Egyptian courts are handing down death sentences for hundreds of Morsi supporters. Barbaric. Al Sisi quits as military chief to contest the presidential election. A sham election, everyone knows. So much for democracy in Egypt. Considering that we have plenty of them going on in our own country, which we choose to remain silent about and indifferent to, it is almost criminal that we should discuss and protest about infringements of moral law in another country, on a different continent. However, it might not be entirely pointless to make an exception for Egypt. For it is the best example of what is wrong with the world we live in.
A long dictatorship in a third world country, followed by a mass uprising, followed by elections, followed by a brief display of unrivalled incompetence by an elected government, followed by an army coup, followed by the world and regional powers not-so-secretly supporting it, followed by sham trails of political opponents and violence throughout. Déjà vu, nay? Yes, this is a very familiar story.
In actuality, this story is far lengthier, viler and more deplorable than it appears synopsised in a single paragraph. Because from between the lines glares the reader in the face another story of hypocrisy, duplicity, casuistry, betrayal, treachery and stupidity that characterise the world of politics.
Brush the conspiracy theorists off; the Arab Spring was genuine. Bloodshed and lives laid down were real. Tahrir Square was not counterfeit. The removal of Hosni Mubarak was a victory. Holding elections was the right step but what happened afterwards was inevitable.
Handicapped by his Brotherhood background, Morsi was destined to fail from the very beginning. The world did not want him. His own liberal countrymen did not want him. And he, with his fanciful ideals and overambitious commitments, could only have made the gaffes he did. Dispensation of his perceived divine duties as a Muslim ruler was higher on his list of priorities than building a culture for democracy to thrive in. He aspired to be an Amir-ul-Momineen (commander of the faithful) by trying to vest all powers in himself. He refused to listen to growing voices of dissatisfaction. Predators were lurking and the ambush was carried out with great precision. Adieu, Morsi.
Morsi might have been naïve, ill-advised, shortsighted or even foolish but was he not a democratically elected president who should have been removed democratically, if that was needed? Yes, but there was nothing democratic about the way he was deposed. For how long have the generals been waiting for their moment, who knows? Maybe from day one but they held back, waiting for the right opportunity to arrive. When it did they made no mistake in grabbing it. The generals did not only out-power Morsi — they outwitted him also.
Silence from the champions of democracy and human rights over his undemocratic ouster, brutal handling of protesters and shameless political victimisation of his supporters by the perpetrators of the coup begs colossal questions. Is there really anything like a global conscience? Is not the rhetoric about commitment to democracy in the developed world duplicitous? The answers are obvious: to lofty principles they pay lip service, to their meaner interests they are committed.
But who is the real loser? Morsi? No. It is the people of Egypt. Mubarak or Morsi or al Sisi, the people of Egypt have paid the price they did not even owe. They will continue to. It is time for a reality check, folks. The haves and have-nots, simpleton masses, imbecile politicians and greedy generals of the third world, pharisaical and rapacious power brokers of the developed one — this is our world. Egypt mirrors it very well.
The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore