7 Sep 2019; MEMO: The US State Department has decided to release $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt, despite continuous human rights violations and thousands still being detained on political grounds.
The American news website, Al-Monitor, cited a human rights violation exemption waiver in reporting the release of the $1.3 billion in aid.
In a memo sent to Congress and obtained by Al-Monitor, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo waived human rights conditions that apply to $300 million in US aid, calling Egypt “important to the national security interests of the United States.”
Pompeo stated that it provides access to the Suez Canal, overflight rights, fighting terror in the Sinai desert as well as along its borders with Libya and Sudan.
The US has for years steadily given some 75 per cent of its military aid to Israel and Egypt, due to the historic Camp David peace deal with Israel signed in 1978.
Egypt annually receives $2.1 billion – divided into $1.3 billion in military aid and $815 million in economic aid.
Last year, the US announced obstructing $290 million from the annual aid offered to Egypt, citing human rights violations, but the close relations between the Egyptian and US presidents explain the waiver.
