Post Arab Spring and Morsi, is Egypt now headed for the real revolution-democracy?

When Egypt's first democratically elected President, Mohamad Morsi was ousted by the military on July 3 after just a year in office, the international community was caught by surprise.

Observers argued that Morsi's removal from office by the military, led by army Chief General Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi, was legally and ethically wrong as he was elected democratically, irrespective of any other objections. Morsi was Egypt's fifth president and the first civilian and Islamist to assume that office.

Questions were raised about whether the events were in step with people's aspirations for a democratic, stable and peaceful Egypt, a country renowned for its ancient pyramids and culture.

Sharing his views with Bernama, Egypt's Ambassador to Malaysia, Mohamed Saad Ebeid said that when Morsi's regime took over, the people wanted to see a quick change.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

After years of failed democracy and socio-economic disparity, corruption and other malpractices that people revolted against, the Egyptians wanted things to change quickly, he said.

According to Ebeid, Morsi could not understand how strong was the demand from the grassroots to give up certain earlier practices like keeping political forces out of the country's administration.

People also resented Morsi's move to arrogate to himself extraordinary power last year and strip the judiciary of its many powers.

"These were the major mistakes that the regime made. The ordinary people feel that the new regime did not take into account why people had risen to ask for democracy, which was a genuine demand," he said, noting that Egypt was not the same as it used to be before the January 2011 revolution, widely known as the Arab Spring.

"Egyptians are no more ready to give up their dreams after what they have given during the revolution. They asked for a true democracy, they wanted to see improvement in their standard of living and they wanted to see a brighter future for their children. That's what the Egyptians were yearning to see during the one year of Muslim Brotherhood's rule," he explained.

THE OUSTER OF MORSI

Morsi was ousted after he refused to meet the deadline set by the military to step down following massive demonstrations since June 30, with people demanding an early presidential election.

Many who backed the Muslim Brotherhood's leader condemned Gen Al-Sisi's move, describing it as a military coup which led to "clashes" and deaths on the street yet again.

There have been reports of nearly 1,000 people having been killed in clashes between the security forces and supporters of the ousted President since Aug 14, when the military moved in to disperse the two protesting camps of Morsi's supporters in Cairo, killing hundreds of people and triggering violence.

During the Arab Spring revolution, a report by the Arab Network for Human Rights Information had said 841 people were killed in protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak. The list did not include 26 members of the security forces who were also killed, according to official figures.

POLITICAL VERSUS RELIGIOUS CRISIS

Ebeid also stressed that the crisis was Egypt's internal issue involving different political points of view and should not be taken or considered as if it was a religious war.

"It is purely a political issue but some forces are trying project it as an Islamic issue. The Islamists would like to give the impression as if there is a war going on between Islam and its opponents. That is not the case. I want to stress this hundreds of times because this is a misconception, and will be misunderstanding the situation," he explained.

According to Ebeid, some people overlooked the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood was given the opportunity to take steps and respond to the dissatisfaction expressed by a large segment of the society against the policies of the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi during his presidency.

He said there was an attempt to project the situation as if the army was against the legitimate government, disregarding the millions of Egyptians who had expressed their determination to bring about a regime change.

"Regardless of how right the protesters were during the June 30 revolution, a great segment of the Egyptian society expressed its desire to see a change because they realised that the president had not delivered on what he had promised previously, especially after the huge expectations of the Egyptian society following the January 2011 revolution," he added.

CONFUSED LEADERSHIP LEADS TO COUP

President of the International Movement for A Just World (JUST), Dr Chandra Muzaffar acknowledged that Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies did not do a good job while they were in power.

"They were unable to focus on the economy and got their priorities wrong", he said.

Muzaffar said there was uncertainty and confusion in the government's policy and this strengthened 'the hands of people' who wanted to get rid of Morsi's leadership, because of its own ineptness in various areas.

However, in his opinion, Morsi's removal was legally and ethically wrong.

"He was a democratically elected president and if one wanted to oust him, it should have been through the ballot box, not through a military backed coup," he said during an International forum on "The Downfall of Morsi and the Future of Egypt" at the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) here recently.

He said that it was a "coup" against a democratically elected president, whose party, the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, had won the majority vote in the parliamentary elections in April, 2012 and a referendum in December that year, thus gaining even more legitimacy.

THE RISE OF THE NEW GENERATION

According to Professor of Political Science at Cairo University, Mohammad E Selim, the first revolution in 2011 saw the new generation, or youth, between the ages of 20 and 30, taking to the streets.

"It was a new generation that we were not even aware of and it surprised us by suddenly appearing and being able to launch a genuine youth movement in order to dislodge a regime, which had almost paralysed Egypt", he said.

He said that these youth were yearning for a better future in democracy and development, and believed that Egypt should once again assume its traditional regional role.

It all began in Tunisia. Revolutions and movements were sparked in Tunisia by the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi on Dec 17, 2010, leading to President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's ouster after 28 days of demonstrations. The movement then spilled over, engulfing Egypt, Libya, and Syria.

The Egyptians, captivated by the victory of the Tunisian revolution, took to the streets on Jan 25, 2011, holding huge demonstrations and demanding that Mubarak and his regime stepped down. After 18 days, on Feb 11, Mubarak resigned after 30 years of dictatorship.

For many observers around the world, Mubarak's ouster was seen as the success of the Egyptian people's revolution in ending corruption and repression, and leading to freedom and democracy.

Executive/Regional Director of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), Jordan, Dr Fathi Malkawi said in an interview last year that the objectives of the movements were achieved in the sense that people managed to rid the country of corruption and tyranny.

Ambassador Ebied agreed. He acknowledged that after Mubarak resigned, the status quo did change, people became more vocal and put forth their demands boldly.

BRINGING DEMOCRACY BACK TO EGYPT

Next year, it will be these people who would once again decide who they wanted to lead Egypt when they go for elections.

Mohammed E. Salim, Professor of Political Science, Cairo University's Faculty of Economics said that the draft of the amended Egyptian Constitution was being finalised and may be put up for a referendum by next March to seek the citizens' approval.

He explained that once the amended constitution was in place, Egyptians would go for parliamentary and presidential elections.

"Egyptians are fed-up with the violence and want to continue with their normal lives," he said.

Meanwhile, the international community waits with bated breath to see Egypt resolving the crisis once and for all and become once again a peaceful and stable country, which had always played a crucial role in maintaining peace and security in the Middle East. -- Bernama