* EGYPT
* Presidents of Egypt
* 2011 Revolution
* State of Emergency Law
* SCAF
* Muslim Brotherhood
* Crisis in Egypt
* Reaction of the world
* Implications for India
EGYPT
* Cairo= Egypts capital and Largest city.
* Majority of the people in Egypt areSunni Muslims but theres still quite a few Christians in Egypt today.
* Egypt has been an independent country since1922. It became arepublicafter theEgyptian Revolutionof1952
* About 60% of the population is under the age of 30.
Presidents of Egypt
* Egypt has had five Presidents after it became a republic. Out of these, the last two are relevant to our discussion.
NameDurationHighlights
General Muhammad Naguib1.5 years (1953-1954)
* Revolution: The Free Officers Movement aimed at overthrowing constitutional monarchy and established a republic in 1952.
* He resigned in 1954
Gamal Abdel Nasser13 years (1956-1970)
* Died in office
Anwar Sadat10 years (1971-1981)
* Assassinated
Hosni Mubarak30 years (1981 -2011)
* Issue: Autocratic governance, Corruption, poverty, unemployment, price inflation and other economic issues, State of Emergency Laws.
* Resigned after 2011 Revolution
Mohammed Morsi1 year (2012- 2013)
* Issue: Behaved as if he had a mandate to transform Egypt into a more Islamist state; did little to tackle the countrys pressing economic and social problems.
* Deposed by military after mass protest in July 2013
2011 Revolution
* Inspired by the revolution in Tunisia, small networks of Egyptian activists geared up for mass action. (Also called as the Arab Spring)
* Reason: They had been agitating against President Hosni Mubarak's autocratic rule for years.
* Demands: Political freedoms, to end to state corruption and seek a better quality of life for an impoverished population.
* The younger generation realized that the old order had no room for them, and could never satisfy their desire of having a decent job that would give them money to lead independent lives.
* Egyptians decided to start protest marches around the country- calling for greater freedoms and political change.
* In February, 2011, after weeks of protests, Mubarak resigned and handed over power to the military.
* First Parliamentary elections were held between Nov 2011 and Jan 2012. Mohammed Morsi became Egypts first democratically elected President.
State of Emergency Law
It gives the state draconian powers. The Government can declare this Emergency Law any time.
* Most constitutional rights are suspended.
* Police powers are enormously extended.
* Anybody can be imprisoned for any period of time without reasons or trial.
* The ruler has the power to monitor newspapers, journals and other publications.
SCAF
* The Supreme Council of Armed Forces is a governing body of 21 senior officers in theEgyptian military.
* The Council is held only in case of war or great insurgencies.
* SCAF has enjoyed wide legitimacy from the people of Egypt and general confidence in their ability to provide for free elections.
* The Council assumed power, headed by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi after Mubaraks resignation.
* 2013 Military Coup: GeneralAbdul Fatah al-Sisi, the Minister of Defense and the Coup General, issued an ultimatum to the Government and declared an end to the presidency of Morsi.
Muslim Brotherhood
* Its a transnational Islamic political organization founded in 1928 in Egypt.
* It was banned after the attempted -assassination of Egypt's president Abdel Nasser.
* After six decades of Government repression, it was legalized in 2011.
* Freedom and Justice Party is the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing.
* This organization has a presence in West Asia and Africa also.
Crisis in Egypt
After the end of Hosni Mubaraks rule, the people of Egypt were hoping for better administration and an improvement in economic condition. They were disappointed with Morsis government.
* Reasons: Broken Promises
* Morsis government did not keep its promises about reinvigorating the economy.
* Government issued a temporary constitutional declaration that gave the President sweeping powers including immunity to any decisions he made thereafter.
* Behaved as if it had an overwhelming mandate to transform Egypt into a more Islamist state.
* The demonstrations were organized by Egyptian opposition organizations and individuals- mainly liberals, leftists, secularists andChristians.
* Outcome:
* President Mohammed Morsi was deposed by military after mass protests.
* The constitutional court abolished the Constituent Assembly in which the Brotherhood had won 235 seats. The assembly couldnt start its task of writing a constitution. Meanwhile the interim military government, the SCAF awarded itself powers to veto changes in the constitution, to propose legislation, to detain civilians and deploy military at times of internal unrest.
* General Abdul Fatah al-Sisi suspended the Constitution and proclaimed Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court,Adly Mansour as the interim Head of State until new presidential elections.
* Egypt is now governed under an emergency law that gives the state draconian powers. Journalists are being held without trail.
* Hundreds of Pro-Morsi supporters were killed in clashes with security force. A curfew is already in place in Cairo. Dead bodies are piling up.
* The Brotherhoods spiritual leader Mohamed Badie and several senior leaders are under arrest.
* The regime clearly aims to close down all political space.
Reaction of the world
The future of Egypt's democracy is in danger. When elected institutions are removed by military force, past patterns show that the outcome is unfavorable to democracy.
* The message sent by the crisis in Egypt to Libya, Syria, Yemen and beyond is that of militarizing politics: only arms guarantee political rights, not the constitution, not democratic institutions and certainly not votes.
* US calls off military exercises:It has cancelled joint military exercises due to take place with Egypt and may even suspend financial aid of $1.5 billion a year in the future.
* UN calls for calm:The UN Security Council has urged all parties to show maximum restraint and end violence in Egypt
* The European Union has expressed its deep concern and hoping for early democratic elections.
* Tourism under threat:The curfew in Cairo is damaging the tourist industry and holiday-makers in some resorts. The United State of America has issued warnings and asked its citizens to leave Egypt.
Implications for India
* India has had close historical and civilization contacts with Egypt.
* The important concern is about 3600 people of Indian origin living in Egypt and 2200 members of the Indian community in Cairo.
* Egypts strategic location along the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal provides it a significant advantage vis--vis bilateral trade and tourism
* India has been among the top five importers of Egyptian products since 2005. Exports from India to Egypt have been increasing over the years.
* India has a total investment of about $2 billion in about 40 projects.
* Egypt has 3.5 per cent of Africas proven oil reserves which makes it an important country for India. GAIL, Reliance Industries, and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation are key players in the natural gas and petroleum sectors of Egypt.
* Instability in Egypt will have an adverse impact upon Indian companies involved.
Name: Divya V Prabhu
References:
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2013/09/201395124736350635.html
http://www.idsa.in/system/files/IB_CrisisinEgypt.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23780839
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23724269
The Hindu Article: The unended Arab awakening
