Politics

مصر: عودة لعام 1954؟

Jul 18, 2013 Omar Ashour

لندن ــ وُصِفَت أزمة مصر الحالية بأنها الأسوأ في تاريخها. ولكنها في واقع الأمر تشبه بدرجة كبيرة واقعة سابقة حدثت قبل نحو ستين عاما.

ففي الثامن والعشرين من فبراير/شباط 1954، حاصر مئات الآلاف من المصريين قصر عابدين في القاهرة، الذي كان يستخدمه آنذاك جمال عبد الناصر وغيره من قادة انقلاب يوليو/تموز 1952. وكان المطلب الرئيسي للمتظاهرين يتلخص في استعادة المؤسسات الديمقراطية الهشة في مصر، وإطلاق سراح السجناء السياسيين، وعودة الجيش إلى ثكناته.

اشتعلت أزمة 1954بسبب عزل أول رئيس لمصر - اللواء محمد نجيب - من قِبَل عبد الناصر وفصيله. وكما حدث في عام 2013، كان الإخوان المسلمون في قلب الأحداث، يحشدون إلى الجانب المؤيد للرئيس المعزول. ولكن بعد الوعود التي بذلها عبد الناصر بعقد انتخابات في يونيو/حزيران 1954 وتسليم السلطة إلى المدنيين، قرر أحد قادة الإخوان المسلمين، عبد القادر عوده، صرف المحتجين.

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 5 Comments on this article

Wim Roffel Jul 24, 2013

Omar Ashour writes "But, once elected officials are removed by force, the outcomes are rarely favorable for democracy."

There is one word too much in this sentence. It is the word "elected". Every time you overthrow a government you set the setting for the next overthrow.

If Egypt had had a negotiated transition of power instead of an US aided coup against Mubarak you would now have a tradition of negotiations (what would have made it more likely that Morsi reacted to the unrest) and no tradition of overthrowing governments with demonstrations - what would have made the present coup less likely.
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Mohamed Metwally Jul 24, 2013

What happend in Egypt in 2013 is a new style and redefinition of People's revolution backed by Military support.
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Mohamed Afify Jul 22, 2013

This is not the right comparison to make. Mursi is a terrorist and he did not feed the egyptian people. The egyptian people has made their decision and ousted the brotherhood group and its terrorist allies. How dare you inviting the american to get involved. You are just similar to idiots who is calling that and no wonder you might be from the brotherhood yourself.
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Sherif Mansour Jul 22, 2013

Ironically the Military’s power can be challenged by the same gambit they pulled of this month. A democratically elected government, backed by laws written in parliament and the general public can enforce changes on the government. That future government (fingers crossed) can also negotiate foreign policy with the US and change the terms of the US aid package (transferring the control for the AID from military to civilian department). It will not be without resistance but it will be backed by legitimacy, popular support and it would be out of the army’s control (ie they will look like the aggressors in this scenario).
The next few months should be interesting and will determine how long it would take to get to the situation state above (if ever).
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Sherif Mansour Jul 22, 2013

For me the SCAF of 2011 has learnt lessons from their 17 month reign after the ousting of Mubarak.
It was obvious that their rule was untenable given the popular support and pressure for a civilian state.
Their control of the country was after all promised as a transition and that’s what the public was expecting.
SCAF had no credible answers to make that temporary condition a permanent one.
The more oppressive they were the more the more their plans backfired.
In 2013 they sought the consent of the opposition in placing the interim government and their aim is to achieve early elections (which is what the public wanted).
This means in 2013 SCAF can achieve their goals by making the large parts of the public and the opposition accomplices in the act.
Today they have the luxury of deflecting any political decision to the interim civilian government.
They still have to answer for the arrests, but they know it’s a battle that they can afford to avoid for the time being.
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