From NOW Lebanon:
Divided Egypt
Raphael Thelen, December 20, 2011 share
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Egyptian protesters gather debris in a street by the Institute of Egypt, which was torched during protests, in central Cairo on December 20. (AFP/Mohammad Abed)
Three walls have been erected around Cairo’s Tahrir Square in the last weeks: two concrete ones at Mohammad Mahmoud Street and Kasr al-Ainy Street and a metal one in front of the cabinet building. The military has put them up to stop the clashes between its security forces and the protesters in Tahrir Square.
In reality, they are nothing but fig leafs as the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces (SCAF) appears to be escalating the political fight against the Tahrir protests and the Muslim Brotherhood. But it’s not only the military and the opposition that have been at loggerheads since the January 25 revolution. Tensions are also running high between the liberal and the Islamic opposition as they threaten to divide the country.
“The events taking place in the streets aren’t a revolution. They’re an attack on the revolution.” These were the words of newly appointed Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzoury that convinced many in Egypt that the basic relations between the ruling SCAF and the opposition has changed in the last couple of days. Talking about the latest clashes, it seems that Ganzoury, speaking on behalf of SCAF, is no longer looking for compromise with Egypt’s political opposition; he is gearing up for confrontation.
Ganzoury made his statements on Saturday in a televised press conference. In Mubarak era-style, he blamed the violence of the recent days on the protesters and said that “third parties” had opened fire on the military, which fought back only in self-defense. Making use of the State TV, participants in the latest protests were portrayed as thugs committing random acts of vandalism.
Ganzoury was appointed premier after his predecessor stepped down amidst the November protests on Tahrir, which left more than 40 dead and thousands injured. Ganzoury had already served in the same position under former President Hosni Mubarak.
The military is banking on the “silent majority,” the segment of Egyptian society that is wary of the ongoing conflict and wants a return to stability and calm. It’s a strategy that might work. During the latest clashes, groups of people were seen handing water to military personnel and helping them to seal off Tahrir Square. It was the first time that the army, instead of the Interior Ministry’s Central Security Forces, has clashed with protesters. It is a development that might divide the society as the army has a good reputation in the wider Egyptian public.
The Advisory Council, a civilian body that was formed after the November clashes, demanded an apology and a thorough investigation from the SCAF for the latest killings. But the SCAF hardly acknowledged the call, prompting ten members of the Advisory Council to resign, while the rest of the Council suspended its work. The channels of communication between the liberal opposition around the Tahrir movement and the SCAF are diminishing.
At the same time, the SCAF seems to be moving against the Muslim Brotherhood. A member of the ruling military council, General Mukhtar al-Mulla told a group of American and British journalists on Wednesday that the drafting of the new constitution would be subject to certain “parameters.”
"There will be an agreement beforehand on the form of this constituent assembly between the cabinet, the advisory committee for the military council and the parliament,” Mulla said. The original agreement between SCAF and the opposition said that the newly elected lower and upper houses of the parliament would choose an assembly that would draft the new constitution.
The announcement was met with fierce opposition by the Muslim Brotherhood, which won almost half of the votes in the first two rounds of parliamentary elections. They hope to translate their big electoral gains directly into the constitution-writing process. The military had tried in a similar move in November to have the last word in the constitution-writing process. Only after the escalating protests on Tahrir, did the the SCAF back off.
A member of the Muslim Brotherhood, who requested anonymity, told NOW Lebanon that the party would join the protests in Tahrir after the last round of elections in January, when they would have “popular legitimacy.” It would be a move that would boost the strength of the protests and threaten the SCAF. The Brotherhood has an estimated one million organized members, while the more conservative Salafist current, which would also probably join the protest, is estimated at two to four million members.
But conflict doesn’t only exist between the SCAF and opposition groups. The strong showing of the Islamist current during both rounds of elections has scared many liberals, especially Egypt’s Coptic community. “We are terrified,” said a member of the Orthodox Church in Aswan who preferred to remain anonymous. “The Islamists consider us second- or third-class members of society.”
Egyptian liberals also fear that the Brotherhood and the Salafists will impose strict Islamic dress codes and separation of men and women in public. Even though leaders of the Brotherhood and the Al-Nour party, the most important Salafist group, deny the allegations, few are convinced.
No matter who will get the upper hand in the political struggle in Egypt in the coming months, the time when liberals and Islamists stood united in Tahrir Square chanting, “The army and the people are one hand,” is over. The three walls tell their own story.
To read more: http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=344701#ixzz1hKzsAiHy
Only 25% of a given NOW Lebanon article can be republished. For information on republishing rights from NOW Lebanon: http://www.nowlebanon.com/Sub.aspx?ID=125478
Divided Egypt
Raphael Thelen, December 20, 2011 share
Read more by this author
Save as PDF
Egyptian protesters gather debris in a street by the Institute of Egypt, which was torched during protests, in central Cairo on December 20. (AFP/Mohammad Abed)
Three walls have been erected around Cairo’s Tahrir Square in the last weeks: two concrete ones at Mohammad Mahmoud Street and Kasr al-Ainy Street and a metal one in front of the cabinet building. The military has put them up to stop the clashes between its security forces and the protesters in Tahrir Square.
In reality, they are nothing but fig leafs as the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces (SCAF) appears to be escalating the political fight against the Tahrir protests and the Muslim Brotherhood. But it’s not only the military and the opposition that have been at loggerheads since the January 25 revolution. Tensions are also running high between the liberal and the Islamic opposition as they threaten to divide the country.
“The events taking place in the streets aren’t a revolution. They’re an attack on the revolution.” These were the words of newly appointed Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzoury that convinced many in Egypt that the basic relations between the ruling SCAF and the opposition has changed in the last couple of days. Talking about the latest clashes, it seems that Ganzoury, speaking on behalf of SCAF, is no longer looking for compromise with Egypt’s political opposition; he is gearing up for confrontation.
Ganzoury made his statements on Saturday in a televised press conference. In Mubarak era-style, he blamed the violence of the recent days on the protesters and said that “third parties” had opened fire on the military, which fought back only in self-defense. Making use of the State TV, participants in the latest protests were portrayed as thugs committing random acts of vandalism.
Ganzoury was appointed premier after his predecessor stepped down amidst the November protests on Tahrir, which left more than 40 dead and thousands injured. Ganzoury had already served in the same position under former President Hosni Mubarak.
The military is banking on the “silent majority,” the segment of Egyptian society that is wary of the ongoing conflict and wants a return to stability and calm. It’s a strategy that might work. During the latest clashes, groups of people were seen handing water to military personnel and helping them to seal off Tahrir Square. It was the first time that the army, instead of the Interior Ministry’s Central Security Forces, has clashed with protesters. It is a development that might divide the society as the army has a good reputation in the wider Egyptian public.
The Advisory Council, a civilian body that was formed after the November clashes, demanded an apology and a thorough investigation from the SCAF for the latest killings. But the SCAF hardly acknowledged the call, prompting ten members of the Advisory Council to resign, while the rest of the Council suspended its work. The channels of communication between the liberal opposition around the Tahrir movement and the SCAF are diminishing.
At the same time, the SCAF seems to be moving against the Muslim Brotherhood. A member of the ruling military council, General Mukhtar al-Mulla told a group of American and British journalists on Wednesday that the drafting of the new constitution would be subject to certain “parameters.”
"There will be an agreement beforehand on the form of this constituent assembly between the cabinet, the advisory committee for the military council and the parliament,” Mulla said. The original agreement between SCAF and the opposition said that the newly elected lower and upper houses of the parliament would choose an assembly that would draft the new constitution.
The announcement was met with fierce opposition by the Muslim Brotherhood, which won almost half of the votes in the first two rounds of parliamentary elections. They hope to translate their big electoral gains directly into the constitution-writing process. The military had tried in a similar move in November to have the last word in the constitution-writing process. Only after the escalating protests on Tahrir, did the the SCAF back off.
A member of the Muslim Brotherhood, who requested anonymity, told NOW Lebanon that the party would join the protests in Tahrir after the last round of elections in January, when they would have “popular legitimacy.” It would be a move that would boost the strength of the protests and threaten the SCAF. The Brotherhood has an estimated one million organized members, while the more conservative Salafist current, which would also probably join the protest, is estimated at two to four million members.
But conflict doesn’t only exist between the SCAF and opposition groups. The strong showing of the Islamist current during both rounds of elections has scared many liberals, especially Egypt’s Coptic community. “We are terrified,” said a member of the Orthodox Church in Aswan who preferred to remain anonymous. “The Islamists consider us second- or third-class members of society.”
Egyptian liberals also fear that the Brotherhood and the Salafists will impose strict Islamic dress codes and separation of men and women in public. Even though leaders of the Brotherhood and the Al-Nour party, the most important Salafist group, deny the allegations, few are convinced.
No matter who will get the upper hand in the political struggle in Egypt in the coming months, the time when liberals and Islamists stood united in Tahrir Square chanting, “The army and the people are one hand,” is over. The three walls tell their own story.
To read more: http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=344701#ixzz1hKzsAiHy
Only 25% of a given NOW Lebanon article can be republished. For information on republishing rights from NOW Lebanon: http://www.nowlebanon.com/Sub.aspx?ID=125478
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