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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57219-2004Jan5.html
Egypt Muzzles Calls for Democracy
(Washington Post) Rights advocates, opposition politicians, and analysts interviewed in Egypt paint a portrait of an authoritarian government that tightens or loosens the screws of repression depending upon how it perceives threats, that is obsessed with its Islamic opposition and feels harassed by human rights activists, and that wields a powerful state security apparatus that operates under far-reaching emergency laws and often deals brutally with opponents. And they contend that U.S. aid - nearly $2 billion per year over the past two decades - has propped up an unpopular government, its army and police, and helped suppress democracy.