Egypt's Military Junta Helping Preserve Former Regime's Grip

Photographed by Sayed Shaker

Archived

Fri, 15/07/2011 - 15:16
Courtesy Of "Al-MAsry Al-Youm"

Presidential hopeful Hisham Bastawisi has accused the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) of helping to protect members of the Mubarak regime and aiding the return of the dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP) to power in a new form.

"The SCAF is part of the old system and we should not expect from it revolutionary ideas. We have to convince it to support the revolution's demands through peaceful means," Bastawisi said at a seminar at Ain Shams University Thursday evening.

He added that the revolution's top demand should be to remove former NDP leaders from politics and prevent them from returning, as they are the most experienced politicians and know how to use this experience to their advantage.

Bastawisi said that while revolutions always overthrow regimes, in Egypt the revolution only toppled its head, and then handed power to other regime leaders and hoped that they would be faithful to the demands of the revolution.

"The [military] junta is trying to protect the former regime. What is happening now is an attempt to mobilize people against the revolution by bullying and intimidating citizens," he said, adding that this practice is part of a reprehensible attempt to bring the NDP back into public life.

Bastawisi warned that the military's machinations are an attempt to abort the revolution, stressing that purging state institutions of corrupt members must continue.

He added that the SCAF would only hand power to civilians if "safe exit" mechamism offered for the military was first agreed upon, exempting the military council from any future accountability.

Bastawisi rebuffed calls to apply the Turkish model to Egypt.

"The Turkish model is not suitable for us at all; we need a model that all people agree upon," he said.

The SCAF has run the country since former President Hosni Mubarak stepped down on 11 February.

Thousands of citizens are currently engaging in sit-in protests across the country, demanding the curtailment of the SCAF's authority and the granting of more powers to the civilian government.

Translated from the Arabic Edition