Egypt
By Afro Middle-Centre This week’s constitutional referendum in Egypt confirms the country’s move away from democratic consolidation, and reduces the chances of finding a political solution to the current impasse. The referendum, on 14 and 15 January, was preceded and characterised by an atmosphere of intolerance, violent intimidation, and a tightening of the already-constrained space for dissent. Campaigning for a ‘no’ vote or a boycott was not allowed, and ‘no’ campaigners were arrested.
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By Jano Charbel www.jadaliyya.com/pages/contributors/56898 Experts weight in on the possible impact on child labor and unionization. The 2013 draft constitution contains a number of provisions which some feared could be used to curb labor rights and freedoms. Other articles could be used to violate basic, internationally recognized, labor rights. The draft constitution also protects the continued use of forced labor, child labor, military tribunals for civilians, restrictions on the plurality of trade unions and professional syndicates, along with limitations on the right to strike for certain professions.
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Na'eem Jeenah Responding to demands of “Mubarak out!”, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced earlier this week that he would stay in power until presidential elections in September, and will oversee the formation of a new government and of constitutional amendments which will allow opposition candidates to run for president. The announcement was made on the eighth day of national protests, when two million Egyptians occupied various city centres to protest against Mubarak’s three-decade rule. Predictably, the protesters were unimpressed, and continued demanding his removal.
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By Afro-Middle East Centre Ethiopia’s decision in May 2013 to divert the Blue Nile tributary for 500 metres to aid in the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was met with fury from the Egyptian administration led by President Mohamed Morsi. Military action was even threatened as a retaliatory move. Morsi’s subsequent overthrow and the need of the military coup administration to reassert control meant that talk of such hostilities was suspended. This article is the first in a two-part series which analyses these events using the 1966 Helsinki principles of equity and water security as a framework…
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By Afro-Middle East Centre It is now widely acknowledged that the 3 July ouster of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Mursi, constituted a military coup. Events following the coup have sought to reset Egypt’s policies back to what they were during the Mubarak era, underscoring the suggestion that a counter revolution was successfully instituted. The Egyptian constitution was suspended, the Shura Council – the upper house of parliament –was disbanded, and various Islamist leaders – from the Muslim Brotherhood and other parties – were arrested. Moreover, media deemed to be sympathetic to Mursi were shut down, and the decades-long…
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By Rafiq Habib The 3 July military coup in Egypt had a number of key objectives. By it, the military attempted to entrench its position in the state, regardless of who holds power. It further sought to restore the networks of the previous regime to the political scene. By becoming a key governance partner with the elected power, the military seeks to place the deep state under central command and to ensure a centralisation of the intelligence services. The goal was to establish a secular alliance that was loyal to the former regime. This would enable the networks of the former…
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By Afro-Middle East Centre The violent dispersal of two anti-coup sit-ins by the Egyptian security apparatus over the past three days, the resulting massacre of protesters, and the imposition of martial law in most of the country, is the culmination of a string of actions intended to reset Egypt’s political and social affairs, and return the state to what it was in 2010. With the reimposition of the infamous state of emergency, largescale arrests of leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and other anti-coup groups, and the silencing of opposition media, the future for democracy in Egypt hangs in the balance.…
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General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s deputy prime minister, defence minister, army commander-in-chief, and the person in control of the country’s post-coup interim government, Wednesday called on Egyptians to give him a mandate to confront ‘violence and...terrorism’. ‘This coming Friday, all honourable Egyptians must take to the street to give me a mandate, and, indeed, and order to counter the violence and terrorism facing us...I want you to show the world that you have a will, and that you want us to act on your behalf to end terrorism,’ Sisi said.
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By AlJazeera Center for Studies On Wednesday evening, 3 July, after the expiry of the deadline for the forty-eight hour ultimatum given to Egyptian president, Mohamed Mursi, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the minister of defence, announced Mursi’s overthrow. Sisi carefully ensured that, when he made the announcement, he was surrounded by the sheikh of al-Azhar, Coptic Pope, a representatives of the National Salvation Front (NSF) – including Mohamed Elbaradei, two representatives of the Tamarod movement, and the president of the Nour Salafi party, to give the impression that the announcement of the overthrow of the president and the annulment of…
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Dr Bashir Musa Nafi’ There is no instruction book for revolutions, nor for states transforming from authoritarianism and repression to freedom and democracy. The situation in which Egypt finds itself today can be compared and contrasted to other Arab experiences during the revolutions, and previous European and Latin American experiences. It demonstrates the difficulty and complexities of transition and change, and relates to the circumstances of a specific nation and people. Countries are defined by numerous characteristics, especially those with deeply rooted histories. These include commitments and loyalties relating to the country’s location and identity, as well as those imposed…
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