 25th revolution aspirations based on the promises they made in the July 3rd statement

Mr. President, immediate action by the U.S. will help America protect our credibility with the Egyptian people and stem tensions and violence from spreading throughout Egypt. It will also help protect the vital strategic Egyptian-American relationship, which is in the best interest of U.S. national security.

Mr. President, on behalf of AESA, we humbly request that you support the Egyptian people and their strong desires today.

Kais Menoufy, President
American Egyptian Strategic Alliance
1100 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 1250
Washington D.C. 20036
(202) 429-5566

The American Egyptian Strategic Alliance (AESA) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization comprised primarily of prominent and dedicated Americans of Egyptian heritage who share a common interest in promoting the strong ties between the U.S. and Egypt. The unifying goal of AESA is to encourage U.S. policy makers to promote and assist in building a secure and stable Egypt.

AESA strives to assist decision makers in defining and shaping U.S. policies towards Egypt, and in furthering the creation and protection of a civil society based on the universal values of human dignity, democratic process, freedom of speech and individual rights.

SOURCE American Egyptian Strategic Alliance