Source: ET
The Arab Spring unleashed in 2011 seems to be continuing. The removal of Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi through a military intervention marks a new phase of public mobilisation in Egypt and is a step in the wrong direction. Army Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on state television announced that the junta wants to “achieve the building of a strong Egyptian society that is cohesive and does not exclude anyone and ends the state of tension and division”. For Pakistanis, such words invoke a sense of deja vu as time and again the military chiefs have made similar promises to people.
Mr Mursi, who was elected with popular vote a year ago and represents the influential Muslim Brotherhood, made numerous mistakes and isolated himself through a set of policies and actions that enraged the popular opinion. His brief rule was viewed as divisive, incompetent and too heavy handed for a large number of citizens in the country. However, the real disappointment of Egyptians was related to the economy and the shrinking real incomes and scarcity of basic necessities such as fuel. Another critical factor impacting the events in Egypt has been the tacit Western support to the protests against Mr Mursi.
Every one has own view point. Last year when Morsey took over as President I happened to be in Egypt. People were delighted and hoped for the better outcome. This year in the month of June when I again visited Cairo I could see the unrest and deplorable situation every where. To me one reason was a wrong selection of personality. Morsey had never been a competent or charismatic leader. He was an average man with lower IQ and capabilities. It was bad luck for the nation to have such leader for the top slot. It is true he made many mistakes and nation has to suffer the consequences. However since the Egyptians now know how to get rid of incompetent leaders so rest assure Army rule will not prevail that long. People need positive actions rather than empty promises. In case some thing concrete is not coming up soon the Tahrir Square will again be live with people demanding change.