NEWS - AFRICA
| 2013-08-08Egypt army chief politically astute
CAIRO - For a man who says he doesn’t want to be president, Egypt’s army chief is proving to be a skilful politician so far.
Since he deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on 3 July, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has built on a web of contacts he began nurturing after his appointment as army chief last year.
He has met everyone from top clerics to writers and youth activists through the crisis unleashed by Morsi’s downfall, while juggling sensitive foreign relations with the United States, Europe and Arab allies.
But his close relationship with Mohammad ElBaradei, vice president in the new, army-backed government, could be the one that shapes the outcome of the current stand-off with the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s political future.
“General Sisi is meeting ElBaradei regularly and calls him frequently. He appreciates his opinion,” said an army officer.
The 58-year old former military intelligence chief has shown political nous ever since Morsi appointed him last year. One of his first steps was to revamp the army’s public relations department that is now helping him to win hearts and minds.
Since Sisi deposed Morsi, his remarks have shown that he was studying Egyptian politics as closely as anyone. They have also revealed deep suspicion bordering on hostility towards the Muslim Brotherhood that could shape the outcome of the crisis.
Thousands of supporters of the Brotherhood have been staging protests in two areas of Cairo for more than a month against Sisi’s overthrow of Morsi, demanding the reinstatement of the elected president.
The army chief has said the Brotherhood was more interested in restoring a trans-national Islamic empire than in the Egyptian nation - a charge denied by the group but widely voiced among its harshest critics.
In his only interview since the takeover, Sisi also alleged that Morsi allowed terrorists to enter Egypt, fuelling rising militancy in the Sinai Peninsula on the ultra sensitive border with Israel. He also described the Brotherhood as a minority of 5 to 10% seeking to impose its views on all Egyptians.
“It was always in their minds that they have the exclusive truth and the exclusive rights,” he told the Washington Post. “A major part of their culture is to work secretly underground.”
Targeting his message to the breakfast table of uneasy US policy makers, Sisi said: “The title of the article should be ‘Hey America: Where is your support for Egypt? Where is your support for free people?’”
Sisi’s antipathy towards the Brotherhood may influence efforts to lure the group off the street and back into politics. But the relationship with ElBaradei appears to have brought an element of moderation into the army chief’s approach.
“The army wanted to end the Brotherhood’s sit-ins fast and in any way,” said one security source.
“But it was forced to wait after it felt that a likely eruption of violence during the evacuation could trigger strong reaction from the West or lead some in government to resign,” the source said, in reference to ElBaradei among others.
- Nampa-Reuters
Since he deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on 3 July, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has built on a web of contacts he began nurturing after his appointment as army chief last year.
He has met everyone from top clerics to writers and youth activists through the crisis unleashed by Morsi’s downfall, while juggling sensitive foreign relations with the United States, Europe and Arab allies.
But his close relationship with Mohammad ElBaradei, vice president in the new, army-backed government, could be the one that shapes the outcome of the current stand-off with the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s political future.
“General Sisi is meeting ElBaradei regularly and calls him frequently. He appreciates his opinion,” said an army officer.
The 58-year old former military intelligence chief has shown political nous ever since Morsi appointed him last year. One of his first steps was to revamp the army’s public relations department that is now helping him to win hearts and minds.
Since Sisi deposed Morsi, his remarks have shown that he was studying Egyptian politics as closely as anyone. They have also revealed deep suspicion bordering on hostility towards the Muslim Brotherhood that could shape the outcome of the crisis.
Thousands of supporters of the Brotherhood have been staging protests in two areas of Cairo for more than a month against Sisi’s overthrow of Morsi, demanding the reinstatement of the elected president.
The army chief has said the Brotherhood was more interested in restoring a trans-national Islamic empire than in the Egyptian nation - a charge denied by the group but widely voiced among its harshest critics.
In his only interview since the takeover, Sisi also alleged that Morsi allowed terrorists to enter Egypt, fuelling rising militancy in the Sinai Peninsula on the ultra sensitive border with Israel. He also described the Brotherhood as a minority of 5 to 10% seeking to impose its views on all Egyptians.
“It was always in their minds that they have the exclusive truth and the exclusive rights,” he told the Washington Post. “A major part of their culture is to work secretly underground.”
Targeting his message to the breakfast table of uneasy US policy makers, Sisi said: “The title of the article should be ‘Hey America: Where is your support for Egypt? Where is your support for free people?’”
Sisi’s antipathy towards the Brotherhood may influence efforts to lure the group off the street and back into politics. But the relationship with ElBaradei appears to have brought an element of moderation into the army chief’s approach.
“The army wanted to end the Brotherhood’s sit-ins fast and in any way,” said one security source.
“But it was forced to wait after it felt that a likely eruption of violence during the evacuation could trigger strong reaction from the West or lead some in government to resign,” the source said, in reference to ElBaradei among others.
- Nampa-Reuters
