Egypt: Lending to repression, again

For three decades Western governments and lending institutions bankrolled a corrupt regime in Egypt that trampled human rights and stifled democracy. Now they appear ready to do it again, say critics of the military council that has ruled since removing president Hosni Mubarak last February. 'Foreign aid should not be used to support a repressive regime,' says Amr Adly, political economist at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). 'It’s in nobody’s interest to throw Egypt’s economy into a deeper crisis, but international creditors have to be quite strict when it comes to transparency.'