Clinton: 'No going back on democracy in Egypt'

The United States expects Egypt's military authorities to fully transfer power to a democratically elected civilian government as planned, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last night. "There can be no going back on the democratic transition called for by the Egyptian people," Clinton said. "Throughout this process, the United States has stood in support of the aspirations of the Egyptian people for a peaceful, credible and permanent democratic transition," media reports quoted Clinton as saying at a news conference of the US and South Korean foreign and defense ministers. Now, ultimately it is up to the Egyptian people to determine their own future and we expect that this weekend's presidential election will be held in an atmosphere that is conducive to it being peaceful, fair and free," she added. "In keeping with the commitments that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces made to the Egyptian people, we expect to see a full transfer of power to a democratically elected civilian government," she said.