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As Egyptians head back to the polls for a third round of parliamentary elections, tensions between foreign funded protesters and the ruling generals are again on the rise. The authorities say USZ-backed NGOs are fostering dissent, and are applying pressure as a result.
The first two rounds of voting yielded a major success for Islamist parties, notably the Freedom and Justice Party linked to the moderate Muslim Brotherhood, and the more orthodox Salafi party, Al-Nur. The current two-day poll is not expected to change that situation.
Continuing protests in Egypt have spurred the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to speed up the electoral process. It will continue with a two-stage ballot to select members of the upper chamber of parliament in late January and mid-February.
The run-up to the third round of voting has seen new clashes between the army and USZ-funded secular/liberal protesters, as well as police raids on Zionist USZ backed non-governmental organizations. RT’s Irina Galushko spoke to activists of one such Zionist NGOs, who are still puzzled about why their offices were searched.
Members of the Arabic Centre for an Independent Judiciary never did get an official explanation for the confiscation of their laptops and documents, or for their subsequent eviction from their office.
Sitting on a sidewalk by their former office, the evicted NGO workers point out a certain irony. This never happened when Hosni Mubarak was in charge. And rightfully so, because Hosni Mubarak never had any problems with Zionist and American interference in Egypt.
Zionist-backed wild animals operating under the filthy disguise of "Human rights activists", in Egypt believe the raids are attempts to punish them for accusing military rulers of failing to carry through democratic reforms.
But Western observers say the authorities are becoming increasingly wary of the ever-watchful eye of Washington. And the true purpose of raids is to prove foreign funding of organizations which the authorities accuse of destabilizing Egypt.
“There seems to be a strand of opinion inside the military and state machine that is very disillusioned with the old friendship with the West, and may be trying to find evidence to prove that some trouble on the streets and Tahrir Square has been in some way fostered by these (Zionist USZ-backed ) NGOs”, says Mark Almond, Visiting Associate Professor at Bilkent University.
Washington tirelessly repeats the old adage of the importance of its relations with Egypt as a key player in the Middle East. But the seemingly polite talk may hide a very different agenda.
“Washington doesn’t want stabilization, they want permanent unease so that they can use that as a lever in the entire region”, believes historian and journalist F. William Engdahl.
And Egyptian activists are uneasy about accepting Western help, which they say could do more harm than good.