EconomicsEgypt: IMF: loans $4.8 billion to Islamicist govt

Not only does the Islamicist govt of Egypt (controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing) receive  $1.5 billion in USA aid to Egypt from the Obama govt, now the International Monetary Fund has approved a loan to the Islamicist govt of Mohammed Morsi worth almost $5 billion.  His political affiliation is to the Freedom and Justice Party, set up by the Brotherhood.

"[B]etween 1948 and 2011, the United States gave Egypt $71.6 billion in foreign aid. In the past fiscal year, Egypt ranked fifth among countries receiving U.S. foreign aid money, after Israel, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

For the fiscal year which begins on Oct 1, 2012, Obama is requesting $1.55 billion in aid to Egypt: $1.3 billion in military aid and $250 million in economic aid.

To put that number in perspective, the federal government spends about $1.5 billion a day on Medicare," says Tom Curry, reporter for NBC News (Sept14,2k12).

What is most concerning is that no funds are ear-marked to advance human and religious rights of the Coptic minority (and other Christians and non-Muslims) in Egypt.  In other words, to ensure an effective military for Egypt, the USA and IMF are underwriting a régime that is currently writing 12% of Egypt's citizenship out of the rights section of its new constitution, permitting the increasing ghettoization of minorities, and the eventual imposition of Shariah law.  And what's more, it's left to the IMF to finance any incentives for job-creation and business development.  Christians will hardly get a fair and proportionate share of these funds, while probably neither will the Salafists (even more fanatical than the Brotherhood, and authors of the attack on the USA embassy), while the ties between the Islamic Brotherhood and the Ministry of Commerce will probably be busy with transfers of funds to what turn out to be tried-and-true Morsi men.

— EconoMix, refWrite Frontpage economics, business, and labour

FT Breaking News free email newsletter (Nov20,2k12)

Egypt gets $4.8bn loan  from International Monetary fund, but what about its oppression of

Coptic Christians (10% of population)

and threat to impose Shariah law?

CAIRO, Nov 20 - Egypt has reached a preliminary agreement with a team from the International Monetary Fund for a $4.8bn loan, a minister said on Tuesday. The deal is seen as a vital step for shoring up Egypt’s battered finances and rebuilding the confidence of investors, who have been looking to the IMF to give its seal of approval to the government’s economic programme. “We have a preliminary agreement with the technical team of the IMF,” Ashraf al-Araby, planning and international cooperation, told a news conference with the head of the IMF delegation, Andreas Bauer, and other IMF officials. The agreement would go to the IMF board to be finalised on Dec. 19 with the first tranche of the loan to be released immediately the board approved the deal, IMF officials said. One IMF official said the loan would be disbursed over 22 months. Reuters http://link.ft.com/r/CTBPCC/RP3IJ6/9VCLF/XHE11I/WH6VP2/ZH/h?a1=2012&a2=11&a3=20