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Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Morisi is Gone: Democracy Egyptian Style

     The generals who dispatched him today tell him not to worry: hey you can run again.  He doesn't have to leave the country-though he can if he wants to. Very fair military coup! 

      "Former Egyptian General Sameh Seif Elyazal told CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour Wednesday that newly-ousted President Mohamed Morsi would be "most welcome" to run for office in the upcoming presidential election."

      ""I don't think there is any law to exile him from that. So he is most welcome to play his role again," Elyazal said.

      "Elyazal also said the army does not intend to exile or imprison Morsi."

      "He is in a very safe place. There is no intention whatsoever to put him in jail. There is no intention whatsoever to put anybody else in jail, at all," Elyazal said. "And he is free, I guess he would be free to leave Egypt soon, or to live in Egypt, it depends on him."

     
     In Egypt, this seems to be script for now. Once the Egyptian people have decided they can't wait till the election. It sort of brings Rousseau's General Will or Mao's fantasy of 'Permanent Revolution.' We often hear that what we really need is direct democracy.' Does it get more direct than this?

     "The armed forces ousted Egypt’s first democratically elected president Wednesday after just a year in power, installing a temporary civilian government, suspending the constitution and calling for new elections. Islamist President Mohammed Morsi denounced it as a “full coup” by the military."
     "After the televised announcement by the army chief, millions of anti-Morsi protesters in cities around the country erupted in delirious scenes of joy, with shouts of “God is great” and “Long live Egypt.”
      "Fireworks burst over crowds dancing and waving flags in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, epicenter of the 2011 uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Now it was one of multiple centers of a stunning four-day anti-Morsi revolt that brought out the biggest anti-government rallies Egypt has seen, topping even those of 2011."
      "But the move potentially throws the country into further confrontation."
      Potentially further confrontation. You think so? You have to say this though. Anyone considering running for President in Egypt isn't going into this lightly. After all, they may well be next. I'm not sure whether to see this as democratic or not. In a way, it's a bad sign. This is not exactly how you achieve stability. On the other hand it does send a warning. The Muslim Brotherhood thought it could have things all its way and its learned quite differently. 
     Indeed, one criticism of Obama for not opposing the ousting of Mubarak is that he would inevitably be replaced with the MB. Yet the Egyptian people have shown they wont stand for this. 
     "Elected with 51.7 percent of the vote in last year’s presidential election, Morsi took office vowing to move beyond his roots in the Muslim Brotherhood."
     "But his presidency threw the country into deep polarization. Those who took to the streets this week say he lost his electoral legitimacy because he tried to give the Brotherhood and Islamist allies a monopoly on power, pushed through a constitution largely written by his allies and mismanaged the country’s multiple crises."
     “Now we want a president who would really be the president of all Egyptians and will work for the country,” Said Shahin, a 19-year-old protester in Tahrir, said, falling to the ground to pray as soon as el-Sissi spoke.



      

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