BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Egypt yesterday, the first foreign leader to visit Cairo since Hosni Mubarak was deposed 10 days ago, styling himself as the friend of a revolution that remains unfinished.
Also yesterday, Egypt’s public prosecutor moved to freeze the foreign assets of Mr Mubarak.
Mr Cameron met Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s de facto leader, after long-time president Mubarak stood down in the face of an unprecedented popular uprising, the state-run Mena news agency said.
He also spoke to Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, who heads a caretaker government, during a meeting that was later expanded to include Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
Reporters travelling with Mr Cameron from London said he stopped at Tahrir Square, epicentre of the anti-Mubarak protests, where he glad-handed a teenager, and passers-by shouted “very good, very good” at him.
“This is a great opportunity for us to go and talk to those currently running Egypt to make sure this really is a genuine transition from military rule to civilian rule and see what friendly countries like Britain and others in Europe can do to help,” said Mr Cameron on his flight to Cairo. He touched down in Egypt hard on the heels of US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, and several hours ahead of the scheduled arrival of European Union foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.
The burst of diplomatic activity — even as revolts unfold elsewhere from the Persian Gulf to the Maghreb — showed how keen the west is to ensure that friendly democracies, not hostile Islamist regimes, take root in a new Arab world. Mr Burns voiced profound American respect for the largely peaceful way in which Egyptians had overthrown one of Washington’s most dependable allies in the Middle East.
But he acknowledged the challenges they face on the road to free and fair elections promised for September.
“We respect and admire what has been achieved — but we know that the way ahead is not going to be easy,” he said after meeting Amr Mussa, head of the Cairo- based Arab League. Both Mr Cameron and Mr Burns said the lifting of Egypt’s draconian emergency laws — which enable the authorities to detain anyone without charge or trial — were high on their agendas.
The Muslim Brotherhood yesterday dismissed a cabinet reshuffle designed to placate pro-democracy reformists, saying it wanted a purge of the old guard. Reuters