CAIRO — Egypt celebrated the seventh anniversary of the January 25 Revolution amid strong anger against what the government, parliamentary and political circles see as US interference in Egyptian affairs. In an official statement Jan. 24, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry accused Sen. John McCain of spoiling the Jan. 25 celebrations for Egyptians. The Egyptian foreign minister rejected what he termed McCain's "flimsy claims" and criticism of the fairness of Egypt's upcoming presidential elections, in which President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is running for a second term.
On the anniversary of the January 25 Revolution, McCain called for respecting "the spirit" of the revolution and Egyptians' democratic aspirations, adding, "Yet over the past few years, we have witnessed Egypt lurch dangerously backwards. President Sisi's unprecedented crackdown on political activism and fundamental human rights has led to the imprisonment of tens of thousands of dissidents, including 19 American citizens and nearly 3,500 young people."
