Full-blown revolt in Egypt
By Seema Sengupta
KOLKATA ― The country of the pyramids and pharaohs is up in flames. Long accumulated discontent against the ruling Hosni Mubarak regime has taken the shape of a full-blown revolt.
With the charismatic President being compelled to let loose his military on adamant anti-government protestors, his continued grip over Egypt depends on its loyalty and the texture of Washington’s altered Egypt policy.
In a reshaped political environment, President Obama’s administration is required to make a critical choice of bestowing its sympathies on either the people of Egypt or Washington’s long standing dictatorial ally. It remains to be seen whether the U.S. having burnt its fingers on democracy promotion in the Middle East ensures a smooth transition to a vibrant democratic setup where the citizens have a voice in policymaking.
Undoubtedly it is a difficult decision to take especially when its Middle East policy revolves around the areas of maintaining regional stability and containing radicalism. More so because President Mubarak has been a key input to the Obama administration on the Arab-Israeli conflict. That is precisely the reason why Washington has all along downplayed the serious human rights violations occurring in Egypt.
Decades of emergency law have throttled freedom of expression and encouraged state sponsored torture as evidenced in the incidence of the young Khaled Said being beaten to death by riot police publicly. Yet Washington has been tolerating this secular dictator in the hope of achieving elusive peace in the Middle East.
In fact President Obama did recognize the futility of offering democracy assistance to a state where a pluralistic multiparty system failed to take shape due to the lack of conducive a political and legal framework. This realization encouraged the President to make a significant cut-down on his budget request for democracy promotion in the North African nation.
Creating an informed citizenry to effectively drive the democratic reform process in Egypt seems to be the alternate objective of U.S. developmental aid. Focusing on concrete advancement in the social, economic and education sectors might be a more pragmatic approach.
However, a greater international engagement on political reform is the need of the hour given Egypt’s strategic significance in the Arab world. Being home to Shia, Sunni, Bahai Muslims along with Jews and the largest Christian population in the Middle East, Egypt is a symbol of a vibrant yet distorted pluralism.
The authoritarian regime has indirectly influenced the growth of religious intolerance by throttling opposition voices and sowing discord among its opponents thus creating a political vacuum which is palatable to its objectives.
Fueled by government complicity, Egyptian society has witnessed the unprecedented growth of sectarianism culminating in acts of violence against religious minorities. This provided the perfect refuge for President Mubarak to sustain the imperfect perception of Islamic extremists taking advantage of any democratic flexibility in his country.
On the contrary even the radical and banned Al-Ikhwan or Society of Muslim Brothers has diluted its fanatical discourse by publicly throwing its weight behind Mohammed ElBaradei, the liberal former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In fact they visualize themselves as a part of a broader opposition effort to restore multiparty democracy in Egypt which includes political groups like Wafd, New Wafd, El Ghad and Nasserist. Furthermore, the Egyptian populace is moderate by nature and nearly 77 percent of them boycotted the last parliamentary election due to the absence of a centrist-liberal alternative.
They expect Western powers to support their legitimate democratic aspirations and nudge the present regime to carve out an inclusive and participatory political space befitting the country’s legacy. The White House has so far been benign to the Egyptian government’s extension of emergency law and restrictive legislations.
The customary statements of condemnation emanating from the President’s office and State Department are rather abstract assertions aimed at domestic consumption. Though it is an incontrovertible fact that democratic reforms in Egypt will evolve gradually, the U.S. in collaboration with European nations should strive to create a positive incentive for its peaceful transition into a thriving pluralistic democracy.
Also, Washington must use its leverage with Cairo to modify the retrogressive sections of the Egyptian Constitution that impose restrictive clauses. Establishing an independent judiciary, upholding rule of law, lifting unwarranted restrictions on political groups and civil society, promoting a free media, as well as an accountable, interim administration should be the immediate goal to end the current impasse.
The Obama administration runs the risk of alienating the largest Arab population due to a growing presumption of the U.S. President being soft on Arab regimes engaged in human rights violations. Washington’s ability to leverage its aid in securing a transparent and democratic presidential succession in Cairo is vital to the future of a delicate Arab-Israeli relationship.
Meanwhile, Mubarak must be censured for his desperate effort to retain the status quo by nominating his trusted intelligence chief as vice president. Last but not least, without internal restructuring of the existing political institutions in Egypt, it will be difficult to retain the hard earned fruits of any democratic struggle.
Seema Sengupta is a journalist based in Kolkata, India. She can be reached at sengupta.seema@gmail.com.