"Egypt sets date for constitution vote" by Sarah El Deeb | Associated Press, December 02, 2012
CAIRO — Opponents say the draft charter has a distinct Islamist bent and rights groups have raised concerns about articles that undermine personal and women rights as well as freedoms of expression....
As if they had any of that under the dictator Mubarak.
In an immediate reaction to the referendum date, prominent democracy advocate Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who is a member of a coalition of opposition leaders, said on his Twitter account that Morsi put to a referendum a constitution that ‘‘undermines basic freedoms and violates universal rights. The struggle continues.’’
I used to respect him; now I know he is nothing but a western tool.
I used to respect him; now I know he is nothing but a western tool.
The opposition announced plans for an intensified street campaign of protests and civil disobedience and even a possible march on Morsi’s presidential palace to prevent him from holding a nationwide referendum on the draft.
All after Gaza, notice that?
--more--"
Also see:
Egypt’s top court to rule on constitutional panel
It’s the latest twist in a bitter struggle between Islamists and their secular rivals.
Egypt’s top court to rule on constitutional panel
It’s the latest twist in a bitter struggle between Islamists and their secular rivals.
Islamists in Egypt rush vote on charter
Egypt draft constitution sparks mass protest
The protests have highlighted an increasingly cohesive opposition leadership of prominent liberal and secular politicians trying to direct public anger against Morsi and the Islamists — a contrast to the leaderless youth uprising last year which toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The opposition announced plans for an intensified street campaign of protests and civil disobedience and even a possible march on Morsi’s presidential palace to prevent him from calling a nationwide referendum on the draft."
Well, there you go! It's a controlled-opposition coup!
And the Mubarak-era courts ruling?
"Egyptian judges postpone ruling on charter assembly; Court says that Islamist protests block their work" by David D. Kirkpatrick | New York Times, December 03, 2012
"Egyptian judges postpone ruling on charter assembly; Court says that Islamist protests block their work" by David D. Kirkpatrick | New York Times, December 03, 2012
CAIRO — Egypt’s highest court on Sunday indefinitely postponed its much-awaited ruling on the legitimacy of the legislative assembly that drafted a new charter last week. The court accused a crowd of Islamists of blocking judges from entering the building, on what it called ‘‘a dark black day in the history of the Egyptian judiciary.’’
Although hundreds of security officers were on hand to ensure that judges of the Supreme Constitutional Court could get into the court, and civilians came and went without any problems, the accusations intensified a standoff between the judges appointed under former President Hosni Mubarak and Egypt’s new Islamist leaders.
The conflict has thrown the political transition in Egypt into a new crisis....
Egypt has lurched from one to another since Morsi won.
The sudden effort by the president and his Islamist allies to push through a constitution over any objections from their secular factions or the courts has unified the opposition, prompted hundreds of thousands of protesters to take to the streets and set off a wave of attacks on a dozen offices of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party.
A judicial trade association has urged judges across the country to go on strike, and some of the highest courts have joined it.
Over the weekend, Morsi continued to push his plans for the new constitution, setting a national referendum on it for Dec. 15.
But his recent tone and actions reminded critics of the autocratic ways of his predecessor, and have aroused a new debate here about his commitment to democracy and pluralism at a time when he and his Islamist allies dominate political life.
Morsi’s advisers call the tactics a regrettable but necessary response to genuine threats to the political transition from what they call the deep state — the vestiges of the autocracy of former Mubarak, especially in the news media and the judiciary.
The Muslim Brotherhood has mobilized hundreds of thousands of backers to rally on Morsi’s behalf. On Saturday, crowds gathered at Cairo University to support the president and against the court.
By about 10 a.m. Sunday, hundreds of Islamists had done just that. Like many demonstrations called by the Muslim Brotherhood, the mainstream Islamist group, it was a mostly middle-aged and middle-class crowd of men in sweaters and a few neckties. Many carried placards with Morsi’s picture or banners with the logo of his party.
Several armored personnel carriers and hundreds of riot police officers formed a barrier to try to hold back the demonstrators.
Mahmoud Akhas, 51, a businessman and party member, said, ‘‘We are here to exert pressure on the Supreme Constitutional Court to comply with the will of the people.’’ Many Islamists said that the court might dissolve the constitutional assembly or even seek to annul the presidential decree that granted Morsi power over the generals.
An alliance of secular opposition groups issued a statement questioning the legitimacy of the constitutional assembly. It said the charter the assembly had drafted would ‘‘restrict the political, civil, economic and social rights and freedoms of Egyptians’’ and ‘‘expresses the vision of one party,’’ the Islamists.
And they called for a march to the presidential palace on Tuesday to deliver what they called ‘‘a final warning’’ to Morsi to cancel the referendum on the new constitution.
--more--"
Egypt has lurched from one to another since Morsi won.
The sudden effort by the president and his Islamist allies to push through a constitution over any objections from their secular factions or the courts has unified the opposition, prompted hundreds of thousands of protesters to take to the streets and set off a wave of attacks on a dozen offices of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party.
A judicial trade association has urged judges across the country to go on strike, and some of the highest courts have joined it.
Over the weekend, Morsi continued to push his plans for the new constitution, setting a national referendum on it for Dec. 15.
But his recent tone and actions reminded critics of the autocratic ways of his predecessor, and have aroused a new debate here about his commitment to democracy and pluralism at a time when he and his Islamist allies dominate political life.
Morsi’s advisers call the tactics a regrettable but necessary response to genuine threats to the political transition from what they call the deep state — the vestiges of the autocracy of former Mubarak, especially in the news media and the judiciary.
The Muslim Brotherhood has mobilized hundreds of thousands of backers to rally on Morsi’s behalf. On Saturday, crowds gathered at Cairo University to support the president and against the court.
By about 10 a.m. Sunday, hundreds of Islamists had done just that. Like many demonstrations called by the Muslim Brotherhood, the mainstream Islamist group, it was a mostly middle-aged and middle-class crowd of men in sweaters and a few neckties. Many carried placards with Morsi’s picture or banners with the logo of his party.
Several armored personnel carriers and hundreds of riot police officers formed a barrier to try to hold back the demonstrators.
Mahmoud Akhas, 51, a businessman and party member, said, ‘‘We are here to exert pressure on the Supreme Constitutional Court to comply with the will of the people.’’ Many Islamists said that the court might dissolve the constitutional assembly or even seek to annul the presidential decree that granted Morsi power over the generals.
An alliance of secular opposition groups issued a statement questioning the legitimacy of the constitutional assembly. It said the charter the assembly had drafted would ‘‘restrict the political, civil, economic and social rights and freedoms of Egyptians’’ and ‘‘expresses the vision of one party,’’ the Islamists.
And they called for a march to the presidential palace on Tuesday to deliver what they called ‘‘a final warning’’ to Morsi to cancel the referendum on the new constitution.
--more--"
"Opposition in Egypt plans massive protest march, strikes" by Maggie Michael | Associated Press, December 04, 2012
CAIRO — An opposition coalition dominated by the liberal and leftist groups that led last year’s uprising had called for a general strike Tuesday and a large demonstration against the constitutional process and President Mohammed Morsi’s decrees. Newspapers plan to suspend publication, and privately owned TV networks will blacken their screens all day.
Monday’s front pages of Egypt’s most prominent newspapers said, ‘‘No to dictatorship’’ on a black background, with a picture of a man wrapped in newspaper and with his feet shackled while he squatted in a prison cell.
Hotels and restaurants are considering turning off their lights for a half-hour to protest against Morsi, according to the Supporting Tourism Coalition, an independent body representing industry employees.
Cairo University law professors petitioned their dean to let them stop teaching.
‘‘The professors believe they must not teach law under a regime that doesn’t respect the law,’’ said one of the professors, Khaled Abu Bakr.
The staff of the Internet edition of the al-Ahram daily marched Monday to the journalists’ union in central Cairo to protest what they said was the absence from the draft constitution of guarantees against jailing reporters in defamation cases.
Protests over the draft constitution also spread to state television.
On Sunday, presenter Hala Fahmy carried a white shroud while hosting a current affairs program, according to footage posted on the Internet. She was taken off the air, but not before she told viewers: ‘‘We have to tell the truth whatever the price is. We have to carry our shroud in our hands.’’
She told the independent al-Masri al-Youm daily newspaper that she planned to sue the station.
Morsi’s moves have plunged an already polarized Egypt in the worst political crisis since the uprising that ousted authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak.
It has divided the country into two camps: Morsi and his Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, as well as another ultraconservative Islamist group, the Salafis, versus youth groups, liberal parties, and large sectors of the public....
--more--"
Related: Sunday Globe Special: Trashing Egypt's New President
It started as soon as he got elected.
Related: Sunday Globe Special: Trashing Egypt's New President
It started as soon as he got elected.
Egypt crisis grows
The large scale and intensity of the fighting marked a milestone in Egypt’s rapidly entrenched schism, pitting Morsi’s Brotherhood and ultra-conservative Islamists in one camp against liberals, leftists, and Christians in the other. Wednesday’s clashes began when thousands of Morsi’s supporters descended on an area near the presidential palace where some 300 of his opponents were staging a sit-in. The Islamists chased the protesters away and tore down their tents."
And who benefits?
The large scale and intensity of the fighting marked a milestone in Egypt’s rapidly entrenched schism, pitting Morsi’s Brotherhood and ultra-conservative Islamists in one camp against liberals, leftists, and Christians in the other. Wednesday’s clashes began when thousands of Morsi’s supporters descended on an area near the presidential palace where some 300 of his opponents were staging a sit-in. The Islamists chased the protesters away and tore down their tents."
And who benefits?
Morsi offers little to quell crisis
Nothing but conspiratorial saber rattling and Orwellian language the agenda-pushing jewspaper tells me, and that tells you a whole lot.
Nothing but conspiratorial saber rattling and Orwellian language the agenda-pushing jewspaper tells me, and that tells you a whole lot.
"Egypt president turns to Islamist supporters" by David D. Kirkpatrick | New York Times, December 08, 2012
CAIRO — As tens of thousands chanted for his downfall or even imprisonment in a fourth day of protests outside the presidential palace, Mohammed Morsi feels increasingly isolated in the political arena and even within his own government....
I'm surprised he held on this long.
I'm surprised he held on this long.
Struggling to quell protests and violence, Morsi appeared to offer a new concession to his opponents Friday by opening the door to a possible delay in the referendum on the draft constitution, now scheduled for Dec. 15, and even potential revisions by the Islamist-dominated constitutional assembly. But opposition leaders turned a deaf ear....
Those are never good enough if you got to go, and look at the Egyptian opposition acting like Syrian insurgents!
Those are never good enough if you got to go, and look at the Egyptian opposition acting like Syrian insurgents!
Morsi [argued] that his backers outside the palace had come under attack by hired thugs paid with ‘‘black money’’ from a conspiracy of loyalists to the ousted president, Hosni Mubarak, and foreign interests determined to thwart the revolution....
Morsi’s turn back toward his Islamist base is a bet that the Brotherhood’s political machine can easily overcome even the reenergized secular opposition.
Wrong.
And his advisers argue that the achievement of even an imperfect constitution will prove his commitment to the democratic rule of law and restore his credibility. But it also contributes to the paralyzing polarization now gripping Egyptian politics. It risks tarnishing both the constitution and Morsi as partisan and unable to represent all Egyptians. And it makes Morsi even more dependent on the same insular group that plucked him from anonymity and propelled him to the presidency.
Wrong.
And his advisers argue that the achievement of even an imperfect constitution will prove his commitment to the democratic rule of law and restore his credibility. But it also contributes to the paralyzing polarization now gripping Egyptian politics. It risks tarnishing both the constitution and Morsi as partisan and unable to represent all Egyptians. And it makes Morsi even more dependent on the same insular group that plucked him from anonymity and propelled him to the presidency.
The result could be a hollow victory that perpetuates the political transition’s instability....
Morsi fears the Mubarak-appointed judges of the Egyptian judiciary, who have dissolved the elected Parliament and a first constituent assembly, and his attempt to put himself above its reach is what precipitated the current political crisis.
The military has said it will not take sides....
--more--"
"Egypt leader’s concessions fail to appease rivals; Protesters march in Cairo over referendum" by David D. Kirkpatrick | New York Times, December 10, 2012
CAIRO — In a concession to the opposition on Saturday, Morsi rescinded most of a sweeping Nov. 22 decree that temporarily elevated his decisions above judicial review and prompted tens of thousands of protesters to take to the streets, calling for his downfall.
Still wasn't good enough. Morsi was marked from the moment he took office.
Still wasn't good enough. Morsi was marked from the moment he took office.
He also offered a convoluted arrangement for the factions to negotiate constitutional amendments this week that would be added to the charter after the vote.
Oh, the AmeriKan media never liked him, either.
Oh, the AmeriKan media never liked him, either.
But, Morsi did not budge on a critical demand: that he postpone the referendum set for Saturday to allow a thorough overhaul of the proposed charter, which liberal groups say has inadequate protection of individual rights and provisions that could someday give Muslim religious authorities new influence.
His decision to deploy the military, which will take effect Monday, has been widely interpreted as imposing martial law.
Some opposition leaders vowed to continue the fight to derail the referendum. “We are against this process from start to finish,’’ said Abdel Ghani, a spokesman of the National Salvation Front, according to Reuters. He called for more street protests on Tuesday.
‘‘We have broken the barrier of fear: A constitution that aborts our rights and freedoms is one that we will bring down today before tomorrow,’’ Mohamed ElBaradei, the former diplomat now acting as coordinator of the secular opposition, wrote on Twitter early Sunday. ‘‘Our power is in our will.’’
In recent days, protesters have attacked more than two dozen Muslim Brotherhood offices and ransacked the group’s headquarters, and more than seven people have died in street fighting between Islamists and their opponents.
No condemnation of protester violence there.
No condemnation of protester violence there.
The moves over the weekend offered little hope of fully resolving the standoff, in part because opposition leaders had ruled out — even before his concessions were announced — any rushed attempt at a compromise just days before the referendum.
“No mind would accept dialogue at gunpoint,’’ said Mohamed Abu El Ghar, an opposition leader, alluding to previously floated ideas about last-minute talks for constitutional amendments.
Nor did Morsi’s Islamist allies expect his proposals to succeed. Many said they had concluded that much of the secular opposition was primarily interested in obstructing the transition to democracy at all costs, to try to block the Islamists from winning elections.
Instead, some of the president’s supporters privately relished the bind they believed Morsi had built for the opposition by giving in to some demands, forcing their secular opponents to admit they are afraid to take their case to the ballot box....
--more--"
Related:
Egyptian president gives army more power ahead of vote
After a string of turbulent, confusing, and at times violent days, Monday was relatively quiet in Cairo. Even if the anti-Morsi movement, which has brought together liberals, secularists, human rights activists, and old-regime loyalists, were clearly unified the opposition would have a tough time overcoming the organization and street power of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood backers.
Egyptian president gives army more power ahead of vote
After a string of turbulent, confusing, and at times violent days, Monday was relatively quiet in Cairo. Even if the anti-Morsi movement, which has brought together liberals, secularists, human rights activists, and old-regime loyalists, were clearly unified the opposition would have a tough time overcoming the organization and street power of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood backers.
Egyptian judges protest referendum
Ahmed Zend, chief of the Judges Club, has little influence over Morsi’s Islamist supporters. He has been an outspoken critic of Morsi and his Islamist political allies, and was a loyalist of former President Hosni Mubarak.
Ahmed Zend, chief of the Judges Club, has little influence over Morsi’s Islamist supporters. He has been an outspoken critic of Morsi and his Islamist political allies, and was a loyalist of former President Hosni Mubarak.
12/16: "Egypt’s vote is stressful but calm; Heavy turnout suggests a turn toward stability" by David D. Kirkpatrick and Kareem Fahim | New York Times, December 16, 2012
Related:
"The Islamists, accused of ramming the charter through, won passage by more than 60 percent, but turnout was low around 30 percent."
And I am supposed to believe this rubbish I find at the newsstand every day?
CAIRO — The vote on a new constitution appeared to be yet another turning point for Egypt’s nearly two-year-old revolution. After weeks of violence and threats of a boycott, the strong turnout and orderly balloting suggested a turn toward stability, if not the liberalism some revolutionaries had hoped for.
"The Islamists, accused of ramming the charter through, won passage by more than 60 percent, but turnout was low around 30 percent."
And I am supposed to believe this rubbish I find at the newsstand every day?
CAIRO — The vote on a new constitution appeared to be yet another turning point for Egypt’s nearly two-year-old revolution. After weeks of violence and threats of a boycott, the strong turnout and orderly balloting suggested a turn toward stability, if not the liberalism some revolutionaries had hoped for.
Regardless of the outcome of the vote, to be completed next Saturday, widespread participation provided the political process with a degree of credibility, pulling Egypt back from the brink of civil discord.
It remained to be seen whether the losing side would accept the result, and many Egyptians may have cast ballots mainly out of a desire to end the political bedlam, but the election was expected to bolster the government’s legitimacy and solidify the power of President Mohammed Morsi....
The document that Egyptians voted on was a rushed revision of the old Mubarak charter, faulted by many international experts as a missed opportunity stuffed with broad statements about Egyptian identity but riddled with loopholes regarding the protection of rights....
It wasn't even Morsi's charter? Un-f***ing-believable!
It wasn't even Morsi's charter? Un-f***ing-believable!
--more--"
Mohamed Morsi backers anticipate win in charter vote
Millions of Egyptians voted peacefully on Saturday, hoping that the results would end three weeks of violence, division, and distrust between Islamists and their opponents on the ground rules of Egypt’s promised democracy. About 57 percent of voters approved the new constitution, according to preliminary tallies by state news media Sunday.
Millions of Egyptians voted peacefully on Saturday, hoping that the results would end three weeks of violence, division, and distrust between Islamists and their opponents on the ground rules of Egypt’s promised democracy. About 57 percent of voters approved the new constitution, according to preliminary tallies by state news media Sunday.
The relatively narrow margin of victory for the charter so far, combined with low turnout — 33 percent, according to the unofficial tallies, down from 41 percent in a referendum on a temporary constitution last year — seemed likely to embolden the non-Islamist opposition."
So the New York Times just lied to legitimize it or what?
So the New York Times just lied to legitimize it or what?
"Egypt opposition leader calls constitution illegitimate" by Dan Perry | Associated Press, December 25, 2012
CAIRO — Turnout was so low that opponents are arguing that the vote should be discounted.
Hamdeen Sabahi, who placed third in the nation’s first free presidential race over the summer, said in an interview that the Islamist groups in the country have tried to steal the revolution that toppled authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak about two years ago....
Related:
Sunday Globe Special: Egyptian Election Eliminations
Egyptian Army Annuls Elections
They just did again.
Related:
Sunday Globe Special: Egyptian Election Eliminations
Egyptian Army Annuls Elections
They just did again.
Sabahi said the National Salvation Front, a coalition of key opposition forces that coalesced in the fight against the draft constitution, is not calling for civil disobedience in rejection of the Islamist-drafted constitution, but for a new constitution through peaceful means.
The path toward such an outcome appears uncertain at best, especially as Sabahi rejected the notion, somewhat plausible in Egypt, of the military stepping in to undo the inconvenient outcomes of politics.
In a sign of the opposition leadership’s efforts to coalesce, Sabahi said the coalition would be led in the interim by Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the Vienna-based United Nations nuclear agency. No confirmation of that was immediately available from ElBaradei....
In the interview, Sabahi, a former journalist, seemed to embody the frustrations of liberal Egyptians today: While championing the democracy and lauding the 2011 revolution that felled Mubarak, they reject the outcome of that revolution, yet seem at something of a loss to cause a change of course.
Tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets weeks before the referendum to demand a new assembly with greater diversity write the charter. Instead, an Islamist-dominated assembly hurriedly passed it before a court could rule on the body’s legitimacy, and Morsi himself issued decrees, later rescinded, that gave him near absolute powers to push the constitution to a referendum.
Backers of the Brotherhood and others Islamist parties also rallied in support of the charter, leaving the country split and leading to violent clashes between the two camps that killed 10 outside the presidential palace in Cairo this month. That created the impression that street protests can be conjured up to support either side in the current divide....
Sabahi said, ‘‘This means that the battle for politics is concentrated on survival, food, jobs, and prices — daily struggles that are the priority of all Egyptians.’’
Critics say the new constitution seeks to enshrine Islamic rule in Egypt and that the charter does not sufficiently protect the rights of women and minority groups.
Morsi and his supporters say the constitution is needed to restore stability in the country, install an elected Parliament, build state institutions and renew investor confidence in the economy.
He never did that, and it is why he is gone.
He never did that, and it is why he is gone.
In a reflection of the complex nuances at play, Sabahi refused to describe the current conflict roiling Egypt as a clash between secularism and theocracy, saying that in the Arab world, religion and public life could never be distinct in accordance with the Western model.
Rather, he said, the issue was preventing the Brotherhood from establishing a ‘‘tyranny’’ as a political movement not unlike that of the previous authoritarian regime.
--more--"
And how do you bring a government down?
"New constitution approved in Egypt; Stable economy looks unlikely" by Aya Batrawy | Associated Press, December 26, 2012
And how do you bring a government down?
"New constitution approved in Egypt; Stable economy looks unlikely" by Aya Batrawy | Associated Press, December 26, 2012
CAIRO — In a clear sign of anxiety over the economy, the turbulence of the past month and expected austerity measures ahead have some Egyptians hoarding dollars for fear the currency is about to take a significant turn for the weaker.
The battle over the constitution left Egypt deeply polarized at a time when the government is increasingly cash-strapped. Supporters of the charter campaigned for it on the grounds that it will lead to stability, improve the grip of Morsi and his allies on state institutions, restore investor confidence, and bring back tourists....
After the constitutional referendum, which ended Saturday, the US State Department bluntly told Morsi it was now time to make compromises, and said it had deep concerns about the constitution....
And six months later he is out??!
And six months later he is out??!
At the height of the protests, the government called off its talks with the International Monetary Fund over a $4.8 billion loan which Morsi’s government viewed as a way to attract much needed foreign investors and tourists, and deal with a high budget deficit.
That's what killed his government.
That's what killed his government.
Since President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in February 2011, the country has lost more than half of its foreign currency reserves — from $36 billion in 2010 to around $15 billion currently. Economists say that Egypt’s current foreign reserves barely cover three months of imports, which is the IMF’s minimum recommended coverage.
There were signs on Tuesday that some Egyptians were starting to hoard dollars for fear that the currency could weaken significantly....
--more--"
Also see:
Former judge takes on Egypt charter
In a separate case, a Cairo court on Tuesday acquitted a fiercely anti-Brotherhood TV presenter who was on trial over accusations of insulting Morsi and suggesting it was permissible to kill him. In relation to the incitement charges, the court said Tawfiq Okasha was using ‘‘general language’’ not directed at the president. As for the insulting charges, the court said, according to the new constitution, freedom to criticize is guaranteed as long as there is not libel and that Okasha was not insulting."
Also see:
Former judge takes on Egypt charter
In a separate case, a Cairo court on Tuesday acquitted a fiercely anti-Brotherhood TV presenter who was on trial over accusations of insulting Morsi and suggesting it was permissible to kill him. In relation to the incitement charges, the court said Tawfiq Okasha was using ‘‘general language’’ not directed at the president. As for the insulting charges, the court said, according to the new constitution, freedom to criticize is guaranteed as long as there is not libel and that Okasha was not insulting."
