The real reason Egypt tried to quash Sisi's '60 Minutes' interview
While the Egyptian president's comments on human rights and political prisoners angered Western observers, his comments on coordination with Israel pose a greater domestic threat.
On Jan. 6, the US television network CBS aired an interview with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi despite Egypt's attempts to prevent the interview from being broadcast. The "60 Minutes" interview drew mixed reactions in Egypt, both angering Sisi's supporters and earning praise from opposition activists on social media. Egypt's secular activists, however, were displeased that the show only gave voice to Muslim Brotherhood figures, implying that Egypt's opposition consisted solely of members of the country's outlawed Islamist group.
"The 60 Minutes interview narrowly framed the problem in Egypt as a battle between el-Sisi & [the Muslim Brotherhood] & having the opposition only represented by them," tweeted Nancy Okail, executive director of the Washington-based Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.
