US weighs request from Egypt to freeze assets

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration is examining requests from Egypt’s new government to freeze the assets of top aides to ousted President Hosni Mubarak, a senior U.S. official said Monday.

The official told reporters at the State Department that the administration had received requests regarding assets held by some senior officials in Mubarak’s regime but have not received the same request to freeze assets held by the former president.

The official said the Treasury Department is looking at the requests and will make a decision within days. The official did not identify the individuals whose U.S. assets were being studied and spoke on condition of anonymity because the U.S. has not yet decided what to do.

The official’s comments came after Britain’s foreign secretary said the European Union will discuss a request from Egypt’s military rulers to freeze assets held by members of Mubarak’s regime.

Separately, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she is encouraged by the early moves made by Egypt’s new military government.

The military is promising to hand power to civilian rule under a new, more democratic system. It has set a swift timetable, saying it aims to have constitutional amendments drawn up within 10 days and a referendum to approve them within two months ahead of elections for a civilian government, according to youth activists who met two of the top generals.

“I think the Egyptian military demonstrated its very strong commitment to the people of Egypt [with] its restraint and its support of their right to demonstrate,” Clinton said.

“The steps they have taken so far are reassuring, but there is a long way to go.”

She spoke approvingly of the 30-year U.S. relationship with the Egyptian military, which assumed control when Mubarak stepped down Friday.

The coalition of young activists who organized the unprecedented protest movement pressured the military Monday for new steps to ensure the autocratic system that has pervaded Egypt for the past 30 years is dismantled.

Protesters welcomed the military’s takeover after Mubarak’s resignation, but many remain wary of the military’s ultimate intentions.