White House Criticizes Egyptian Government And Vice President

CNN : President Barack Obama's spokesman criticized the Egyptian government on Tuesday for arresting and harassing journalists and rights activists, and called comments by Vice President Omar Suleiman that Egypt is not ready for democracy "particularly unhelpful."

The remarks by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs reflected a growing U.S. dissatisfaction with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Suleiman, the intelligence officer Mubarak chose as his deputy to bring about reforms demanded by protesters who have convulsed Cairo and the Egyptian economy for more than two weeks.
In another sign of U.S. frustration with the pace of reform in Egypt, Vice President Joe Biden, in a phone call Tuesday with Suleiman, pushed for more progress, according to a White House statement.
Biden urged "that the transition produce immediate, irreversible progress that responds to the aspirations of the Egyptian people," according to the White House statement.
It said the two vice presidents discussed "restraining the Ministry of Interior's conduct by immediately ending the arrests, harassment, beating and detention of journalists, and political and civil society activists, and by allowing freedom of assembly and expression; immediately rescinding the emergency law; broadening participation in the national dialogue to include a wide range of opposition members; and inviting the opposition as a partner in jointly developing a road map and timetable for transition."

So far, the Obama administration has been careful to call for democratic reforms in Egypt while also trying to maintain stability in a key Middle Eastern ally that is a vital Arab partner to Israel through the Camp David Accords of 1978.
With detentions, beatings and harassment of journalists and rights activists continuing, and the weekend comments by Suleiman that signaled a shaky commitment to the reforms offered by Mubarak, Gibbs made a point of directly criticizing both the vice president and the Egyptian government in a briefing with White House reporters.
"The government has got to stop arresting protesters and journalists, harassment, beatings, detentions of reporters, of activists, of those involved in civil society," Gibbs said. Previously, he and other U.S. officials, including Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, called for a halt to the crackdown on journalists and activists without directly saying that the Egyptian government was responsible.

Asked about Suleiman's comment, made in an interview with ABC, that Egypt lacks the necessary "culture of democracy" for the changes demanded by protesters, such as freedom of speech and the right to organize opposition parties, Gibbs said the words went against what was happening on the streets of Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt.

Suleiman met Sunday with some Egyptian opposition figures in preliminary talks that symbolized concession on both sides.
Some opposition figures had rejected any discussions until Mubarak stepped down, while a government statement issued on state TV after Sunday's meeting outlined future steps resulting from the meeting.
In a brief informal exchange with reporters on Monday, Obama said: "Obviously Egypt has to negotiate a path and I think they are making progress."