by B. R. GOWANI
Egyptian Army soldiers take their positions in front of protesters near the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo on July 3. Last week, the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, was overthrown in a military coup d’etat. PHOTO/CNN
“Mother America”/Egyptian military
“Mother America”, the name by which the Egyptians know the United States (because it meddles a lot in the Egyptian affairs as it does in so many other countries’ affairs), had through a foreign minister of some Arab country (most probably the Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates or UAE) informed Morsi of the conditions for remaining in power. He was asked to accept a new prime minister, cabinet, and governors. This would have resulted in him losing the legislative powers.
Since he came to power a year ago, the military or the deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak appointed Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) had already stripped Morsi of most of the powers. Lately, various means, such as creating petrol shortages, cutting off of electricity, and scarcity of policemen were used to incite people against Morsi’e regime. Suddenly, after his departure, the things have improved on all three fronts.
The democratically elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said he would lose his neck rather than accept the US offer. Anne Patterson, the US Ambassador to Egypt, was informed of the decision. Morsi’s aide then talked with Susan Rice, the US National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama. The aide then texted to his associate:
“Mother just told us that we will stop playing in one hour.”
This Mother is very cruel and metes out punishment in a sadistic manner. Thus, in a well coordinated coup d’etat, the military removed Morsi from power on July 3. He had just completed a year in power. As it happens many a times, the Morsi appointed Defense Minister and military chief Gen. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was the one to oust him. Though Morsi didn’t lose his neck, and most probably is not going to lose, his whereabouts are yet unknown.
The New York Times has tried to downplay the US role in Egypt when it says, “the United State has far less influence in Egypt than it did a generation ago.” The relations with Morsi were not cozy but they were not bad either. And anyway, it is the Egyptian military (like its counterparts in Pakistan and Turkey) which counts.
The Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley obtained documents which shows the US State Department involvement in the Middle East countries, including Egypt.
Jen Psaki, the US State Department spokeswoman, said Morsi’s government “wasn’t a democratic rule.” She then clarified:
“What I mean is what we’ve been referencing about the 22 million people who have been out there voicing their views and making clear that democracy is not just about simply winning the vote at the ballot box.”
Most of the people know this fact that elections, every four, five, or six years, does not make a country (including the United States) a democracy. Badr Abdelatty, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said the comments
“reflect understanding and realization… about the political developments that Egypt is witnessing in the recent days, as embodying the will of the millions of Egyptians who took to the streets starting on June 30 to ask for their legitimate rights and call for early elections.”
The beneficiaries have to justify the US. The Mother provides an annual aid of $1.5 billion to Egypt. Out of that $1.3 billion is spent on buying the US helicopters, fighter jets, etc. Which benefits the US defense companies and the Egyptian military at the expense of the US taxpayers and the Egyptian people who live under the shadow of the military.
Just yesterday, it was announced that the US is going ahead with supplying four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt.
Egyptian author Nawal el Saadawi is correct when she says:
This aid that goes directly into the pockets of the ruling class and corrupts it. This aid has strengthened American-Israeli colonial rule in our lands. All that the Egyptian people have gained from this aid is more poverty and humiliation.
Morsi’s removal has proved another bonanza for the Egyptian military. Kuwait, UAE, and Saudi Arabia has offered $12 billion aid to Egypt.
Morsi’s rule
A year back I had written about Morsi:
“It would be a bit too much to expect the MB’s present arrangement with the Egyptian military and the US government to last too long due to internal tensions between the Islamists and the secularists, on the one hand, and the explosive situation in the region, on the other hand.”
And
“Even if the radicals in the MB do nor perturb the arrangement, the salafist Al-Nour Party, which has won over a quarter of the parliamentary seats, and is in favor of Islamic laws is not going to refrain from inciting the MB radicals.”
In order to out do the Al-Nour Party’s pressure, Morsi was allowing his own radicals to do things which were not conducive for a pluralistic society. In a conference on 16 June, Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya’s Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud called the Shia Muslims “unclean.” Unsurprisingly, Morsi, along with many important Sunni sheikhs, was listening to this rubbish, but didn’t open his mouth to stop this nonsense.
On 25 June, four Shias were beaten and burned to death when the house they were in was set on fire. The mob was led by Salafist sheikhs.
In this situation, the Coptic Christians (9.1% of the population), Shias, secular Sunnis, non-believers and others may feel extremely insecure.
The only way to avoid the biggest tragedy (and Egypt is facing many right now) that is, the civil war, is for the Muslim Brotherhood to declare openly that it will not introduce any Islamic laws in Egypt, if they return back to power.
People
The power is now in the hands of the military and the secularists, both supported by the US. The people who forced Hosni Mubarak will have to wait a little longer for the realization of their dream of fair and prosperous Egypt.
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com