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May 13, 2015
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Egyptian TV Host Ahmed Moussa: British Ambassador to Cairo a Persona Non Grata

#4926 | 03:25
Source: Sada Al-Balad (Egypt)

In a monologue that aired on Egypt's Sada Al-Balad TV channel, TV host Ahmed Moussa said, in response to a statement made by the British ambassador to Egypt, that the ambassador was "persona non grata" and called upon the Egyptian Foreign Ministry to expel him. The ambassador had said that job opportunities at the British Embassy were open to all, including the sons of sanitation workers, in reference to a comment made by former Egyptian justice minister Mahfuoz Saber, who had said that the son of a sanitation worker "wouldn't last" as a judge. The uproar ensuing from Saber's comment had led to his resignation. Following are excerpts from the monologue:



Ahmed Moussa: The British ambassador to Cairo is interfering in Egypt's affairs. The British ambassador is not familiar with diplomatic norms. He has transgressed the boundaries of his work, his responsibilities, and his position. The man thinks that he is sitting in some banana republic, and he has intervened in something that is a purely domestic Egyptian affair. The ambassador tweeted that the embassy had opened its gates to local workers - including even the sons of sanitation workers. This is a reference to a derogatory remark made by Justice Minister Mahfuoz Saber. That story is water under the bridge now. But the comment made by the British ambassador merits a response. The Egyptian people come first, and only then comes the Egyptian state, represented by the Foreign Ministry. I expect the Foreign Ministry to put this ambassador in his place. No ambassador of any country is allowed to interfere in Egypt's affairs, and to say that his country... it is inconceivable for our country, our people, to respond to calls from countries that sponsor terrorism, that ally themselves with terrorists, and that open their gates to leaders of terror organizations - Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya, the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood, the Jihad organization, and Al-Qaeda. By the way, Britain has become the number one safe haven for terrorists in the world. The United Kingdom, since the 1990s and even earlier.. The first alliance they formed was in 1928. The first to form an alliance with terrorists, to support and sponsor terrorism, was the British embassy in Cairo, when it gave that arch-terrorist Hassan Al-Banna his first 500 Egyptian pounds. That was in 1928. So if the British ambassador wants to talk about human rights, and about the democracy they enjoy in his country, let him first tell us how they collaborated with terrorism. Britain gives refuse to... the leaders of Al-Qaeda are there. The leaders of the Jihad organization are there to this day, and so are the leaders of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood. The entire international organization (of the MB) is in Britain to this day. That country, and its ambassador in Egypt... The Egyptian Foreign Ministry must respond in a manner befitting that clear and despicable interference.
[...]
The Egyptian people say to you: You are a persona non grata. The Egyptian people say to you: We don't want you here. The Egyptian people say to you: Goodbye. The Egyptian people say to the Foreign Ministry: Expel that ambassador, who is clearly... I won't repeat the word (despicable)... Anyone interfering in our affairs has no right to be here, amongst our people. Mr. British Ambassador, go away! Please go back to London, to the United Kingdom, to the Queen. We don't want you here.

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