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In last interview, former UN Secretary-General defends Cairo's crackdowns

In an interview with Al-Monitor a week before passing away at the age of 93, former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali spoke about the challenges of ensuring full freedoms amid a precarious security situation.
Members of security forces keep watch in Tahrir Square before the fifth anniversary of the January 25 uprising, in Cairo, Egypt, January 24, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RTX23RJQ
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The June 30 Revolution turned the Egyptian political scene upside down abroad and at home. At the level of international relations, Egypt has become more open to the world, while some of its relations with other countries have deteriorated. At home, Egypt has placed further emphasis on freedoms, applying the protest law so as to control security and order and to circumvent any attempt on the part of the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters to cause chaos and confusion.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the former secretary-general of the United Nations and the honorary president of the National Council for Human Rights, gave an exclusive phone interview to Al-Monitor on Feb. 8, a week before his death at the age of 93. He said that the current climate does not allow the full application of human rights, given that Egypt has gone through two consecutive revolutions, followed by protests and demonstrations on the part of the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters who are difficult to contain.

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