Egypt - From an Arab Spring to an Autumn of Anger In Egypt, the Arab Spring blew away an entrenched and corrupt regime and raised hopes that freedom and democracy could take root. Now those hopes have suffered a serious setback.
In January, the army joined a growing mass protest movement to force President Hosni Mubarak out of office and put the country on the road to the first free elections in decades. Mubarak is now on trial for violating human rights and other abuses. The country's interim military rulers are working to organize elections scheduled for November. But confrontations between protesters and the interim government continue, and tensions are rising as election day approaches.
Last week, a peaceful demonstration by Coptic Christians in Cairo turned into a night of violence that left at least 25 people dead and hundreds injured. It's not clear what triggered the violence, but Coptic Christians and other witnesses blame the military. Foreign reporters described seeing military vehicles driving into crowds of marchers and firing indiscriminately into crowds. The Christians were protesting the burning down of a church in the south and the ruling military council, which they say discriminates against Christians and does not protect them from radical Muslim opponents.
Egypt remains on edge amid fears that the country will spiral into chaos and anarchy. And many Egyptians have lost their confidence in the military. Some worry that radical elements in the military are trying to take control. Others fear the use of religious conflict to divide opposition groups and turn them against each other. That's why the military council has banned the use of religious slogans in campaigning leading up to the election. The hope of making a successful and peaceful transition to democracy is hanging in the balance in Egypt.
What's your view? Egypt - From an Arab spring to an Autumn of Anger.
Write to us at: quadriga@dw-world.deOur guests:
Michael A. Lange - Having completed his doctorate in economics, Michael A. Lange worked on various research projects. In 1981, he joined the Department of Economics at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. He served as the resident representative for the foundation's programs in Jordan (1981 - 1985), Tunisia (1985 - 1988) and Israel (1989 - 1994). In 1994, he returned to work at the foundation's headquarters in St Augustin, where he started at the US affairs desk, and later served as head of the department for North America and Western Europe. He returned to international work in 1996, as the foundation's resident representative in South Africa (1996 - 2001) and Egypt (2001 - 2007). In 2007, Lange became co-ordinator of the foundation's Middle East and security policy program as part of the department of politics team for foreign, security and European policy. He currently heads up the political dialogue and analysis division at the foundation's department of European and International Cooperation.
Yassin Musharbash - Born to a Jordanian father and a German mother, Yassin Musharbash read Arabic Studies and Political Science at the universities of Göttingen in Germany and Birzeit in the Palestinian West Bank town of Ramallah. He began writing for the German daily"tageszeitung"while still a student, reporting on Islamic organisations in Germany. Now, he works as an editor for Spiegel Online, specialising in the Arab world, Islamist terrorism and al Qaeda propaganda posted on the Internet.
Ahmed Badawi -- After a course in Development Studies at the University of London, Ahmed Badawi joined the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik) as a research associate. He earned his doctorate in political science from Humboldt University. He has worked for the Institute of Development and Peace, University of Duisburg-Essen, the Oxford Research Group and the International Crisis Group. His research focused on Palestinian politics, the Israeli Palestinian conflict and the political economy of policy change. Prior to leaving Egypt in 1999, he used to work as a print and TV journalist and as a community development specialist. He is now a Research Fellow at the Zentrum Moderner Orient where he is studying representations of Europe held by contemporary Egyptian Islamists.
