Hosni Mubarak's Democracy
Editorial
The New York Times
December 29, 2005
So much for holding Egypt up as a beacon of burgeoning democracy in the Middle East. Last Saturday an Egyptian court, in a move worthy of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, sentenced Ayman Nour, the prominent liberal opposition leader, to five years at hard labor for supposedly forging signatures on petitions used to create his political party.
Calling this a kangaroo court case would be an understatement. President Hosni Mubarak's security troops packed the courtroom in a show of force before Mr. Nour was brought in and locked in a foul-smelling, filthy cage to hear his fate. The charges on which the panel has convicted him are ridiculous: why would Mr. Nour forge the signatures of his own wife and father on his nomination form? Mr. Nour's second-place showing in the presidential election, collecting 7 percent of the vote, gives lie to any claim that he couldn't muster up the 50 signatures needed on the nomination papers.
The Egyptian president was hailed far and wide when he surprised the world with the announcement earlier this year that the Arab world's most populous country planned to hold at least nominally competitive elections. But clearly Mr. Mubarak doesn't have the stomach for it. In parliamentary elections this fall, the government reverted to bullying tactics, as security forces shot tear gas, rubber bullets and even live ammunition into crowds that wanted only to vote. More than a dozen people were killed.
The Bush administration has been right to pressure Mr. Mubarak to support some semblance of a democratic process in Egypt, and the White House was correct to call for Mr. Nour's release, as it did within hours of the verdict. If Mr. Mubarak doesn't take heed, then it might be time to start thinking about the $2 billion a year in financial and military aid that American taxpayers have spent bankrolling Mr. Mubarak's despotic rule.
The New York Times
December 29, 2005
So much for holding Egypt up as a beacon of burgeoning democracy in the Middle East. Last Saturday an Egyptian court, in a move worthy of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, sentenced Ayman Nour, the prominent liberal opposition leader, to five years at hard labor for supposedly forging signatures on petitions used to create his political party.
Calling this a kangaroo court case would be an understatement. President Hosni Mubarak's security troops packed the courtroom in a show of force before Mr. Nour was brought in and locked in a foul-smelling, filthy cage to hear his fate. The charges on which the panel has convicted him are ridiculous: why would Mr. Nour forge the signatures of his own wife and father on his nomination form? Mr. Nour's second-place showing in the presidential election, collecting 7 percent of the vote, gives lie to any claim that he couldn't muster up the 50 signatures needed on the nomination papers.
The Egyptian president was hailed far and wide when he surprised the world with the announcement earlier this year that the Arab world's most populous country planned to hold at least nominally competitive elections. But clearly Mr. Mubarak doesn't have the stomach for it. In parliamentary elections this fall, the government reverted to bullying tactics, as security forces shot tear gas, rubber bullets and even live ammunition into crowds that wanted only to vote. More than a dozen people were killed.
The Bush administration has been right to pressure Mr. Mubarak to support some semblance of a democratic process in Egypt, and the White House was correct to call for Mr. Nour's release, as it did within hours of the verdict. If Mr. Mubarak doesn't take heed, then it might be time to start thinking about the $2 billion a year in financial and military aid that American taxpayers have spent bankrolling Mr. Mubarak's despotic rule.
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 12:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home