Blood on Egyptian army’s hands
The Arab spring seems to have all but given way to another freezing era of draconian rule in the wake of the latest bloodletting in Egypt on August 14. The Egyptian military, all too eager to flex its muscles and exercise its martial, read political, prowess, overthrew the government of the radical Muslim Brotherhood last month, since which the nation is in a state of turmoil claiming nearly a thousand lives.
The army stepped into the political arena following a series of protests against the government of the then President Mohamed Morsi. The coup was spearheaded by General El-Sisi, the commander of the nation’s army. Previous brutality has faded from memory as the latest spate of violence, unparalleled in the country’s history, envelopes Egypt. News coming out of the restive state suggests a death toll of nearly 300. International condemnation was swift to arrive following Wednesday’s bloodbath in which the army reacted particularly violently, clamping down on the pro-Morsi protests across the country and imposing a month long state of emergency in Egypt’s 13 provinces.
On August 14, using unrestrained force the El-Sisi-led army pummelled the protestors into submission. In the capital city of Cairo, soldiers opened indiscriminate fire at unarmed protestors using assault rifles and light weapons. 278 fatalities testify to the unequalled viciousness the Egyptian military subjected its own citizens to. The Egyptian health ministry was quick to confirm the figures stating that the violence had also claimed the lives of 43 policemen. The soldiers chose not to discriminate between men, women and children, dishing out atrocities to all its citizens regardless of gender, age or colour, courtesy of which several women and children were also among the ones who lost their lives. The bloodshed spared no one, as was the case with 17-year-old Asmaa al-Beltagui, daughter of prominent Muslim Brotherhood leader Muhamad al-Beltagui. In the main protest camp of Adawiya, security forces bombarded the area with tear gas canisters prompting the majority of the protestors to flee in terror. Loudspeakers blared Islamic propaganda as soldiers and policemen crushed tents and in some cases shooting protestors. Last month, the army had reacted in a similar fashion following protests due to which almost a hundred unarmed demonstrators were shot and killed.
Following Wednesday’s carnage, the Vice-President El-Baradei resigned from his office, stating that he wanted ‘no blood on his hands’. Egypt had been flirting with the idea of a progressive and prosperous future following the collapse of Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorial junta in 2011. Come 2013, that dream however seems to have been little more than a mirage as the promising revolution has given way to blood, brutality and instability.
The army has set a poor precedent by toppling a democratically elected regime, something which the country desperately needed. Only time and the action of political and social entities will tell what lies in store for the land of the Pharaohs.
