Europe criticised for being soft on Sisi's 'brutality'

Former Egyptian minister of planning and international cooperation Amr Darrag has criticised Europe’s gentle response to President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s “brutality”.

In an article published by Euronews, Darrag wrote that the latest execution of Egyptian youths was “proof that the ‘hidden war’ General-turned-President Sisi is waging in Sinai, whose ostensible aim is to end the insurgency, shows no signs of having the desired result.”

He added: “For over a year, this major operation – endorsed and subsidised by the Israeli military – has been underway. And yet the insurgents, the number of whom is estimated by different sources to be between just 800 and 1,200, are still capable of carrying out highly effective and lethal attacks.”

Darrag continued: “Naively – or intentionally – the West has bought into this narrative. Time and again, Western leaders have chosen either to endorse Sisi’s regime or to accept it implicitly.”

He cited French president as an example of the hypocrisy of the EU countries. “Emmanuel Macron might vocally challenge Sisi on repression but France continues to sell Egypt arms and signs ‘cooperation’ agreements,” Darrag wrote.

The Chairman of the Egyptian Institute for Studies (EIS) added: “Many believe that the latest visit to Cairo by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo amounted to giving Sisi the green light to do whatever he wants domestically. In the two weeks subsequent to that visit, 15 innocent Egyptians have been executed.”

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