Egypt's ruling military seeks future political role, raising worries of democrac

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Egypt's ruling military seeks future political role, raising worries of

democracy activists

By Hamza Hendawi, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – 11 minutes ago

CAIRO - Egypt's ruling generals are seeking to enshrine a future role for

themselves with considerable independence from civilian leaders and possibly an

authority to intervene in politics.

The push appears to be driven by the military's fear of losing the

near-autonomous power it has enjoyed for nearly 60 years, but activists worry it

will open the door for the army to dictate politics in a democratic Egypt.

" We want the military's role restricted to protecting our borders, " said Khaled

Abdel-Hamid, who was among the young activists who organized the 18-day wave of

protests that forced Hosni Mubarak's ouster. " We have had enough of the

military. We want it back in the barracks. "

Last week, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the body of generals that

has ruled the country since Mubarak's Feb. 11 fall, announced it would put

together a set of guidelines for a new constitution that is to be written after

elections planned for later this year.

That in part was in response to demands by some protesters who worry about the

potential influence of Islamists over the writing of the constitution.

But it also raised concerns because of the military's domination over the

process of setting the guidelines, combined with signals by generals on the

council that they want to carve out an exclusive, untouchable role for the

military.

Maj. Gen. Mamdouh Shaheen, a key member of the military council who is leading

the process for drawing up the guidelines, said in comments published recently

that the country's next constitution should safeguard the armed forces against

the " whims " of any future president, practically asking for the armed forces to

be given virtually complete independence.

One of the legal experts that the military is consulting in the process, Hisham

Bastawisi, has gone further, proposing that the military in the future have the

role of " guaranteeing supra-constitutional principles. " In his formulation, that

would appear to mean powers to intervene to protect basic democratic rights.

But some fear that could give the generals a tool for imposing its will at a

time when the country is trying to move toward democratic rule with civilians at

the helm. Bastawisi, who has announced his intention to run for president, also

proposed extensive independence for the military, including immunity from

parliamentary scrutiny of its budgets and prohibitions on passing laws affecting

the military without the generals' approval.

The " protector " idea would appear to give the military a role similar to that in

Turkey, where the army has carried out several coups or otherwise intervened in

the elected government over past decades to enforce the secular nature of the

state. It did this even without a mandate in the Turkish constitution, instead

relying on its own internal law that empowers it to defend the nation against

" external and internal threats. "

" Any political role for the military will hurt democracy, " said Mustafa

el-Naggar, an activist and founding member of Egypt's new Justice Party. " The

only guarantor of democracy should be the people not anyone else. "

Bastawisi's is one of several proposals being considered by the council. The

generals are to distill the proposals and arrive at a declaration that would

supersede the next constitution or serve as the introduction of that charter.

The military's moves appear to be an attempt to wrest back its place as the

ultimate source of power, which is deeply threatened by the uprising against

Mubarak.

The generals took power after Mubarak's fall, but they also lost much of the

legitimacy they long had to justify their behind-the-scenes domination of the

country. The military has been the most powerful institution in Egypt since army

officers toppled the monarchy in a 1952 coup, giving the country its four

presidents since and wielding significant influence and economic power since.

The military has over the years enjoyed perks and privileges that no other

institution in Egypt had. It has ventured into business in recent years, winning

lucrative government contracts for the construction of dams, roads and even

seaside resorts. Retired generals are routinely given well paid government jobs.

Reflecting the army's importance, the head of U.S. Central Command, Marine Gen.

Mattis, met Tuesday with the council's head, Field Marshal Hussein

Tantawi, and its chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Sami Hafiz Anan, to discuss military

co-operation and other issues, Egyptian state media reported. The U.S. Embassy

in Cairo confirmed the visit but gave no futher details.

But the army's so-called " 1952 legitimacy " has been taken over by the " January

Revolution " which was launched on the principle of government by the will of the

people and which, unlike the officers' coup 59 years ago, was a popular uprising

in which millions of Egyptians took part.

The military, sour over its loss of prestige, is fighting back. Increasingly,

generals on the council have tried to present themselves as a key part of the

uprising, rather than subordinate to it.

" The military council is a full partner in the January revolution and not a

representative of the people in the revolution, " Maj. Gen. Hassan al-Rueini said

on a TV talk show last week.

The generals have been pushing that same message on Egypt's rapidly multiplying

TV talk shows, phoning in to defend their record in handling the nation's bumpy

transition to civilian rule. They often drum up the notion that they had stood

up to the wealthy businessmen associated with the regime, when their interests

clashed with those of the nation, and that they had protected the protesters of

the January and February uprising from the brutality of Mubarak's security

forces.

The military's direct involvement in politics began on Jan. 28 when Mubarak

called out troops to restore law and order in Cairo and across much of the

nation following deadly clashes between protesters and security forces earlier

that day.

The troops were warmly greeted by the protesters as saviours and allies in the

campaign to force Mubarak out. The military, on its part, won the protesters'

support by declaring that it would not open fire at any of them. Chants of " the

army and the people are one hand " rang out for days at Tahrir Square — though

there were also occasions when the military stood by while Mubarak supporters

attacked protesters.

Lately, the ruling generals have come under heavy criticism by the protesters.

" Down with the junta, " several banners declare at Tahrir Square, birthplace of

the uprising and now home to a nearly two-week-old, sit-in to press the generals

to speed up reforms, bringing Mubarak and stalwarts of his regime to justice as

well as weed out loyalists of the former president from the police force, the

judiciary and the civil service.

" The junta is not different from Mubarak, " says another Tahrir banner.