US calls for quick end to Egypt's emergency law

Sep 28, 2011, 23:58 GMT

Washington - Egypt should lift its emergency law as soon as possible, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday in a meeting with her Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Kamel Amr.

'We have encouraged and continued to encourage the government to lift the state of emergency,' Clinton told reporters after the meeting.

She noted that the Supreme Council has indicated it could lift the law next June.

'We hope to see the law lifted sooner than that, because we think that is an important step on the way to the rule of law, to the kind of system of checks and balances that are important in protecting the rights of the Egyptian people, to create the context for free and democratic elections, and we want to see this as soon as possible,' she said.

The military council had promised in March that emergency law would be lifted prior to the parliamentary elections, scheduled for November. However, in September it said emergency law will be in effect until June 2012.

Emergency law was imposed following the assassination of president Anwar Sadat in October 1981.

The emergency law was reapplied after three Egyptians were killed and more than 1,000 injured when angry protesters stormed the Israeli embassy in Cairo and attacked a nearby security building on September 9.

Clinton expressed her support for Egypt's condemnation of the attacks.

Amr called the incident 'unfortunate' and noted that Egypt was committed to protecting international missions on its soil.

Clinton also expressed support for the invitation of international observers to monitor the first democratic parliamentary elections in Egypt in November.

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