The Grand Scam: Spinning Egypt’s Military Coup » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

The Grand Scam: Spinning Egypt’s Military Coup » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

July 19-21, 2013
by ESAM AL-AMIN
Source:Counterpunch

Every coup d’état in history begins with a military General announcing the overthrow and arrest of the country’s leader, the suspension of the constitution, and the dissolution of the legislature. If people resist, it turns bloody. Egypt is no exception.

As the dust settles and the fog over the events unfolding across Egypt dissipates, the political scene becomes much clearer. Regardless of how one dresses the situation on the ground, the political and ideological battle that has been raging for over a year between the Islamist parties and their liberal and secular counterparts was decided because of a single decisive factor: military intervention by Egypt’s generals on behalf of the latter.

As I argued before in several of my articles (as have others), there is no doubt that President Mohammad Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) committed political miscalculations and made numerous mistakes, especially by ignoring the demands of many of the revolutionary youth groups and abandoning their former opposition partners. They frequently behaved in a naïve and arrogant manner. But in any civilized and democratic society, the price of incompetence or narcissism is exacted politically at the ballot box.

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Battle intensifies between Egyptian state and broadcasters

 7 hours ago
By Asma Alsharif and Shadia Nasralla
Reuters
Source: Yahoo News

CAIRO (Reuters) - The owner of an Egyptian TV channel that satirizes Islamist president Mohamed Mursi was banned from leaving the country on Thursday, hours after Mursi attacked him by name, authorities shut down another channel and a state TV anchor resigned on air.

"This is dictatorship," a lawyer for business tycoon Mohamed al-Amin told Reuters. Amin's CBC channel has had legal run-ins before over its ridicule of President Mursi on a hit satirical program modeled on American comic Jon Stewart's "Daily Show".

Stewart appeared in person just last week as a guest of Bassem Youssef, the host of the weekly broadcast, who himself has been investigated for insulting the president and Islam.

Separately, a judicial source said a warrant had been issued for the arrest of Tawfiq Okasha, a television talk-show host and owner of the private Al-Faraeen channel, which has frequently criticized Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood. The grounds for the investigation was spreading false information.

The investment ministry, in charge of giving licenses to private channels, announced later on its Facebook page the closure of Okasha's channel for insulting the army and police and inciting the army's lower-ranked officers to launch a coup against senior officers. The channel ceased broadcasting.

Known for his on-air diatribes against Islamists, Okasha has been at liberty to work pending an appeal against a four-month sentence handed down for insulting Mursi last year.

The channel was given a one-month suspension last year, a decision Okasha had successfully appealed.

Meanwhile, state TV anchor Gamal al-Shaer resigned dramatically on air in protest at what he said were attempts by Information Minister Salah Abdel Maqsoud, of the Brotherhood, to control the program's guests and subjects.

"I apologize, as the administration of state TV has issued a decree to stop the program because the talk did not please the officials and the information minister," Shaer said.

PRESIDENT BLAMES MUBARAK LOYALISTS

In an address to the nation on Wednesday to defend himself against opponents who plan mass rallies this weekend, Mursi blamed loyalists of fallen dictator Hosni Mubarak for thwarting his first year in office. He denounced several figures by name, including judges and owners of media organizations.

"Some dream of the return of the old regime, like Mohamed al-Amin," Mursi said. "They will not be left in peace until they pay what they owe the nation in taxes."

Hours later, Amin, who also owns anti-government newspaper Elwatan, called in to a CBC show to deny any wrongdoing.

State news agency MENA said prosecutors had blocked Amin's movements while it probed suspected tax arrears of about $60 million. Officials were not immediately available for comment.

His lawyer Mohamed Hammouda called the legal move an attempt to "get him and get the CBC channel and Elwatan newspaper and force them to bend to the president's will". He said he would seek to get the travel ban lifted and would sue Mursi for defamation.

"This is dictatorship of a kind Egypt has never seen before," lawyer Hammouda said. "And an attempt to get at rivals using force, and we do not accept that."

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Andrew Roche)

INSIGHT-Ex-Qaeda allies ready to fight for Mursi in Luxor

1 hr 29 mins ago
Reuters
Source: Yahoo News

LUXOR, Egypt (Reuters) - When President Mohamed Mursi made a hardline Islamist governor ofLuxor, it seemed his latest folly to many in this city, and across Egypt, who depend on tourists already scared off by unrest since the revolution.

Yet nominating a member of al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, remembered for a 1997 massacre of visitors in Luxor that some call "Egypt's 9/11", showed the growing importance to the beleaguered Mursi and hisMuslim Brotherhood of a group whose leadership includes at least one unrepentant former associate of Osama bin Laden.

That man, cleric Refai Taha, and other leaders of al-Gamaa and its parliamentary wing in Luxor told Reuters they renounced violence because Islamist rule had now been achieved, through elections - but they would take up arms again to defend Mursi and were committed eventually to establishing full Islamic law.

"There is freedom now, so violence is not necessary," Taha, 58, said in an interview last week at a hotel on the Nile. "The revolution changed the situation in Egypt in ways we wanted."

But like other senior figures in al-Gamaa he warned that anyone trying to force Mursi out - referring to the military that oppressed the Islamists for decades, or liberal opponents planning mass protests next Sunday - would be met with force.

"Violence begets violence," said Taha, recalling attacks on the old regime and its tourist industry which he, unlike others in al-Gamaa, went on advocating until Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

Al-Gamaa gave in to the uproar in the tourist industry and resigned the Luxor governor's post on Sunday - for the national good - after failing to reassure angry hoteliers who feared it would immediately ban beer and bare flesh, killing their trade just as the gunning down of 58 foreigners had done 16 years ago.

But its role is clearly expanding at the side of a president unable, or unwilling, to build a coalition beyond the Islamist camp. Such hardline allies may further polarise a still fragile state in ways that trouble the Western powers which abandoned Mubarak when Egyptians pushed him aside demanding democracy.

Al-Gamaa supporters formed a vocal contingent at a rally in Cairo on Friday, organised by the Brotherhood to show Islamist strength ahead of protests the hitherto divided opposition plans on June 30, the first anniversary of Mursi's inauguration.

Al-Gamaa leaders were among those giving veiled warnings of a violent response to any move against the elected leader; they included Tarek al-Zumar, jailed for life over the 1981 assassination of Mubarak's predecessor Anwar Sadat, and Assem Abdel Maged, who once shared a cell with Ayman al-Zawahri, the Egyptian who has led al Qaeda since bin Laden was killed.

Hardliners fear the end of the much bigger Brotherhood's hold on power would mean prison again for them, or death.

BIN LADEN

In Luxor, Taha blames the United States for his "rendition" from Damascus in 2001 to a life in Mubarak's jails. He was in Syria after time in Afghanistan with bin Laden and Zawahri and was seen by Washington as an heir to "blind cleric" Omar Abdel Rahman, al-Gamaa al-Islamiya's spiritual leader now serving a life term for a 1993 attack on New York's World Trade Center.

Until 2010, annual U.S. State Department lists of "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" described Taha as "missing" since 2001. He is not mentioned by name in subsequent editions of the list.

Freed when Mubarak fell, he denied a U.S. assertion that he signed a 1998 al Qaeda fatwa calling for attacks on the United States but he said its government was "oppressive just like our former regime" and said his main difference from Zawahri was in his aim of an Islamic state in Egypt, rather than global jihad.

Sitting in the lobby of a tourist hotel, largely empty since the revolution, clad in a beige robe, the white-bearded sheikh defined his goals and those of al Qaeda: "Sheikh Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri see a need to administer justice all over the world. We demand justice be administered in Egypt."

Asked if that would mean banning alcohol or revealing clothing for tourists - something Mursi's government says it will not do - Taha said: "Just as you in America require Muslims to abide by American law when they enter your country, Americans who enter Egypt should abide by Egyptian law."

Were his ideas those of al Qaeda? "The same ideas," he said. "When there is an oppressive regime. If there's an oppressive regime, we, like all people in the world, we fight oppression."

ORGANISED MOVEMENT

After the Luxor massacre, Taha split with a faction in al-Gamaa which declared a ceasefire; the group now appears united and Taha, back in the southern home region where he helped found the movement in the 1970s, seems to command respect from leaders of the political party it set up in 2011 to contest elections.

The Building and Development Party won 13 of 508 seats in the lower house of parliament, allied with the Brotherhood.

A senior party official in Luxor, Hussein Ahmed Shmeet, echoed the concerns of Taha and other al-Gamaa leaders that it was ready to use force if had to protect Mursi: "If the nation is being destroyed, we must defend ourselves and protect the legitimate president and the state institutions," he said.

"If the army and police cannot protect state institutions and we see violence, the representatives of the Islamic groups must take to the streets to protect the state institutions," Shmeet said, adding for emphasis: "We are very organised."

Opponents worry that Egypt's Islamists also intend to keep power by force, even if voters turn against them. Shmeet insisted, however, that the movement has embraced democracy.

Al-Gamaa's numbers are unclear but its claims to be able to mobilise "popular committees" to fix problems locally were corroborated by Brotherhood officials who said Mursi choice for governor was prompted by its success in using local tribal and family structures to bring order where it once sowed chaos.

"Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya members in Luxor were born here," said local Building and Development Party leader Mohamed Bakry. "They know everyone in Luxor, they're cousins, friends, neighbours - our relations are very strong and so we can solve problems."

What the party did not do was force its new governor through the picket lines of angry tour guides and restaurateurs who set up barricades round the local administration building last week and painted the gate with a sign: "No entry for terrorists."

Its moderation toward the demonstrators, Bakry said, should reassure those who doubt it had put its militant past behind it.

"Everything the media are saying is not true," he said of alarmist headlines about Mursi's choice of "terrorist governor".

"Today is proof of that," he said. "Because if we had wanted to, we could have done something ... We were capable of it."

FEAR AND HOSTILITY

Such veiled references to al-Gamaa's strength do little to appease the many of Luxor's half million people who depend on foreigners coming to see its 3,500-year-old temples and tombs.

"Religion and violence is all they know," said Walid Nowendi of the liberal opposition Dustour Party as protesters burned tyres to form a barrier to the governor's office.

Across the Nile, sweeping the same green swath through the desert that has nourished Egyptian civilisation for millennia, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut stands as forlorn in the sunshine as it did in the months after it witnessed the horror of six gunmen methodically shooting down 62 people in November 1997.

A lone tour bus and a handful of minivans sat under a baking sun in the parking lot. "You should have seen how crowded this place was before the revolution," said Ahmed Hageb, 24, who works in the cafeteria. "For two years, we've suffered as we did after the 1997 attack ... This is because of the Brotherhood."

Mursi, in a newspaper interview, assured Egyptians economic problems were being addressed and, defending his choice of Luxor governor, insisted there was nothing to fear from al-Gamaa - its party, he said, "operates within the rule of law".

(Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Anna Willard)

The Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty: To change or not to change

     This is an article from "ahramonline" which was written by Abdel Moneim Said on 10 Oct 2012. It is an analysis of the situation that Egypt finds itself in concerning the peace treaty with The Israeli State. I find it to be both informative and insightful.

     The issue of what Morsi should do concerning the peace treaty is very complicated and has many factors. It involves such factors as: diplomacy, Egyptian security, morality, and the domestic situation (which includes both economic and political factors).  Egypt is still involved in a revolution. Although some of the stages are over, much needs to be done before Egypt and its people can act as a sovereign nation. There are not only economic issues involving: poverty, unemployment and debt. There are also political issues involving: the establishment of a new constitution and the empowerment of an elected legislature.( I, for one, think that the current legislature is valid. But who am I, a Muslim from the U.S., to talk about the validity of an elected legislature that was elected with a great deal of transparency?) There are a number of different political elements within Egypt which need to be acknowledged and dealt with.

      I think Morsi is doing a great job in his attempts to include most of the political elements in Egypt in the decision making process. He has a council of advisers, many of whom are representatives of the major political elements. He has included a Coptic Christian, in this council, who is known to be good at building bridges between Coptic Christians and Muslims.

   There is the issue of Egyptian security. How much security does Egypt have with the peace treaty? How much will it have if the peace treaty is broken?

      Here is the article:
            "Some forces who participated in the revolution object to the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, although many add that their objection does not mean going to war. They of course realise that war, like love, must be between two sides and decisions are not taken unilaterally. Also, that the other party will decide whether it is in their interest to live with a no-war no-peace status once again, or go to war before Egypt regains its strength and the revolution succeeds in its development process, making it the “strong Egypt” Abdel-Moneim Abul-Futouh talked about.

          "That is what happened to Egypt after the Czech arms deals, and Israel participated in the tripartite aggression against Egypt in 1956 to stifle Egypt’s military might before it could progress it.
Some of revolutionaries do not reject the treaty in its entirety but want to amend it so Egypt can regain complete sovereignty over Sinai. This would mean revising the security protocol appendix which divides Sinai into areas of limited arms in zones A, B and C and a corresponding Zone D in Israel. This is closely linked to a comprehensive monitoring system of troop movements by multinational forces present in Sinai.
The aim was to create a security system that prevents both Egypt and Israel from performing a strategic surprise against the other, as Israel had done in 1967 and Egypt against Israel in 1973. The real surprise for both sides came from a third party, the Islamist jihadists, who began during Mubarak’s regime to carry out terrorist attacks in Sinai as well as breaching its border with Gaza through tunnels.
After the Egyptian Revolution, jihadists began attacking military and civilian targets, and then used Sinai to attack Israel.

      " This was not the image in the minds of those who signed the peace treaty and the security protocols, but this is the direct outcome of the military vacuum that was manipulated by other forces to directly threaten the security of both sides on a daily basis. There are ongoing battles with the Egyptian army which took a strategic decision to stamp out terrorist forces and close tunnels and single-handedly control decisions of war and peace with Israel.

      "Meanwhile, the Israeli army also battled the same forces which destabilised Sinai and is unacceptable for Egypt, because a precious part of its territories is under a dual threat. First, the threat of force against Egyptian security troops; second, the possibility of Israel giving chase to jihadists into Egyptian territories which threatens Egypt’s security and puts Egyptian territories at risk of being occupied once again. This would mean that Egypt has no other choice but to go to war with Israel once again.

      "This is not all happening in a vacuum. Some domestic revolutionary forces want to renounce the peace with Israel, and while they do not discuss the future of development under such a scenario the natural conclusion would be that development will be postponed indefinitely. Representing this current in political circles is Mohamed Esmat Seif El-Dawla, who has repeatedly said that revising the peace treaty is only a matter of time.

      "This angered the Israelis, and President Morsi’s spokesman Yasser Ali quickly responded that the president’s advisers are expressing their personal opinions and Egypt’s position of upholding the peace treaty has not changed.

      "These contradictory statements in top political circles are the result of contradictions on the ground in Egypt that need to be addressed with determined seriousness, so we can decide our agenda of discussions about Egypt’s national priorities. Today, we want to develop Sinai from corner to corner and for this reason and others we must secure it from corner to corner, whether from a variety of terrorist groups or an attack by Israel.

      "Achieving these goals is not possible without revising the security protocols of the peace treaty to allow Egyptian troops to enter with necessary forces to end the current threat. The problem here is that Israel, and perhaps even the US, must first agree to these revisions. Thus far, they have done so on a temporary basis because of current conditions.

      "This is perhaps the first serious national security issue that President Morsi has to deal with and should rely on his well-known trait of prudence. This position cannot be subject to revolutionary bartering or party manouevring. Perhaps the president should form a group of national security and foreign policy officials to manage the issue and negotiate with foreign parties responsible for implementing the security protocols.
One other matter remains, which the president himself raised, which is the relationship between the peace treaty and the Palestinian cause which is an integral part of the Camp David agreement that is linked to Egypt’s peace with Israel and guarantees the Palestinian people are given their legitimate rights.

      "This is an even more complex issue because so far there has been no specific Egyptian approach in dealing with the issue, and it is unknown if Cairo is willing to exert a special effort to relaunch the peace process after the US elections. Or whether Egypt’s approach is to leave the matter to the key players, the Palestinians and Israelis, to decide.

      "It is a subject that requires a lot of thought and clear direction, because for seven decades this issue has been a priority for Egypt’s national security."
     
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/55214.aspx.

Egypt's President fires Intelligence Chief

2012-08-09
Source: Downsum

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi has fired his spy chief Murad Muwafi in a major shake-up of military and intelligence ranks extending to the head of the Republican Guard and the governor of North Sinai.

Wednesday's decision comes several days after a deadly ambush in Sinai killed 16 soldiers, prompting an unprecedented military crackdown in the peninsula, but Morsi's spokesman did not say whether the attack had prompted the changes.

Morsi also ordered Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the defence minister, to replace the head of military police Hamdi Badeen, his spokesman Yassir Ali said in a televised statement on Wednesday.

Morsi appointed Mohammed Rafaat Abdel Wahad Shehata as the interim head of General Intelligence.

Earlier on Wednesday, Muwafi, himself a former governor of North Sinai, issued a rare public statement saying that his agency had forewarning of the weekend attack that killed the soldiers.

But he said the intelligence did not specify where the attack would take place and he had passed it on to the "relevant authorities," adding that his powerful agency's role was only to collect information.

The shuffle extended to Abdel Wahab Mabruk, the governor of North Sinai where the attack took place.

Morsi is likely to have reached the decisions with the military, which ruled the country between president Hosni Mubarak's ouster in February 2011 and Morsi's inauguration as his successor in June.

The head of the Presidential Guard, the director of Security in Cairo and the director of Central Security Forces were also fired.

Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Cairo, said that it was clear that Morsi was trying to take control of the situation.

She said the dismissals were not just about Sunday night's border attack, but that it was also about the funerals on Tuesday of the 16 soldiers, which the president and the prime minister did not attend because of security reasons.

"That's something that really upset a lot of people here who saw it as a national tragedy. He's definitely trying to show them who's boss."

The dismissed officials were not appointed by Morsi but rather by either the Supreme council of Armed Forces or Mubarak, said our correspondent.

"There has been this struggle between these agencies and the new president ... who is trying to say that this is a new era. An era where there will be accountability, as opposed to the years under Mubarak where there was a spy chief that survived many terror attacks including ones similar to this one in the Sinai," she said.

Air strikes in Sinai

The developments coincided with air strikes in the Sinai region close to the border with Gaza, which the state-run Ahram news website said left more than 20 people dead.

The air strikes on positions in the town of Sheikh Zouaid on followed the deaths of 16 border guards at the weekend in an attack by gunmen whose identities are yet to be determined.

Witnesses in Sheikh Zouaid, about 10km from Gaza, said they saw two military jets and heard sounds of explosions. Other witnesses in a nearby area said they saw three cars hit.

"We have succeeded in entering al-Toumah village, killed 20 terrorists and destroyed three armoured cars belonging to terrorists. Operations are still ongoing," an army commander told the Reuters news agency.

The strikes followed clashes between armed men and security forces at several security checkpoints overnight in the Sinai region.

Armed men opened fire on checkpoints in al-Arish and in the nearby town of Rafah on the border with Gaza, according to a reporter for Reuters and state media.

Six people were injured in the attacks late on Tuesday night, including two police officers, three army soldiers and one civilian, sources told Al Jazeera. The civilian is said to be in critical condition.

A cement production company in Sinai, which belongs to the military, was also attacked. Two gunmen suspected in that attack have reportedly been arrested.

Exchanges of gunfire continued late into the night, state news agency MENA said, adding that security forces had closed the road where the assault took place.

'Armed tribes stronghold'

Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from the city of al-Arish, said: "Over 48 hours since that audacious and shocking attack on the Egyptian military post here in Sinai, it seems that the army has decided to hit back if you will."

"We've have heard that helicopters from the airforce, and ... tanks and other personnel carriers moved towards an area in Sinai which is essentially being seen as the stronghold of many of the armed tribes and armed assailants," he said.

"The military it seems has decided to strike back against the people they believe were behind these attacks."

Egyptian security officials say it is the first time that the army has fired missiles in Sinai since the 1973 war with Israel to recapture the peninsula.

Lawlessness in the rugged desert region bordering Israel has spread since the fall of Mubarak in an uprising 18 months ago and the political instability that has followed.

Egypt president seeks talks over parliament crisis

20 hrs ago
By Edmund Blair and Marwa Awad | Reuters
Source: Yahoo News


CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Islamist president said on Wednesday he wanted talks with the judiciary and political powers to defuse a crisis over him trying reinstate parliament in defiance of generals who dissolved it last month based on a court ruling.

Mohamed Mursi's statement appeared to be a call for a truce to prevent the crisis, less than two weeks into his presidency, from boiling over into open confrontation with the military council or the judges in his battle to wrest power.

It was the latest twist in a legal wrangle that masks a broader struggle for control of the Arab world's biggest nation that pits Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood against a military that was in charge for six decades and an establishment still filled with officials from the era of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

"There will be consultations among all political forces, institutions and the supreme council of judicial authorities to find the best way out of this situation in order to overcome this stage together," Mursi's statement said.

The saga began when the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled on June 14, shortly before Mursi was elected, that the Islamist-led lower house was void and the then-ruling army dissolved it. The president recalled parliament this week but was slapped down in another court ruling hours after it convened on Tuesday.

Mursi's move had risked a showdown with the army, long used to having their man in charge. Previous presidents had all been drawn from military ranks and had for most of the time since the king was ousted in 1952 repressed the 84-year-old Brotherhood.

The United States, which hands Egypt's army a $1.3 billion subsidy each year, had urged dialogue to end the row.

According to his statement, Mursi said he was "committed to the rulings of Egyptian judges and very keen to manage state powers and prevent any confrontation".

For many Egyptians, though, the stand-off threatens further uncertainty that has plagued the nation since Mubarak was toppled by mass protests in February 2011, sending the economy into a slump and tipping many deeper into poverty.

The Brotherhood also faces anger from liberals and others, frustrated by what they see as a power grab by Islamists, the biggest political beneficiaries of the uprising against Mubarak. They have accused Mursi of riding roughshod over the judiciary.

Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali, in a comment on the statement, said Mursi wanted to "find a way out of the legislative vacuum caused by the dissolution of parliament".

He said the "problem was not bringing back this (existing) parliament" but added it did not make sense, from a constitutional point of view, to hand legislative power to the military. Mursi, when he recalled parliament, also said new elections would be held once a constitution was in place.

BOXED IN

After parliament was dissolved, the army awarded itself the legislative role, a move that analysts said would have boxed Mursi in and hampered his policy program.

Although liberals criticized the Brotherhood for reconvening parliament, many opposed the army for taking lawmaking powers. They could be placated, in part, with a deal to shift that role to an independent body instead of the existing parliament, declared void by the court over flaws in the way it was elected.

Leftist Hamdeen Sabahy, a losing presidential contender, had urged Mursi to respect the constitutional court ruling to help "exit the current crisis" but also called for legislative authority to be passed from the army to a separate body.

Taking legislative powers was one way for the military to keep its hand on the tiller after handing executive office to Mursi, helping it defend its privileges and status.

But diplomats say it could also depend on a judiciary, which has a streak of anti-Islamist sentiment.

Senior Brotherhood official Mahmoud Ghozlan, speaking on Tuesday, accused the army of using the Supreme Constitutional Court against the country's first freely elected leader.

"It is part of a power struggle between the military council and the president who represents the people and in which the military council is using the law and the judiciary to impose its will," he said.

Although many were surprised at how swiftly Mursi acted to defy the military, few are in doubt that Islamists have a long war of attrition on their hands to push back the army and reform an establishment packed with Mubarak-era officials.

More battles lie ahead, such as a debate over the writing of a new constitution. The army, in its decree last month, gave itself the right to form a new constitution-writing body if the one picked by parliament hits an obstacle. An earlier constituent assembly was dissolved by a court.

Turkey is the closest regional example where such a struggle has taken years. The powerful army there has gradually been rolled back by the AK Party, which has Islamist roots.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Egypt's military council was "ignoring the power of the people and by not accepting the current parliament, it is a real affront to the power of the people.

"We believe in our hearts that President Mursi will overcome this difficult and arduous period through consultation, dialogue and calm."

State media reported Mursi began a two day trip to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Saudi and other Gulf states have been wary of the rise of Islamists in Egypt and across the region for fear they could unsettle their own populations.

(Additional reporting by Shaimaa Fayed and Dina Zayed; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Alison Williams)

Military vs Morsi: Power clash over parliament

08 July, 2012
Source:rt.com

Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi has ordered the country's parliament to return almost a month after a Supreme Court ruling dismissed it. The military council has called an emergency meeting to discuss the president's move.

­Morsi's surprise decision puts him at odds with the top military officials who enforced parliament's dissolution after the Supreme Court found that a third of the parliament's members were illegally elected.

The court declared that the Political Disenfranchisement Law governing elections was unconstitutional. The law concerns some provisions of electoral law regulating how political parties are able to contest parliamentary seats using independent candidates. The high court determined that the law discriminated against truly independent candidates.

The majority of the seats in the dissolved parliament belong to the Muslim Brotherhood. Until recently, Morsi had also been a member of this Islamist party, but he announced his resignation shortly after winning the presidential election.

The power struggle over parliament showcases the recent political dynamics in Egypt, where the military is trying to cling to power since former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in January 2011.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has yet to comment on the newly elected president's decree.

Morsi won the presidency in a runoff that took place on June 16-17. However, it took the election commission another week to announce the election's results.

During the week-long vote count, tens of thousands of Morsi supporters took to Tahrir Square in Cairo to support their candidate and to protest prolonged military rule.

Jordan Islamists Seek to Emulate Morsi's Victory

June 26, 2012
by Abdullah Omar
Source:The Media Line

AMMAN, Jordan -- The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan celebrated the election of Islamist Mohamed Morsi as president of Egypt as if he was one of their own, opening their offices across the kingdom to hand out sweets and gloat before shocked Jordanian authorities.

“What we saw in Egypt clearly shows that reform is coming. It is a matter of time,” said Ali Abul Sukkar, president of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood.

“The victory of Morsi in the elections is a great boost for the Islamist movement and a wake up call for the regime to implement reforms as promised,” said Abul Sukkar.

Minutes after it was confirmed that a fellow Islamist Morsi won, the leadership of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement calling on supporters to join their celebrations spilling out of its 24 branches across the kingdom.

King Abdullah II sent a cable of congratulations to Morsi, stressing Jordan’s commitment to continued efforts to boost its relations with Egypt in all domains and in a manner that helps activate Arab and Islamic cooperation, a Royal Court statement said.

Diplomacy aside, analysts say the Islamist movement will be emboldened by the victory of a major ally and could harden its stance with authorities over demanded reforms. At the moment, the Islamist movement is set to boycott upcoming parliamentary elections later this year.

While authorities are still assessing the impact of Morsi’s victory on the local scene, some Jordanian officials have already voiced concerns that the local Muslim Brotherhood movement could be seeking to emulate their Egyptian counterparts.

To the dismay of opposition parties including the Islamist movement, the parliament on Sunday endorsed a controversial election reform bill that has been described as backward and anti-reform legislation and an effort to kick start the long overdue reforms promised since the Arab Spring swept the region 16 months ago.

The bill kept the balance of power in the hands of conservative tribes loyal to the regime and made sure political parties have minor, if any, representation in the legislature.

Opposition parties say the amendments will continue to enable pro-regime candidates from tribal dominated areas and influential businessmen to win at the expense of party candidates.

Zaki Bani Rashid, senior leader from the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, said his group is planning to create a shadow government and a shadow parliament after having given up on reform promises.

But Islamist leaders say the government is delaying the inevitable.

In Jordan’s first free elections since 1989, the Islamist movement swept parliament seats and enjoyed a slight majority, before authorities amended the law in favor of Bedouin tribes and loyalists.

King Abdullah is expected to sign a royal decree in coming days to officially pass the bill as law, paving the way for elections by the end of the year.

Analyst Mohammad Abu Rumman believes that authorities are adamant to maintain their grip on the country without giving concessions.

“It is too late, we missed the train. We wished results of the Egyptian elections were announced before the elections law was endorsed,” said Abu Rumman, warning against what he believes are inevitable and dire consequences to the political current political stand off between the regime and the Islamists movement.

“Are we going to rectify the situation or wait to pay a heavy price?” Abu Rumman pondered.

Hamzah Mansour, secretary general of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, sent a veiled message to authorities, saying his group was headed for victory in the style of its larger Egyptian sister.

"I think victory is a temptation for another victory and encourages success. Victory of the Egyptian people will have an impact on the governments of all of the Arab and Islamic countries. They must reconsider their policies and respect the will of their people," Mansour said.

Morsi defeated former general Ahmed Shafiq in a run-off last weekend by a convincing 3.5 percentage points, or nearly 900,000 votes, taking 51.7 percent of the total, officials said, ending a week of disputes over the count which left nerves frayed over who was going to be named the leader of the Arab world’s most populous nation.

Shafiq has since reportedly fled Egypt for a Gulf state.

Morsi succeeds Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown 16 months ago after a popular uprising. The military council which has ruled the biggest Arab nation since then has this month curbed the powers of the presidency, meaning the head of state will have to work closely with the army on a planned democratic constitution.

Egypt democracy dependent on Morsi political skills

Jun 25, 2012
Source: Press TV

Egypt’s new President Mohamed Morsi has called on all Egyptians to unite and says the revolution, which ousted former dictator Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, will continue.


"I will be a president for all Egyptians," Morsi said just hours after he was declared the winner the Egyptian presidential election, adding that national unity "is the only way out of these difficult times.".

Earlier in the day, after days of delay, the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) announced Morsi as the winner of the county’s presidential runoff.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Nii Akuetteh, African policy analyst from Washington, to further discuss the issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: International reactions are pouring in, as we’ve just reported. The US has expressed its desire for Morsi to continue with Egypt's past policies within the region. The new president is going to be under a lot of pressure now, isn’t he to do so?

Akuetteh: Yes, but the US statement also said that it wanted him to respect the right of all Egyptians and to govern them democratically. You are absolutely right; there are a whole lot of demands on him.

As I read the election results and the reaction inside Egypt itself, there are different groups. I think that he is going to have a number of things to juggle with, a number of pressures both internally and from the outside.

Press TV: A lot is not clear yet but Morsi has now said that he will continue to honor all previous agreements, and this is probably going to include the Camp David Agreement with Israel. How will this go down with the Egyptian people considering the Camp David agreement has been a source of dissatisfaction on the part of Egyptians and the Palestinian cause is very much close to the hearts of most Egyptians?

Akuetteh: I agree completely with you that that is on the minds of Egyptians. However, because number one, he wouldn’t be governor even with the constitution -- Egypt doesn’t have a constitution. The constitution assembly has been dissolved by the military junta and you don’t have a normal legislature.

Down the road in months to come and years to come when you have a functioning parliament, that is a direct will for the Egyptian people to put pressure on their government directly. Until you have that form of legislature and government, then it will just be what people say in the streets and newspaper and when they march. Then you will have different factions contending.

It’s going to be touch and go for a while until we have an electoral legislature and the military’s powers have been curtailed.

Press TV: We’ll get back to the question of the constitution but there are rulers at the moment that the Muslim Brotherhood is negotiating a power sharing deal with the ruling generals. There is no doubt that the new president will have to negotiate his way with SCAF, but what kind of agreement do you think they'll reach?

Akuetteh: That is hard to tell because I think both of them will keep their eyes on people in the street. I think that the military, the SCAF, would like to keep as much power as possible, but I also think that they understand they don’t have a mandate. Nobody has elected them and over 30 million people, the voters, the majority of Egyptians have just elected Mr. Morsi.

Therefore, I think the military will be careful about wanting to push him around. They like the keep power so in the negotiation I expected them to be keeping an eye on what the people are saying, how much they can get away with.

I will be watching closely to see what kind of deal they come up with. Of course, you know that there are a number of issues that they are fighting over, when Mr. Morsi will be sworn in and then the decrees that just came in allocating certain powers to him. A number of things they will negotiate and fight about and it bears watching.

Press TV: Morsi did make a lot of promises during his campaign and also in his address tonight. As you mentioned, there is no constitution in place and you said this will give very little space to maneuver, but just elaborate for our viewers a bit more about how much will he be able to deliver on some of the most fundamental promises he made during his campaign?

Akuetteh: Every leader in every country, their own political skills are important but especially in the case of Egypt now where, number one, you don’t have a constitution and a former government, and even the court is suspect because it was appointed by former President Mubarak. Then you have the SCAF.

Without those former institutions, I think a lot would depend on Mr. Morsi’s personal political skills. I think he has started well because yes it is true that he made a lot of promises but generally in elections that’s what politicians have to do.

People look at their promises especially in a place like Egypt where we are having real democratic elections really for the first time. What happened under former President Mubarak, nobody really took them seriously as elections.

The populace are going to look at what is he saying; he’s saying the right things. Today, when it was announced, Sunday, when his victory was announced, his certain speech, he also said the right thing, so that is good.

You are right in saying that politicians and leaders saying one thing and another, what they actually do is important. I’m saying, therefore, that his skills at negotiating, at appealing to people, at bringing people and forming coalitions, reassuring both internal groups inside Egypt as well as how he talks to the international community.

By the way, we must remember he got part of his education in the United States and he lived in the United States, worked for NASA and was a professor, so he understands the American system much better than most people will suspect.

Therefore, I expect him to deal with the international issues quite carefully. I’m not saying he won’t have challenges but he appears to have some very good political skills.

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