Egypt’s Tragedy

Aug 16, 2013 Editorial

The other foot inevitably dropped in the unfolding tragedy in Egypt which began when the democratically-elected government of Mohammed Morsi was overthrown in a coup d’état by the army on July 3. So-called “secular forces”, which had played a major role in bringing down Mubarak-led dictatorship, made common cause with the more Islamicist Salafi group to call on the army to stage the coup.
They claimed the Muslim Brotherhood of Morsi, had not been inclusive in their governance structures, as had been promised before and during the elections. Not surprisingly, the supporters of Morsi protested the army action, especially when their leader Morsi was arrested and kept in confinement after the coup. Thousands of them established camps at two Cairo squares from where they swore not to budge until Morsi was reinstated as President.
Since then, there had been intense negotiations with the army and the protestors by interlocutors such as the US government, for them to arrive at a modus vivendi. The fear was that if open hostilities broke out between the two sides, Egypt might slide into open civil war, which could start a conflagration in the wider Middle East and North Africa with its massive oil deposits. The US, however, has been accused of sending conflicting signals on the standoff.
As the direct backer of the Egyptian Army with its US$1.5 billion aid package, the US has enormous clout over that institution. But it has consistently refused to admit that the army had staged a coup, which would have disqualified them from receiving any aid. In fact, earlier this month US Secretary of State John Kerry, in a widely criticised statement, praised the Egyptian military for “restoring democracy” by ousting Morsi. Such statements gave legitimacy to widespread sentiments that the US actually was supportive of the coup.
Even before the present attack on the camps of the partisans of Morsi, 200 supporters had already been killed by the security forces. In the present attacks, the government media has admitted that at least 525 were killed, while the Muslim Brotherhood say the number is as high as 2000. Whatever the actual number, what is certain is that Egypt is on the cusp of a civil war, which the one-month state of emergency declared by the army will not be able to prevent. Regrettably, the US has once more protested the latest action but has not declared that a coup took place, which would be the only action that would place some real pressure on the army.
The role of the army reflects the dangers of separating means from ends. The secularists, backed by the west, obviously see the greater danger represented by the Muslim Brotherhood, with their desire to make Egypt a more Islamic state, than from the army. It does not seem to matter to them that at the Parliamentary elections, 70% of the electorate voted for the Brotherhood and other Islamicist parties and that at the Presidential elections, Morsi received 51% of the popular vote.
In their version of democracy, they are willing to traduce the very constitutional rules they helped formulate. Only if they were involved in the government, would there be democracy.
What is most tragic about the United States’ declared policy to “export” democracy to the region is that they were willing to depose a group with an 85-year history in the country, and arguably the one with the most moderate Islamicist orientation. As the secular-nominated interim government’s own vice president and a Washington favourite, Mohammed El-Baradei, who resigned in the face of Wednesday’s violence said, “Violence begets violence, and mark my words, the only beneficiaries from what happened today are extremist groups”.
It is very likely that events will follow the path of Algeria in 1991 after the Islamic Salvation Front won the first round of elections and were poised to win the second and last round and the army cancelled the elections. Hundreds of thousands were then murdered in clashes between Islamists and the military.

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Egypt’s Tragedy

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