Trump and his friend, General Sisi of Egypt 4-15-2019

15, April 2019                     Trump and his friend, General Sisi of Egypt

President Trump seems infatuated with some of the world’s most brutal dictators Putin, Duterte, Kim Jong Un.  .). He recently hosted a meeting with Egypt’s ruthless dictator, President Sisi who is hoping to amend the constitution to allow him to stay in power until 2034. Sisi received an effusive welcome from President Trump who gushed that “he’s doing a great job.” According to human rights groups, that “great job” includes jailing 50,000 to 60,000 dissidents since the 2013 coup against Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.

A reign of terror has engulfed the country with executions, enforced disappearances, sham elections and a tightly controlled media.

Sadly, the repression is expected to rise to a new level of barbarity with the country descending into a police state fueled by Sisi’s close alliance with President Trump whose fondness for strongmen is well known.

Egypt had hoped that eight years of “generation protest” would usher in true democracy but that is being called “generation jail” by Amnesty International. Sarah Margon of Human Rights Watch added 'We're looking at the worst human rights crisis Egypt has seen in decades.' And the US continues to provide $1.6B annually to ensure the repression continues.