Egypt's democrats still need assistance, says activist and analyst Amr Hamzawy (far left). Credit: DailyNewsEgypt/Hassan Ibrahim

While the US may be unable to afford Marshall Plan-scale assistance to transitions emerging from the Arab Spring, western democracies must support the region’s democratic forces, say activists and analysts, despite resistance from entrenched interests. 

The current controversy over democracy assistance in Egypt is likely to feature in the deliberations of the US Congress when members discuss 2012 foreign aid programs early next month.

The ruling military council has deliberately orchestrated the opposition to foreign democracy assistance, says Brookings Institution analyst Khaled Elgindy.

“There has been a concerted effort among authorities to vilify anyone who received American assistance as pushing foreign agendas,” he believes. “And that is part of the strategy of the Egyptian government to discourage people from receiving the aid but also to discourage the American government from giving it.”

But recent events suggest that the country’s pro-democracy and civil society groups are in urgent need of assistance and solidarity. The massive mobilization of Islamist groups on Tahrir Square shocked many liberals, highlighting the relative weakness of secular democratic forces.  

“The square turned into an Islamist square where calls for application of sharia and Islamicization of the state law,” says Amr Hamzawy (above, far left), a founder of the Masr Al-Horreya or Free Egypt party.

His party is one of fifteen liberal and leftist groups that recently formed the “Egyptian Bloc”, a coalition in support of a civil state, citizenship rights and the protection of the revolution’s democratic aspirations. The parties reject suggestions that the coalition is designed to counter the Muslim Brotherhood or militant Salafist groups.

“The coalition isn’t based on fears of the domination of a certain stream over political life in Egypt but promotes the positive goals of the revolution such as protecting citizenship rights and social justice,” said Hamzawy.

Some liberals – including the Wafd Party and the Ghad Party’s Ayman Nour – have courted the Muslim Brotherhood, apparently in the hope that the group can bridge the divide between the liberals and the Salafists.

Much of the motivation for the Arab Spring stems from socio-economic grievances and any democratic transitions will be short-lived if newly-emerging governments fail to deliver. The U.S. Congress should increase economic assistance for Egypt, Hamzawy tells VOA.

“We are in a country where half the population is living below the poverty line or at the poverty line,” he says “We are facing real crises with regard to sanitation, with regard to major services provided to the population, education, health care and so on. There’s been no clear improvement in the living conditions of Egyptians.”