Egypt: The Mother of the ‘Brothers’ Dying?

Egypt’s Tragedy: Islam, Democracy and Soldiers

My Note: When I saw yesterday the Egyptian general, el-Sissi presenting Dr. ElBaradei, Egypt’s top Muslim cleric — Al-Azhar Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb — and Coptic Pope Tawadros II, I remember of Ethiopian History1974 after Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by the military coup

The Brothers’ failure to include a wide range of views in its first government was even more foolish. Egypt, at the best of times, is hard to govern because society is polarised. Secular-minded and better-educated Egyptians generally want the country to be dragged into a modern, pluralistic and outward-looking world. A more conservative and religious stratum looks to political Islam rather than socialism or capitalism as the answer to centuries of injustice, inequality and corruption. In addition, Egypt has a large and nervous minority of Christians, perhaps a tenth of the populace of 84m, along with a much smaller minority of Shia Muslims, both of whom have been rattled by an Islamist government.

Instead of trying to build up the independent institutions—the courts, the media, a neutral civil service, army and police—that check the power of government in mature democracies, Mr Morsi did his best to undermine them. He legislated through a senate that was elected by only 10% of the voters. He made false, inept or cowardly choices at every turn, finagling constitutional issues, pushing fellow Brothers into key appointments and feeding the secularists’ fears that his brethren were determined, by hook or by crook, to Islamise every aspect of society. He stayed silent when bigots and thugs threatened and attacked religious minorities. He allowed foreigners working for advocacy groups promoting human rights and democracy to be hounded, prosecuted and convicted (most of them in absentia) on patently false charges.

That so many Egyptians should wish to get rid of Mr Morsi is therefore entirely understandable. That they have succeeded in doing so could well turn out to be a disaster, and not just for Egypt.

The precedent that Mr Morsi’s ouster sets for other shaky democracies is a terrible one. It will encourage the disaffected to try to eject governments not by voting them out but by disrupting their rule. It will create an incentive for oppositions all over the Arab world to pursue their agendas on the streets, not in parliaments. It thus will reduce the chance of peace and prosperity across the region.

It also sends a dreadful message to Islamists everywhere. The conclusion they will draw from events in Egypt is that, if they win power in elections, their opponents will use non-democratic means to oust them. So if they are allowed to come to office, they will very likely do their damnedest to cement their power by fair means or foul. Crush your opponents could well be their motto.

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Al Jazeera Egypt shut down

Egypt crisis: ‘100 women sexually assaulted in Cairo’s Tahrir Square’

My Note: Something similar and despicable act is, thank God, unthinkable at Mesqel Square in Addis Abeba. No way!

Close to 100 women have fallen victim to “rampant” sexual attacks in Cairo’s Tahrir Square during four days of protests against Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Morsi

Dutch Journalist Sexually Assaulted by Protesters in Tahrir Square

CNN: Egyptians Blame Obama for Morsi Repression

Egyptians have been protesting by the millions against now ex-President Mohammed Morsi, but there have been other noticeable themes among protesters – specifically, the anti-American theme. While Morsi’s dictatorial ways and bumbling of the economy have been the central complaint of protesters, the image of U.S. President Barack H. Obama has been prominent on many protest signs.

Obama, it will be recalled, was a principal backer of the revolution against Hosni Mubarak, and enthusiastically endorsed the election of Morsi as the first ever democratically elected leader of Egypt. When Morsi was elected in June 2012, Obama called him to congratulate him on his victory. In a statement, the White House said that the U.S. “will continue to support Egypt’s transition to democracy and stand by the Egyptian people as they fulfill the promise of their revolution.” The statement also “emphasized [Obama’s] interest in working together with President-elect Morsi, on the basis of mutual respect, to advance the many shared interests between Egypt and the United States.”

It later became clear that the Egyptian people did not necessarily appreciate Obama’s expressions of support for Morsi. In September, an Egyptian mob stormed the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, at the same time the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya was attacked.

In an interview, Obama said of Egypt that “I don’t think that we would consider them an ally, but we don’t consider them an enemy.” Regardless, he said, the current government in Egypt was “democratically elected. I think it’s a work in progress.”

As protests began to mount towards the end of 2012, Obama began expressing concern over Morsi’s repressive ways. In a statement on December 6, the White House said that “President Obama called President Morsi today to express his deep concern about the deaths and injuries of protesters in Egypt. The President emphasized that all political leaders in Egypt should make clear to their supporters that violence is unacceptable.

He welcomed President Morsi’s call for a dialogue with the opposition but stressed that such a dialogue should occur without preconditions… He reiterated the United States’ continued support for the Egyptian people and their transition to a democracy that respects the rights of all Egyptians.”

Still, Obama was clearly on Morsi’s side; in May 2013, he overrode a Congressional effort to withhold military funding to Egypt, issuing a waiver authorizing transfer of the aid over restrictions imposed by Congress, which had sought to tie the assistance to progress in human rights efforts. According to senior Congressional officials, it was unlikely Egypt could have met those criteria.

The funding was not widely publicized in the U.S., but it was noticed by the Egyptian people, who began blaming the U.S., and particularly Obama, for supporting the repressive Morsi regime. During the recent protests that led up to Morsi’s ouster, many signs and shouts accusing Obama of supporting repression could be seen in Tahrir Square, and in other protest centers.

The phenomenon was clear to CNN’s Reza Sayah, who on Wednesday night commented on the signs claiming that Obama “had allied himself with terrorists,” “Obama backs a fascist regime in Egypt,” “Obama is killing Egyptians,” and others. “Egyptians love Americans,” Sayeh said, “but they don’t love U.S. foreign policy. Remember, they will never forget that for decades, it was Washington that supported the dictator Hosni Mubarak and his brutal police state.”

On Thursday, the State Department ordered the departure of all non-essential personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. A skeleton staff will be kept on at the site, with families and non-essential personnel to be evacuated from the country. The State Department did not say if it feared a takeover of the embassy. So far, no other foreign governments have ordered an evacuation of their personnel from Egypt.

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