US Misses the Point on Egypt, Morsi
The government of President Mohammed Morsi continues to violate the rule of law and thereby is contributing to a cycle of violence, writes Sara Khorshid from Cairo.
CAIRO — As Washington defended its continued support of an Egypt that is "making progress on completing its democratic transition" and also playing "an important role in regional peace and stability" (in a State Department's letter to Senator James Ihofe in January), a group of young soccer fans roved Cairo's streets in anger, seeking retribution for 74 of their fellows killed in the Port Said Stadium disaster. They blocked a vital bridge, hindered underground metro services, and cordoned off the stock exchange building. And they got what they wanted. Amid their threats of violence, a Cairo court sentenced 21 convicts to die, setting off another wave of anger from the families of the sentenced youth.
In this context, Egypt is not just "on the difficult path" to "greater democracy and rule of law" as the White House said on Jan. 28. It is in a cycle of violence that will not be broken as long as justice is not served. It is understandable that countries that have gone through revolutions witness transitional periods that are temporarily chaotic, but this falls short of describing Egypt's more complicated and grave case, wherein the rulers who are in charge of executing the law are its very opponents on the ground. Besides the fact that Morsi hails from a secret organization with no legal status, the president and his political party have violated the rule of law on several incidents.
