More on Egyptian repression

More reports of violence against protestors in Egypt. 

Evan Osnos, Chicago Tribune:

Crowds of pro-government demonstrators attacked opponents of President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday while police looked on, staining a day of national voting that government leaders had touted as a major step toward democracy.

In some cases, pro-Mubarak protesters dragged unarmed men and women by the hair and beat them with police-style rubber truncheons. In other cases, young men who arrived marching in formation groped female demonstrators and used wood poles bearing cardboard portraits of Mubarak to beat rival demonstrators over the head in plain view of hundreds of uniformed police.

Though voting in most of the capital unfolded quietly, the violence marred what Egyptian leaders had pledged would be a showcase of democratization in the Arab world's largest country.
...
Ten yards from where Allam was speaking, three rows of uniformed police detained about a dozen anti-regime demonstrators, mostly men and women in their 20s. Minutes later, the police cordon opened, and about 25 pro-government protesters surged in, beating, kicking, pulling hair and groping the detainees.

Asked by a reporter why police permitted it to continue, a plainclothes officer with a walkie-talkie said: "These are our orders."

A few minutes earlier, a crowd of pro-Mubarak demonstrators harassed and knocked to the ground a British employee of the Los Angeles Times and kicked her repeatedly, before she escaped without serious injury.

A few yards away, 36-year-old lawyer Raba Fahmy was set upon by a mob of young men bearing pro-Mubarak placards, who tore open her shirt and skirt. "I need a pin, I need a pin," she pleaded, holding her clothes together, as police escorted her to the side and shooed away reporters.

"Mr. Mubarak, if you are a respectable president, give the Egyptian people their rights," she shouted.

A female reporter from The Associated Press also wrote of being cornered, grabbed and pulled by the hair. Victims said they believed many of the young male pro-regime demonstrators were police in plainclothes. That could not be independently confirmed, though they marched in formation and some carried batons of the kind used by Cairo police.

Paul Schemm, Cairo Magazine:

As citizens turned out to vote on the amendment to Article 76 of the constitution, violent clashes took place between government supporters and opposition groups. Some of the violence that took place, notably towards women, was unprecedented.
...

Kifaya members left outside the building were attacked and repeatedly beaten by NDP demonstrators, who seemed to focus on attacking women. A number of young women were beaten, groped and had their clothes ripped or removed. Several times, Kifaya members were assaulted directly in front of impassive security forces.

Josh Stacher (see his photo collection here):

One thing I failed to clearly capture were the attacks against females (primarily demonstrators and journalists). I have some pictures of one woman in a group of men but it is impossible to see what is going on (although I cannot even imagine).
That said, I saw many women (including some friends) after they were sexually harassed and, in some cases, beaten by those animals masquerading as humans.

Much more from Josh, including a detailed and frightening narrative, here.  Including this:

Hossam al-Hamalawy, a news assistant with the LA Times and long-time friend, went over to security. He spoke to a plain-clothed guy with a walkie-talkie. Hossam said to him, “Hey what is going on? They are going to slaughter them.” The officer coldly replied, “We have our orders.” Amazed and confused Hossam asked, “Do your orders include having people kill each other in the streets?” The officer smirked and said “Yes”.
...

About this time, the scholar called me. He told me one of the woman beaten and harassed by the thugs was in the al-Ghad HQ (Ayman’s law offices). We quickly made our way there. Sitting there was the victim, who was traumatized and scared. She said she was not an al-Ghad member but she knows Ayman Nor helps people. She did not know where else to go. She explained that she clothes were ripped off her and she was naked in the street. Her co-workers saw her and she was ashamed to go back to work. After re-telling her story, Hossam tried to console her. She wanted nothing of it. She said her frustration was at an all time high and that her only wish was to leave Egypt and never look back. Hossam did his best. He told her, “No, this is our country, not theirs.” With tears in her eyes, she quickly responded, “No this is their country, we are nothing.” After a quiet period she looked up more angry than scared and said, “This was a message today. If you go to the streets, the government will beat and humiliate you.”
Ayman showed up a bit later and took the woman into his office - perhaps to discuss her legal options and cheer her up. The woman was determined to go to the authorities and report her attackers. For her part, this victim wants a public apology from the Egyptian president.

 

Testimony released by Egyptian NGOs here.

This should be the only story which matters about the referendum for Americans and Arabs actually interested in democracy.  So far, I'm glad to see, it has been, with most of the press coverage focusing on the savage repression of the protestors and not buying Mubarak's spin.  The New York Times fails to mention it on its front page, but gets a story in with Hassan Fattah reporting (from Beirut!?!?).  The Washington Post has a good story and an even better op-ed savaging Laura Bush's disastrous visit to Cairo.  Here's the LA Times.   Not a word yet from erstwhile Arab democracy promoters at the Weekly Standard, National Review, or Opinion Journal, but I'm sure that's coming. 

What about the Bush administration?   Here's what Secretary of State Condi Rice had to say yesterday:

MR. MACKLER: In Egypt, we're also having a referendum on the political reforms today. We've had reports on our wire and AFP reporters have seen people, who are opposing this process, are actually being beaten by police and stuff like that. It's anecdotal. I can't say how widespread it is. There have there been complaints that the reforms that are adopted are a step forward, as you've said, but are still not really geared to have a significant challenge to President Mubarak. Do you think -- how do you react to these opposition complaints?

SECRETARY RICE: I've not seen the reports that you're talking about today. We have said to the Egyptians that this process needs to be as open and as forward leaning as possible because political reform is a necessity for Egypt. Now, they are taking steps forward. Not everything moves at the same speed and there are going to be different speeds in the Middle East. But again, if you just step back and ask yourself whether a year ago or two years ago, you would have seen these developments in the Middle East, if you could have predicted that you would have seen these developments in the Middle East, I would think you probably wouldn't have.

So the whole character of the conversation has changed about what needs to be done in the Middle East, about what's possible in the Middle East, about what the expectations are in the Middle East. And having done that, I think we want to continue to encourage governments to be supportive and proactive about reform. Not every step is going to be an ideal one, but if we can keep the forward momentum going, I think you're going to see a lot of changes in many of these places, including in Egypt.

With all due respect to Secretary Rice, that is an absolutely pathetic answer.  I deeply and sincerely hope that today, with a chance to review the evidence, the Bush administration can come up with something a little bit better.  Heck, since I'm hoping, let's hope for a lot better.  And, while I'm at it, a pony.

Comments

[SP]

Marvellous isn't it, how state departmentese lets you go on for several minutes without saying anything. Complete and utter BS. "Different speeds in the Middle East" sounds an awful lot like colonialist rhetoric about how the natives simply can't be expected to have the same things as the civilises do, like democracy.

[sofia]

She sounds just like "Al"!

[Catherine Tamer]

Pathetic answer indeed. Here there was a great chance of real change..And the US government gives green light for Mubarak to destroy it.
How hypocritical!

[Nur al-Cubicle]

Le Monde reports massive abstentions in Cairo:

Voter turnout was very light in Cairo where one-quarter of all Egyptians live. In the polling stations which AFP reporters visited, lines of voters were non-existent and unused ballots were piled high on tables. The referendum took place in an tense atmosphere in Cairo as police prevented a Kefaya demonstration with billyclubs. NPD thugs intervened to beat up activists urging a "No" vote and to trample their signs and banners.

Meanwhile, the opposition estimates that there were widespread voting irregularities. Voter lists included the deceased and expatriate Egyptians, who are not permitted to vote in abstentia.

President Bush issued a mild condemnation, saying only that events in Egypt do not correspond to the USA's notion of democracy. The Egyptian government praised the referendum as a "celebration of democracy".

[bigd504]

What is this 'forward leaning' phrase? If one leans forward enough, one invariably falls flat on one's face. If Condi & the boys really want change, there should be more talk of 'being & acting like a democratic society' as well as threats of losing foreign or military aid funds. That might get some attention. Of course the current administration would have to set the example of 'being & acting like a democratic society'

[Will Martin]

The administration has to answer the question:
How do you institute democracy in a country whose citizens have a fundamentally different regional agenda from the US and the country's current leadership, without risking that the country actually stop supporting the US agenda?

The answer:
Very slowly.

It's an honest answer for what it is. A good way to further pressure the US is to force it to answer publicly both that it wants _slow_ democratization in countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and then force it to answer publicly _why_ it wants _slow_ democratization.

[SP]

Note that Dubya's "this does not correspond to the US notion of democracy" sounds an awful lot like his "this is not the America I know" response to the Abu Ghraib revelations. Translation: yes, this is against our principles, but we're doing it by proxy anyway to serve our interests. Good point, Will Martin, on the administration needing to explain its desire for "slow democratisation." I would add: why do they think this will work in Egypt when they would never have expected another dictator, like Saddam, to respond to their sweet reason?

[Craig]

Heh... you guys do nothing but bitch and moan about everything the United States does, everything the Bush Administration does, everything the US military does, everything that happens in America... and then you act as if what was done to the protesters was AMERICA'S fault, and you start demanding that AMERICAN media condemn what happened to your people, in your country, at the hands of YOUR government.

Face it. Everything that ever happned that was bad for Egypt was the fault of everybody except the Egyptians.

The only question I'm left with, is why - with that attitude - would anybody have the least bit of interest in helping you? Last month you guys were ridiculing the idea of the Bush administration thinking it had any influence at all in Egyptian or other middle eastern politics, and now, here you are, demanding that the Bush administration step up to the plate and DO SOMETHING about what has happened here.

Do you guys even have an idea what you want in Egypt, instead of what you have now? How on earth do you expect the Bush administration to support your political aspirations WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY?

The United States has toppled by force or destabilization dozens of dictators in the last 200 years. We have experience in this. Most of the time, the resulting anarchy (and that's what Egypt is on track for if Mubarak's government falls at this point)puts up a new dictator even worse than the old one.

It's a BAD IDEA. Decide what you want. Come up with a plan how to get there. Find some leaders, that you TRUST, which is really not easy, then shop your ideas around and see what kind of outside help you can get. As rampant as the anti-Americanism seems to be in Egypt, I'd suggest trying to get support form the Europeans - because it would be pretty damned stupid for America to support replacing a friendly dictator with some kind of virulently anti-American regime, in an Arab country.

Or, just keep doing what you are doing - blaming the rest of the world for Egypt's problems. Oh, yeah, don't forget about that one guy who did something shitty to Egypt 200 years ago... Napoleon or something like that. I'm pretty sure it's all about him.

By the way, "forward leaning" is an aggressive posture. Watch two boxers, or a fist fight, or any other kind of athletic activity, for that matter. People always shift their weight forward onto the balls of their feet when they are engaging in any kind of demanding physical activity. It's opposite is "being caught flat footed" or, worse, "rocked back on your heals" - but that's not important. I'm not really sure why somebody who claims to be pro-democracy would thing a "forward leaning" attitude from the US on democracy is a bad thing, but I guess on this blog, everything to do with America and American policy is bad, eh?

I'm really sorry for being this negative in my comments, it was not my intent when I got here, but... I'm pretty damned steamed. I came to this place because I wanted to hear Egyptians attitudes about what happned to those protesters, only to find out that it's all my fault for having the audacity to be American.

[aardvark]

Dude... not an Egyptian. American.

[SP]

Craig - I'm not an Egyptian either. Something that I am struck by in Egypt (as someone who has always lived in democratic countries - and you might not realize this till you live in a real live police state) is how effectively the fear of the secret police and state crackdowns works to stop Egyptians, who WANT change and democratization, from going out to agitate for it. You can be arrested off the street, disappear and be tortured, and no one would be any the wiser. It's amazing that so many Egyptians go out there and fight for change anyway. Would you, in the circumstances?

And why is the regime able to do this? For two reasons: one, as in any authoritarian regime, it has been able to buy off or get the support of enough Egyptians who want state government jobs and the goodies that the regime selectively doles out to supporters, and these people in turn participate in or support the repression of others. Two, it has enough money - from oil and gas, but also from US military aid - that it CAN buy votes or hire enough poor lads from the countryside to beat up and torture dissenters. And, just like you, the American leadership has bought Mubarak's line that "it's me or chaos," and keeps on supporting him. The $2 billion a year that the US gives to Mubarak can buy a lot of repressive power, which is why people point to the American role. Mubarak stays on the right side of the US because he knows he needs that money to stay in power.

America has played a positive role sometimes in pressuring Egypt to liberalize and could do so again. It would be more productive to do this without name-calling and accusing Egyptians who are doing the best they can under the thumb of a dictator of "blaming the world for their problems." Egyptians have lots of good ideas and trustworthy leaders, only they get thrown in jail and tortured every time they become too popular. I don't suppose you would have blamed the Iraqis for not overthrowing Saddam themselves? Mubarak is more subtle but he's still a dictator.