Egypt’s dark hour
(Rabish Lakhani , karachi)
Monday’s show of force in Cairo
by the military junta in order to curb the swelling wave of fury from the
pro-Morsi camp, denounced by Muslim Brotherhood as a massacre is a damnable
throwback to Mubarak era where repression as a means to encroach on public
liberty were the order of the day. What has happened cannot be deemed the
conduct of a civilised government; reports indicate that supporters of President
Morsi about 54 of them were offering their prayers when they were fired on and
shot dead, hundreds were wounded. Violence and democracy do not do hand in hand;
such brutal display of force to suppress dissent is a shameful indictment of the
ruling junta. The promise to sincerely hold the election with a new timeline
given by the interim prime minister Adly Mansour is hardly going to assuage the
embittered sentiment of not only the opposition but the general people who have
been shocked to see mass spilling of blood of their brethren. The stalemate
seems to worsen since the Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday squarely rejected the
constitutional declaration which gives a roadmap of the future elections
(6-month transition plan) to be held by the present government.The remedy to
political instability is more democracy rather than military rule. Not long ago
the revolution resulting in Morsi’s ascent to power was hailed as the people’s
victory; that ought to have been given time to materialise, rather than
expecting miracles. It is on the Egyptian army as well as the opposition members
and the young revolutionaries to see to it that a smooth, transparent transition
of power is instituted so that those who wish to see their homeland plunge into
greater turmoil are denied a chance to muddy the waters any further. Some of the
fanatical outfits are now sermonising that change comes only from bullet rather
than democracy, civil liberty and freedom. Such groups should be denied the room
to jump into the fray; that can be done by letting people vent their
frustration, which is through the ballot box. Cairo should not let itself become
another Syria or worse Iraq. The people must have patience and stand united to
go about bringing change in their lives and society.