Statement of the Democratic Front Party Youth, the liberal Ghad Party Youth, and April 6 Youth Movement and the Cairo Liberal Forum on the American President’s visit to Egypt and being ignored by the Egyptian regime BELIEVING IN THE IMPORTANCE OF THE POLITICAL CHANGE that has happened in the international arena with the inauguration of the new American president, Barack Obama, who is considered a product of the civil rights movement and the struggle for democracy and equality, as well as the background of American values which cherish freedom, justice and the rule of law and reject tyranny and the silencing of opponents, all of which were mentioned as references during President Obama’s inauguration speech, Certain of the consequences this will have on the course of relations in the region and the arrangement of issues economically and politically in Egypt and in the Arab and Islamic worlds regarding the Middle East Conflict and the issue of democratic development, We have found ourselves in front of a political test where we need to declare a position and clarify a picture in order to send two messages. The first of these messages is to the Egyptian regime. We proclaim our discontent with the regime’s presentation of the youth members of the ruling party as the only representative of Egypt’s youth in front of the world and our rejection of the monopoly the youth of the ruling party have over all of the state’s support which funded by Egyptian tax payers such as youth camps, local and international representation and job benefits which guarantee their continued loyalty to the National Democratic Party. Our other message is to the global community and to President Obama who is coming to give his speech in Egypt: He will not meet representatives of the Egyptian youth, but rather representatives of the ruling party. We believe it is necessary to rethink the tools and tactics the American administration uses to support democratic development in ways which do not affect state sovereignty, and for this to happen alongside a strong push for the peace process which will lead to, as soon as possible, the creation of a viable Palestinian state. There will be no guarantee of stability in the region without acting on these two issues in parallel. This is the shortest route to global stability. With a belief in rights and duties, the youth of the Democratic Front Party, and the Liberal Ghad Party, as well as the 6th of April Youth Movement and the Cairo Liberal Forum have found that they must raise their voice to declare their position and present their vision regarding the arrangements being made in the region and the behavior of the Egyptian regime and the future of relations, where they have found agreement on the foregoing in this statement, and this has been followed with: A statement by the representative of the Democratic Front party Youth: That the world should turn its attention to the youth because they are the main political actor now in Egypt and they are the ones who have worked hard on the issue of democratic transformation and spreading the culture of peaceful dissent hoping for a democratic and honest transition of power in Egypt; And that the new American administration should adhere to a rational discourse in regards to conflicts in the Middle East, especially Iran, and should pay attention to the excesses of the former administration in dealing with some issues such as the war on Iraq, during which the administration stood against the principle of state sovereignty; And that there will be no stability in the region without the strive to reach a just settlement to the Palestinian issue and halting the crimes and violations carried out by the Israeli side towards the Palestinian people without accountability or deterrence, in a world which is governed by international legitimacy. A statement by the representative of the liberal Ghad Party: We appeal to the American President Obama to stress the values and foundations of justice and democracy, peace and equality in order to achieve peace in the world and so that the present and next generations may live in a world without wars, persecution or racism; The US president must adhere to his liberal values which are based on tolerance, freedom and justice in regards to US relations with Middle Eastern regimes, and not to cooperate with dictators and tyrants; The new president and his administration must find solutions to the roots of the Palestinian problem and approach the rebuilding of Iraq in a serious and speedy manner. A statement by the representative of the 6th of April Youth Movement: We send a message to the US president that the only way to improve America’s image is to take a balanced and just position regarding the Palestinian cause and ending the American occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as possible and that the real guarantor of democratic development is to stop supporting dictators in the Middle East and a genuine commitment to spreading freedom; We consider Obama’s visit to Egypt a show of support for the tyrannical Egyptian regime and we fear that this is the new President going back on the position he declared as soon as he was inaugurated as US president which expressed his support of freedom and democracy in the world; We hope the current administration does not follow in the footsteps of the previous one in supporting tyrannical rulers such as President Mubarak as this is the cause of the anger of the Egyptian people towards the US administration. A Statement by the representative of the Cairo Liberal Forum: As a non-governmental youth organization, we see that supporting civil society is a principle necessity to push for democratic development and the empowerment of youth who have finally led the struggle for improving the state of democracy and human rights, the defence of which we hope will not become fragmented. We hope that the American administration does not let interests overcome the values which are dear to the American people who believe that democracy and respect for human rights are values embedded in the human conscience. Finally, this is not a request to attend the forthcoming address of the US president in Egypt, but a rejection of our exclusion and a declaration of our position. .