Month: July 2013
Tick tock
The 48-hour Egyptian army ultimatum expires tomorrow . The military seems to have no intention of removing President Morsi, which would generate a destabilizing Muslim Brotherhood backlash. Instead the army says failure of the politicians to reach an agreement would require the military to impose a road map for future elections, presumably including an early presidential poll. This would be a soft coup. A good part of Morsi’s opposition would welcome an army-imposed road map so long as they could expect it to lead to the end of his presidency. The Cairo stock market rise yesterday suggests the idea is popular also in the business community. Read more
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Ultimatum
In an extraordinary move, the Egyptian army today gave President Morsi a supposedly final warning:
The Armed Forces put everyone on notice that if the demands of the people are not realized in the given time period [48 hours], it will be obliged by its patriotic and historic responsibilities and by its respect for the demands of the great Egyptian people to announce a road map for the future and the steps for overseeing its implementation, with participation of all patriotic and sincere parties and movements — including the youth, who set off the glorious revolution and continue to do so — without excluding anyone.
Ten ministers and several other officials are said to have offered resignations. Read more
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Peace picks July 1-5
Sudden summer doldrums, but a few good picks:
1. Moderating Extremism in Pakistan Working with Women and Youth to Prevent and Resolve Conflict, Women’s Foreign Policy Group, Monday, July 1 / 12:00 pm
Venue: Wilderness Society
1615 M Street, NW Washington, DC
Speaker: Mossarat Qadeem
Mossarat Qadeem founded PAIMAN Alumni Trust, a nonprofit group promoting sociopolitical and economic empowerment of marginalized Pakistanis. With PAIMAN, she established the country’s first center for conflict transformation and peacebuilding, which has helped thousands of young people and women across the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Khyber Pukhtunkwa province to prevent and resolve conflict. Working directly with mothers of radicalized youths, Qadeem helps to rescue young men who are being exploited by extremists and ensures that they receive job training and education to help them to reintegrate into their communities. Qadeem is also the national coordinator of Aman-o-Nisa, a coalition of women leaders throughout Pakistan striving to moderate violent extremism and promote understanding among diverse ethnic, religious, and political groups. Previously, Qadeem taught political science at the University of Peshawar, where she also served as assistant director of the Women’s Study Centre. Qadeem helped found the regional South Asia Women’s Peace Forum and has developed her own training materials on women’s political participation and conflict transformation. She is also a member of the Women Waging Peace Network of The Institute for Inclusive Security, which supports more than 2,000 women leaders around the globe. Qadeem has published two books, written many articles, and produced documentaries on topics including India-Pakistan relations and women’s (particularly mothers’) experiences with conflict and extremism. She holds master’s degrees in international politics and gender and development from the Institute of Social Sciences in the Netherlands. Read more
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Befuddled
Yesterday’s giant demonstrations against Egypt’s President Morsi sent him an unequivocal message: “leave.” Security forces and violence were mostly absent, though my Twitterfeed suggests there was sexual violence in Tahrir. Several Muslim Brotherhood/Freedom and Justice Party facilities were attacked, some with deadly consequences. But the day went about as well as anyone could have hoped.
Now what? Morsi shows no sign of departing. It is not clear who would take over if he did. The army seems unwilling. It did a lousy job when it took over after Hosni Mubarak’s fall. So far as I can tell, there is no vice president under the current constitution, which provides: Read more
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