Many people are speaking now that Egypt is on the right track of democracy and when I hear this I wonder where that democracy path they are speaking about already !!
I do not think that we are on the path of democracy at all in Egypt and there are many indicators that we are on the opposite direction starting from the laws issued to regulate the so-called for political life.
Starting with the Protest law or rather the anti-protest law issued last November and caused the imprisonment of thousands so far.
That law does not affect protesters alone , in fact it affects political parties also because it regulates political assembly. Now parties need to be granted the permission of the ministry of interior if it wants to organize any sort of public assembly or public meeting.
I don't think that the MOI will approve opposition meetings in the streets during the elections for instance.
In new born democracies such law does not exist , of course the government insists that our current protest law is not different than protests laws in the states or European countries forgetting the simple fact that those countries are established stable democracies not corrupted failed states.
Parties and public figures as well foreign countries have been demanding for months the president and the government to cancel the law or amend it but they proudly keep it as it is legal weapon against street movements. They keep it as it is when it violates the constitution they put earlier this year.
Of course this is not the only recent violation for the new constitution. According to the constitution we should have parliamentary elections within adopting approving that constitution and now we ask ourselves : When will we have parliamentary elections ?
Moving to the parliamentary elections law , the law that would kill a new born partisan life in Egypt and make us return to the same old Mubarak's parliament. Insisting on having the majority of the seats based upon the single candidate system means the return of money power in the elections as well tribalism and big families' power in areas outside Egypt. It is worth to mention all the Mubarak 's remnants aka Felouls in parties are supporting this system.
The partisan list candidacy system could have rebuilt once the partisan life in Egypt but what can you says !!??
To be honest remembering el-Sisi's first big major interview on ONTV and CBC , one must have expected this to happen. The man said it frankly that tribalism and big families were important to the parliament. Needless to say there are calls to postpone the parliamentary elections in the media now in Pro-regime talkshows.
By the way El-Shorouk newspaper claimed that the constitution would be amended to give el-Sisi more powers than the parliament or in other words we are returning back to the presidential system.
These are the protests law and parliamentary elections law , now we got also the NGOs law which is rejected by almost all serious NGOs and human rights organizations. This law will restrict the work of NGOs and human rights organizations in Egypt. I do not understand how this government and the MOI will allow NGOs and human rights organizations that work with torture victims for God's sake.
Even the state's National council for human rights proposed that it should be delayed till electing a new a parliament. This law does not violate the constitution as far as I know but it violates international agreements Egypt already signed.
Now the new academic year in State Universities is postponed to October. Of course the ministry of higher education does not say that it postponed the study because of the fear of protests but it claims that it postponed the study because of maintenance works
Politically affiliated families and groups are no longer allowed in Cairo university starting from academic year "2014-2015" as well T-shirts with political logos on Campus !!
Meanwhile the Faculty of arts in Ain Shams University tells the new students to sign a statement that they won't engage in political activities on campus except the ones specified by the new bylaws.
Bani Sawif university made it clear also that it would expel any student dared and insulted president El-Sisi on campus.
Not to mention there is a bigger debate now about the students unions and the new bylaws that will restrict the freedoms on campus.
It seems that the regime believes that after over 10 killed students and hundreds of imprisoned students , the students movement will be suppressed. Actually the current regime is doing its best to suppress this movement.
This is not democracy . This is not how you pave the way to democracy in a transitional period. This is how you establish totalitarianism.
I do not think that we are on the path of democracy at all in Egypt and there are many indicators that we are on the opposite direction starting from the laws issued to regulate the so-called for political life.
Starting with the Protest law or rather the anti-protest law issued last November and caused the imprisonment of thousands so far.
That law does not affect protesters alone , in fact it affects political parties also because it regulates political assembly. Now parties need to be granted the permission of the ministry of interior if it wants to organize any sort of public assembly or public meeting.
I don't think that the MOI will approve opposition meetings in the streets during the elections for instance.
In new born democracies such law does not exist , of course the government insists that our current protest law is not different than protests laws in the states or European countries forgetting the simple fact that those countries are established stable democracies not corrupted failed states.
Parties and public figures as well foreign countries have been demanding for months the president and the government to cancel the law or amend it but they proudly keep it as it is legal weapon against street movements. They keep it as it is when it violates the constitution they put earlier this year.
Of course this is not the only recent violation for the new constitution. According to the constitution we should have parliamentary elections within adopting approving that constitution and now we ask ourselves : When will we have parliamentary elections ?
Moving to the parliamentary elections law , the law that would kill a new born partisan life in Egypt and make us return to the same old Mubarak's parliament. Insisting on having the majority of the seats based upon the single candidate system means the return of money power in the elections as well tribalism and big families' power in areas outside Egypt. It is worth to mention all the Mubarak 's remnants aka Felouls in parties are supporting this system.
The partisan list candidacy system could have rebuilt once the partisan life in Egypt but what can you says !!??
To be honest remembering el-Sisi's first big major interview on ONTV and CBC , one must have expected this to happen. The man said it frankly that tribalism and big families were important to the parliament. Needless to say there are calls to postpone the parliamentary elections in the media now in Pro-regime talkshows.
By the way El-Shorouk newspaper claimed that the constitution would be amended to give el-Sisi more powers than the parliament or in other words we are returning back to the presidential system.
These are the protests law and parliamentary elections law , now we got also the NGOs law which is rejected by almost all serious NGOs and human rights organizations. This law will restrict the work of NGOs and human rights organizations in Egypt. I do not understand how this government and the MOI will allow NGOs and human rights organizations that work with torture victims for God's sake.
Even the state's National council for human rights proposed that it should be delayed till electing a new a parliament. This law does not violate the constitution as far as I know but it violates international agreements Egypt already signed.
Now the new academic year in State Universities is postponed to October. Of course the ministry of higher education does not say that it postponed the study because of the fear of protests but it claims that it postponed the study because of maintenance works
Politically affiliated families and groups are no longer allowed in Cairo university starting from academic year "2014-2015" as well T-shirts with political logos on Campus !!
Meanwhile the Faculty of arts in Ain Shams University tells the new students to sign a statement that they won't engage in political activities on campus except the ones specified by the new bylaws.
Bani Sawif university made it clear also that it would expel any student dared and insulted president El-Sisi on campus.
Not to mention there is a bigger debate now about the students unions and the new bylaws that will restrict the freedoms on campus.
It seems that the regime believes that after over 10 killed students and hundreds of imprisoned students , the students movement will be suppressed. Actually the current regime is doing its best to suppress this movement.
This is not democracy . This is not how you pave the way to democracy in a transitional period. This is how you establish totalitarianism.
Freedom of speech and other basic human rights in Egypt have disappeared now.
ReplyDeleteIf anybody disagrees with the army, they will be jailed or killed.
And the media will say they were terrorists.