President of German parliament explains refusal to meet Al-Sisi

The president of the German parliament, Norbert Lammert, has justified his cancellation of a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on the basis that there is nothing to discuss, given Egypt’s lack of democratic progress, he told Anadolu news agency. The meeting was initially scheduled as part of Al-Sisi’s visit to Germany next month.

According to Lammert, he was expecting to discuss the possibility of holding the long-overdue Egyptian elections. “The recent developments in Egypt have shown clearly that there is no democratic evolution in the political sphere,” he said, “and so there was no topic left for me to discuss with Al-Sisi.”

With regards to the recent death sentences and life terms handed down en masse, including a death sentence for the first elected civilian president in Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, Lammert noted that many internationally-recognised human rights organisations have expressed concern over the legality of the cases and the independence of the courts. “Although Egypt is considered a partner state and an important country in a very complex region,” added the German politician, “the shape and density of our meetings and communication are linked to the necessary political criteria that are considered important by parliaments.”

He stressed the need not to ignore human rights and other different topics when making efforts to stabilise the region. “I cannot think of tolerating violations of human rights for the purpose of stability,” he insisted. “Egypt, like any country, has the right to make domestic decisions, but a long time has passed with no action after the dissolution of the elected parliament, the isolation of the president-elect, and the statements made about implementing the required changes.” The Egyptian people’s aspirations for modernity and democratic institutions cannot be ignored, stressed Lammert.

Indeed, he pointed out, the current regime has not attended to the promises it made regarding political reconciliation and the election process, and it has not taken any serious steps in this regard. “As such, a meeting with the Egyptian President is useless.”

The German parliament has informed the Egyptian embassy in Berlin about Lammert’s decision to cancel his meeting with Al-Sisi, citing the human rights violations in Egypt, notably the death penalty for Morsi. “The Egyptian regime did not announce a date for the delayed parliamentary elections, is arresting opposition elements without clear charges, including former head of the Egyptian Parliament Saad Katatni, and decided to execute of a large number of people,” the parliament’s statement said. The actions of the Egyptian authorities “do not contribute to the strengthening of stability, democracy and inner peace in Egypt, and so President of the German Parliament Lammert does not see any necessity to meet with Al-Sisi.”

In response, the government in Cairo issued a brief statement in which it claimed that it had not requested a meeting with Norbert Lammert during Al-Sisi’s visit to Germany next month. According to Mohammed Hijazi, Egypt’s ambassador to Germany, it was the Germans who had asked for the meeting.