Nestor: Western Governments Don’t Back Trials against MB Leaders

Nestor: Western Governments Don’t Back Trials against MB Leaders

US government shouldn”t back a Palestinian party against another one.
-US government”s claimed reform efforts in 2005 in the Middle East were fake.
-US government allows violations from the Egyptian government because it is an ally to its policies.
-US Muslims should work and move to improve the image of Islam in America .
-Human life is sacred. Many human beings suffer from the US foreign policies.
 
 
Bruce Nestor, the president of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), has recently visited the Egyptian capital Cairo to monitor the military tribunal against top Muslim Brotherhood (MB) leaders, topped by engineer Khairat Al-Shater the MB second deputy chairman.
 
He said that Western governments, and the US government in particular, see that maintaining the military trials against MB leaders in Egypt is an obstacle in the way of their support to the Egyptian government.
 
Voicing his disappointment towards Israel “s destruction and dismantling of the Palestinian society, Nestor expressed also his rejection to the policy of supporting one Palestinian party against another one in the inter-Palestinian political conflict.
 
Nestor said that everyone must respect the democratic option of the Palestinian people.
 
 
Ikhwanweb: Where are the US promises of backing reform in the Middle East . Has this support weakened due to worries that Islamists may assume power.?
 
Nestor: I do not believe that the US efforts for reform before 2005 were sincere. Such statements and actions were to deceive people in the West and they had no weight as much as the political level is concerned. I think that Hamas win in the Palestinian elections stirred fears of some inside the US government. Some feared repeating the experience of holding democratic elections in the Arab world after Hamas win. Others in the government are very much aware of  the difference between various political movements in various countries. There are also others who see that the United States should support any government as long as it has been democratically elected. I think Islamic movements are feared by some members in the US government, not all the government and not all the American people.
 
 
Ikhwanweb: What is the effect of the resignation of the Neo-conservatives on the foreign and domestic policy in America ?
 
Nestor: It is difficult to answer such a question. These neoconservatives still have a strong influence inside the government, specially the office of vice-president Dick Cheney. Many of them exercise strong pressures for launching a war against Iran . There are others in the government who- I think, aren’t committed to democracy or justice. They are actually believing that the US use of a military action may harm its strength. It is crystal clear that the US President is very weak nowadays. This is proved by his failures in Iraq and the lies used for justifying launching the war. All this made it hard for the president or the neo-conservatives to implement their aspired political options. However, I do not think that the resignations have clearly changed the government but it must have changed the ongoing discussion inside the government and allowed less conservative voices to have a stronger influence.
 
 
Ikhwanweb: What about the US recklessness towards the Islamic and cultural privacies in its war in Iraq and Afghanistan ?.
 
Nestor: The US government”s actions in the Islamic world had specific features including a failure in understanding the enriched history, culture and religion in the Islamic world. On the other hand, the United States has used, throughout its history, a military force to topple regimes. America failed to understand the culture of the states it occupied. Vietnam is a clear example. I think that the American people are required to change the US government”s policy because they can understand the Islamic world better than their government and they can have a more just viewpoint than their government”s. The US government”s role isn”t restricted to being a military force but in supporting justice and human rights.
 
 
Ikhwanweb: What is your opinion about the so called US efforts in its anti-terrorism war?
 
Nestor: I think that the human life is sacred. Many humans have suffered because of the US actions. I feel also that I have a huge responsibility for what my government is doing. My first responsibility is to condemn any work that the government may commit and risk a life of a human being and action that may kill people or increase poverty. I focus my efforts on this, in addition to condemning any threat to human lives by any group other than my government. However, my priority is towards my government which I want o make better. Definitely, I do not support acts of violence but I think that the United States exploited the war against terrorism to condemn acts of the legitimate resistance. Now, I do not justify every works labeled as a resistance, but I think that the Palestinian people have the right to resist and defend its sovereignty. Other peoples also have the right to resist in a way that avoids killing civilians. I defend their self-determination right .
 
 
Ikhwanweb: Do you think the US Muslims conditions are expected to be better in the future in America after 911 attacks?
 
Nestor: Yes, I think the more the Muslim community becomes more organized, influential and has more  political participation, the better and wider the support to defending our citizens rights regardless of their religion or sect . this does not mean that the problem will end completely but I think that there is a hope> I can”t predict what will happen in the future, but if any other attack happened inside the United States, I don”t know how will be Muslims in America treated. In spite of this fear, I hope that many optimist persons shall close ranks and cooperate with the active Muslim community in America to defend rights of our citizens.
 
 
 
Ikhwanweb: What is your opinion over the inter-Palestinian situation?
 
Nestor: I think Israel has worked hard for many years to divide the Palestinian society. We should not forget that Israel was involved in allowing Hamas to grow and rise in the early 1980s because it wanted at that time to eradicate Fatah. I do not mean that Hamas is made by Israel ,  but I mean that Israel wanted at that time to divide the Palestinian people through supporting Hamas at the expense of Fatah. Nowadays, Israel adopts the policy of supporting Fatah to destroy the Palestinian people! I do not support US providing Fatah Movement with weapons or strengthening security services. We should respect the democratic option of the Palestinian people. I think that Oslo agreement aimed at moving the security duties of the Palestinian people from Israel to the Palestinian Authority, not the independence of Palestine . Oslo agreement aimed also to make Fatah Movement responsible for deploying police forces instead of Israel “s doing this directly.
 
 
Ikhwanweb: Are the military tribunal against the MB leaders backed in the West?
 
Nestor: I think that Western governments, and the US government in particular, see that maintaining the military trials against MB leaders in Egypt is an obstacle in the way of their support to the Egyptian government. This may lead to possible pressures on Egypt from western governments. I think that most Western governments do not see the military trial as beneficial. A governments like the US government is ready to allow human rights violations in Egypt as long as this will allow a friendly regime to maintain power. However, I think that the US government holds internal discussions around whether to allow the Muslim Brotherhood to participate openly in the political process. Generally speaking, there is a very weak support to the military tribunal.
 
 
Ikhwanweb: How far do US human rights activists care about the Middle East ?
 
Nestor: Many human rights organizations voiced their concern over the military tribunal against Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Egypt in addition to their concern over human rights issues in the Middle East . I think that the leaders of the human rights organizations in the United States voiced their worries over human rights situations in the Middle East .
 
Ikhwanweb: Something you want to say to families of MB detainees and MB youth?
 
Nestor: I express my limitless support to families of the MB detainees. I stress on importance of fighting human rights violations. I think that it is to the United States interest to support democracy and human rights in Egypt . I encourage all trends to engage in a mutual dialogue with the other and to open up to new ideas and to seek compromises. This will not take place except under a political regime that allows discussions between various political powers.
 
 
Ikhwanweb: What is your opinion about detaining two Egyptian members of parliament affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood”s parliamentary bloc. Is this another escalation from the Egyptian government against the Muslim Brotherhood?*
 
Nestor: I was crystal clear to all the world that the elections in which the MB garnered 88 parliament seats were unfair elections. Despite success of this number from the Muslim Brotherhood in the elections, the government arrests both MPs although there is no clear evidence to prove that they committed any illegal action or acts of violence. Actually these measures erode credibility of claims that there is any democracy in Egypt .
 
 
 
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*This question was directed after the detention of two Egyptian MPs affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood”s parliamentary bloc on charges of belonging to an outlawed organization “the Muslim Brotherhood”, and working for toppling the regime.