Egyptians
pelt Clinton motorcade with tomatoes
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Updated 4 hrs 16 mins ago
Protesters threw tomatoes and shoes at US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's motorcade on Sunday during her first visit
to Egypt since the election of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.
A tomato struck an Egyptian official in the
face, and shoes and a water bottle landed near the armoured cars carrying
Clinton's delegation in the port city of Alexandria after she gave a speech on
democratic rights.
A senior US official said neither Clinton nor
her vehicle, which was around the corner from the incident, were hit by the
projectiles, which were thrown as US officials and reporters walked to the
motorcade after her speech.
Protesters chanted "Monica, Monica," a
reference to the extra-marital affair conducted by Clinton's husband, former
President Bill Clinton, while in the White House. Others earlier chanted
"leave, Clinton" an Egyptian security official said.
It was not clear who the protesters were or what
were their political affiliations. Demonstrations have become common in Egypt
since former President Hosni Mubarak, long-time US ally, was brought down by
mass street protests last year.
Egypt is gripped by political uncertainty as two
major forces, the military and the Muslim Brotherhood, engage in a power
struggle over the future of a country that remains without a permanent
constitution, parliament or government.
On Saturday night, protesters outside Clinton's
luxury hotel in Cairo chanted anti-Islamist slogans, accusing the United States
of backing the Muslim Brotherhood's rise to power.
In her speech at the newly re-opened US
consulate in Alexandria, Clinton rejected suggestions that the United States,
which had long supported former Mubarak, was backing one faction or another in
Egypt following his ouster last year.
"I want to be clear that the United States
is not in the business, in Egypt, of choosing winners and losers, even if we
could, which of course we cannot," Clinton said.
"We are prepared to work with you as you
chart your course, as you establish your democracy," she added. "We
want to stand for principles, for values, not for people or for parties."
Tantawi stresses economy
Earlier on Sunday, Clinton met Egypt's top
general, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, to discuss Egypt's turbulent democratic
transition as the military wrestles for influence with the new president.
The meeting came a day after she met Mursi,
whose powers were clipped by the military days before he took office.
Mursi fired back by reinstating the
Islamist-dominated parliament that the army leadership had disbanded after a
court declared it void, deepening the stand-off before the new leader even had
time to form a government.
In their hour-long meeting, Clinton and Tantawi
discussed Egypt's political transition, the military's "ongoing dialogue
with President Mursi," and the country's economic troubles, a US official
travelling with Clinton said in an email brief.
"Tantawi stressed that this is what
Egyptians need most now - help getting the economy back on track," the
official said.
The talks also touched on the increasingly
lawless Sinai region and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Speaking after the meeting, Tantawi said the
army respected the presidency but would not be deterred from its role of
"protecting" Egypt.
"The armed forces and the army council
respects legislative and executive authorities," he said in a speech to
troops in the city of Ismailia. "The armed forces would not allow anyone
to discourage it from its role in protecting Egypt and its people."
Ties strained
Ties with the United States, which provides
Egypt with an annual $1.3 billion in military aid, were strained this year when
Egyptian judicial police raided the offices of several US-backed
non-governmental organisations on suspicion of illegal foreign funding and put
several Americans on trial.
The spat ended when Egyptian authorities allowed
the US citizens and other foreign workers to leave the country.
Clinton said Washington wanted to support
"real democracy," in which "no group or faction or leader can
impose their will, their ideology, their religion, their desires on anyone
else."
She delivered a similar message in earlier
meetings with women and Christians, both groups that fear their rights may be
curtailed under a Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government.
"I will be honest and say some have
legitimate fears about their future," she said. "I said to them ...
no Egyptian, no person anywhere, should be persecuted for their faith, or their
lack of faith, for their choices about working and not working.
"Democracy is not just about reflecting the
will of the majority. It is also about protecting the rights of the
minority," she said.
The United States had learned that "the
hard way," Clinton said, noting the US constitution originally did not
protect the rights of women or slaves.
-Reuters
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