America's choice of Egypt as a close ally despite its poor human rights record could be even more counterproductive after September 11 than it was before, Human Rights Watch warned Wednesday.
The group was quoted by AFP as saying that top Egyptian officials appeared to be counting on the US administration to overlook “widespread torture, wholesale jailing of critics and other forms of repression,” as it builds a coalition to respond to the attacks on New York and Washington.
"If the US ignores Egypt's human rights problems, that will not have a moderating effect on people in the region who are hostile to US policies," said Joe Stork, Washington director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch.
"Many people in the Arab World already find Washington's human rights policies to be totally cynical," he added. "A closer alliance with the Egyptian government will not persuade them otherwise."
About 23,000 US troops are embarking this week on long-planned military exercises in Egypt code-named Operation Bright Star.
Egypt has been under attack since the jailing of an American-Egyptian human rights activist, who was convicted of illegally accepting foreign funds and slandering his homeland's image.
Reports of torture in police stations and jails have also surfaced in the context of what some analysts see as an organized campaign against the Arab country.
Analysts and Egyptian columnists have charged that the campaign gained momentum after Egypt stood firmly against Israeli attacks during the latest Palestinian uprising against 34 years of military occupation, and its "excessive use of force” to quell demonstrations – Albawaba.com
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