What do Egypt 's
generals want?
The January 2011 revolution
challenged that 1954 status quo in many ways.
The revolutionaries did clash
with a 21st Century junta: the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf).
…
After the removal of Mubarak in
February 2011, the Scaf had a minimum of three demands it insisted on: a veto
in high politics, independence for the army's budget and economic empire, and
legal immunity from prosecution on charges stemming from corruption or repression.
…
What do Egypt 's
generals fear?
…
One way to maintain internal
cohesion is to create "demons" - a lesson learned from the
"dirty wars" in Algeria
in the 1990s and Argentina
in the 1970s and 1980s.
…
The July coup is a backward step
for democratic civilian-military relations
Even more worrying are its
regional implications.
The message sent by the coup to Libya , Syria ,
Yemen
and beyond is that of militarising politics: only arms guarantee political rights,
not the constitution, not democratic institutions and certainly not votes.
In the end, what remains certain
is that no democratic transition is complete without targeting abuse,
eradicating torture, ending exclusion, and annulling the impunity of security
services, with effective and meaningful civilian control of both the armed
forces and the security establishment.