CAIRO -- While much attention has been paid to the violent attacks and intimidation directed at the opposition during Egypt's recent parliamentary elections, the involvement of the country's security forces in political life is not limited to this sort of visible confrontation. The real threat of Egypt's state security apparatus, as in many other Middle Eastern states, is that it continues to secretly manipulate the entire political system. American and domestic efforts to promote political reform in the region will achieve only cosmetic changes, of the kind we've seen so far, unless this clandestine chokehold is broken.
In Egypt, it is no secret that the security services are deeply involved in the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), selecting high-level officials and most of the party's candidates for elections. As a result, in the recent parliamentary elections, many official NDP candidates were defeated by party dissidents who ran as independent candidates. Nominees of the secret police, it turns out, aren't popular with voters.
Even the NDP Policies Committee -- established three years ago as the party's vehicle for reform -- could not escape the clutches of the security services, which promoted a group of phony reformers to positions of influence and visibility in a false response to America's call for political change. Meanwhile, genuine liberal voices were excluded, making reform from within impossible. Such practices are not limited to the highest ranks of the party: Recruitment for all positions is based on loyalty to
security authorities rather than merit, qualifications, political background or experience.
The media are subjected to the same control. Even private, independent papers are held hostage to the security services, which have the power to license and shut down any newspaper and which exercise similar control over the granting of licenses to journalists. The same goes for TV stations -- including al-Hurra, the U.S.-sponsored satellite channel, which is supposed to be providing uncensored news from an American point of view.
From the beginning, al-Hurra's operation in Egypt was subject to the covert control of the security services, a fact that is not always apparent to those who oversee the station from Washington. The services have close ties to some of the station's directors and handpick many correspondents. They even have final say over which guests appear on programs. As a result, anyone who has paid careful attention to the tone and opinions of the regular programming will notice that liberal, progressive, open-minded views are presented almost apologetically. While al-Hurra is supposed to be a vibrant, fresh forum for freedom, it has failed to provide a real space for balanced views, and so it has been incapable of competing with the "Islamic" al-Jazeera and "pan-Arabist" al-Arabiya channels.
Unless the security services are reined in, real political change and efforts to implement "reform from within" will continue to be blocked in Egypt and across the Middle East. The enlightened political elite will remain powerless, individuals who can make genuine contributions will be systematically targeted, moderate groups and trends will continue to be excluded, and most citizens will remain absent from political life (as was unfortunately demonstrated in the recent elections, in which the overwhelming majority of Egyptians did not vote). In a word, the political arena will still echo only one voice.
The "silent war" waged by the security services will keep Egypt stuck at square one, caught between the closed, security-obsessed regime and the Islamic fundamentalists. Is that the future we desire?
The writer is editor of the Al-Ahram Foundation's quarterly journal al-Dimuqratia (Democracy).
posted
Well I'd like to see a extreme makeover in the interior intestines of Egyptian government.
Often what works from the days of Khedive Mohamed Ali is sidetracked to please the USAID projects.
Everyone should know now about the corruption in the Ministry of Agriculture department.
Yet I see both khawagaas and Egyptians alike putting sole blame of any corruption on the president instead of the people who were practicing the corruption. And don't get me wrong, I do see Mubarak, Sadat, and Nassar as being complacent in corruption; if they themselves practiced corruption then everyone around them did also.
In order to be an enslaved people, the mentality of slavery must be present. But it takes many generations for this mentality to take root, its not overnight.
If you only see your president as a "Pascha" not a head of a government with loads of corruption in every level then you put yourself in a position of powerlessness.
But if you see corruption being practiced by your neighbors, your family members, friends, and collegues then you are in a better position to address corruption and root it out.
The top down approach is the legacy of the Regan administration. And look where that got us!
Posts: 5744 | From: Minneapolis, Mn USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Tiger1225: need of regime change...somehow without WAR...
If that's what is meant by "security services", then the article is misleading. Why not come straight out and say that the regime is a dictatorial one that needs overthrowing? immediately.
after all, it is a washington post article.
Posts: 2049 | From: Canada | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Here are my ten suggestions to potential Egyptian politician:
1. Democracy is not something necessary now, what is needed is to reinforce the state presence amongst the population -the man of the street- to a more constructive way. For example policemen should get training about DISCIPLINE.
2. TV spots and posters that glorifies the potential of Egypt and of Egyptian people -not glorifying only the leader- to let the people know they are Egypt, and that if something has to change, everyone has to be INVOLVED.
3. Some spectacular arrestations of corrupted personalities, this would make the people maybe more TRUSTFUL to the political elite (we don't necessarily need to turn down corruption, just to let the people feel corruptionis hardly fighted)
4. Make the legal system more accessible to the man of the street and promote this legal system, for the people to feel that the system is just and IMPARTIAL.
5. Now this is the hardest bit of it:For each political decision, there need to be an open debate and a real justification of the decision maker -even if the debate is orchestrated and just a show- that the people believe in the benefit of different kinds of decision, this puts the leaders in connection to the public, and in their show, they have to give the feeling that they LOVE what they do for egypt and that they believe in the benefits of their actions.
6. Every political step should be reviewed with a deep analysis that would show the EFFICIENCY of the state and the CONSCENTIOUSNESS of the leaders.
7. On a more microanalytical scale: there should be a promotion of local organisations to federate people, not for them to get associated in order to contest state authority, but to take steps to build a nicer area of living for example, to let the people have some COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES under state control (and utopianly under state financing)
8. Promote the idea of car-sharing (that two neighbors going to the same point don't necessarily have to use their respective cars)
9. That educated people when seeing someone doing some uncivic action takes the time to stop and explain why this is bad and why it is good to act in another way, in order to create a social control that is pragmatically oriented rather than an exclusively spiritually oriented social control which is not bad at all but unsufficient with the urban reality
10. What i would really like to see happen is a speech from M. Moubarak explaining to the people that the change of the people's reality is not to be brought in one day, that the country need PERSEVERANCE and time to recover a lost greatness, and that every egyptian is needed to accomplish this collective goal.
These suggestions are voluntarily not technical, i could have discussed the economy or legal issues but what i think the country needs most is a large scale marketing of the state apparel.
Posts: 1473 | From: France | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Automatic For The People:
quote:Originally posted by _Masrawi_: "security services" ... interesting term.
not quite sure who it refers to, though.
Egypt: Intelligence Agencies
Mukhabarat al-Aama Al-Mukhabarat al-'Ammah (General Intelligence and Security Service)
Mubahath el-Dawla (General Directorate of State Security Investigations)
Jihaz Amn al Daoula (State Security Service)
I didn't ask for a listing of Egypt's intelligence (or lack of it if u may) agencies ... i asked which "security services" the article was referring to.
Posts: 2049 | From: Canada | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Columbo: 4. Make the legal system more accessible to the man of the street and promote this legal system, for the people to feel that the system is just and IMPARTIAL.
Enforcing court orders is a major weak point in the judicial system.
But hey, even my country has some major progress to make in this manner.....
Posts: 5744 | From: Minneapolis, Mn USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Automatic For The People:
quote:Originally posted by _Masrawi_: "security services" ... interesting term.
not quite sure who it refers to, though.
Egypt: Intelligence Agencies
Mukhabarat al-Aama Al-Mukhabarat al-'Ammah (General Intelligence and Security Service)
Mubahath el-Dawla (General Directorate of State Security Investigations)
Jihaz Amn al Daoula (State Security Service)
I didn't ask for a listing of Egypt's intelligence (or lack of it if u may) agencies ... i asked which "security services" the article was referring to.
The article as I understand it was referring to those security services supporting the Mubarak regime. That would mean all of the ones I included in the above list as well as the Military security service and other branches which I don't know about and do exist. Some high ranking official from Mabaheth Amn Eldawla have been appointed to various ministerial positions and undoubtedly have influence over government policies. I had a few articles relating to few individuals who were very close to Mubarak and there were suggestions that they had just as much power as Mubarak does, I will post the articles if I find them as they mentioned people by name.
The "regime" as you referred to it is not the president and a few advisers. The power lies in the hands of the Army and the security services. They provide the support for the regime.
What the writer was saying is, elections are pointless if those pulling the strings remain in power and most of them are appointed. A separation of the legislative, the executive and the Judiciary wings of government is essential to free and democratic elections.
Do you remember the Mukhabarat that was under the control of Jihan ElSadat?
Posts: 637 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Automatic For The People:
quote:Originally posted by _Masrawi_:
quote:Originally posted by Automatic For The People:
quote:Originally posted by _Masrawi_: "security services" ... interesting term.
not quite sure who it refers to, though.
Egypt: Intelligence Agencies
Mukhabarat al-Aama Al-Mukhabarat al-'Ammah (General Intelligence and Security Service)
Mubahath el-Dawla (General Directorate of State Security Investigations)
Jihaz Amn al Daoula (State Security Service)
I didn't ask for a listing of Egypt's intelligence (or lack of it if u may) agencies ... i asked which "security services" the article was referring to.
The article as I understand it was referring to those security services supporting the Mubarak regime. That would mean all of the ones I included in the above list as well as the Military security service and other branches which I don't know about and do exist. Some high ranking official from Mabaheth Amn Eldawla have been appointed to various ministerial positions and undoubtedly have influence over government policies. I had a few articles relating to few individuals who were very close to Mubarak and there were suggestions that they had just as much power as Mubarak does, I will post the articles if I find them as they mentioned people by name.
The "regime" as you referred to it is not the president and a few advisers. The power lies in the hands of the Army and the security services. They provide the support for the regime.
What the writer was saying is, elections are pointless if those pulling the strings remain in power and most of them are appointed. A separation of the legislative, the executive and the Judiciary wings of government is essential to free and democratic elections.
Do you remember the Mukhabarat that was under the control of Jihan ElSadat?
Thanks for elaborating on the term "security services". However, I do not think the writer is right in using a general term like that. I was once questioning an acquaintance of mine on how Mubarak seems to have all the different branches of the security services under control like he does. His reply was that Mubarak has learned quite a bit from Sadat's era and that one of the things he has managed to excel at was to always keep the different arms of the security services in constant competition ... in particular, about reporting on each other.
So, no I don't believe that all these different security services are working hand in hand to secure the "throne".
As for your conclusion regarding the need for the "separation of the legislative, the executive and the Judiciary wings of government is essential to free and democratic elections", it's on the dot.
Posts: 2049 | From: Canada | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Well, Al-Hurra and Radio Sawa are under the investigation of the US congress as we speak. I'm sure they will be very interested in this article as far as Al-Hurra is concerned. Posts: 8794 | From: 01-20-09 The End of an Error | Registered: Dec 2004
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