"Egypt is indeed at a crossroads”, David J.Kramer, President of Freedom House said, as he began his testimony before a hearing of the United States House Committee of Foreign Affairs.

The urgent hearing on 16 February 2012, titled Egypt at the Crossroads, aimed to discuss the recent crackdown on Non-Governmental Organisations in Egypt.

On 29 December 2011, armed Egyptian forces raided 17 offices of ten non-governmental organizations, including five Egyptian, American and one German organisation, confiscating cash and materials.

The four American organizations; Freedom House, International Center for Journalists, The International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, and the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation are now facing serious charges, including operating without license and receiving illegitimate funds for prohibited activities, thereby violating the sovereignty of the state.

43 workers including citizens from Egypt, the United States, Serbia, Norway, Germany, Palestine and Jordan will appear before the Cairo Criminal Court on Sunday 26 February for the first hearing.

International human rights organizations had long been critics of the Mubarak regime, however, Mubarak had always claimed that he and his government would not tolerate “interference in Egyptian domestic affairs or violations of Egyptian sovereignty.”

Today, more than a year since the fall of Mubarak, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) could be considered as running the country with the same repressive mechanisms as their former leader, accusing local NGOs of accepting foreign funds and of being agents of imperialism.

Fayza Abu El Naga, Minister of Planning and International cooperation, in office for more than a decade, has reportedly led the campaign against the NGOs.   The request for the judicial investigation into foreign financing of nonprofit groups is widely thought to have come from her department.

Although some organizations working in Egypt may have faced adversity during the last decade, this crackdown is being viewed by observers as the most intensive and severe to date.

In her testimony before the Committee of Foreign Affairs, Joyce Barnathan, President of the International Center for Journalists, said that her organization is a "non-governmental organization...not an advocacy group, except to advocate for good journalism", stressing that they "do not fund political activities, including protest movements, or support political parties or candidates running for parliament or the presidency", adding that "the journalists we train may cover such events".

Alison Meston, Director of Press Freedom at the World Association of Newspapers (WAN-IFRA) asked that the Egyptian authorities lift travel bans and withdraw the charges against the 43 workers immediately. 

“The work of these non-government organizations in Egypt, particularly those who work with media professionals, builds the capacity of its citizens to participate fully in an emerging democracy. Training media professionals to write quality editorial and practice ethical journalism is a vital role of NGOs, particularly in the months after the fall of a repressive regime”, she said.

To see the full testimonies from the United States House Committee of Foreign Affairs, click the links below:

Lorne W. Craner: International Republican Institute: http://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/2012%20February%2016%20IRI%20President%20Testifies%20on%20the%20Situation%20in%20Egypt%20--%20complete%20testimony_0.pdf

Kenneth Wollack, National Democratic Institute: http://www.ndi.org/files/wollack-testimony-egypt-feb-16-2012.pdf

Joyce Barnathan, International Center for Journalists: http://www.icfj.org/news/testimony-icfj-president-joyce-barnathan-house-committee-foreign-affairs-icfjs-work-egypt

David J. Kramer, Freedom House: http://freedomhouse.org/article/%E2%80%9Cegypt-crossroads%E2%80%9D-david-j-kramer-testifies-house-foreign-affairs-committee

Farah Wael