Egypt’s dark hour

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.