MENA House: Protests "En Vogue" in Egypt

It’s become a daily event.  On most evening chat shows, whether it be 10 masa’an (10 in the Evening), al hayat al youm (Life Daily), 90 Minutes, or 48 Hours, protests are reported on regular, yes daily basis.  It’s totally "en vogue" these days.

Who can argue that democracy does not exist in Egypt? Of course it does, protests go on everywhere and anywhere.  Therefore the Egyptian public have a right to speak out their opinions.  A sign of a healthy society?

MENA House: An Interview with Head of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood

However, on 18 April, the discussion on public protests hit (no intent on the pun) the People’s Assembly (Maglis al shaab).  An internal dispute between two leading MPs broke out. Fists were thrown, unpleasantries were exchanged.


As Mona El Shazly commented on her evening show 10 Masa’an, this has become commonplace, something to which viewers and commentators have become accustomed.  The real cause for concern was the nature of the topic that caused inflammatory reactions: the National Democratic Party called on the Interior Ministry to shoot protestors, referring specifically to demonstrations on 6 April.

Activists who took part in those protests included the 6^th of April Youth Movement, the leftist Tagammu Party, the liberal Ghad Party, and the National Association for Change (NAC), and Mohamed El Baradei's pro-reform coalition, as well as members of other groups.

Protesters had planned to walk from downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square to the nearby People’s Assembly in an attempt to emulate the 6 April 2008 general strike and to protest Egypt's longstanding Emergency Law.  However, security forces brought the demonstrations to a halt.

Days before, the security forces had warned the 6^th of April Movement that the demonstration was a security threat: protests in Tahrir Square in the centre of Cairo effectively brings all of the city to a standstill. According to media reports in Egypt, ninety-three activists were arrested and ten police officers were injured.

Back to the "debate" in the People’s Assembly:

A meeting was held to discuss the human rights violations committed on 6 April.  Adding salt to the wound, a National Democratic Party (NDP) member Nassh’at al Qassas said, "I don’t know why the Interior Ministry is so lenient with protestors....Rather than using water hoses to disperse the crowd, the police ought to use live rounds to shoot them."

El-Qassas' NDP colleague, Ahmed Abu Aqrab, alleged that members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) parliamentary bloc had falsified reports about police violations to gain media coverage. The claim led to a fistfight between Abu Aqrab and MB parliamentarian Mohamed el-Biltagy.

Vulgar exchanges between the two parties continued, with Abu Aqrab claiming that the MB receive illegal funding from abroad, to which MB member el Biltagy responded, "What do you mean? I am better than you and the likes of you!"

Another Brotherhood MP, Hamdi Hassan, showed el-Qassas a shredded t-shirt that allegedly belonged to a protester who had participated in the 6 April demonstrations.  Heated discussions continued in the People’s Assembly and later became the main topic of the evening news discussion programmes.

Assistant Interior Minister Hamed Rashid said the law allowed police to employ force against anyone attempting to disrupt public order or attack security personnel. He added that those who attacked the security forces, who were there to "maintain calm", cannot be Egyptian patriots and therefore deserve what was coming to them.

The US State Department responded by renewing calls for democratic reform.  Spokesperson P. J. Crowley said, "All individuals must exercise their basic freedoms freely." He continued, "All Egyptians must play a genuine role in an open and transparent political process," adding that more people should be involved in the political system.

In a statement last week the US Government eliminated funding for civil society in Egypt:

Under the Obama Administration, the US government acquiesced to demands from Egypt and Bolivia to eliminate all funding for independent civil society and continues the policy of restricting U.S. assistance to groups to those that receive the approval of the Egyptian government.

Whilst the US government uses democratic reform as leverage for funding to Egypt, this is not the main cause for concern.  Civil groups continue to receive funding from other sources such as the Middle East Partnership Initiative and the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

The real worry is over three points: the enraged reaction in the People’s Assembly, hardly the action of role models in society; NDP members encouraging forces to use live rounds on their fellow Egyptian citizens in the name of "maintaining security’"; and the prospects of what might occur in the next influential protest.

Comments

[Catherine]

I've been following this story on Aljazeera English and was really amazed at some of the quotes reported. Since this was happening on Monday and Tuesday, I found a couple of articles to get more information and background , and I think they're still a good addition to this thread even though several days have passed (see links below).

Quotes like: "Shoot them [activists] and use bullets against those outlaws. We are 80 million Egyptians, and we don't care if we lose a bunch of contraveners like them," said Nashaat Kassas, a lawmaker."

And I also had to admire the courage and wit of those who protested statements like these, who came out on 20 April holding placards with bulls eyes and targets on them that read "Shoot us". They reminded me of Iranian Green Movement protesters.

Some ruling party members of parliament call for harsher tactics against protestors
April 19, 2010
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/04/egypt-ruling-partys-mps-want-political-demonstrators-shot.html#more

Anger at Egypt MPs' call for force
April 20, 2010
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/04/2010420175853326422.html

[Christina]

Catherine,

The links are good indeed. Although with regards to al Jazeera/english, Egyptian media (includin private media companies) are quite anti it. Primarily because they can over-exagerate a problem or put Egyptian foreign poliy in a bad llight (in particular referencer to Egypt closing their borders during the Gaza crisis)...

Did you hear about the government implicating a certain corner (they call it the Hyde Park of Cairo) for people to protest in? It means protestors can stand as they like without disrupting traffic e.t.c.-it wasn't welcomed though.

[Catherine]

RE: Did you hear about the government designating the 'Hyde Park of Cairo' for people to protest in?

Maybe. Was that just recently or did they have that in place several months ago when the Viva Gaza people were in Cairo? Is it centrally located and accessible to domestic and foreign press? Who was not welcoming, trigger-happy MPs :-) or protesters?

[Christina]

Very recent (post 'discussion' in the People's Assembly)

Protestors opposed the idea because:
1) Some claimed they are not 'cattle' who should be herded into a space to view their opinions.
2) Some protestors said it meant they would have no escape route should anyone feel 'trigger-happy' as you so nicely put it.
3) whilst other protestors claim their protests may not be as 'effective' (you analyse what that means) should they be herded over to 1 side...

[Dave]

"Who can argue that democracy does not exist in Egypt? Of course it does, protests go on everywhere and anywhere. Therefore the Egyptian public have a right to speak out their opinions. A sign of a healthy society?"

******

Maybe to certain extent, but in most Muslim countries there exists a crisis of legitimacy. Tensions between secular government forces and Islamist movements are normal there. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood would win easily in fair, democratic elections. Pakistan is another example.

Don't forget the discrmination against the Coptic Christians.

[Dave]

The article is a good read. Thank you.

[Christina]

Dave-your welcome.

[Bill]

Christina,

Thank you for the article. I do get a laugh out of it though because the two sides claiming to be democratic resorted to violence over an issue. Sort of shows what they trully think of democracy. The current regime hides behind the veneer of deomocracy for legitimacy while in fact stomping out any true democracy that may arise. All the while the largest opposition block openly courts democracy but if given the chance they would institute a theocracy that would make a mockery of true democracy. Sort of sad both only use it as tool while in fact neither are trully democractic in espousing true freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, liberty, and equality regardless of faith. Frankly the day true deomocracy will come about is when Egypt itself stops differentiating by faith--the first step is to abolish ID cards indicating faith. These ID cards are a clear example Egyptian society is not ready for a true liberal democracy because if the were why in the world must they identify a person by religion? These ID cards, incidentally a norm across the Islamic world, clearly propogates the segregated mindset across the Islamic world clearly saying "hey you different because your either a Muslim or someone else." Their is no other purpose behind this other than to segregate based on faith meaning different rights based on faith!

Thx
Bill

[Dave]

Bill,

Egypt will not do it because granting equal rights to minority faith groups will damage Egypt's reputation as a leader in the Muslim world. Egypt is the most important country in the Middle East. When Egypt makes major decisions on political and security matters in the region, its neighbors usually fall into line. The Egyptians holds the most diplomatic sway/influence of any Arab country in the region and abroad . The bulk of Israel's security policy is centered around Egypt, after all. They want to keep it that way.

[Catherine]

Christina,
I read this article yesterday and was wondering if there is any communication between democratic opposition groups in Egypt and the Green Movement in Iran?

Let Democracy Resound
by SOHRAB AHMARI and NASSER WEDDADY
23 Apr 2010
Why Arab and Iranian reformers should unite.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/04/-let-democracy-resound-by.html

[Bill]

Dave,

True and the real reason is that Sharia clearly does not grant equal status on par with Muslims. After all it's why the Cairo Decleration of Human Rights guarantees not rights but dignity. I have to admit most people just don't get it because they have never taken the time to read the Qura, a Hadith source, and the Sira. If they had it would become quite clear that Muslims enjoy a higher status over non believers simply because of faith. The whole concept of the Dhimmi is a perfect real world example of this. Ironcially I think Mubarak's government actually is be better for religious minorities--just imagine if the Brotherhood came into power? If they did it would mean the full force of Sharia and we all know that means second class status for non Muslims.

Thx
Bill

[Catherine]

Christina,
Sorry, but in the (hopefully short-lived) absence of an edit function, I just wanted to make clear that 'democratic opposition groups in Egypt' in my question above is referring to non-Islamist groups.

I share the opinion that the MB in particular, and perhaps other Islamist groups as well, are using democratic aspirations merely as a foot-in-the-door to power. Quoting from the article in my post above, "Just two years ago, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood proposed establishing a ruling clerical elite based on Iran's Guardian Council."