Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-07-04-Speech-3-608-000"
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"en.20120704.34.3-608-000"2
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"Mr President, a new president has been elected in Egypt in a peaceful election campaign. This is something to be welcomed as a very remarkable process for Egypt. The Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) would like to extend its good wishes to the new President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, and to express the hope that a positive period of cooperation will ensue.
The first statements by the new president have been very encouraging. His words regarding his relationship with minorities, in particular the Christians, specifically the Copts, could become a template for the Arab and Muslim world. President Morsi has indicated that he could even envisage a Copt being appointed as Vice-President, in other words as his deputy, which is quite a contrast with other statements from the Arab world, e.g. the statement made by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah, on 12 March 2012, which has surprisingly elicited no public reaction in Europe or the rest of the world, when he said that all the churches on the Arabian peninsula should be destroyed and no new ones built.
If Egypt now takes a different tack and shows that religion and politics are not mutual exclusives, then this would be a completely new example of how Muslim faith and politics can be reconciled. As a Christian, I would like to make it clear that there is no such thing as Christian politics, however politics can be guided by Christian responsibility. Likewise, there can be no such thing as Islamist politics, however politics can be guided by the Muslim faith. If the focus is on human beings and human life, then this is something that we can all support.
It is also a positive signal that President Morsi recognises international agreements, including the Camp David Agreement between President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin – dating back I believe to 1980. I would be pleased if Mr Mavroyiannis would listen to what I have to say. Mr Mavroyiannis, Minister Mavroyiannis, I would be grateful to you if you could listen to me and I would ask that this time should be deducted from my speaking time. If Israel is now recognised and remains so, then this is a positive sign. We would, however, also call on Israel to do all it can to ensure that a two-state arrangement is implemented and that the settlement policy is halted.
I have one final comment: we can see that civil society in Egypt is unable to develop freely. A court case has been initiated against non-governmental organisations and international foundations, including the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, for alleged illegal activities. The case resumed today and we are calling on the Egyptian authorities to put a stop to these cases, so that the work of people from Europe and the rest of the world who campaign for civil society in Egypt is recognised and so that civil society in Egypt can make its contribution to democracy and free development."@en1
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