Bruxelles Méditerranée

US funding Some sources are delivering a figure of 165 mio. USD democracy and human rights assistance. “We told the Egyptians we’d take $165 million and provide it directly to the people who were out there demonstrating and to the organizations involved in the Arab uprising,” a senior USAID official told VOA [1] . The agency has already distributed about $63 million to Egyptian pro-democracy groups.  About 86% of the funding has gone to US based organisations like NDI and IRI to help bolster political parties ahead of parliamentary elections expected in November. On the other hand, data available from official sources and research organisations differ sensibly: On the Foreign Assistance Dashboard [2] for example, figures are shown as follows: 2011 figures:   peace and security: 1,300 Mio USD, Democracy, HR and governance: 25 Mio USD, health: 15 Mio USD, Education and social services: 91 Mio USD, Economic development: 119 Mio USD. 2012 figures (prevision): peace and secur...

The referendum on the constitutional amendments, which took place on 19 March in Egypt, has not yet yielded all its conclusions , but there are some intangible facts . The approval of the amendments has been massive (77%), but it is significantly below the previous similar exercises observed in the last 50 years. Also, the participation rate has been up to four times the rate of the previous parliamentary elections and holds a gross participation record without precedent, all of which in a relatively ordered and peaceful manner. Content wise, rather than focusing on the results only, democrats of both camps should now look into the future. There are at least three challenges to be addressed in this context: the divisions within the camp that lead the revolution started on the 25 th of January, the difference of perceptions and interests between the major cities and the rural areas, and how to achieve a successful transition. First, as a young activist posted on his blog...