Dear Chancellor: A Letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Upon hearing of “President” Morsi’s visit to Germany, Omar Khaled sent the following letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel through the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The following is a translation of the letter:
“Dear Chancellor,
In the context of the most difficult phases of the Egyptian democratic process, I Omar Khaled Zaki, write, you a letter, in order to explain how the Egyptian people, and how I, think of our president’s visit to to be held tomorrow.
Like his predecessor, the president and i state is using violence against its people. Recently, the Egyptian president declared a state of emergency law in three Egyptian cities, violating the human rights doctrine that Germany preaches, and also reminiscent of the rise of Hitler Nazism. Dictatorship by democracy is founded, because the “wrong people” do come to power. History never ceases to repeat itself and our role as enlightened politicians is to learn from it, and try to avoid the recurrence of such events.
The reception of Dr. Morsi signals the legitimacy of his ideology and the associated actions. The Egyptian people expect Germany to distance itself from that – not only so that the democratic Germany remains credible, but also because of the there is no future in leveraging a political partnership with this President.
Being a fellow of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, studying in Erlangen for my MA in political science, it is difficult for me to comprehend Amnesty International’s initiative. It was surprising for me that they mention that Germany has a very large proportion of weapons trade with Egypt – weapons that are hen used to put down the protests taking place in Tahrir square and other provinces.I do not understand how the German government can support young people like me and expect us to be change agents in our countries, while supporting a non-democratic government. This contrast will open a door for me to despair regarding the seriousness of my endeavors and what I am learning from this experience.
Of course, the German government has no power to prevent the improper use of weapons, but Germany has the right and obligation not to further assist the Egyptian government in such an issue.
It would be very inconsistent if a state that preaches human rights, freedom, justice and democracy prefers a quasi-fascist State and helps it win a failing legitimacy.
As an Egyptian who continues to participate actively in the Egyptian political sphere, even while in Germany, I believe that in very near future a group of young leaders will reveal itself and will be trusted to put Egypt on the right track at the national, regional and international levels.
I would like to thank you for receiving my words with appreciation and hope that these words bring the issue to your attention, as well as to open prosperous dialogue between us, the youth and the German authorities.
With best regards,
Omar Khaled Zaki”
