Daily Times

Mohamed Morsi, the president of Egypt, was overthrown by the military on July 3, 2013. Military had served him an ultimatum 48 hours earlier either to come to terms with the demands of the opposition or resign. Morsi invited the military leadership to his office for dialogue but refused to accept the dictates of the army. His opponents were in the streets of Cairo and other cities for about a month alleging that he had consolidated all power in his hands, which kept him above judicial review and made himself loyal only to the Muslim Brotherhood, the party he belonged to. His critics pointed out growing unemployment, unrest and the parallel administration orchestrated by the Muslim Brotherhood. They felt those factors betrayed the spirit of the revolution that brought Morsi and his party to power one year ago.

General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, the head of the armed forces said, “The move was aimed at resolving the country’s debilitating political crisis.” He also said the army had come in support of the demands of the people in the streets in an act of public service. Adly Mansour, the head of the Constitutional Court, became the president on interim basis. Mohamed ElBeradai, former head of the International Atomic Agency and one-time aspirant for the job of the presidency has been appointed as the vice president. The Brotherhood has asked for the reinstatement of Morsi and dismissed the newly appointed president’s call for dialogue.

There has been a mixed reaction from the international community. The European Union has disapproved the military action but did not ask for Morsi’s reinstatement. The Obama administration in a carefully worded statement expressed concern at the removal of Morsi from power and suggested that power should be returned to an elected government quickly. It did not characterise the military action as a coup but the president has asked the agencies to review the implications of the military’s actions on US aid to Egypt. The governments of Saudi Arabia and Qatar have welcomed the change in Egypt and reiterated their commitment of financial assistance. Turkey has condemned the ouster of an elected president by the military. Morsi came to power one year ago. He inherited a difficult administration and an army built and patronised by the previous regime. Their loyalty to the new government was not beyond doubt. He reinstated the parliament sacked by the transitional administration, set up the 85-member constituent assembly to draft the constitution. Following the death of 16 soldiers in Sinai, President Morsi sacked six top army generals including the chief of the army and established his authority over a recalcitrant defence force. Morsi, during the eight days of the Israel-Hamas armed conflict in November 2012, extended support to the people of Gaza but kept the door of negotiations open. The ceasefire agreement was finally brokered and Hamas was able to include some of its demands in the agreement. The international community including the United States appreciated the role of Morsi in working out the agreement. The visit of the US Secretary of State to Cairo prior to the conclusion of the agreement brought diplomatic recognition to the newly elected Egyptian leader. Morsi brought himself to the centre of regional diplomacy.

The diplomatic success stimulated a sense of ebullience in Morsi. Hardly had the Israel-Hamas conflict receded when Morsi unilaterally amended the constitution and brought administrative and legislative powers in his hands, and that too was kept beyond judicial scrutiny. The opposition denounced the move and termed it as a step towards full fledged dictatorship. People came out in the streets and complained that that their hard earned civic liberty has been snatched by the president. In response to countrywide protests Morsi proposed a referendum, an offer the opposition rejected outright. He still went ahead with the referendum. In the meantime, Morsi had placed the Muslim Brotherhood sympathisers at the head of state institutions. The media came under stricter scrutiny. According to The Washington Post, more journalists were harassed in the first six months of the new regime than during the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak.

In January this year, people opposed to Morsi had a fierce battle with the police in Cairo as well as in other cities. The violence escalated with a court verdict sentencing 22 people to death for the riots that took place in connection with a football match a year ago. People said that the anti-revolution judiciary, in concert with the police, took revenge on the youth. The violence spread to all major towns in the country and more than 36 people were killed. On February 1, demonstrators attacked the president’s residence in Cairo. The situation dangerously deteriorated when the arms smuggled out of Libya reached the militants opposed to the government and activists of Muslim Brotherhood, making an ideal ground for civil war. The defence minister warned that unless a political solution was immediately reached the country could slide into disintegration.

President Morsi did not act prudently in dealing with his opponents at home. His bid to consolidate absolute power, strangle the media and give the police a free hand in dealing with the protestors made people suspicious of the Muslim Brotherhood’s commitment to democracy. On the other hand, people in Egypt should have exhibited a little more patience. One year was definitely not enough to sort out the mess decades of dictatorial rule had created. Morsi was ousted too early for doing too little.

General Fatah al-Sisi claimed that the army has acted in the interest of public service. In the past 60 years the army stood solidly behind the dictators in brutally suppressing the demands of the people. Hundreds of political activists were detained indefinitely and were subjected to inhuman torture. They had no forum to seek justice. The Arab Spring chased the army to the barracks but now they are back in power again. In the past one week it has shut down a number of print and electronic media outlets sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood, detained over 300 activists and warrants of arrest have been issued against the top leaders of the Brotherhood. More than 100 people have been killed, some inside mosques in Cairo. On the regional front, the army has sealed the Rafa crossing point, reinforcing the blockade against the people of Gaza. All these belied the claim that the army has acted in public interest.

Since the Camp David agreement in 1978 the Egyptian army began to receive arms and ammunition from the US. Over the years the Egyptian armed forces established cordial relations with the US military and by extension with the Israeli armed forces. As the crisis in Egypt reached a climax last week, according to The Washington Post, General Martin Dempsey from the Pentagon called his counterpart in Cairo. The Pentagon has declined to reveal what guidance the US military gave about the advisability of overthrowing a democratically elected leader. Egyptians should not presume their army had acted in isolation.

Now that the destabilisation of the democratically elected government is complete and the military is seemingly in control of the situation, one should ponder what is likely to unfold in coming days. The extremists in the Brotherhood would be driven to the conclusion that the western model of democracy would not serve the purpose. They might resort to violence that their fellow comrades had adopted in Algeria when their electoral victory was denied by the establishment in 1980. Democratic governance suffers from many shortcomings but provides better options than civil war. The people of Egypt should make the right choice before time runs out.

The writer is a former official of the United Nations