Torture and impunity continue in Egypt
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/72066.aspx
SCAF and Morsi took no steps to eradicate torture, according to a report by Amnesty International
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Deadlock in Cairo- ►http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n06/hazem-kandil/deadlock-in-cairo
An organisation obsessed with conspiracies cooked up by ‘enemies of Islam’, and aspiring to spread piety throughout society, is bound to appreciate a formidable police force. The security services know, then, that they have a good friend in the Brotherhood.
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Islamist Threat Constrains Jordan’s Syria Policy - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/jordan-islamists-syria-civil-war.html
King Abdullah II is no longer hiding his worries about the fate of post-Assad Syria and the danger of it falling into the hands of Islamists, specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, the king’s discomfort toward whom is locally and regionally well known. American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote in The Atlantic, quoting the Jordanian monarch’s criticism of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who are brought together by a background of political Islam. Despite the king’s position stemming from foreign concerns, it also figures into the domestic equation.
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Egyptians don’t like Morsi’s presidency, but opposition flounders anyway | McClatchy
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/05/20/191739/egyptians-dont-like-morsis-presidency.htmlLa majorité des Égyptiens déçus par Morsi, qui a maintenant le niveau de popularité de Moubarak avant sa destitution, comme par l’opposition.
A Pew Research poll released last week found that only 30 percent of Egyptians believe the nation is headed in the right direction, compared with 65 percent during the 2011 uprising. The number is back to the levels of Mubarak; in the year before his ouster, only 28 percent of Egyptians thought the country was headed in the right direction.
Yet no one here is talking about a potent challenge to the Morsi presidency, despite the failures of his first year. The opposition National Salvation Front, comprised of more than 40 organizations that have sponsored innumerable protests to Morsi’s actions, is no better, say most Egyptians.
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Egypte : les vendeurs d’alcool inquiets face aux islamistes
http://maliactu.net/egypte-les-vendeurs-dalcool-inquiets-face-aux-islamistes
Des déclarations récentes de la part de diverses autorités ont suscité des craintes de voir des restrictions imposées aux ventes d’alcool, sur lequel les taxes viennent d’augmenter entre 100 et 200%.
Mohamed Zeidan, un porte-parole du Parti de la liberté et de la justice (PLJ), la formation des Frères musulmans, estime que « l’islam stipule clairement ce qui est interdit et ce qui ne l’est pas », et souligne que les lois actuelles régissant ce commerce, héritées de l’ancien régime, ne reflètent pas les vues de son mouvement.
Mais le pouvoir semble aussi tiraillé entre une hostilité religieuse à l’alcool, et une prohibition en règle qui dissuaderait encore davantage les touristes occidentaux de venir, et priverait l’Etat de recettes précieuses.-
Tiens, en Egypte aussi !
Is Egypt on verge of becoming alcohol-free nation ?
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=58848 -
C’est le même article. Peu de chances que l’alcool soit interdit d’après des collègues français installés au Caire - qui espèrent en revanche que le prix augmentera, ça leur parait « juste », surtout au moment où il faut faire des économies et trouver de l’argent.
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The Extent and Limits Of Qatar-Hamas Ties - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/qatari-hamas-alliance-meaning.htmlHamas and Doha may have a dispute at some point, but there are a lot of maneuvering margins and points that may delay or prevent the moment of separation, and allow the tactics of strategic alliance between the two parties to continue. Qatar needs the relationship with Hamas in order to strengthen its regional role, and Hamas needs Qatar’s support at the financial, political and media levels.
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Nouveau clip du collectif “Kazeboon” (Menteurs), “Ikhwan Survive”
http://www.juancole.com/2013/05/survive-brotherhood-egyptian.html
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Finance Ministry official resigns over dispute with Brotherhood
Senior Finance Ministry adviser Sami Khallaf announced his resignation last Wednesday due to claimed disputes with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Khallaf told the press that following the recent cabinet reshuffle, newly appointed officials affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood were interfering in his work -
Saudi-Qatar Honeymoon In Lebanon is Over
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/qatar-saudi-arabia-stuggle-influence-middle-east.htmlIn its internal discussions, Hezbollah affirms that Qatari funding stands behind the rise of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, who came to prominence in the last two years by challenging and criticizing Hezbollah from his Bilal bin Rabah mosque in Sidon. Hezbollah’s information also indicates that Saudi Arabia is funding Salafist factions in Lebanon that profess animosity towards the party.
(En dehors de ce paragraphe, c’est le genre d’article que je trouve totalement spéculatif.)
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Best analysis of the situation in the Middle East so far: “Theocratic regimes back secularists; tyrannies promote democracy; the US forms partnerships with Islamists; Islamists support Western military intervention. Arab nationalists side with regimes they have long combated; liberals side with Islamists with whom they then come to blows. Saudi Arabia backs secularists against the Muslim Brothers and Salafis against secularists. The US is allied with Iraq, which is allied with Iran, which supports the Syrian regime, which the US hopes to help topple. The US is also allied with Qatar, which subsidizes Hamas, and with Saudi Arabia, which funds the Salafis who inspire jihadists who kill Americans wherever they can”
Source : http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/nov/08/not-revolution/?pagination=false
#Iran #Iraq #Syria #Qatar #USA #Hamas #Egypt #democracy -
Saudis overtaking Qatar in sponsoring Syrian rebels- http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/saudis-overtaking-qatar-in-sponsoring-syrian-rebels
Par Hassan Hassan, qui présente comme d’habitude les Saoud comme des paragons de vertu.
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Egypt Ideology Devolves Into Anarchy Amid Vendettas
“The inherent risk is that the state is eroding and the alternatives that are emerging are steeped in conflict and chaos,” said Ashraf el-Sherif, a political science lecturer at the American University in Cairo. “Part of the agenda of some of these groups is to deter other political groups, so the possibility of a confrontation becomes real.”
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Egyptian teacher accused of insulting Morsi over ’sheep’ question
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/71395.aspx
Ihab El-Islamboly, an English teacher in Alexandria, was questioned by police on Tuesday for setting a “politicised” exam question that “insulted” President Mohamed Morsi.
The question that angered some members of the Alexandria teachers’ syndicate, which El-Islamboly says is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, included the quote, “In the animal kingdom, a sheep cannot be king.”
A suivre...
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New report on the Muslim Brotherhood- http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/new-report-on-the-muslim-brotherhood
Findings
The Syrian Brotherhood is not as strong as commonly believed. The incessant focus on the Brotherhood by the Assad regime, Western nations, and rival opposition groups has helped it build a fearsome reputation. Its actual political and organizational capability appears to be far more modest.
The failures of others have benefited the Brotherhood. The real reason for the group’s success in the exile community is the extreme disorganization of the rest of the opposition. As long as rival actors cannot get their act together, the Brotherhood will win by default.
The Brotherhood tries to distance itself from extremism. Despite its theocratic ambitions and a past history of sectarian violence, the Brotherhood now promotes a moderate Islamist approach and seeks to accommodate concerns about its ideology. Since 2011, it has consistently cooperated with secular groups, spoken in favor of multiparty democracy, and worked through mainstream opposition frameworks such as the Syrian National Council, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, and the Free Syrian Army.
Several armed groups linked to the Brotherhood fight in Syria. The leadership refuses to admit to having an armed branch, but Brotherhood exiles have been funding armed groups since late 2011. The organization now controls or sponsors dozens of small paramilitary units inside Syria.
— Aron Lund
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The popular myth of the ’unpopular Ikhwan’ - Daily News Egypt
http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/05/11/the-popular-myth-of-the-unpopular-ikhwanWe all know it or seem to think we know it; we like to advance several pieces of evidence to suggest this infamous statement: “The Muslim Brotherhood’s popularity is going down the drain!” However, we never seem to follow this notorious assumption with an important question: So what?
If only the world of politics was a popularity contest, this very popular myth would actually hold water. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, this notion is as close to a daydream as it is to reality. There are two main reasons why this statement will never materialise into any sort of progress or meaningful change, at least for now.
First, this much touted loss of popularity never seems to give rise to anyone else’s popularity. It is a loss in a vacuum. Let’s survey quickly the status of the opposition and how they have managed to make advances in light of the allegedly dwindling popularity of the Muslim Brotherhood.
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Egypte, remaniement : 9 ministères sont concernés, le PM Qandil garde comme prévu son poste (l’opposition demandait son départ pour lancer les négociations)
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/70853.aspx
Liste complète des ministres : http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/70864.aspx
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Egypt’s Mursi brings more Islamists into cabinet http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9460AL20130507?irpc=932
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« An Obstacle of Democratic Change. »
http://www.correspondents.org/node/2488Professor Abul-Magd, how do you view the status of the military under the Second Republic?
To begin with, there is no second republic. We still live under the same authoritarian regime, supported by Mubarak, which is based on a one-party monopoly of power, a neo-liberal economy, repressive practices carried out by the police against opponents, and restrictions imposed on the media and civil society organizations.
Mubarak regime’s main loyalists still exist and operate along the same policy. Therefore, we cannot claim that there is a Second Republic, but we may say the Muslim Brotherhood has inherited Mubarak’s authoritarian regime.
The Second Republic will be born when the elements and mechanisms needed to change Egyptian society’s economic, political and social structure are made available. So, I can say the military enjoys the same position and plays the same roles it used to play under Mubarak, and has even grown more powerful and become a formidable obstacle of democratic change.
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Egyptian billionaire Sawiris returns home to warm welcome
Sawiris, one of Egypt’s most prominent Coptic Christians and a critic of Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood, was greeted at Cairo airport by an envoy of the Islamist president who presented him with flowers.
Economists said his return was a boost to business sentiment which has been battered by political instability.
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RSF ajoute les Frères musulmans d’Egypte à sa liste des « prédateurs de la liberté ». Explications.
Question : Hosni Mubarak y figurait-il ? (Pas le temps de chercher et j’ai un doute).
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Relation Egypte/ Etats Unis : mythes et réalités d’aujourd’hui.
Résumé : Mohamed Elmenshawy (Middle East Institute, Washington) estime que l’influence américaine sur l’Egypte est surestimée. Il en veut pour preuve les conditions récemment posées par les sénateurs américains pour l’octroi d’une aide militaire au Caire. Ces conditions témoignent d’une pensée obsolète, en cours à l’époque de Moubarak, mais qui n’a plus de raison d’être dans une Egypte en mutation. L’influence que peut exercer Washington est tributaire de facteurs nouveaux tels que la politique intérieure égyptienne ou la situation dans une région instable. La relation américano-égyptienne souffre de cinq mythes dont il convient de se défaire :
Mythe 1 : Les Etats Unis ont les moyens de changer la politique intérieure égyptienne.
Mythe 2 : Les Etats Unis peuvent sortir l’économie égyptienne de la crise actuelle.
Mythe 3 : L’Egypte profite plus de la relation avec Washington que l’inverse.
Mythe 4 : Une bonne relation avec Israël est la garantie pour que Washington soit satisfait des dirigeants égyptiens.
Mythe 5 : Les Etats Unis ont porté Morsi au pouvoir. Ils peuvent tout autant s’en défaire s’ils le souhaitent.PS : Dans la même veine sur la situation économique de l’Egypte lire aussi
– L’article de Ahmed Feteha (Al-Ahram Online, 29 Apr 2013) : « Egypt likely to accept Qatar’s $3bn offer despite ungenerous terms », où il est dit que l’Egypte va probablement accepter l’offre du Qatar (3 milliards de dollars) en dépit d’un taux d’intérêt élevé (5%) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/70391.aspx :– Le texte de Yasmine Saleh and Patrick Werr, (Reuters, 30 April 2013) : “Leftist leader says Egypt should refuse IMF loan”, qui reprend le conseil de Hamdine Sabahi, un responsable politique de gauche, de ne pas accepter le prêt du FMI pour ne pas avoir à mettre en œuvre ses conditions. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/04/29/uk-egypt-imf-idUKBRE93S12A20130429
Debunking Five Myths of Washington’s Leverage in Egypt
By : Mohamed Elmenshawy for Al-Monitor Posted on April 28 (2013)“Last week’s visit by US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to Cairo came amid several discussions in Washington and Cairo about US leverage in Egyptian politics since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in February 2011. Most of these discussions overestimate US influence. Indeed, last month’s proposed amendments from both Republican and Democratic senators aiming to attach conditions to military assistance to Egypt reveal an old-fashioned and overconfident understanding of Washington’s sway. The reality is that US influence in Egypt is tempered by a number of factors, including Egyptian domestic politics, funding and the United States’ own need for stability and cooperation in the region. Deconstructing a number of myths that perpetuate the idea of an all-powerful United States may help bring to light the reality of the situation.” (…)
Mohamed Elmenshawy is a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington. He writes a weekly article in the Egyptian daily al-Shorouk. He can be reached at mensh70@gmail.com or on Twitter @ElmenshawyM.
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Abu Ismaïl, candidat à la dernière élection présidentielle, aurait promu le « martyre », pour une « Egypte plus forte » (notons que ceux qui appellent au martyre sont plutôt les derniers à y participer).
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/20/Abu-Ismail-.html
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Pétition lancée contre le président Morsi au pouvoir depuis 9 mois par Kefaya, soutenu par d’autres groupes
“The main objective of the campaign is to collect 15 million signatures from the Egyptian people, to withdraw confidence from President Morsy and to overthrow his [rule],” said Mahmoud Badr, a member of the movement’s coordinating committee (of Kefaya).
Morsy’s authority has been discredited by the “systematic killings practiced by the militias of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian street,” Badr argued.
The campaign will be concluded by a mass demonstration followed by a sit-in front of the Ettehadiya Presidential Palace on 30 June, which will demand an early presidential election.
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/kefaya-launches-petition-against-morsy
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Rassemblement à Maspero (Le Caire) aujourd’hui pour dénoncer les propos à caractère sexuel du ministre de l’Info à destination de journalistes femmes.
« Quand le ministre tient de tels propos, comment s’étonner que le harcèlement sexuel perdure et augmente ? », dit un manifestant.
Sa démission est réclamée.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentMulti/70328/Multimedia.aspx (vidéo) -
Egyptian protesters clashed with police near the Presidential Palace in Cairo on Friday leaving at least 16 people injured, Al Arabiya correspondent reported.
To disperse protesters, who were throwing rocks at the police to keep them away from the vicinity, security forces in turn fired tear gas.
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Eight Questions on ’Purging’ Of Egypt’s Judiciary, by Bassem Sabry
The increasing politicization of Egypt’s judiciary — whether through continued political involvement of the Judges’ Association or the growing number of high-profile political cases being sent its way (e.g., parliamentary dissolution) — does not help Egypt or the cause of justice. The Brotherhood will only further polarize the country, and turn everyone (including former allies) against if, it attempts to unilaterally reform the judiciary, even if, theoretically, well intentioned.
Any controversial moves by the judiciary will further erode confidence in the legal system and the economy at an inopportune time. Reforming Egypt’s judiciary should only take place after true national reconciliation and a proper national dialogue on the subject and consensus on the way forward. It is unlikely the country’s political leadership does not know this.
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Morsy in crisis talks with judges over reform
President Mohamed Morsy held crisis talks with the country’s top judges on Monday after the justice minister resigned over demands by the ruling Muslim Brotherhood for a “purification” of the judiciary.
The secular, liberal and left-wing opposition denounced what it called a planned “Brotherhoodization” of the judiciary and called for demonstrations outside Parliament.
A presidential source said Morsy met the Supreme Judicial Council and the prosecutor general to discuss a draft law reforming the judiciary due to go through the Islamist-dominated upper house on Wednesday.
Justice Minister Ahmed Mekky tendered his resignation on Saturday following a protest by Morsy’s Islamist backers to demand that judges appointed during ousted former President Hosni Mubarak’s nearly 30-year rule be purged.
(...)
Critics say it would eliminate more than 3,000 judges at a stroke, including most members of senior bodies such as the Constitutional Court which has repeatedly stymied Morsy’s legislative and election plans.
Leaders of the opposition National Salvation Front called for demonstrations outside the Shura Council on Wednesday to protest against what one senior liberal politician, Mohamed ElBaradei, called "the judges’ massacre.”
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/morsy-crisis-talks-judges-over-reform
