Egypt regime fears 'another Arab Spring'

[DJKeefy]

With talk of mass protests in the air, a new wave of arrests has targeted former diplomats and opposition figures in Egypt. Experts told DW that President el-Sissi "is extremely worried" about a fresh uprising.

Egyptian authorities this week launched a new campaign targeting activists and prominent opposition figures. On Thursday, former ambassador and decorated war hero Masoum Marzouq and six others were arrested on terrorism-related charges.

Earlier this month, Marzouq took to Facebook to call for a referendum on Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's rule. Marzouq urged authorities to heed the call and organize a referendum or face mass protests in Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the 2011 uprising, on August 31.

Under Marzouq's proposal, Egyptians would have the chance to vote either yes or no to the question: Do you accept the continuation of the current regime in power?

In his plea against "oppression," Marzouq laid out a road map in the event Egyptians voted against el-Sissi, proposing the establishment of a transitional government to take over for three years and the termination of the president's and parliament's mandates.


'People aren't really ready'

But Koert Debeuf, director of The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) Europe, told DW that although Marzouq's proposal was ambitious, it received very little attention from the public, "showing that people aren't really ready."

"Even though life is increasingly difficult for people and they are angry and disappointed in Sissi, that doesn't mean they're going to hit the streets in order to change that," Debeuf said.

In 2011, more than a million Egyptians took to the streets of Cairo to protest against the rule of former president and longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, resulting in his eventual ouster at the hands of the military.

But two and a half years later, then-General el-Sissi led a military coup against Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, a move supported by mass anti-government protests.

Debeuf told DW that the government crackdown on critical voices was part of el-Sissi's strategy to prevent another uprising against the state.

"Sissi is extremely worried that another Arab Spring might happen," Debeuf said. "So everyone that is critical in one way or another is just put in jail."


Egypt's new 'terrorists'?

However, not everyone sees the campaign targeting activists and opposition figures as an issue. Mahmoud Ibrahim, director of the Egypt-based Federal Center for Studies, told DW that calls for a referendum on el-Sissi's rule amounted to subversion.

Ibrahim said such appeals were virtually "attempts to undermine the legitimacy of the regime and a coup against the constitution." He also accused the Muslim Brotherhood, which was dubbed a terrorist group in the wake of el-Sissi's 2013 coup, of involvement in the calls.

Marzouq and the other six jailed activists were charged with "receiving funding for terrorist purposes and taking part in a criminal agreement with the intention of committing terrorist crimes," according to Egyptian independent news outlet Mada Masr.

But Egyptian human rights lawyer and jurist Ziad al-Alimi told DW that even though many activists had been targeted by anti-terror laws under el-Sissi's rule, their case files never named a group, its nature or how it intended to commit an act of terrorism.

"There are people accused of joining a terrorist group in prison for a year or more and no one knows even the name of this group," al-Alimi told DW.


'Prosecute peaceful critics'

Since el-Sissi's rise to power, human rights have been trampled by repressive measures targeting activists and dissidents, according to groups such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International.

"While Egypt faces security threats, the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has exploited these threats cynically as a cover to prosecute peaceful critics and to revive the infamous Mubarak-era state security courts," said Nadim Houry, HRW's counterterrorism director, in a statement in July.

"Egypt is proud of presenting itself as a key international actor in the fight against terrorism, but its domestic record shows that it is fighting peaceful critics and dissidents under the cover of countering 'terrorism.'"

Last month, the UK updated its travel advisory for Egypt to warn its citizens about using social media to criticize or share critical comments "about the president or security forces," saying "in some cases, derogatory comments ... have led to custodial sentences."

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/egypt-regime-fear ... a-45224716

[A-Four]

I must admit I am hearing a lot of what is not good in Egypt. We often talked on here about the old Amdowla in Luxor and more importantly throughout Egypt.

I remember just before I gave up my home in Egypt, I did a tour of the Nile Valley destinations mainly to say good bye to a number of European friends, who had once lived in Luxor but who became fed up with the rip-off life style of that town.

It was here at such places as Essna, Quinna, Asswan and Belliarna, that I realised how serious an uprising was swiftly becoming. I have a good knowledge of spoken Arabic, though not brilliant, however in the cafes and more importantly Internet cafes i quickly realised things were not good. However when I stayed at Nag Hammadi, as a result off a railway derailment, it became very clear, it was time to get out.

When I returned to Luxor, instead of what normal Europeans do in Internet cafes, I spent time listening to what was going on around me, it was time to get out, and quick. It was not long after this that a certain person who was on this form, picking up arrivals at the airport stating that everything in the 'garden' was wonderful,............even today I wonder what she was tripping on.

Note. Such places as Luxor, Hurgarda and Sharm are the last places to know when things go wrong. For those who think what went before, was a revolution, I suggest you think again. As long as people can get reliable information from good Egyptian friends Europeans should be O.K.

[newcastle]

Personally - I doubt there is the appetite for another uprising. Nor the organisation or leadership that would give it a snowball's chance.

The bloodshed would be of biblical proportions....not that that stops the usual suspects (safely ensconced abroad) from egging on the dissidents. Their means of doing so has been severely, and successfully, curtailed.

Sisi has not made Mubarak's mistake of fostering, and participating, in rampant corruption (although it is still endemic in society) and, despite the cynicism of the liberal elite, he still enjoys the support of the masses who continue to believe that tomorrow's jam is worth today's hardship.

Moreover, they have only to look around them to see what happens when you seek to overthrow a regime without any viable alternative government.

[Major Thom]

In a lot of respects you are right Newc. there does not seem to be an alternative Government. So I do not see that the Government has a lot to fear. On saying that all this about people disappearing from streets and being put in prison for speaking out or saying anything about the Government is not right, and completely against what human rights stand for.

Also people are right when they say that Luxor and Upper Egypt are the last to hear about anything. So if anything does rise it will start in Cairo, where over 90 million people live, and rightly so will quickly become a blood bath. If the Government fear the people uprising, then they must have reason to think so, to do so. It's fast becoming a farce. However it could turn into another epic, "Game of Thrones, the Second Generation"

[carrie]

Over 90illion people do not live in Cairo. If your going to start quoting figures MT get them right please.

[Major Thom]

That should have read over 9M people Carrie and not 90M

[Horus]

More like 19 million

[Major Thom]

Probably is since we left 2 years ago