President al-Sisi represents the failed hope for a democratic future in Egypt. Ten years ago he staged a coup against the freely elected government – and then expanded his rule more and more ruthlessly.
Mohammed Mustafa has a lot to tell. Nevertheless, he speaks slowly, keeps pausing, thinking. The young Egyptian suggested his friend’s apartment for the interview – for security reasons. His real name is different, but he doesn’t want to reveal it.
Oppositionists are considered criminals
He counts himself among the opposition and does not want to be recognized. Because anyone who opposes the regime is considered a criminal. The leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Ultras are all in custody. “Many leftists and members of the opposition from various movements are also in Sisi’s prisons“, he says.
Mohammed Mustafa says that he has lost contact with many friends and acquaintances. Not because he doesn’t care. But because they have disappeared. Mohammed Mustafa suspects that they too are behind bars without trial or due process. As had happened to himself. He spent six months in prison shortly after the military took power in Egypt.
From Mubarak to Morsi to al-Sisi
At the end of June 2013, tens of thousands of people demonstrated on Tahrir Square in central Cairo – as they did in January 2011 when long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak was toppled. They were disappointed in their President Mohammed Morsi, whom they had elected their head of state a year earlier.
Many Egyptians were dissatisfied with the policies of the former Muslim Brotherhood, which marginalized its political opponents, failed to facilitate democratic change and failed to give the economy a boost.
The military and the state apparatus recognized the opportune moment. On July 3, 2013, the Supreme Commander of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, deposed Morsi and publicly stated: “The armed forces, through their insightful vision, have sensed that the Egyptian people calling on them to support them is not calling on them to take power or rule, but to serve the public and the demands of the revolution to protect.“
Remain in power at all costs
Many Egyptians reacted with relief. They hoped that the military would stand by the people and take their demands seriously. Cairo-based essayist and political scientist Ammar Ali Hassan recalls: “A large part of the people believed what the then Defense Minister al-Sisi said: that the army does not seek power, that it will protect the country and return power to the civilian population.“
But that’s exactly what didn’t happen. Barely a year later, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in as the new president after an election that fell short of minimum democratic standards.
It soon became obvious that al-Sisi was not guided by the will of the people, but rather that he was primarily pursuing the goal of remaining in power at all costs. He even had the constitution changed in 2019: According to this, he could remain president until 2030 and determine the fate of Egypt.
“Nobody in Egypt feels safe”
“The current style of government in Egypt is reminiscent of the medieval style of rule in Europe: that is, the idea of God-given rights for kings and an unbridled ruling hand that does what it wants with regard to public property“, says opposition figure Mohammed Mustafa. The demands of the people who overthrew Mubarak and demanded bread, freedom and social justice have long since faded away.
Only very few people in Egypt dare to speak their mind openly, says the opposition leader Mohammed Mustafa. “I don’t think anyone in Egypt feels safe, anyone who is against the government,” he continues. “There is no room for other perspectives in this country. Even if you used to be against the powerful and now you have no opinion at all, you are still in the danger zone.“
Under the rule of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the number of political prisoners in Egypt increased dramatically. Human rights organizations speak of tens of thousands of people who have been convicted without a fair trial or have been held in custody for months, if not years. Press freedom is severely restricted: On the Reporters Without Borders list, Egypt ranks 166th out of 180 countries – behind Russia and Afghanistan.
heaviness Economic crisis
Most Egyptians are suffering from the severe economic crisis. Many hardly know how to feed their families. The Egyptian pound has lost nearly half its value in the past year alone, yet wages have not risen. And the private sector has a strong competitor: the Egyptian army.
It dominates many sectors of the economy, says political scientist Ammar Ali Hassan: “There are no rules for fair competition. The army pays no taxes or duties or wages for the working recruits. And the army gets the land on which it develops projects and facilities free of charge. The private sector says: We cannot compete with an actor that has so many privileges.“
hope gone
Poverty, oppression, social inequality – that’s not what Egyptians took to the streets for in 2011. After the fall of Mubarak and the first free elections in Egypt, everything seemed possible: economic opening, freedom of expression, liberal democracy.
But when the military took power ten years ago at the latest, many Egyptians lost hope for a better future, says Ammar Ali Hassan: “The 2011 revolution wanted to transform Egypt into a democracy. But noAfter July 3, 2013, it became a dictatorship again.”