A very good summary in a headline, from the Washington Post :
“But as pre-election maneuvers got underway this week at the Paris headquarters of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Hosni’s chances were clouded by a chorus of charges that he is the wrong man for the job — specifically that he is filled with unremitting hatred for Israel and has long played a key role in Egypt’s stultifying censorship bureaucracy.
“This minister of Hosni Mubarak has been one of the main actors of censorship in Egypt, unfailingly trying to control press freedom as well as citizens’ freedom of information,” the group [Reporters without Borders] said.
Against this sensitive background, the State Department refused to say whether the Obama administration opposes or supports Hosni. However, a spokesman, noting that the balloting will be secret, said the new director general should have “a demonstrated commitment to UNESCO’s core principles.”
A senior administration official in Washington, speaking on the condition of anonymity, was more direct. “There’s no way we can support this guy,” he said. “We did everything we could to get the Egyptians to support another candidate.”
No comments:
Post a Comment