انگلیسی: آموزش، زبانشناسی، ترجمه، ادبیات

Dashed Hopes

By Mohammad Hosseini

Egypt’s ’State of Emergency’ that is normally extended every three years, was once again endorsed by the parliament upon the request of Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif.
Although some Egyptian officials insist the duration of this law this time around will be two years, it seems the quarter-century ruling will remain in force for an unlimited period. The terrorist incidents of last week in the tourist resort of Dahab in the Red Sea and the sectarian clashes in Alexandria seem to be the driving force behind the government’s push for again extending the highly controversial emergency rule.

This is while opponents of the pro-western government had warned earlier it should not use the Dahab attack as another pretext to continue the draconian measures valid under emergency rule.

The emergency was declared soon after the assassination of former President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Prior to this, Gamal Abdel Nasser, a former president, declared emergency in 1967 during the Six-Day War.

The state of emergency gives special powers to the government and security organizations to ’keep the law.’ But the Islamic and secular opposition has routinely condemned it as a facade to stifle freedoms and democratic norms by the government of President Hosni Mubarak, a former general.

Based on emergency laws, the police and security forces are allowed to detain suspects and hold them in custody for an unlimited period without the need for due process of law.
Activities of opposition political groups are banned and public rallies are taboo. Despite the restrictions, the opposition in recent months, especially before last year’s national elections, could express its views a bit more freely and also challenged government policies on key issues.

However, now it is clear that the so-called open atmosphere was designed primarily to encourage the people to come out and vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections. During this period, the opposition was allowed to speak its mind and demanded a permanent end to the emergency to open the way for meaningful political reforms.
Opponents of the regime and human rights groups have long held the view that the emergency is a security tool used terribly well to keep them in check and save Mubarak unwanted problems.

Meanwhile, the persecution of two prominent Egyptian judges who claimed that the parliamentary election was rigged has emerged as a major crisis. The controversy surrounding the case has reached such proportions that major human rights institutions have expressed serious concern over the independence and integrity of the judicial process in the most powerful Arab country.

In the parliamentary elections, candidates of the main opposition party, the Muslim Brotherhood had a neck-to-neck competition with the nominees of the ruling party. The fact that the powerful but banned Brotherhood whose candidates contested the race as independents, garnered 20 percent of the parliamentary seats sounded the alarm for Mubarak and his backers.

It is reported that in many electoral districts the ruling party resorted to intimidation and violence to block the victory of the Brotherhood - one of the oldest political parties in the Arab world with a huge following.

At the time when the overall international climate has been changing rapidly, the Egyptian opposition expects the incumbent government pursue a softer attitude toward their demands for freedom, democracy and political accountability.

Extending the emergency has enfeebled the hopes of the opposition and disillusioned Egypt’s friends in the volatile region and beyond.