Die Zeit: Egypt's new rulers cannot control the country

German Die Zeit newspaper has published an article stating that Egypt’s coup authorities have failed to stop protests despite the use of force and state repression. Meanwhile, the divisions within the Egyptian society are deepening and political agitation prevails.

The translated version of the German article has been published on Facebook under the title: “After the events of 6 October and under the military coup: Egypt is further polarized and the entire country paralyzed”.

The article said: “Again the shocking and alarming scenes emerge. The scenes that have now become familiar in Egypt: firing live bullets and tear gas at protesters in the streets and in between residential buildings with piles of corpses on the hospitals floors. The Nile country is not calm despite everything the security apparatus has done to stop the protesters fury, using all means of repression and intimidation over the past three months. The Muslim Brotherhood leaders are in prison, President Mohamed Morsi was kidnapped and no one knows his location, the Muslim Brotherhood is banned by law and its funds are confiscated, thousands of demonstrators have been arrested and are suffering horrors inside the prison cellars and more than 10,000 civilians who rejected the coup have been killed by the army and police since 3 July. Yet, despite all this Egypt’s new rulers cannot control the country.”

The article continued: “In Egypt’s Sa’ed, specifically in the Minya and Assiut governorates, both known to be strongholds of the Islamists, the newly appointed governors cannot control the situation there. Tourism has dropped to a tenth of what it was in 2010 and endless companies cannot pay salaries to their employees. The society has been divided and the division has become part of the Egyptians’ daily life. The division has reached the level of family, street, villages and talk shows. The citizens argue as if they were enemies who do not know each other and their debates often end with fights, while the economy continue to collapse. Egypt has never in modern history known such a state of polarization, destruction and paralysis. Discussions have never been held with such intensity and seriousness as they are today.”

The article explained that, “dialogue with the supporters of the coup reveals unrealistic and blind hatred mixed with chauvinistic madness that makes one feel as if the January 2011 revolution never happened and as if the country with 90 million people did not earn its political freedom. The culture of the ruling power in Egypt lacks real will to negotiate and to make concessions that will contain the tension and escalations. Therefore we will continue to watch these endless, ugly and shocking scenes from Egypt as long as that culture remains unchanged.”