Democratic Egypt
Egypt's Christian Copts may now breathe easier. As will the socialists in Egypt, the secularist-minded and those who insist their demands for pure, unadulterated democracy, styled for Egyptian consumption become a reality. The amended, first-leg of that journey has now been undertaken, even while the Egyptian military and the police cope with the ongoing resolve of Muslim Brotherhood stalwarts to maintain the pressure of their protests over the removal of Mohammed Morsi.The initial, albeit temporary first cabinet has been sworn in, post Morsi-ouster. Deemed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and the judiciary and the Egyptian bureaucracy to represent nothing but a required correction to a unfortunately false start on the journey to a new and improved Egypt. An economist is now leading the new government with the swearing in of Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi, while General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi remains defence minister and first deputy prime minister.
This caretaker government is comprised of a 33-person cabinet, three of whom are female ministers. There are three Christians in the cabinet and representatives of the National Salvation Front, the main opposition group to the Muslim Brotherhood. Also included are members of the Social Democratic Party. And Mohamed elBaradei was installed as interim President Adly Mansour's vice-president. It is a partially inclusive government.
Which has prompted the United States to criticize its lack of an Islamist presence.
The truth is, of course, that President Mansour repeatedly stated that there is a place in his government for Muslim Brotherhood representation, but the Muslim Brotherhood elite have scorned that offer. They will negotiate nothing but a return of Mohammed Morsi to the presidency, and the Brotherhood majority to parliament. The Salafist Al-Nour party that was satisfied with sitting alongside the Brotherhood in mini-majority position in parliament, but which had supported the removal of the Brotherhood from power has resisted offers to join this parliament.
"This is a repeat of the same mistake that the last government was blamed for, and leads to a totally biased government" said a spokesman for the Al-Nour Party. It will not be accepting of a situation where it sees "that one movement replaces another to control the government, which should be unbiased and non-partisan", a statement obviously meant to uphold the dignity of the party, not to give occasion to great hilarity.
The swearing in of the new government will give greater impetus to the Muslim Brotherhood's campaign to dislodge the 'illegal' overturning of their 'legal democratic' government, disrupting Egypt's march under their banner to democratic rule under sharia. The Muslim Brotherhood along with Salafist Bedouin and members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad are attacking the Egyptian military in the Sinai.
And the military no longer feels restrained in dealing with this renewed threat to Egypt's stability.
The response will be effective in taking the Muslim Brotherhood back to its long years of restraint, both self-imposed and militarily supported by a government that recognizes an adversary to Egypt's advancement into the modern world of social civility and political empowerment.
Labels: Conflict, Democracy, Egypt, Islamism, Muslim Brotherhood
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, July 18, 2013
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