Egyptian opposition prominent figures issued on Saturday, August 8, 2020, a statement addressed to the Egyptian people rejecting what they called “the crime of demarcating the maritime borders with Greece”, according to the statement.
A group of Egyptian opposition figures from across the Egyptian spectrum abroad issued a statement that they addressed to the Egyptian people titled “An official statement to the Egyptian people about the crime of demarcating the maritime borders with Greece”.
The statement that rejects the border demarcation agreement with Greece that the Egyptian Foreign Minister announced three days ago, is signed by dozens of prominent figures of Egyptian opposition, including Dr. Ayman Nour, head of the liberal Ghad Al-Thawra Party; Dr. Essam Abdelshafy, a well-known professor of political science; and Magda Refa’a, granddaughter of Refa’a Al-Tahtawi, the pioneer of Egypt’s modern renaissance, and many others.
The statement said, “We follow with great concern the foreign policies of the putschist Sisi’s regime in Egypt, which came from the first day, carrying an agenda against the Egyptian national security interests and the foundations of the Egyptian foreign policy, Egypt’s historical rights that are well-established under international agreements, as well as the Sisi regime’s systematic alienation of its economic wealth and geographical borders. From the signing of the maritime border demarcation agreement with Cyprus in December 2013, then the declaration of the principles (DoP) on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in March 2015, the ceding of the two Egyptian islands of Tiran and Sanafir in April 2016, and last but not least the crime of demarcating the maritime border with Greece on the sixth of August 2020.”
The statement also indicated the following:
– The catastrophic damage caused by the Sisi regime’s policies on the Egyptian State.
– The regime’s allegation that this agreement comes in line with the rules of the UN Law of the Sea is unacceptable and illogical, because the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS does not force States to give up their rights and forfeit their wealth.
– The ruling regime in Egypt moves according to an agenda that is supportive, first and foremost, of its regional and international backers, who guarantee its survival and continuity in power, even if that is at the expense of Egyptian national interests.
– The ruling regime exploits its hegemony over the state’s political, military, security and media institutions to suppress all civil forces and political parties that reject Sisi’s policies, both inside and outside Egypt, to pass such suspicious agreements.
– The maritime border demarcation agreement with Greece, not only means that Egypt has ceded large areas of its economic waters and hundreds of billions of dollars, the value of the natural resources that these areas contain, but it also means eliminating future opportunities for the Egyptian state to benefit from its wealth in the rest of areas, because of the regime’s suspicious deals with Cyprus and Israel.
– The regime ignores the views of experts and advisors, as well as the scientific and political reports issued by official institutions, such as the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the sovereign bodies, that had previously warned of the expected harms of signing this agreement.
– The foreign policies of the regime, in the Mediterranean region, are for the most part related to political rivalries and intrigues, and not to defending Egypt’s rights in this strategic region.
Accordingly, the signatories of the statement addressed to the Egyptian people announced the following:
– Categorical rejection to recognize the maritime border demarcation agreement signed by the ruling regime in Egypt with Greece on August 6, 2020, considering it null and void.
– Calling upon all the Egyptian people to express their opposition to this suspicious agreement, by all available and possible means.
– Calling upon the Egyptian military institution to play its desired role in confronting these policies and the consequent agreements, on the basis that issues of national security, border security, protection and defense are the most important function for which national armies have been established, not for the nationalization of political life and the domination of the State’s economic capabilities.
– Maintaining the national struggle against the military coup regime that is in power in Egypt since 2013, and its policies, by all available and possible means, inside and outside Egypt.
