On Sunday evening, Egyptian plainclothes police and the army
attacked a protest by peaceful demonstrators. Dozens were killed and hundreds
wounded, while state television spread inflammatory news of Copts attacking
soldiers. Many immediately concluded that sectarianism was to blame, rather
than the military command which oversaw the bloodbath. The ability of Egypt's
Supreme Council for the Armed Forces (SCAF) to avoid accountability for its
actions lies at the heart of the problems in today's Egypt.
This myth about Egypt's transition runs deep. It blames the
stagnation of the country's transition on the divided protest movement,
unsatisfied public sector workers, factory labors, and rural farmers. When this
narrative does not suffice, the established but ineffective political parties,
various Islamist parties greedy for electoral competition, and weak cabinet
members are marshaled from their supporting roles to take the fall. Either way,
they implicitly place the blame for Egypt's shaky transition on the doorstep of
the civilians who made the revolution.
Even the focus on parliamentary elections, the policy positions of
Egypt's current presidential contenders, or a constitution yet to be written
diverts the focus from where it belong -- the people actually in power.
COMMENTS (1)
Read More
