Egypt's "roadmap to democracy" is nothing but a mirage

By:Samira Shackle

When the Arab Spring protests swept Egypt in 2011 and ousted Hosni Mubarak after decades of dictatorial rule, it seemed that the country was on the road to democracy. But the journey has been long and fractious. Three years after the 25 January revolution that toppled Mubarak, the country is essentially back under military rule. In July 2013, the elected president Mohamed Morsi, who headed the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, was forced out of office by the army after weeks of mass protests. The generals behind the current interim government insist that Egypt's "roadmap to democracy" is on track – but is that really the case?

A report by Amnesty International, released today to coincide with the three year anniversary of the 2011 revolution, does not seem to think so. Entitled "Roadmap to repression: no end in sight to human rights violations", its verdict on the current regime is damning. The report says that since Morsi was ousted in July, the Egyptian authorities have used every resource possible to eliminate dissent and undermine human rights. It says that state violence over the last seven months has been on an "unprecedented scale".

According to the report, 1,400 people have been killed in political violence since Morsi was forced out of office. It notes that there has been "no proper investigation" into the deaths of more than 500 Morsi supporters in August. The deaths – described by some media outlets as a "massacre" – happened when the army dispersed a sit-in protest of Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Rabaa al-Adawiya square.

"Instead of reigning in the security forces, the authorities have effectively handed them a mandate for repression," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa deputy director. "Once again in Egypt, the rhetoric of 'countering terrorism' is being used to justify sweeping crackdowns that fail to distinguish between legitimate dissent and violent attacks."

Legislation has been introduced making it much easier for the government and security forces to crack down on protests and quell dissent. These restrictions on public gatherings and demonstrations pose a serious threat to freedom of assembly. They also give security forces a mandate to use excessive force against peaceful protesters, something which has been seen repeatedly.

Last week, Egypt went to the polls to ratify the interim government's draft constitution. According to officials, it was backed by 98.1 per cent of those who voted in the referendum (with turnout just below 40 per cent of the 53 million eligible voters). It replaced the constitution introduced by Morsi and his Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement. It removed some of the religious provisions; but entrenched the power of the army. Members of the Brotherhood have described it as a "farce".

In a speech last weekend, following the vote, President Adly Mansour said that the newly adopted constitution paved the way for building a country that "respects freedom, democracy and makes rights and justice a way of work and life".

These are laudable goals; yet if the Amnesty report is anything to go by, these words are very far from reality. Central to the original 25 January revolution in 2011 were the demands of basic dignity and human rights. Today, several of the key figures of that movement are in prison, a striking comment on how far away these goals are from realisation. The interim government began by cracking down on the supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, rounding up and arresting those who criticised Morsi's ouster. In December, the Brotherhood was officially classified as a "terrorist organisation", making this oppression even easier. The net has been cast wide: on 23 December, at least 1,055 charities affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood had their assets frozen. Recently, the clampdown has been extended to secular activists, with several of those calling for accountability and human rights being jailed. Hundreds of students have been arrested during protests and clashes. Meanwhile, media freedom has been significantly restricted.

One of the main grievances of those who protested against Morsi in June 2013 was that despite being democratically elected, he was not behaving pluralistically or democratically. The army stepped in, but clearly, the interim government has done nothing to enforce these ideals, instead going to the other extreme by reducing rights and eliminating dissent. The so-called "roadmap to democracy" – much touted by the army chief and the technocrats in his interim government – seems to be nothing but a mirage.