Show Trial in Egypt: SCAF vs the NGOs

Hi everyone!

Craziness in the Egyptian courts. The trial against seventeen NGO employees accused of fomenting revolution and other "anti-government" activities kicked into action on Sunday. The fear has been that this case was nothing more than anti-American grandstanding by the military tribunal (SCAF) currently running the country in the lead-up to May's presidential elections. On Tuesday, the three presiding judges abruptly stepped down and then yesterday it was announced that a travel ban against seven Americans--including Sam LaHood, head of the Egyptian office was the International Republican Institute--had been lifted after over $300,000 in bail had been posted for their release by an undisclosed payee. The trial has officially been adjourned until the end of April. It is unclear, without the three judges, whether the trial will resume at that time.

This case was set in motion last December when the police unexpectedly raided several offices belonging to three leading NGOs in Cairo--the International Republican Institute, Freedom House, and National Democratic Institute--confiscating documents and equipment. At the time, the ruling military council justified its actions by claiming these organizations were violating Egyptian sovereignty by influencing the protest movement and essentially training people on how to rebel against the Mubarak regime. The council said the NGOs were operating illegally without the necessary permits. In truth, these NGOs had been stuck indefinitely in bureaucratic red tape as they repeatedly attempted to apply for these licenses only to have their applications either rejected or conveniently lost in the transom. The thing is, for years Mubarak had tacitly allowed these organizations to function although he levied severe restrictions on their movement.

The irony of course is that these organizations are not in any way, shape, or form independent of the U.S. government. The International Republican Institute is closely affiliated with the Republican Party while its sister organization, The National Democratic Institute, is aligned with the Democratic Party. So at least on paper the Egyptian government was right in its claim that these organizations are branches of the U.S. government and are involved in promoting U.S. interests in Egypt.

It is anyone's guess what will come of this. Most of the defendants have not even appeared in court and those that have treated it quite casually. There's a great photo in today's New York Times of Nancy Okail of Freedom House reading a paperback copy of George Orwell's classic history of the Spanish Civil War, "Homage to Catalonia." When the accused don't even take the proceedings seriously, it doesn't bode well for the legitimacy of the military council's case.

What we're seeing are the actions of holdovers from the Mubarak regime who are desperately trying to prove their ridiculous claim that the Egyptian revolution was not home-grown but rather the results of foreign meddling. Bashar al-Assad in Syria at least publicly has said as much about his own country's revolution. Libya's Muammar Qaddafi said the same before he was killed. Unfortunately, in Egypt as in all these countries affected by the Arab Spring, the jury is still out on whether its revolution will result in true democracy or whether the military and, to a certain extent, the Muslim Brotherhood--now the majority voice in Parliament--will concern themselves merely with preserving their stake in power at the expense of the democratic freedoms upon which the April Spring was launched.

I am becoming more and more skeptical every day.

Ciao.