Newswise — INDIANAPOLIS – “The revolution in Egypt is an uprising of the middle class against a brutal dictator and police state. It is not an Islamic revolution . . . says Indiana School of Law-Indianapolis Professor Frank Emmert, LL.M. “The United States can and should support the transition to a government that will genuinely follow the rule of law, respect human rights of all people in Egypt, and guarantee peace and stability in the region.”
Emmert directs a partnership project between Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and Cairo University and teaches regularly in Egypt in the project that focuses on business and trade law. Among his students are many judges, prosecutors, civil servants, and private sector attorneys from Cairo and Alexandria.
“Egypt is the key to the Middle East and the last thing (The United States) should do now is to suspend our aid and support until we see what the future government in Egypt will look like,” Emmert says. “The revolution in Egypt is an uprising of the middle class against a brutal dictator and police state. It is not an Islamic revolution and with our help and a bit of luck, we can prevent radical Islamic forces from playing a major role in a future Egyptian government.”
As the crisis in Egypt reached a climax last week, Professor Emmert said:
“Mubarak has finally given in to the overwhelming pressure of the street and resigned. However, the fight is far from over . . . A real reform government would very likely seek to find out how Mubarak and his family were able to accumulate an estimated wealth of 40-70 billion USD and they may well issue international arrest warrants against him and his family and ask countries like Switzerland to return some of the money, like it has happened after the dictator in Tunisia was deposed recently.”
Emmert’s main areas of expertise are Egyptian politics, human rights and rule of law, constitutional reform, and higher education in Egypt.
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