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.

Contradiction and Continued Suppression in the Middle East

Hi everyone!

While the United States prepares for its first Republican Party caucus in Iowa tomorrow – a reflection of the democratic processes upon which the country was founded but doesn’t always follow through on – turmoil in the Middle East continues.

In Syria, the Arab League delegation continues its lame duck observer mission while more and more criticism is launched at it from within the Arab world. On Sunday, the 88-member Arab Parliament, which has no real power over the Arab League beyond serving as a voice of reason, issued a statement calling for the end of the observer mission. Rather than preventing or ending the violent suppression of Syrian protesters, if anything, the observers have inadvertently increased the intensity of the government crackdown that has killed more than 5,000 people since the start of the uprising last March and 150 reported killed since the Arab League delegation arrived last Tuesday. The suspicion is that the only reason Assad agreed to the observer mission is so he can buy more time before more stringent outside sanctions are levied against his government.

Meanwhile, in Egypt, the process of democratic oppression continued yesterday as the military-led government further justified its raids on the offices of nonprofit organizations in Cairo.  Faiza Abu El-Naga, civilian cabinet official in charge of international relations, claimed that the raids were part of an ongoing investigation into the corruption of the Mubarak regime. The groups, Ms. Naga alleges, received funding without the knowledge of the Egyptian government, which directly—according to Ms. Naga—undermines it. Whether or not anyone really believes this is anyone’s guess, but the fear is that further raids on any organization that acts independently for the betterment of human rights in Egypt will soon be stifled altogether.

Over in Bahrain, violence overwhelmed the funeral of a 15-year-old protester who was killed on Saturday by a tear gas canister—fired by government troops—that reportedly struck him in the chest.  It’s no surprise that Bahrain’s Interior Ministry has denied these accusations. I continue to find it appalling that the U.S. continues to allow such injustice to go on in Bahrain for the sake of not offending or jeopardizing relations with Saudi Arabia. This is just another example of the U.S.’s contradictory approach to Middle Eastern politics. It is all very well for the Obama administration to support the democracy movement in Libya, for example, whose former leader was a decades-long thorn in the U.S.’s side. But because the U.S. relies on the Saudis to support and promote its Middle Eastern foreign policy, it will not publicly voice support for the Bahraini protesters out of fear of disturbing U.S.-Saudi relations. While the U.S. did criticize Saudi Arabia for sending in troops to put down the initial Bahraini protests last spring, the criticism felt half-hearted and done more from a sense of obligation than genuine concern.

At any rate, it is clear that what began a year ago and evolved into the Arab Spring is still ongoing. I think 2012 will continue to bring us tremendous change, not just in the Middle East but in Russia, Europe, and the United States as well. Whether that change is for the good or for the worse, is still anyone’s guess. Regardless, I’ll be watching closely.

Ciao.