Egypt ex-minister Emad Abu Gazi urges opposition to move beyond ‘fruitless criticism of Muslim Brotherhood’

Cairo: In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Dr Emad Abu Gazi, Egypt’s former culture minister called on the Egyptian opposition to move beyond “fruitless critique of the Muslim Brotherhood” and instead to focus on much-needed political and economic alternatives for Egyptians. He warned that “if the current situation goes on, the MB [Muslim Brotherhood] may lose, but, the opposition will not win”.

“We are in a catastrophic situation on both political and social levels. The regime and the opposition share responsibility for this crisis. The opposition must take its own initiatives and not just simply react to the decisions of the regime,” he said. “Since they were unhappy with the first draft of the constitution, why have they not yet drafted their own constitution?” he added.

The plight of the Constitution Party founded by Mohammad Al Baradei and a number of Egyptian political and intellectual figures is a case in point. Nearly a year ago, many in Egypt had held high hopes for the group. However, there have been doubts and fears about the liberal party and its future following recent internal problems that have led to the resignation of some of its leaders.

Hossam Eisa, a well-known politician and co-founder of the party, resigned as the head of the steering committee last March. He spoke of “deceiving faces” in the party, without mentioning names.

Abu Gazi refused to comment on the internal disputes of the party that led him to step down as its’ secretary-general, pointing out that he is still a member of the party.

Speaking about the current political situation in the country, he said that while there was a possibility that the Muslim Brotherhood could lose, it didn’t necessarily mean that the opposition would win.

“The solution is a united opposition like the Popular Front in France did against the Nazis. Only a united opposition could forestall the possibility of establishing a religious tyranny state in Egypt. The opposition has to organise a strong political and economic programme,” he said.

Abu Gazi who served as culture minister in Egypt’s first post-revolution cabinet under Essam Sharaf, said that the Central Security Forces had dispersed violently a sit-in staged by protesters on November 19, 2011 in downtown Cairo, without informing the then interior minister Mansour Al Essawy. Riot police and military units had descended on the square, breaking up encampments, making arrests, brutally beating some, and firing tear gas into the crowd, despite Al Essawy’s objection, he claimed.

Just a day before the incident, secular and Islamist groups had been gathering in the tens of thousands calling for a ‘Friday of One Demand.’ Protesters called on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to honour its promise to leave power. The brutal attack on the peaceful protesters triggered a new wave of protests. Thousands of demonstrators took to Mohammad Mahmoud Street, which leads to the Interior Ministry. Clashes between the armed security forces and protesters continued until November 24, 2011 leaving 45 dead and hundreds injured in what is called the ‘Mohammad Mahmoud Massacre.’

“I decided to leave the ministry when I saw police brutality and violent attacks against revolutionaries,” Abu Gazi said. “The army ordered security forces to shoot demonstrators. The cabinet, the prime minister and even the interior minister was not informed about this decision, as if the police officers were not under his control.”

Abu Gazi added: “I was not the only one who decided to resign as a number of ministers did so. Some of them announced their intentions and others didn’t. Al Essawy came to the Cabinet headquarter with his resignation in his pocket. Also, Ahmad Al Borai, the minister of manpower, Hazem Al Beblawi, the finance minister, and Ali Al Selmy, vice-prime minister, all insisted to resign.”

Abu Gazi expressed his regret for not resigning 40 days earlier when, on October 9, 2011, Coptic Christians demonstrated in front of the Egyptian state television building (Maspero). They and other brave demonstrators were attacked by thugs and security forces. More than 20 people were killed and hundreds were injured in what is called ‘Maspero Massacre.’

“Many of us submitted our resignations then, but neither Sharaf nor military chief Mohammad Tantawi [the then head of SCAF] accepted them and convinced us to backtrack. But the situation in ‘Mohammad Mahmoud Massacre’ was flagrant.”

Touching on the relationship between the West and the Muslim Brotherhood, Abu Gazi said that the US helped the group consolidate power. “The Muslim Brotherhood has been historically backed by the West. They received a donation of 500 pounds from the Suez Canal Company [then-owned by the British government] in the 1920s.”

He added that the group established connections with the British embassy in Cairo in 1954, behind the back of the late president Jamal Abdul Nasser. “It is not suprising that they have deep ties with the US and the West.”

— Ayman Sharaf is a journalist based in Cairo