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Baathism on the Nile
In five days Egypt is scheduled to hold a national referendum on changes to its Constitution. Even veteran Egyptian opposition figures, well versed in the regime’s authoritarian ways, have expressed shock at the choice of March 26 for the referendum. This is a travesty,
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| Wednesday, March 21,2007 00:00 | |||||||||
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In five days Egypt is scheduled to hold a national referendum on changes to its Constitution. Even veteran Egyptian opposition figures, well versed in the regime’s authoritarian ways, have expressed shock at the choice of March 26 for the referendum. This is a travesty, a crude mockery of promises of political reform, and something which deserves widespread international mockery and condemnation. Here’s why:
Amnesty International has described the changes as "the biggest threat to Egyptian democracy since emergency laws passed after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat by Islamist extremists in 1981." That’s exactly right. I said this on Friday, but let me say it again, slowly. Mubarak is about to do exactly what he always accuses Islamists of secretly planning: win an election and then use his majority to abolish democracy. The opposition, from the MB to Kefaya, has been placed in an impossible position. Participating in the referendum will legitimize the results, particularly since nobody doubts for an instant that the regime will falsify the results if they go badly. The most extreme option, a collective resignation from Parliament, seems to have been taken off the table: even the MB seems to feel that this would be going too far, and that this would only please the government which would be able to replace the troublesome MB deputies with more accomodating deputies. That leaves only boycott, which will not in the end have much impact - as above, even if only 10% turn out and vote, the regime will happily claim 70%. The best and only real option: mobilize sustained, critical international media attention to stigmatize and embarrass the Egyptian regime. Al-Jazeera has been giving full voice to the Egyptian opposition, but the Saudi press is mostly ignoring it, probably because the Saudis don’t really like democratic reforms and they are currently comfortably aligned with Cairo and Washington against Iran. Al-Arabiya currently does not have a single front page story about the Egyptian crisis, while between al-Hayat and al-Sharq al-Awsat there is exactly one story, a scathing opinion piece by Fahmy Howeydi, who can write whatever he wants to write because he’s Fahmy Howeydi... except in Egypt, where al-Ahram refused to run this highly critical piece in his usual weekly column spot. Some Egyptian papers, like al-Masry al-Youm, are doing a good job, but it’s often been noted that they have this margin of freedom precisely because of their relatively limited influence and reach. At the end of the day, there’s only one opinion about which Mubarak and the NDP really care: the United States. The Constitutional crisis has not been front page news here, and even where it has been covered, the criticism has been tepid. The State Department’s spokesman took some questions about this yesterday. To his credit, he said that some of the changes "raised questions," and that Egypt didn’t seem to be meeting its own benchmarks for reform - the statements which al-Jazeera chose to highlight - but he went out of his way to praise Egypt’s general commitment to political reform and its progress to date. He even rather absurdly suggested that a week might be plenty of time for Egypt’s citizens to become fully informed and vote. But he did make sure to say the magic words for which Mubarak’s people were waiting: "I frankly don’t want to insert the United States Government in the middle of what should be a domestic political event in Egypt." So there you go. The United States no longer considers Egyptian or Arab political reform to be any of its business. As long as the United States refuses to put any real teeth into international dissatisfaction, its "reservations" can be safely ignored. In response to Amnesty International, Egypt’s Foreign Minister declared that "It is not the right of non-Egyptians to comment or simply pass an opinion on a purely internal question, that is, on the constitution [of Egypt] and its national laws." The United States agrees. This isn’t a surprise any more, but I suppose it’s good to have the clarity. Related Topics: Bleaching Your Teeth, Smiling Flash, Talking Trash Under Your Breath Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK Lawmakers OK changes to charter Los Angeles Times - CA,USA Egypt’s parliament OKs amendments USA Today - USA Egypt’s parliament amends constitution despite opposition rejection Monsters and Critics.com - Glasgow,UK EGYPT. 4 Apr 2007. Egyptians vote in referendum on controversial ... NewsAhead Agency - Holladay,UT,USA Egyptian parliament approves amendments Houston Chronicle - Houston,TX,USA Amnesty Concerns on Constitutional Changes Amnes... By Geoffrey Mock(Geoffrey Mock) Egypt parliament approves changes in constitution Reuters South Africa - Johannesburg,South Africa Egyptian parliament approves controversial amendments to constitution San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA Protest against Mubarak’s constitutional amendments 3arabawey, Cairo-Egypt Islamist walkout at parliament Independent - London,England,UK Closing the Door on Dissent In Egypt, as US Stands By Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA Egyptian opposition boycotts parliament talks on constitutional ... International Herald Tribune - France Police crack down on Kefaya demo; 35 detained at 3arabawy 3arabawey Blog-Cairo, Egypt Group Blasts Mubarak’s Anti-Terror Bill Wyoming News - WY,USA Demonstrators Arrested, Opposition Ready to Resign By ritzy(ritzy) Egypt arrests Brotherhood members Aljazeera.net - Doha,Qatar Egypt Votes on Constitutional Changes Sunday The Media Line - New York,NY,USA The Brotherhood and America Part Five Asharq Alawsat - London,UK Egypt Opposition Decries Amendment Plans Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA Egypt arrests 18 in Muslim Brotherhood crackdown Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK Egypt Opposition Decries Amendment Plans Tuscaloosa News (subscription) - Tuscaloosa,AL,USA Other Topics: Summary Of MB Performance In Egyptian Parliament Since 2005 Related Topics: Referendum Day |
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