Slow pace of change causes power vacuum in Egypt

The ouster of former Egypt president Hosny Mubarak and his family led to jubilant celebrations on the streets of Cairo, but three months on there is a growing sense of unease at the slow rate of change.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has been in control of the country since Mubarak stepped down in February, but has recently had its hands full trying to deal with deadly sectarian clashes between Christians and Muslims in Cairo.

Many Egyptians had hoped that the nearly three decades of stagnation under Mubarak would be replaced by a modern democratic state, but the violence has served as a sobering reminder that negative as well as positive forces can be unleashed by the removal of dictatorial regimes.

There has been some progress, however, with a restructuring of state media and the replacement of many of those who held senior positions under Mubarak well under way.

Mubarak’s two sons, Alaa and Gamal, along with dozens of officials and businessmen associated with the former regime, are currently being detained while two former ministers have already received prison sentences.

Other objectives, such as greater freedom of speech, respect for human rights, stamping out corruption and an end to discrimination against minorities have so far proved more difficult to achieve.

Critics of the new regime have sometimes been imprisoned, bribing of the police is still common and violence has erupted between ultra- conservative Muslim Salafists and Coptic Christians in Cairo’s Imbaba district.

The young activists who bravely led the resistance to the old regime in January and February are the ones most disappointed at the sluggish pace of reform.

‘A lot of people are depressed, especially the youth,’ says Rama Maher of the non-governmental organization Alashanek ya Balady, a community group that works for economic development and employment.

‘I’m still optimistic although objectively I’ve no reason to be.’

The 26-year-old hopes that people don’t give up the battle and continue to demand reform.

‘We have a long road in front of us,’ she said.

Members of the April 6 Youth Movement, who many feel played the greatest role in the ousting of Mubarak, also appear to have realized that change will be more difficult to achieve than previously thought.

The group has been distributing leaflets in the central province of Minya with the headline, ‘The ABC of Politics,’ to explain how Egypt’s political system functions.

‘About 40 per cent of people we have met have no idea how things work. They don’t know that our parliament has two houses or even what the last referendum was about,’ says Mohammed Adel, spokesman of the April 6 Youth Movement.

There is also widespread ignorance about the fact that a new parliament has to be elected before a new president can be sworn in.

Most people seem to be more interested in everyday concerns such as tackling youth unemployment and improving the country’s road infrastructure than constitutional issues.

The Free Front for Peaceful Change (FFPC) is one of the few youth groups putting up candidates for September’s parliamentary elections but, even here, optimism is waning on the ground.

‘The liberals and non-religious groupings are engaged in trench warfare. Islamic groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists can take advantage of this to prevent Egypt from having a democratic future,’ FFPC spokesman Essam al-Sharif warned recently.

The Salifist groups, who were persecuted under Mubarak, have been particularly active in stirring up unrest against outside influences and the Coptic Christian minority, which makes up 10 to 15 per cent of the country’s population.

The most recent clashes resulted in 15 deaths and were sparked by rumours that a Christian girl who had converted to Islam was being detained in a local church. A church and three surrounding buildings were torched.

The military council blamed remnants of Mubarak’s regime for inciting the unrest in a bid to cause chaos in the country, but many Copts feel this is merely an effort by the SCAF to escape responsibility.

The Muslim Brotherhood sees itself as a moderate force among Egypt’s population and has always had to run as an independent grouping due to the ban on religious parties under Mubarak.

The movement will run in the September elections under the banner of its newly formed Freedom and Justice Party.

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