November 22, 2008
Making a case for democracy
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Bolstered by the victory of pro-American parties in Lebanon's legislative elections, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Arab leaders yesterday that the U.S. would no longer tolerate repressive regimes in the name of keeping political stability.
In a major speech before hundreds of government leaders, academics and students in Cairo, Rice laid out a forceful case for democratic change in the Muslim world. She singled out regular U.S. targets in the region: Syria and Iran. But she also criticized the United States' two staunchest Arab allies, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, for imprisoning dissidents and restricting free speech.
"For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East - and we achieved neither," Rice told the hand-picked crowd at American University in Cairo. "Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people."
Rice, speaking in Egypt - the most populous Arab country and the second largest recipient of U.S. economic and military aid in the world, after Israel - appeared to be sending a message to allies that they cannot stall such changes indefinitely.
"Throughout the Middle East, the fear of free choices can no longer justify the denial of liberty," she said. "It is time to abandon the excuses that are made to avoid the hard work of democracy."
While the Bush administration might want repressive regimes like Egypt and Saudi Arabia to change, analysts say it can use only limited pressure on the two, which it needs as allies in its "war on terrorism."
"The Americans are not looking for revolution. They're looking for genuine change, just short of revolution," said Michael Young, a leading Lebanese analyst and newspaper columnist. "This is more than a nudge. This is the Americans saying, 'Look, you've got to change.' But these changes are constrained by the U.S. need for these countries to collaborate against terrorism."
In her speech, Rice urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to stick to his pledge to hold the country's first multiparty elections in September. Rice did not address complaints by many Egyptians that the system devised by Mubarak - and approved last month by a referendum - requires opposition parties to get permission from the ruling party to run. Egyptians say the system effectively prevents the opposition from mounting a serious challenge to Mubarak or his ruling coalition.
Rice did criticize the physical attacks on opposition activists by Mubarak's supporters during the referendum. She also took a swipe at Mubarak's ruling of Egypt under emergency laws since he came to power in 1981. The laws restrict free speech, ban public gatherings and give the Egyptian security services sweeping powers.
"The day must come when the rule of law replaces emergency decrees, and when the independent judiciary replaces arbitrary justice," Rice said. "Opposition groups must be free to assemble, and to participate, and to speak to the media. Voting should occur without violence or intimidation."
In Saudi Arabia, Rice noted, there were "good first steps" toward democracy with elections for municipal councils earlier this year. But the councils have little power, and women could not vote or seek office.
Rice noted that three Saudi dissidents had been imprisoned for more than a year simply because they signed a petition calling on the ruling House of Saud to establish a constitutional monarchy. "That should not be a crime in any country," she said.
Like other administration officials, Rice's most stringent attacks were against Syria and Iran. She said last week's presidential election in Iran was not democratic because an unelected council of clerics barred dozens of reform-minded candidates from running.
"In Iran, people are losing patience with an oppressive regime that denies them their liberty and their rights," Rice said. "The appearance of elections does not mask the organized cruelty of Iran's theocratic state."
But analysts point out that the restrictions imposed on candidates in Iran are similar to those imposed by Mubarak. In contrast to its criticism of Iran, the Bush administration has largely supported Mubarak's.
"The red line is that Americans don't want anything that would undermine or destabilize these regimes," Young said of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. "They're not going to push these regimes over the edge."
Perhaps with an eye toward the victory of anti-Syrian and pro-U.S. parties in Lebanon's parliamentary elections, Rice urged the Syrian regime to allow political opposition.
"It is not only the Lebanese people who desire freedom from Syria's police state," she said. "The Syrian people themselves share that aspiration."
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