Egypt’s Corrupt Generals Push Country To The Brink….

Unless the positive energy from the Tahrir Revolution is honored — the biggest message was rupture from Egypt’s corrupt and tyrannous political past — it could all go downhill very quickly.

 
[Black Star News Editorial] 
 
The
coup d’etat in Egypt is shameful. Yet what’s even more disgusting is
the muted U.S. reaction to the military takeover by Hosni Mubarak’s
Generals. 
 
The U.S. still has clout with the Generals. A few
weeks ago when Egyptian prosecutors, remnants of Mubarak’s judiciary
blocked Americans who worked with NGOs from leaving the country, pending
court cases, the U.S. threatened to suspend the $1 billion annual
payments to the military. 
 
The regime backed off. 
 
Now
that the regime threatens to plunge the country towards civil war, with
its reckless action, the United States has not yet made a firm
statement.  
 
Last year Egyptians swept the dictator of 30 years,
Mubarak, from power with the Tahrir Square uprising — which was much
admired around the world and inspired people in other countries who are
still fighting tyranny. In Uganda, the regime there banned citizens from
texting “Egypt,” “Tahrir Square,” and “Mubarak,” which was laughable. 
 
Egyptians
elected a Parliament, where the Muslim Brotherhood, Mubarak’s nemeses,
won a strong majority. Last week, on the eve of the second round of
Egypt’s presidential election, the Generals who had been running the
show from the background, made it official. 
 
They saw the writings on the wall so they pre-empted the transition towards a new Egypt. 
 
The
Generals, who are in their 70s and 80s, used Mubarak’s Supreme Court to
nullify last year’s Parliamentary elections. They then dissolved the
legislature. 
 
After the Presidential elections Sunday, the
Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate, Mohamed Morsy, declared victory; the
State Media outlets also confirmed his win. It’s unclear whether the
junta will allow Morsy to be declared the official victor.  
 
It
won’t matter anyway since the Military subsequently declared that
Egypt’s new president –whomever it turns out to be– would report to
the Military, and not the other way around. The Military would have the
powers to determine whether to go to war and only the Military could
remove its senior officers. 
 
The Generals also announced an
interim “constitution” which means the army all along had no plans to
honor the outcome if its candidate didn’t win and that the Military
would appoint the individuals who will draft a new permanent
constitution. 
 
These are the kind of outrageous Draconian
decisions and rulings that can push countries towards civil war. Perhaps
the Generals are gambling that Egyptians will take their chances with
the junta rather than with the Brotherhood even though they were
elected. 
 
So what then was the purpose of Tahrir Square? What
was the purpose of the Parliamentary elections? What was the purpose of
the Presidential election?  
 
But more important, why has the U.S. reaction been muted?  
 
Democratic
“elections” by definition means the outcome is generally unknown, or at
least supposed to be known, particularly when they’re competitive. The
will of Egyptian voters should be honored even if the party that the
U.S. preferred didn’t win. 
 
The worst outcome would be to allow
the politically discredited Military to hijack Egypt’s march towards
democratic and accountable government by imposing itself, or indirectly
by awarding victory to Ahmed Shafik, the defeated candidate, who is a
former airforce commander and Mubarak’s former prime minister. 
 
The
Egyptian Generals must be held accountable for any potential violence
that arises as a result of their coup d’etat and they would have to face the
consequences.

Democratic elections comes with disappointments
— for the U.S. and for Egyptians whose candidate  didn’t win this time.
Yet there could be opportunities for other parties and contenders if the gains are allowed to solidify.

Unless the positive energy from the Tahrir Revolution is honored —
the biggest message was rupture from Egypt’s corrupt and tyrannous
political past — it could all go downhill very quickly.

Hosni Mubarak is clearly pulling the strings even from his “death” bed.

“Speaking Truth To Empower.”

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