Protesters Throw Tomatoes At Hillary Clinton In Egypt

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received a less than friendly welcome when she arrived in Egypt as protesters threw tomatoes and shouted, “Monica, Monica,” and “Leave Clinton” upon her arrival. This was Clinton’s first visit to Egypt since the revolution which occurred inside the country last year, The New York Daily News reports. Crowds of Egyptian protestors “pelted” the Secretary of State’s motorcade with tomatoes and shouted references to Monica Lewinsky as she was escorted from a meeting with government officials yesterday. America send $1.3 billion per year to Egypt in military aid.

Hillary Clinton was unharmed during the incident which began as she left the recently opened U.S. Consulate in Alexandria. No particular political group has ‘taken credit’ for the protest against Secretary of State Clinton. On Saturday Clinton protesters in Egypt chanted anti-Islamist phrases outside the hotel where the Secretary of State was lodging, according to The New York Daily News.

“I want to be clear that the United States is not in the business, in Egypt, of choosing winners and losers, even if we could, which of course we cannot. We are prepared to work with you as you chart your course, as you establish your democracy,” she added. “We want to stand for principles, for values, not for people or for parties,” Clinton stated during her speech to Egyptian officials according to excerpts republished by Reuters.

Some Egyptian protesters yelled slogans which accused the United States of “backing the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise to power.” Islamist protesters objecting to Clinton’s visit accused Washington of supporting and “propping up” former President Hosni Mubarak and even encourage his “brutal efforts to suppress religious militancy,” The New York Daily News notes.

Reuters reports a tomato hit an Egyptian office in the face and a water bottle and shoes landed near the armored cars which transported Clinton and her delegation to a meeting where she spoke about Democratic rights. A myriad of items were thrown at U.S. Officials and journalists as they walked to Clinton’s motorcade after her speech.