More than two years after the January 25 revolution in Egypt people are still waiting for the change they thought would follow, after the ousting of former dictator Hosni Mubarak. Despite the changes brought about by the revolution, which first-and-foremost included the so-called fall of Mubarak’s military regime, the real change is still to be seen. The fall of Mubarak’s regime was followed by a range of democratic elections, where both women and youth remarkably went to the voting polls in big numbers. And a new president was voted into office. However, the world, not least the Egyptians themselves, is still left to see a change in the social structures of the Egyptian society. Changes, which can complete the revolution that became world-famous as its role in the Arab spring.

Theda Skocpol once remarked that revolutionary social changes does not primarily occur as a consequence of individuals’ actions but because of major, significant changes within the social structure. In other words, according to Skocpol, the revolution does not take place before a modification on a basic level, related to the overall condition of the society, such as economy and class structures, can be identified. This will only happen, she argues, when something happens to the structures themselves. And as most of us know, that is still to be witnessed in Egypt, where the amount of people living below the poverty rate has increased; the gap between rich and poor has not declined, the unemployment rate is higher than ever; the economy is continuously getting more challenged and human rights are still not to be found on the ruling party’s agenda.

Thus even though the Egyptians have put an incredible effort into keeping the revolution alive by continuously demonstrating to show their disappointment and lacking support to the new ruling party, consisting of Islamists with the Muslim Brotherhood in the leading position, obtaining its major support from the Salafi party, Al Nour, they can only be part of a major change as members of a structured social position.

That, however, seems disheartening, as the opposition, which could be the basis for such a ‘structured social position’, appears to be everything but structured. From such a perspective a lot of Egyptians do not have the surplus energy to unite and create alternative groups that potentially could fulfil the role as this structured social position, which possibly could challenge the current social structures with the aim to complete the revolution. They simply have enough anxieties worrying about bread feeding children and other family members, that nothing is left to focus on how to change the social structures.

Consequently, several youths are revolting in a savage attempt to show their resistance towards Egypt’s new regime. Nevertheless it must be stressed that far from all Egyptians show their frustration in this way: Some are depressed to an extent that they believe nothing can ever change their miserable situation, for which reason migration seems as the most appealing solution:

“The political situation [was] the main drive for them to go [to emigrate] because they feel that there is no hope. There is no change,”

- one man said, in an interview conducted for my MA thesis, about his friends who have migrated to Canada after the 25 January revolution. Others are trying their best to find stability within the structures of a country that currently comes across as very instable and chaotic, not leaving much hope for the vast majority of the citizens. Yet others do not really feel a difference between the time under Mubarak and this ‘new Egypt’.

All this shows the reality of the social structures related to socio-economical class relationships that can be found in every society, and in Egypt to a great extent. These class structures indicate how the social opportunities, such as income and other sources associated with wealth, are divided between different groups of the society. Thus the access to such sources seems to be frightening linked to the social position of the group one belongs to. In this way the social structures are often maintained by the poor and marginalised too, as they often tend to believe that they do not have other chances in life than what is their current status quo.

Meanwhile the people, who are rich and privileged, and benefiting from the corruption and inequality, seem likely not to be that eager for major changes in the social structures, as one of the respondents for my research remarked:

“I feel bad when I get advantage of anything like this [the corruption]. (…) for my job it is hard because we have a lot of connections so I can get use of that but I feel bad about it. I don’t want to use it [his connections], I want to go as a normal citizen and get my rights. That’s it! (…) but my chance or my force; I am forced to do this [use his connections] because suppose I am going to do something, maybe that would waist a lot of my time, I don’t want to waist my time, so I have to use my influence so they [his connections] can help me out with this.”

Frustrations derived from the feeling that the hope for a different, better, future, most Egyptians saw two years ago, are slipping away. Egyptians take to the streets, if not for the change they long for, then at least in an unsuccessful attempt to gain a minimum of respect with the idea: “If I cannot succeed in this system, I can at least leave my mark, trying to tier down the system that made me the failure I am!”

In conclusion, it can be highlighted that for the revolution to be finalised successfully, Skocpol suggests we need the opposition to form the structured social position that can take on a leading role in the fight for changes within the social structures of the Egyptian society. On that note, it can only be hoped that the parties and individuals represented in the opposition make their greatest effort in organising themselves better for the upcoming parliamentary elections than what have been the alarming case so far.

The article’s theoretical approach has been inspired by: Lemert, Charles. Social Forhold – En indføring i det sociologiske liv (pp. 128-142). Translated by Annika Dahl Ebert. Narayana Press. Denmark. 1997-2004.

Image Courtesy : Sierragoddess

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The Israel-Gaza Conflict has existed for almost a decade and while there are many sides to this tumulus relationship, one young man took a stand when he posted a message on his Facebook page.

Waheed Elsamra is an Egyptian supporter of the Palestinian city of Gaza, wanting to do his part in informing people of the truth behind Israel’s plight with Gaza and dared them to respond to the Massacre.

“The destruction of Gaza is not about stopping Hamas, it’s not about stopping rocket fire in Israel, it’s not about achieving peace, the Israeli decision to rain death and destruction on Gaza by the use of lethal weapons of the modern battle field on a large defenseless civilian population is the final phase of the decades long campaign to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians,” Elsamra said.

The battle between Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian militants is not a level playing field. “Israel uses sophisticated attack jets and naval vessels to bomb densely crowded refugee camps, schools, apartment blocks, mosques, and slums. They attack a population who has no air force, no air defense, no navy, no heavy weapons, no army, no ground defense, no artillery units, no command, and they call it a war,” Elsamra said.

There is an ethic to war; this ethic states that one army is battling another army. “These people (Palestinians) have no army, so you target busy neighborhood streets and kill innocent civilians and pedestrians,” Elsamra said.

The reason that Israel has so much military power at its hands is because they are using American weapons. Elsamra noted that America gave Israel 300 billion dollars for the Gaza Massacre a few years back.

According to Congressman Paul Ryan, in an interview from 2009, he clarified the level of support the Bush administration has given Israel. “Certainly, the president has said nothing to diminish it. As a matter of fact, he justifies it on moral grounds, saying, oh, they have a right to do this, without ever mentioning the tragedy of Gaza.”

As far as the monetary support, Cong. Ryan had no issue speaking on that, “ you know, if Israel has a problem, they have to deal with it. I don’t think it should be any of our business. It’s just that it’s our business and we will be blamed because we support Israel blindly, so. And we give them the money and we give them the weapons. That should be the contention that we approach here and Congress should know about it and the American people should know about.”

The same battle that Israel and Gaza were facing three years ago are no different than what is going on today. Elsamra has been trying to do the Palestinian people justice by spreading the truth via social media and recently speaking out at a “Free Palestine” protest rally that took place in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“My duty right now is to educate the people that lack these facts and try to let them understand that I am an American and I’m not against them but I’m not for, what they are for, and what they are for is proven in these facts that I have stated,” Elsmra said.

The efforts to achieve a truce, as the attacks have ceased between Israel and Gaza,  have been somewhat successful but this is only the end of one battle, the war is still going on and it seems as if there is no end in sight.

Image Courtesy : Derivative work: Adambro (talk):Brocken Inaglory [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

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Last week’s decree made by Egypt’s president Mohamed Morsi brought Egyptians back to the streets. The decree, that has six articles, states that declarations, laws and decrees, made by Morsi during his presidency, cannot be appealed, suspended nor cancelled, until a constitution is drafted and the parliament elected. Neither can any judicial body annul them.

Following the announcement of the new decree the Egyptians have been extremely divided: People pro-Morsi agree that the decision he made was the only way to get rid of the remaining parts of the old Mubarak regime, while those against Morsi’s latest venture predicts another dictatorship, with the Muslim Brotherhood setting the agenda, if the new president gets away with implementing this new decree. Adding to this the constitution was put into vote Thursday, 29 November 2012 in spite of the fact that a significant number of non-Islamic representatives had left the constituent assembly after been called back to rethink their decision Wednesday evening, meaning that no Leftists, Liberals or Christians were left to vote.

Judging from what can be witnessed in Cairo these days – with a vast number of Egyptians occupying Tahrir Square, protesting against the current political actions by the president and the Muslim Brotherhood, who is seen as his close ally – a second revolution could be imminent. However, looking back at the economical situation of Egypt the last two years, following the 25 January revolution that had former president Hosni Mubarak step down, it is inevitable to ask: Can Egypt afford a second revolution?

It cannot be denied that Egypt’s economy has been struggling, especially since the revolution, which among other things has led to an IMF loan. According to the Egyptian newspaper, Al Ahram Online’s English version, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) reports that the poverty rate is rising, thus has increased from 21.6 % in year 2008/2009 to 25.5 % in year 2010/2011: With 69% of the population in rural areas living under the poverty line, of which Assiut Governorate in Upper Egypt has the highest poverty rate nationwide. The difference in the amount of money, annually spend on expenses between the poorest part of the population and the richest, is 17.500 LE ($2864).

On an individual level the aftermath of the revolution has resulted in income lost, as one woman from the Shubra suburb in Cairo says in a research interview conducted in relation to my MA thesis: “In the beginning I was with the revolution [the 25 January revolution] and I was very happy because of it, but really, after some time my husband’s business was very bad, because he is related to tourism, so we sold everything; I sold my gold, we sold our car, the business, really, we faced big problems, so I hated it, really, in the end of it.”

And she is not alone. Several of the 45 people interviewed for the research express that they have been affected economically one way or the other as a consequence of the revolution.

Thus regardless of the sympathy one feel with the Egyptians right now camping in the sit-in at Tahrir square, keeping up their fight for democracy, it is hard not to sit back with the question: Can Egypt afford a second revolution? At the same time it must be remembered that during the January 25 revolution the demands were: ‘Bread, Freedom and Social Justice’, which nonetheless implies that the uprising witnessed was not just an opposition to the Mubarak regime, but a resistance towards the entire system applied by Mubarak and his regime. From such a perspective the current reaction is not surprising, since yet the people neither got their bread, freedom nor social Justice. On the other hand, the risk of another two years in transition, with sceptical tourists agencies, worried investors and migrating youth is unendurable and leaves Egypt’s future with very challenged future prospects.

Planned demonstrations among liberals and leftists will Saturday take place in Tahrir, which was initially intended opposed by president Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters with a million-man counterdemonstration, however Thursday night it has been announced that the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies will move their demonstration to a different location to “protect Egypt’s national interests against division and conflict”.

The Egyptians are anticipated to return to the streets in big numbers the coming days, continuing their battle for bread, freedom and social justice, hopefully it will not end with a second revolution.

Image Courtesy : James A Dawson / Shutterstock.com

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The police in United Arab Emirates (UAE) have warned against wearing vendetta masks while celebrating the 41st national day of the UAE. Any person who wears this mask would face legal questionnaires, as the mask refers to opposition to the government and authorities.

According to the police, wearing this mask or any similar symbol violates the security of the state. It is considered a criminal offense and punishable by law, even for those who don’t know what this mask might refer to.

In a Gulf news website, a Dubai police official said “Using any symbol that insults the country or instigates unrest against its system is not allowed. We urge citizens to celebrate using other symbols such as national flags, slogans or photos that are more appropriate to the happy occasion of National Day.”

The vendetta mask, also called Guy Fawkes mask, was designed to hide Guy Fawkes. Guy Fawkes was the principle of the group that failed to bomb the British House of Lords in London in 1605.  In the end he was captured and hanged in Westminster January 31,1606.

Every November 5, the people in the UK, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa celebrate Guy Fawkes Night for his failure to bomb the British House of Lords.

The advertisements to sell this mask in the UAE have shown up in some online stores featuring number 41 and the UAE flag colors, red, black, green and white. The price of the mask is about $20 USD.  After the police call, most of the advertisers have withdrawn the advertisements from the online sites, especially in the UAE-based web sites and blogs.

Vendetta is a Latin word used in English and other languages which means revenge. This mask was so popular during the Arab spring demonstrations in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt and Libya revolutions. In these countries, many protesters used to wear these masks to show their maximum discontent on their government while calling to overthrow it.

This year, the UAE is celebrating the 41 anniversary of being united and independent. The UAE is a confederation of 7 sheikhdoms which were united on December 2, 1971. Sometimes they call it union day rather than national day.

The capital of UAE is Abu Dhabi, while Dubai is the commercial capital and the most famous city in the country. The other sheikhdoms are Sharjah, Ajman , Umm al-Quwain , Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah.

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Washington, U.S.A. — A new Christian Solidarity International (CSI) report released recently calls on Egypt’s Islamist government and the international community – especially the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – to investigate and take strong measures to prevent the disappearance, forced marriage and forced conversion to Islam of Coptic Christian women and girls.

The report, entitled “Tell My Mother I Miss Her,” confirms that Coptic women and girls are deceptively lured or abducted into forced marriages with Muslim men and then to conversions to Islam, which frequently take place under duress and physical abuse.

The report’s co-authors, Michele Clark, adjunct professor at George Washington University, and Coptic human rights activist Nadia Ghaly, undertook research in Egypt in November 2011 in the midst of the uprising that resulted in the political ascent of the Muslim Brotherhood and other radical Islamist forces. According to Clark and Ghaly, the disappearance of Coptic women and girls has “escalated” since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

“Tell My Mother I Miss Her” was released in connection with the Congressional Helsinki Commission hearing on violence against Coptic women in Egypt, chaired by Congressman Chris Smith. Speaking as a witness before the hearing, Professor Clark stated, “Coptic women in Egypt are disappearing from their homes, their schools and their jobs.  These cases are not allegations.”

The hearing also featured testimony from an Egyptian Christian woman who received asylum in the United States after narrowly escaping abduction in Alexandria in January 2011. She was rescued by a doorman who saw her and her infant daughter being dragged into a taxi by a man shouting that she was “an enemy of Islam.”

“I’m here today, so I can tell you what happened to me,” she said. “I wonder about the others that weren’t saved. What happened to them?”

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), who chaired the hearing, called the forced disappearances “an outrageous crime,” and called the U.S. State Department’s failure to respond to repeated requests from the Commission to investigate the disappearances “appalling.”

“Unless the Copts and Coptic women and girls are protected,” he said, “Egypt will not be strong, Egyptwill not be stable, and Egypt will not be a successful democracy.”

Dr. John Eibner, the CEO of CSI-USA, called on the U.S. State Department and non-governmental organizations that specialize in women’s rights, human trafficking and religious liberty to conduct further research into this crime, commenting that, “Denial and obfuscation will neither help victimized Christian women, nor challenge the religious bigotry and sexism that impedes the development of democracy inEgypt.”

The new report can be accessed online at: http://csi-usa.org/TellMyMotherIMissHer.pdf. It should be read in conjunction with the 2009 report, which is available at http://www.csi-int.org/pdfs/csi_coptic_report.pdf.

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Washington, U.S.A. — As World Population Day approaches, Wilson Center consultant and demographer Elizabeth Leahy Madsen says the Arab Spring demonstrates that countries with very young age structures are prone both to higher incidence of civil conflict and undemocratic governance. “Among the five countries where revolt took root, those with the earliest success in ousting autocratic leaders also had the most mature age structures and the least youthful populations,” she writes on the New Security Beat . What happens next in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Syria will further test the connection between youth and democracy discovered by fellow Wilson Center consulting demographer Richard Cincotta.

In South Asia, Madsen finds that as Afghanistan and Pakistan’s political circumstances have become more entwined, their demographic paths are more closely parallel than expected. “For Afghanistan, given its myriad socioeconomic, political, cultural, and geographic challenges, this is good news. But for Pakistan, where efforts to meet family planning needs have fallen short of capacity, it is not,” she writes in the first issue of the newly relaunched ECSP Report, “Afghanistan, Against the Odds: A Demographic Surprise.”

Other top population issues to watch:

• New commitments to family planning: An international summit in London on July 11, co-hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK’s Department for International Development and supported by USAID and UNFPA, may produce financial commitments toward meeting a new and ambitious goal of generating $4 billion to fund contraceptives for 120 million women in developing countries by 2020.
• Changing fertility rates in Africa : Contraceptive use over the past five years is growing much faster than the regional average in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Rwanda, leading to declining fertility rates. However, contraceptive use in other countries, including Mozambique, Senegal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, are declining or showing only modest increases.
• Revised global population projections : The 2013 revision of the World Population Prospects will provide a new global population prediction for 2050. This figure can vary dramatically: If the global fertility rate changes by 0.5 children per woman in either direction, the total population could be more than one billion higher or lower in 2050.

Since 1994, the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP) has actively pursued the connections between the environment, health, population, development, conflict, and security. ECSP brings together scholars, policymakers, the media, and practitioners through events, research, publications, multimedia content (audio and video), and our award-winning blog, New Security Beat. The Environmental Change and Security Program Report 14 is the latest volume of ECSP’s flagship publication. Published since 1996, ECSP Report is now an online series of policy briefs.

The Wilson Center provides a strictly nonpartisan space for the worlds of policymaking and scholarship to interact. By conducting relevant and timely research and promoting dialogue from all perspectives, it works to address the critical current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world

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According to the press office of the Egyptian Government Former President Hosni Mubarak, 84, is only confirmed to not be dead and that he is in a coma. One of Mubarak’s attorneys, Fareed El Deeb, told CNN, “he has been in a coma for hours now. He has had water on the lungs for 10 days now and his blood pressure is down today, which obstructed his breathing and forced doctors to put him on a respirator. He was given medicine intravenously to relieve the brain clot, and electric shocks were used to revive him but there was no substantial response. He is not dead as reported.”

Mubarak has been reportedly transported from the prison where he is being held to Maadi military hospital where he is on life support and clinically dead. Mubarak was jailed for life for his role in the killings of hundreds of protesters in February 2011.

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen commented that “clinically dead is not a phrase that is commonly used, but when it is used, what it usually means is that someone is brain dead…in the United States, we would call this person dead because they have no brain activity.”

However, many are doubtful of these allegations. A senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, Fouad Ajami, stated, “there’s a great Arab expression I like and it asks the following question: When you’re told that someone is dead, you say, ‘Is he dead and buried, or just dead?’ I think we are in the middle of this kind of situation.”

With tensions high in Egypt with the outcome of the presidential elections being announced today, some believe that this is a stunt by the government to distract from the problems with the elections. Sayed Ahmed, a protester, stated, “I don’t care about Mubarak. These are games played by the intelligence services.”

Recently many protesters have gathered in Tahrir Square to protest the way the elections are being run and recent problems in the government. The government is currently being run by the Egyptian military which ousted the recently elected Parliament after the Constitutional Court ruled that the elections were illegal. According to a statement issued by former US President Jimmy Carter’s Carter Center, they are “deeply troubled by the undemocratic turn that Egypt has taken.”

The Constitutional Court also ruled that candidate Ahmed Shafiq, former prime minister under Mubarak, could run and contest the elections even though a law was passed forbidding members of the former regime from running for office. According to “The Australian” the protesters of Arab Spring feel as though they are being marginalized.

Another lawyer of Mubarak’s claimed Wednesday, June 20 that the stories of Mubarak’s coma are exaggerated. Youssri Abdel Razeq says that Mubarak fell in the prison shower and developed a blood clot that has been removed. According to the “New York Times” Mubarak’s lawyers are trying to get him released from prison on medical grounds.

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The Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate, Mohammed Mursi, addressed Egyptian voters on Tuesday May 29, 2012 about concerns that his presidency would result in a strict Islamic state. Mursi claimed that not only would his Egyptian government be secular but he would emphasize the creation of an institution for the executive office instead of the presidency being one person.

Mursi spoke after his rival’s, Ahmed Shafiq’s, headquarters were attacked. Several store rooms were set fire to and computers were smashed.

Ahmed Shafiq, the rival to Mursi, was the prime minister under Mubarak, the former president removed through the most recent coup during the Arab Spring. Many of the youth voters are distrustful of Shafiq because of his relationship with the previous regime. However, many moderates support Shafiq because of his war and business records. He fought in three wars, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, as an air force pilot. He then went on to renovate EgyptAir which made the airline competitive and increased tourism.

Mursi claimed, “the Superman era is over,” emphasizing his desire to create an institution for the Presidency. Mursi also insisted that he would appoint individuals from opposing parties, not only from the Muslim Brotherhood.

The candidate addressed social issues in his speech as well. He made specific mention of the Coptic Christians and that they are the ‘brothers’ of Muslims and “will have full rights that are equal to those enjoyed by Muslims.” Additionally, Mursi claimed that Islamic dress codes would not be enforced; therefore, women would not be forced to wear the hijab. Mursi stated, “women have a right to freely choose the attire that suits them.”

Mursi’s statements came out amidst pressures from many Egyptian parties to have a candidate guarantee social reforms and political participation for all. There are also worries that the Muslim Brotherhood would create an autocratic rule or a government like that in Iran.

Originally the Muslim Brotherhood claimed that they would not put forth a presidential candidate and would focus solely on the parliament seats. The existence of Mursi as a presidential candidate at all thus reduces the Brotherhood’s credibility.

Mursi’s statement has indeed peaked the interest of several Egyptian political groups including the Social Democratic Party, the Ghad Party, and representatives from the National Association for Change. However these groups are still distrustful of both Shafiq and Mursi and have organized to demand more promises and action from Mursi before they agree to support him. Ayman Nour, head of the Ghad party, stated that the first condition was Mursi’s resignation from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party. Mursi is currently the chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and he stated that if he were to be elected president he would immediately resign his position.

The parties also demand that a presidential team of ten political figures from varying backgrounds be added to the executive branch to ensure that the minorities and underrepresented are no longer discriminated against or denied a voice. Additionally the parties request that a special committee be created to recombine the political programs of different presidential candidates to form a kind of national project.

Although these parties are willing to at least bargain with Mursi other parties are still very distrustful. The Wafd Party still claims that it will neither endorse Mursi nor Shafiq and finds neither candidate suitable. In addition there is a boycotting campaign for those who prefer neither candidate.

The most recent polls show Mursi only one percentage point ahead of Shafiq. The race will be very close and both candidates will need to win over the youth vote especially or risk losing those who created and supported the revolution.

Image Courtesy of  MOHPhoto / Shutterstock.com

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San Francisco, U.S.A. - In 2010, the self-immolation of a produce vendor in Tunisia catalyzed a series of massive democratic revolutions and uprisings throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

These events would come to be known as the Arab Spring. In some countries, strongmen who had held power for decades collapsed under the force of youthful popular movements. In others, despots violently and mercilessly clamped down on demonstrators.

Now That We Have Tasted Hope  is a collaboration between San Francisco–based publishers McSweeney’s and Byliner Inc. The substantial e-book collects the most important primary source documents from those historic uprisings, telling the story of the Arab Spring from the perspective of those who lived it—men and women, young and old, from all sectors of society: musicians, poets, writers, political activists, actors, labor unionists, journalists, workers, and professionals.

Voices from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria provide a comprehensive and captivating narrative of the momentous events of last year. From the harrowing accounts of tortured protesters to the hollow appeals of crumbling regimes and the triumphant songs of revolutionaries, these documents catalog the events of the Arab Spring in all its complexity and drama. They will remain fresh and urgent for a long time to come.

Now That We Have Tasted Hope is edited by Daniel Gumbiner, the associate director of the Zeitoun Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the continued rebuilding and social advancement of New Orleans and to the promotion of understanding between people of disparate faiths around the world.

The foreword is written by Diana Abouali, an assistant professor at Dartmouth College, and the introduction is by Elliott Colla, coeditor of the e-magazine Jadaliyya and author of Conflicted Antiquities: Egyptology, Egyptomania, and Egyptian Modernity.

Image Courtesy of   MOHPhoto / Shutterstock.com

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Moscow, Russia – Two Arab Spring revolutionaries, Nabeel Rajab and Alaa Abd al-Fattah explain why the reform movements stalled in Bahrain and have destabilized in Egypt on the May 8th episode of “The World Tomorrow” on RT.

Nabeel Rajab is the leading human rights activist from Bahrain and the founder of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights; right prior to the air of his interview to Julian Assange he was arrested by the Bahraini government forces and will now stand trial for inciting the acts of protests.

Alaa Abd al-Fattah is the Egyptian writer and political activist who was a prominent figure in the Egyptian revolution. The two guests discuss the impetus behind the uprisings in the Middle East, what has been achieved and the prospects for democracy and reform in these countries.

“I speak to two leading revolutionaries: one from Bahrain, where the revolution failed; one from Egypt, where the revolution is now in turmoil. What makes a revolution? And where is the Arab Spring going to go?” – commented Assange on the upcoming episode.

In the interview given prior to his arrest Rajab commented on the struggle of the protest movement inBahrain on the show: “This is freedom. This is democracy that we are fighting for. It has a cost and we have to pay this cost, and the cost might be very expensive – as we have paid high cost in Bahrain. And, we are willing to pay that for the changes that we are fighting for.”

The fourth episode of Julian Assange’s program will air globally on Tuesday, May 8th at 15:30 Moscowtime /11:30 GMT/7:30 EDT across all RT channels in English, Arabic and Spanish, and will be rebroadcast every two hours thereafter.

The progress of the Arab Spring movements across different countries is a topic that Julian Assange has explored continuously starting with the very first episode of “The World Tomorrow.” Interview with the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah caused a global media firestorm and trended on Twitter throughout the day. The most recent episode featured an extended discussion with Moncef Marzouki, the interim President of Tunisia, on democratic reforms in the cradle of the Arab Spring.

“The World Tomorrow” is RT’s weekly interview program created and hosted by the WikiLeaks founder. Promotional materials, an exclusive interview with Assange and the full-length video of the aired episodes are available at http://assange.rt.com.

Image Courtesy of   MOHPhoto / Shutterstock.com

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Brussels, 27 February 2012. The Council adopted the following conclusions:

“1. The EU welcomes the conduct of elections to both the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council in Egypt and congratulates the candidates and parties that took part in the democratic process. The EU supports Egypt’s transition towards a democratic, pluralist and stable country. The holding of free and fair elections is a first and crucial step in this regard.

2. The EU welcomes the inauguration of a new Parliament by the end of February. The newly elected Parliament will face many serious challenges, including in meeting the need for progress in democratic reform, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, inter alia freedom of expression and assembly. The EU encourages an inclusive and constructive approach in tackling them.

3. The EU looks forward to the appointment of the Constitutional Committee responsible for the drafting of a new Constitution reflecting a democratic Egypt, protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the important role of women. The EU emphasises the importance of an inclusive and transparent drafting process, representative of all elements of the Egyptian society, including persons belonging to minorities.

4. The EU underlines the importance of transfer of power to civilian rule as soon as possible and encourages the authorities to establish a definitive timetable for the holding of Presidential elections. The EU reiterates its offer of electoral support. In the meantime, the interim authorities should ensure the protection of civilians in full respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms and ensure early completion of investigations into recent violence, including against religious communities, as well as adequate follow-up of the recommendations following from these investigations.

5. The EU reiterates its deep concern with regard to restrictions on civil society organisations in Egypt. While fully respecting the independence of the judicial system in Egypt, the EU intends to monitor closely the ongoing legal proceedings against NGO staff and underlines expectations regarding due process.

Egyptian civil society has played and continues to play a crucial role in the transition. An active and independent NGO community is fundamental in any democratic society. EU’s support to civil society is a key component of the revised European Neighbourhood Policy, which is based on mutual accountability and a shared commitment to the universal values of human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law.

Therefore, the EU calls upon the Egyptian authorities to do everything possible to resolve the current situation in a timely and constructive manner. The EU underlines the importance of the adoption of a new law that would be consistent with Egypt’s international obligations.

6. The EU expresses its deep concern regarding the deterioration of economic situation in Egypt and conveys its continued support, including in the framework of the Deauville Partnership and of the revised European Neighbourhood Policy. It underlines the importance for Egypt to engage in the necessary social and economic reforms and to allow the effective use of available international assistance.

7. Recalling the principles and objectives set out in the Council Conclusions of 20 June 2011, and its commitment to supporting democratic reform in its neighbourhood, the EU has outlined an agenda of available assistance to Egypt, including financial support, further integration of markets and launching of a dialogue on migration, mobility and security.

The EU remains committed to working with the new Egypt, its new democratic institutions and eventual government in this regard. Egypt remains a key partner in the region sharing the goal of building stability, peace and prosperity in the Mediterranean and Middle East region.”

Souce: European Council

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Not for the first time at the beginning of 2011 the Egyptians decided to stand for their rights as a nation. After a series of peace protests and demonstrations the revolts grew into a civil war, in which around 840 people died and more than 5,000 were seriously injured. Was it worth it? Did anything change in Egypt?

The 2011 Egyptian Revolution was a turning point for this nation, fighting for a change. After thirty years under the rule of the same leader, the Egyptians felt strong and resolved to protect themselves against the oppression and the corruption in the African country. Their demands were not unattainable. The primary aim was to end the regime of the president Hosni Mubarak and the emergency law that gave unlimited power to the government and to the police. Did they succeed and what was to be Egypt’s fate?

On 11 February 2011 at 6 p.m local time Mubarak’s resignation was announced. This historical moment put an end to the governance than continued for more than a quarter of a century. Although the Egyptians managed to break the chains of the president’s regime, the country was faced with another problem – which road to take.

The authority was transferred to Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Chairmen of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. But despite everything, the protests of the citizens continued. The participants in the mass demonstrations in Cairo were hostile against the new rule, because their demands were not fulfilled. In the ill-fated Tahrir Square in the capital, hundreds of people continued to fall victims of their own desire to begin a new era in the history of Egypt.

The world leaders reacted positively to the tragic, but crucial events in the North African country, acknowledging the strength of the Egyptians, who according to the journalist Mohamed Hiakal “have become stronger than the regime itself.” In an interview, the US president Barack Obama said: “We should bring our children to become like Egyptian Youth”.

The society all around the world was following the news – the news about the nation, which will go down in history as the people fighting for justice and equality, things which are taken for granted in the 21st century, but which, unfortunately, are not allowed everywhere.

The country has not recovered yet, and hardly will it soon surmount the bygone year of protests and violence. But the ray of hope of the Egyptian nation that one day they will get what is theirs, has not died away. The radical revolution, kindled in cyberspace a year ago, cannot be extinguished so easily.

Now the Egyptians are reaping the fruits of their drastic actions. On 1 January 2012 the first freely-elected parliament in decades was chosen by the citizens. The next step for the progress of the Egyptian nation is the future presidential election in March 2012.

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Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency proudly announces it has been a landmark year for the country’s outsourcing industry, having achieved its goal of reaching $1.1 billion in ICT export revenue. Passing its $1 billion target, Egypt is now setting itself up for its next wave of growth – targeted at $10 billion by 2020.

The sector has recorded strong and consistent growth this year, with a 12 percent increase in the number of ICT companies in Egypt, and a nearly 10 percent increase in the number of people employed in the sector.

“There have been a number of fantastic ICT success stories as Egypt continues to mark its appeal to global companies with 17 new investments by multinational companies in the past two years and a number of substantial deals taking place in the last 12 months,” according to ITIDA’s CEO, Eng. Yasser ElKady.

Motorola expanded its presence in the region this year with a new office and Regional Engineering Center in Cairo, designed to be a key office for the Middle East and North Africa region. Stream International, Orange Business Services, HSBC, and Sutherland have all also expanded in Egypt, with Sutherland increasing its staff this year by 146 per cent to 460 people.

Likewise, Valeo, the French automotive supplier, has increased the number of newly graduated Egyptian engineers this year – from 278 in December 2010 to 420 in December 2011. Providing best in class software products to Valeo’s business groups, the company plans for continued growth in Egypt with headcount predicted to increase to 540 in the next two years. Known for their awarded innovations such as Camera Based Vision Systems, Auto Park4U, and Blind Spot Detection Systems, Valeo’s Egyptian premises will be the company’s main branch for R&D and innovation in automotive software.

Discussing ITIDA’s vision for the year ahead ElKady says, “We will continue to position Egypt as one of the key outsourcing destinations, and it is evident we have already seen significant positive results. We want to continue to extend all the necessary support to Egyptian and multi-national companies, and we are positive that training and supporting the talent pool along with other initiatives will have considerable impact in 2012 and beyond.”

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Egyptians must prepare themselves for the “black cloud,” a thick layer of smog that is produced from burning straw, every year after the rice harvest. It spreads across the Nile valley and Cairo and lasts for many weeks. The capital already has toxic air, and environmentalists fault burning waste from the harvest for making the air even worse.

Farmers generate 30 million tons of waste every year, and what they burn contributes to 42 percent of the pollution in the air during the autumn season. Experts challenge the farmers’ definition of waste, however, and state that the rice straw has potential for other uses. Egypt’s economy took a hit after the uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak, and the country is faced with the challenge of stimulating their failing economy by developing lucrative technologies that are able to convert the waste into fertilizer, pulp for paper, and other useful things, instead of being burned.

“Developed countries don’t even have that term in their dictionary. There is no such thing as waste, anything they produce they use,” said Galal Nawwar, the head of the chemical industries research division of Egypt’s National Research Center. Nawwar is among the environmentalists and Egyptian scientists who contend that farmers are wasting a valuable commodity by burning their rice straw.

They say the rice straw could produce up to 300 Egyptian pounds per ton. However, many farms have not changed their cultivation techniques in decades, or sometimes even in centuries, so they continue to burn about four million tons worth of rice straw every autumn, which emits 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the air.

The impact is the worst in one of the world’s most polluted cities, Cairo, which contains a population of 17 million. Because the city is surrounded by high ground on either side, pollutants become ensnared in a layer that hovers 25 meters off the ground. Farmers are not conscious of the straw’s value. “Burning the rice straw is not good for us either, but I have to burn it anyway, there is no other solution,” said Mohamed Sabah, an Egyptian farmer.

Though the Environmental Ministry has attempted to contain pollution over the past ten years by buying rice straw for 45 pounds a ton from some farms, many farmers still continue to set their waste ablaze. Amr Helal, a board member of the Egyptian Chamber of Industry and Engineering, is trying to create an industry to turn rice straw into useful things.

This project, which is a joint effort made by the National Research Center, the Henri Poincare University, and the German institute of Polymer Technology, has completed its pilot phase. In regards to his firm studying options to create this new industry, Helal stated, “The difficult part is not the money, as we will find funding, but the technology and the know-how.”

He remains confident that it can be done, despite the turmoil in Egypt from Mubarak’s overthrowing. He said, “The most profitable investment is to invest in science.”

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Ilan Grapel, 27, was arrested in Cairo during a protest rally on June 12 and accused of being a spy. He was put in an Egyptian jail for over four months, but was let out on Thursday in exchange for the release of 25 Egyptians that were locked up in Israel. The released prisoners were mostly smugglers and included two minors.

Before his return to the United States, Grapel met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who gave him a burger, fries, and red wine, and was debriefed by security officials. The Emory University law student was greeted by family and friends upon his arrival in New York City on Saturday.

Grapel’s flight was delayed due to a mechanical problem and would have been cancelled if the Delta flight crew had not volunteered to work overtime, so he could make it home. Grapel holds both U.S. and Israeli citizenship and was in Egypt with a volunteer group who helps Sudanese refugees.

He speaks Hebrew and Arabic and had at one time served in Israel’s military.  Grapel claims he is not a spy, which Israel has also confirmed. United States Representative Gary Ackerman, with whom Grapel once interned, lobbied to have him released. Because Grapel had been cut off for over four months, Ackerman played a prank on him and told him the Mets had won the World Series.

Grapel thanked the U.S. and Israeli officials who fought to have him set free. He said that the Egyptians treated and fed him well in prison and allowed his mother a visit, though he was kept in solitary confinement. He stated, “”It was a tough ordeal as I was isolated, but the guards were okay.

What I wanted to eat, they gave me, including fresh fish.” Grapel’s father, however, did not share his son’s forgiving attitude and claimed he would sue them. Grapel stated, in regard to the months of Egyptian interrogations, “It’s hard for me to describe. It was overwhelming.” His mother helped him to stay calm and not lose hope during his ordeal.

After Grapel was released from prison, he was happily reunited with his mother at Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel and was then reunited with his emotional father in New York. During an airport news conference, Grapel spoke of his fondness for pancakes.

He declared, “What I have not had are chocolate chip pancakes from IHOP!” He also expressed his only disappointment during his flight home was the fact that his flight attendant was married.

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Andreas Kaplan and Michael Heinlein define social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content.

According to Kaplan and Haenlein there are six different types of social media: collaborative projects (e.g. Wikipedia), blogs and micro blogs (e.g. Twitter), content communities (e.g. YouTube), social networking sites (e.g. Facebook), virtual game worlds (e.g. World of Warcraft), and virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life “Wikipedia, Social media”.

Today it had become almost the main source for information and secondary source for advertisement in the world. Twitter as a social media is not as popular in the Middle East as facebook, which became a hit over night.

Twitter for Egyptians is either unknown, or not understandable, so in both cases useless, but worldwide it is a good communicational tool between companies and their buyers, celebrities and fans or people who share the same interest — all can communicate easily and find each other fast.

Although twitter is an easy, fast communication platform, Egyptians used to prefer facebook because it has much more diversity on offer. In Egypt, there are many social levels — the lower class, middle lower class, middle higher class and high class — but they all have internet access at either their home or internet cafés which makes it easy for them to connect to social media.

It was easy to understand facebook and how people can communicate through it, which made it popular fast. But for Twitter there were two reasons against it: it came second and was difficult to understand. Twitter in the past didn’t have the advertising on the web it has today which limited its outreach in countries such as Egypt.

And for those who knew about it, it was hard and obscure to them to understand how it actually worked. Eventually the Egyptian people learned about Twitter and some created accounts but usage was limited as often is the case with communities that depends on personal networks.

The story took a turn during the Egyptian revolution on January 25 where protesters used twitter to plan the millions of protest and to discuss it without the knowledge of the government. The twist made a lot of people want to join Twitter to be able to follow the current events and reach audiences worldwide to tell them about the revolution.

According to India Times, “approximately 15,000 citizens used Twitter accounts to find and spread information about the protests.” Twitter helped spread the thoughts of the protesters and the events from el Tahrir square. Reporters, ordinary people and foreigners tweeted worldwide about the revolution both before and during it.

After several hours of protesting, people worldwide would know what happened through Twitter updates. News channels quoted the protesters via Twitter and three days later the government blocked the site from the internet because they finally understood its power.

The administrators of the social network knew about it and made phone calls to people in Egypt so the revolution could continue to tweet its message. They even made televised announcements to let Egypt know the world was listening.

Unfortunately after the end of the revolution, few have continued to use their twitter account. The age group still using it are also still between 16 and 35 years of age, meaning older people have yet to catch on. Still, you can find shops and companies in Egypt which have chosen to keep their presence on the social media site and use it for advertisement.

Twitter had a big role during the revolution but afterwards, only a small amount of people have continued to use it. Despite the excitement and wonder of the events that led to the fall of Mubarak, Twitter remains an unremarkable communications platform in Egypt — simply the fastest platform for information dissemination for a limited amount of time.
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With the world always having a country or two in rebellious uproar, there is always one denominator that seems to be the main cause: Money. You could see it in the Tunisian Revolution in late December 2010, the Egyptian Revolution in late January 2011, the ongoing Libyan Civil War that started in February, and the uprising in Syria that began in March.

The governments of these country had in one way or the other blocked certain rights of the citizens which led to mass protest. In some cases, like in Egypt, the main cause for protest revolved around a rise in poverty and massive unemployment. But what a lot of people focused on throughout the Arab Spring movement was that the citizens who revolted were those whose basic freedoms were being denied them.

In the previous dictatorial regimes, the ability to exersize freedom of speech has been seriously hampered by the authorities, blocking internet or social networking access. According to Dan Robles, founder of the Ingenesist Project and a blogger on several top social media communities, even though the regime in Egypt had a lot of money, oil, and guns, the Egyptian government was taken down by what he calls “social currency”.

Social currency, or ‘Rallods’ according to Robles, is “all value that is not directly articulated with Dollars.” This form of currency is regarded the most valuable and important form of currency that can be obtained in this world; however, you will never see it used in economic situations by the government.

According to Robles, a society cannot “try to produce an airplane, a sandwich, or a surgical procedure without intellect, creativity, compassion, empathy, ethics, social values, or community awareness”. Social currency is the only type of currency a community will essentially need in the production of anything of greater importance, and it could cause problems if it wasn’t included and drawn upon in the production process.

As seen in the recent uprisings and revolutions throughout the middle eastern world, the people have and are using their social currency in order to obtain the rights and freedoms that human being desires. Along with that, social currency is also helping citizens obtain the other forms of currency important for survival, money.

The challenge for the world, which could take some time, is to convey and utilise all forms of value in an economic system. According to Robles, this change in the economy is already underway and we will soon be able to exchange Rallods with Dollars every day. This could lead to countries with healthier economies — relying not only on contribution from the government, but from the people as well.
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Turkey has proposed its new vision for a new system in the Middle East based on an alliance with Egypt, at a time when the Arab Spring continues to stir revolutions and popular uprisings against various rulers of the region.

According to The Washington Post, this proposition was presented by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davut Oglu. Oglu’s proposal came after weeks of deteriorating and strained relations with both Syria and Israel, and following Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s latest visit to various Arab countries including Egypt.

Oglu accompanied Ardugan alongside 280 Turkish business men to Egypt and he stated that over $1 Billion were signed in contracts in one day. Turkey holds Israel responsible for the collapse of the relations between both states because of its refusal to apologize to the Turkish government and people, as well as compensating for the victims of the Gaza flotilla incident.

Oglu also accused Syrian President Bashar Al Assad of being dishonest after Turkish officials gave the latter a final chance to save his regime by ceasing the unjust and violent suppression of Syrian protestors demanding change, which has not stopped.

Oglu is seen as the architect of successful Turkish foreign policies in the Middle East in which Turkey has emerged as both a credible and imperative player with the Islamic world in the turbulent region.

This alliance is proposed on the basis that both countries possess two of the most powerful armies in the region, are of the most populated, and able to exert a considerable amount of influence; in a time where Oglu explained that the US’ control of the Middle East is decreasing steadily.

“This will not be an axis against any other country – not Israel, not Iran, not any other country, but this will be an axis of democracy, real democracy, this will be an axis of democracy of the two biggest nations in our region, from the north to the south, from the Black Sea down to the Nile Valley in Sudan,” he added.

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Egypt’s Minister of State for Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, has been acquitted of charges that he failed to obey a court order regarding the Egyptian Museum’s new gift shop.

Egyptian businessman Farid Atiya claimed that Hawass conspired to deny him a concession to operate the Egyptian Museum’s new gift shop, which opened in 2010.  Traditionally, the concession to operate the museum’s gift shop is awarded after a public auction and Atiya won two  consecutive auctions to operate the old gift shop.  But the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced in October 2009 that the auction for the newest gift shop would be a limited auction in which only certain companies could take part.  In order to participate in the auction, a company had to first present an initial letter of guarantee worth 2 million Egyptian pounds followed by a final letter of guarantee worth 10 million Egyptian pounds. Atiya alleged that these requirements, which were in excess of those required by law, were intended to prevent him from taking part.

Atiya also claimed that Hawass had already decided to lease the gift shop to Sound and Light, a state-owned company that operates a number of tourist attractions throughout Egypt.  However, when Sound and Light’s representative was late to the auction, Atiya succeeded in having them disqualified, and he duly won the auction by default only to have Hawass cancel the auction on the grounds that there had been only one participant.

Another auction was duly announced, but when the appointed day arrived, Atiya was told that it had been delayed.  Fearing that Hawass intended to ask Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to award the concession by appointment rather than auction, Atiya wrote to Nazif and explained his side of the story.  Nazif accordingly refused Hawass’ request to give the concession directly to Sound and Light.

Yet another auction was scheduled for May 2010, but Atiya was not invited to participate.  He then went to the State Council court and asked it to invalidate the auction, which it did on June 15.  However, the Supreme Council of Antiquities appealed against the decision and claimed that a contract had already been signed.  However, since the contract had been signed four days before the final letter of guarantee was issued, it was held to be invalid.  But Hawass pressed on with his plans for the shop and it opened in December 2010 under the control of Sound and Light.

Atiya, who still operated the old museum gift shop, then received a letter from Hawass ordering him to close it down because of the opening of the new shop.  Atiya appealed against the order, claiming that the new gift shop should never have opened in the first place.  In January 2011, Prime Minister Nazif wrote to Hawass and asked him to abide by the court order.  Hawass refused, citing the financial losses that would be suffered by Sound and Light and the American University in Cairo Press (who operated the gift shop on behalf of Sound and Light).  Hawass offered Atiya a tiny amount of space in the new gift shop, but he refused the offer.

The museum gift shop was looted during the Egyptian Revolution, but when it reopened on February 20, it was still under the control of Sound and Light.  Atiya then brought charges against Hawass under Article 123 of the Criminal Law of Egypt, which says that if a government official fails to implement a court’s verdict, they are liable to imprisonment and a fine. In April, a court found Hawass guilty and sentenced him to one year in prison and a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds.

However, earlier this month the Criminal Court of Agouza overturned the previous verdict and found Hawass innocent of the charges against him.  According Al-Ahram Online, the Ministry of State for Antiquities has said that another auction will be held in which all organizations will be able to participate.

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A groundbreaking satellite survey of Egypt has revealed a dizzying array of lost tombs and settlements, including 17 previously unknown pyramids.

Dr. Sarah Parcak, an Egyptologist with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and her colleagues used infra-red satellite imagery to peer beneath the surface and discover hitherto unknown sites.  In addition to the pyramids, her team also discovered evidence of 1,000 other tombs and 3,100 settlements.

Initial test excavations seem to confirm the validity of Parcak’s findings.  Archaeologists digging at the great necropolis of Saqqara have confirmed the presence of at least one buried pyramid.  Furthermore, she was able to identify the remains of a 3,000 year old house at Tanis, the northern city that served as Egypt’s capital during the 21st and 22nd dynasties.  When the site was excavated, the remains of the house matched the satellite image almost exactly.

Parcak told the BBC that she believed that this technology would be a boon to archaeologists.  “It’s an important tool to focus where we’re excavating. It gives us a much bigger perspective on archaeological sites. We have to think bigger and that’s what the satellites allow us to do,” she said.

The BBC funded Parcak’s work and BBC One will show a documentary highlighting her findings on May 30.  American Egyptophiles will have to wait until the Discovery Channel airs its own documentary on the subject later this summer.

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The excitement is on and we have now officially entered election season in Egypt. The interim military government has scheduled the next presidential elections in the country to take place this coming September. Politics in Egypt are in high gear, with dozens of political parties being created since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak.

But other things are happening in Egypt that might just be stealing the limelight away from the presidential elections.

Recent sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians, public trials of infamous former government officials and lack of security in the country are just drops in the well of troubles plaguing Egypt today. Dozens of political parties are being established, but most all agree, the few months allotted to them to establish their presence in the country is for the lack of a more creative word, short. The situation needs a shot in the arm. September is looming, and creating a slew of great parties with equally great platforms is not enough reason to celebrate.

So how does one inject a level of excitement befitting the first presidential election in Egypt that would actually lead to change? One word, candidates!

From the start the revolution in Egypt has been leaderless. Wael Ghonim, the Google Executive turned revolutionary activist, has repeated the leaderless mantra in almost most of his T.V appearances and tweets. That might have been good to encourage diversity in the revolutions’ demographics, however what is needed today is the exact opposite.

Egypt needs excitement in its electoral process. A political marriage between its top political candidates can help bring some cohesiveness to an as of yet hugely fragmented political field, while simultaneously giving Egyptians more of a reason to shed away their historical apathy towards politics and elections in general. Let’s explore two of the most popular candidates running for the presidency in Egypt.

Mohammed El Baradei:

Some people might remember El Baradei from his years heading the IAEA, the UN’s nuclear security watchdog. He would be immediately bringing international stature and recognition to the office of the Egyptian presidency. He is adept to the dynamics and intricacies of global politics and would presumably serve to spearhead economic, social and political reform in the country. Although political polling in Egypt is still in its infancy and access to good scientific data is scarce, Al Baradei is widely recognized as a serious contender for the presidency with broad support from the population.

Amr Moussa:

Moussa is a populist at his core and for all intents and purposes seems to be the most vetted of all candidates. He resonates with a huge portion of the population that might not relate to Al Baradei’s more liberal orientation. Moussa was once a prominent figure of the Mubarak regime, that is until rumors of disagreement between Moussa and Mubarak sent him packing to head the Arab League, a position that Mubarak presumably found fitting for him since it was far away from the public spotlight. He has maintained a firm stance with Israel on numerous occasions as Secretary General of the Arab League, which as we will see in the coming months will score him huge political points. In a sense, to many Egyptians he symbolizes the old guard, or that which is right with it.

So how would the El Baradei and Moussa political marriage look like? What would happen if two of the most exciting political leaders in modern Egypt’s history, in these most exciting of revolutionary times,  join forces on a single presidential ticket?

With all his merits, and they are numerous, El Baradei has not had enough experience working within the cynical world of Egyptian politics. That might very well be Al Baradei’s appeal to Egypt’s huge youthful population which yearns for an idealism that Moussa simply does not embody. Here the difference between the two could not be starker. El Baradei was an Egyptian statesman of the highest stature. He is an Egyptian that won a shared Nobel Peace Prize with the International Atomic Energy Agency. He is someone that presumably does not take issues of democracy, freedom of speech, and the rule of law lightly, in fact one would expect him to be Egypt’s most vocal champion of these ideals. Moussa’s history on the other hand is one of courage and principle in the eyes of many Egyptians. This is a man that presumably stood up against Mubarak and challenged him on how he was handling the country, and was sent to the Arab League because of his dissent. It might not seem like a shabby deal to many, but the message we get out of it is clear, Moussa is an old guard hero unafraid to face down the world if he thinks its in Egypt’s favor.

As the government of Egypt changes after the revolution, so will its role in the region. It is already a foregone conclusion that Egypt’s foreign policy vis a vis the U.S and Israel will change, now it is the extent of that change that begs the question. We have seen protests in recent days in Egypt in front of the Israeli embassy demanding the ouster of the Israeli Ambassador. The fervor must be tempered, and although Moussa has traditionally been a hard-liner when it comes to Israel, having El Baradei in the decision making process would balance things out between the two. In a sense, it would be the perfect blend of progressiveness and conservatism. Egyptians would get a sense of justice and idealism all in one package, they win, and the world wins. International politics is like a game theory game, and rarely do we see such a departure from negative sum to positive sum, or simply in the case of Egypt and the world, both sides losing or both sides winning. Rarely if ever, did Egypt get a chance to have a competent government that represents the diversity of opinion of its population. Egyptians must not fear disagreement, for there will be a lot of it in the years to come. Through dialogue, conservatism as well as liberalism will be shaped into their own unique meanings in Egypt, that is a natural side effect of freedom. Having El Baradei and Moussa pair up to kick start a national dialogue from a newly elected, legitimate presidential office would be a good thing.

Who would you nominate as President of Egypt, El Baradei or Moussa? Go to our facebook page to cast your vote.

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Syria is no Libya. It was never designed as such. Its important to keep that in mind while watching events unfold in the Middle East and North Africa.

In Libya the Little Green Book shapes the government structure (or the lack of one). If you aren’t familiar with the Green Book, suffice it to say that it was written by Qaddafi and that he rode his own revolution into office by championing the ideas within it. The Green Book included Qaddafi’s vague vision of what government should look like and how it should be run. He apparently wrote the whole thing to serve as a model to what his presumed utopia would one day look like. Syria’s Baath Party too once had an idealistic utopia in mind for Syria and the rest of the Arab world. Both countries developed different paths to shape their government structures. Both countries rewarded corruption, cronyism and dictatorship rule as well.

And that is where the similarities end.

The reason I am hopeful that Syria’s President, Bashaar Al Assad, will indeed be toppled is because of the subtle political similarities between Syria and Egypt. Like Egypt’s former President Mubarak – the effect of saying former still hasn’t quite rubbed off yet – Assad has accommodated his autocratic authority by keeping his cronies satisfied. But even dictators can have a hard time pleasing everyone, especially when they face popular discontent and revolt on the scale we have been seeing recently in the Middle East. Granted that the army seems to be much more in line with Assad’s plans to crush the revolution taking place there than say it was in Egypt. Nonetheless there are other reasons that the regime may crack.

Syria is an autocratic country. Unlike Libya, the structure there allows for opposition political parties, much like Egypt did, however they are consistently and methodically harassed by a skewed constitution, impartial judiciary and a demented, power crazed executive branch. Assad certainly has reason to keep it as such, being that he is an Alawite, a minority sect of Shia Islam.

But this is where the similarities with Egypt end and those with Iraq begin.

Like Iraq during Saddam’s reign, Syria is dominated by the Baath Party (resurrection in Arabic), a secular political party that was founded in Syria, and manifested itself at different times in Iraq, culminating with its rule predominately under Saddam. But secularism here is enforced. It is not accompanied by liberal ideals of tolerance. In fact, tolerance in most of the Arab world, is used mainly as a reactionary argument by their regimes against the occasional religious clashes or any other forms of internal social rift that would at any time seem to threaten the stability of those who rule. It is not proactive and it is certainly not embodied in the spirit of the Baath party. Sadly, tolerance is engineered by these regimes for one reason and one reason only, to keep a minority or unelected group of individuals in power. As cynical as that assessment may be, unfortunately that is how the situation currently stands in Syria and much of the Arab world.

If the protests rocking Syria in the past few weeks hint at anything however, it is that the ruling party and the establishment system as a whole is vulnerable and that their propaganda efforts are failing them. One important factor to consider is if that vulnerability will eventually culminate in the rejection of Assad’s one party dominates all rule.

So how are things going to end up for Assad and his Baath party should Syria fall?

My assessment is that it won’t be a pretty picture. The possibility of a fair power sharing agreement between the Sunni’s and Shia and Alawite’s is doable but not likely. An additional variable also adds worry to this already risky situation and that is the Muslim Brotherhood In Syria. Unlike Egypt, Syria had lagged in the degree of political reform during the early years of this century. The situation in Egypt pre-revolution allowed for a more vocal and heightened opposition to government rule. When the government tried to choke off the stream of reforms, the country imploded. It remains to be seen however if Syrians will be able to fight off the army – a situation that Egyptians mostly avoided during the revolution – and succeed in their cause of toppling the violent dictatorship that rules them today.

Will Syria too fall? Is so, what are the chances of it creating a multi faceted vibrant civil society to replace its currently established dictatorship? Let us know your opinion here. You can also comment on this article through our facebook page!

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While the liberation of people in the internationally defined ‘Arab world’ receive daily exposure on screens and in newspapers around the globe at the moment, people south of the Sahara are desperately trying to raise their voice: What about the rest of Africa?

AlJazeera.net ran a story about the missing attention towards Africa in international media in late February – roughly two months after Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain had captured the world with their people’s unrelenting protest against dictatorship. The coverage of the scores of Egyptians who took over Tahrir Square in peaceful but defiant objection to the regime, provoked widespread sympathy across the global audience. To see a non-violent revolution turn the nation full circle became a source of great admiration in the rest of the world.

All of a sudden, #Egypt was a ‘sexy topic’ but despite the banks of the Nile stemming from central Africa, the world viewed the Egyptian uprising solely as a Middle Eastern issue, directing their attention towards the greater region southwards and what the revolution would mean for the rest of the Arab world and Israel. Few seemed to notice that the rest of the continent which Egypt resides on, a continent with a billion people, are living under equally despotic regimes and suffers the same sociopolitical suppression as their neighbors of the north.

“Egypt is in Africa. We should not fool about with the attempts of the North to segregate the countries of North Africa from the rest of the continent,” says Firoze Manji, the editor of Pambazuka Online, an advocacy website for social justice in Africa to AlJazeera. “Their histories have been intertwined for millennia. Some Egyptians may not feel they are Africans, but that is neither here nor there. They are part of the heritage of the continent.”

The ‘spark’ was ignited, literally, when Mohamed Bouzazi’s self-immolation in Tunisia (an African country) articulated the frustrations of a nation and the fire spread to Algeria (also African), Yemen and Bahrain while Hosni Mubarak sat unwittingly of the revolution about to come.

But did you know that in ‘darkest Africa’, far away from the cameras and reporters, another dramatic protest unfolded in Gabon on January 29 where opposition protested against Ali Bhongo Odhumba’s government, whom they accuse of hijacking recent elections. With little geopolitical importance, news organizations seemed largely oblivious to the underdeveloped oil exporter whose people have lived four decades under the Bhongo family’s regime. Elsewhere on the continent protests broke out, inspired by the populist movements of the North, but the coverage was in many places either directly stifled (newspaper staff being arrested by local authorities) or indirectly ignored by international news.

AlJazeera reported that Egypt and Tunisia may have been the catalysts for revolt across the Arab world, but will the fire spread to the rest of Africa and if so, will the international audience even notice?

“What the continent lacks is media coverage,” says Drew Hinshaw, an American journalist based in West Africa. “There’s no powerhouse media for the region like AlJazeera, while European and American media routinely reduce a conflict like [that in] Ivory Coast or Eastern Congo to a one-sentence news blurb at the bottom of the screen.” Nanjala, a political analyst at the University of Oxford suggests that the media’s shortcomings stem from a tendency to favor explanations that fit the ‘failing Africa’ narrative.

The American journalist is equally disappointed in world leaders. “ Barack Obama publicly condemned the use of violence in Bahrain, Yemen and Libya. When was the last time you saw Obama come out and make a statement on Ivory Coast? Or Eastern Congo? Or Djibouti, where 20,000 people protested [...] according to the opposition?”.

The tendency in global media to distinguish between the outdated ‘third world’ Africa-issues and the ‘media friendly’ revolution in the northern part is a valid concern among several nations, especially of Central Africa, who find their struggle trivialized in comparison with the Western world’s obsession with the Middle East. Has the line between the familiar suffering of ‘the African’ and the fascinating suffering of the Egyptian or Tunisian really been drawn by cameras and reporters? Another question is if the African continent will ever receive high priority in the global media stream. If a highly exposed revolution on its very soil failed to put Africa on the international agenda – what will?

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With Egypt being the most populous Arab country, it makes sense that tens of thousands of Egyptians work in neighboring Libya. The problem facing the new Egyptian government though has been focused on two things, the logistics of getting all those still stuck in Libya back to their country and how to accommodate for all of them once they come back. Egyptian government officials addressed both these issues in recent weeks.

Ambassador Mohammed Abd-Al-Hakim tried to assure people that a full scale operation has been underway to bring back those stranded on the Libya-Tunisia border as well as those still in Tripoli and other major Libyan cities. According to Abd-Al-Hakim, the Egyptian government has already successfully coordinated the return of around 90 thousand Egyptians through air, ground and sea, with 20 thousand people still waiting in Tripoli’s major airport alone. Abd-Al-Hakim also claims that were it not for the Libyan government complicating these efforts, Egypt would have been able to send more from its national airline fleet of Egypt Air planes.

The ambassador denied reports that Egypt Air planes were used to fly foreigners out of Libya when such a large number of Egyptians remain stranded in the country.

The economic significance of these events are sure to be played out in the coming future. The country has already been struggling to create around 100,000 jobs every year for new entrants in the market. Being that remittances from abroad account for about 5% of the national GDP, the problem of the recent influx of Egyptians from Libya will have a compounded economic effect. Added to that is the distress of the economic situation of a country that just a few weeks ago had all internet and phone services blocked from commerce.

Whoever will win the presidential elections set to take place in about six months may very well be the first person to lead that country towards democracy and a new beginning (certainly that has its perks). However with the recent pressure exacerbating an already sluggish economy, it will prove to be a extremely difficult job for whoever that person may be. Lets just hope that the issue of the economy does not sidetrack the necessary work that needs to be done on the political and social fronts as well.

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The Egyptian revolution has begun to transition into an administrative phase as the first rounds of voting commence in the coming weeks. Working towards a stable, democratic government, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has appointed a committee to revise Egypt’s constitution, and prepare for the upcoming elections.

On March 19 a public referendum scheduled to take place, will set the preliminary measures by which Egypt’s political future will be defined. In polling stations open to the public from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Egyptians will determine whether they agree to amendments made on 8 articles in the constitution (75, 76, 77, 88, 93, 139 and 149 and the cancellation of Article 179).

Article 75 now states that a president—of at least 40 years old— must be borne by two Egyptian Parents, and cannot marry a foreign wife—Mubarak’s wife, Suzanne, was half Welsh.

Article 76 outlines the eligibility of a candidate to run for president: the candidate should be endorsed by 30 members from the People`s Assembly or the Shura Council (the lower and upper houses of parliament); receive 30,000 signatures from Egyptians from 15 Governorates; or be a member of a party that holds at least one seat in Parliament.

Article 77 restricts a president from serving more than two terms in office, each lasting four years. No limit previously existed, and Mubarak was able to hold five, six-year terms.

Article 88 was modified to allow judicial oversight during the election process—from voter lists to the announcement of results.

Article 89 concerns the means to amend the constitution, ensuring that the next elected parliament will form a 100 member elected commission to draft a new constitution within the first six months after its election.

Article 93 has been amended so the Supreme Constitutional Court is the sole arbitrator on contested memberships. Previously, the People’s Assembly had authority in determining the validity of the parliamentary membership.

Article 139 requires a president to appoint a vice president within the first two months of inauguration.

Under article 148, if the president wants to apply the State of Emergency for over six months, it must be approved by a public referendum. Formerly, the Emergency Law could be renewed by the People’s Assembly.

If passed, the changes will be the basis for parliamentary elections scheduled for June, and the presidential election in August.

“We are putting them [the amendments] to public debate now,” said Sobhi Saleh, the only member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood on the committee. “If there is a substantive challenge, we will take it into consideration.”

The June elections will affect the formation of political parties in parliament and consequently establish nominees for the presidency.

Anticipated frontrunners emerging are Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, and former International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei.

ElBaradei, 68, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, said he will vote in opposition to the March 19 amendments, pushing for a new constitution to be drafted. “The current constitution fell. It would be an insult to the revolution if we decided to retrieve this constitution.”

On March 9 Moussa, 74, the most prominent figure to announce his candidacy, stated he “would not be another Mubarak.” Popular amongst middle class Egyptians, Moussa’s future plans include peace with Israel, cooperation in favor of submission to U.S. relations, political integration between the Muslim Brotherhood and Copts, and encouragement for women and the younger generation to become involved in Egypt’s future. “The choice should be to the people.”

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What does one do with a broken, seemingly useless regional organization like the Arab League when it fails to be relevant anymore? Allow corrupt and wealthy member states to pour more money into it to keep it afloat. At least that has traditionally been the case with the Arab League.

By any measure, the Arab League has been a sad and utter failure since its inception. Far from achieving Arab unity – even though many of its member states can hardly be defined as Arab to begin with – the league has simply weathered the 60 or so years of its existence by accepting money from its oil rich member states to stay functional, but at what price? How can we expect an organization as weak as the Arab League to rise up to the challenges of our time and to help fix the challenges currently besetting the Middle East? We can’t, which is why it needs to be completely disbanded. Not reformed and tinkered with, but rather completely built anew from the ground up.

The Arab League was originally designed to achieve two main objectives. The first was to create a platform for political and economic cooperation between Arab states. The second was to represent a unified stance against Israel. It has failed on both counts. The Arab League has been fractious mainly because it denies itself to dream up a better vision of its world.  Instead of rallying around ideals such as democracy and freedom, it has accommodated the worst of regime leaders, Omar Bashir of course being no exception.

Without the ability to agree on a single set of principles, no matter how general, the hopes of the Arab League ever achieving meaningful change in the region are nil. As the age old saying in Middle East goes, Arabs can only agree to disagree. Couple that with the Israel component of its founding charter and you have an organization that has been propped up to fail from the day it was created.

Instead of facilitating the corrupt status quo, countries like Tunisia and Egypt should lead the region by dropping out from the Arab League and jointly creating a newer version of the organization.

In both those countries the ideals of freedom and democracy brought down their corrupt leaders and presumably the whole system that kept them in power. With their reformed political structures in place, both countries could start drafting a new charter for a new Arab League that agrees with them in principle as well as vision.

By having a clear set of guidelines put forth as a pre-requisite for membership, the new Arab League can maintain its integrity and that of its members. After all, membership that is hard to attain and honorable to have is better than one that is raffled off to whatever country is interested in expanding its political portfolio. Therefore, respect for human rights, rule of law and democratic institutions should become the new norm in any draft charter agreement. Anything that falls short of that is really not worth fighting for, let alone paying hard earned money for.

The citizens of Egypt and Tunisia should start by demanding that their future governments review their financial assistance to the Arab League. They should also ask their new governments the tough question of whether it is appropriate for their countries to be contributing members of an organization that shields the same kind of despotic behavior that they fought, bled and died to get rid of in their own countries. Finally, they should consider if their honorable dreams of freedom could be expanded upon regionally and whether the newly minted characters of their nations need to be represented as such in forums such as the Arab League and beyond.

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