Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, was featured on Press TV News Analysis on June 2, 2012 to discuss the verdicts against former President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and other leading officials of his regime. People protested the verdicts., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Egypt’s junta closely allied with US, Israel: Analyst
To watch the interview with Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire in Detroit, that aired on June 2, 2012, just click on the URL below:
http://presstv.com/detail/2012/06/03/244392/egypt-junta-close-ally-of-us-israel/
Tens of thousands of Egyptians have staged massive protests across the country against the life sentence issued for the former dictator Hosni Mubarak, describing the ruling as is too lenient.
"Down with military rule!" the protesters chanted in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square on Saturday.
"Either we get justice for our martyrs or we die like them," said the demonstrators, who were outraged after former dictator Hosni Mubarak and his interior minister, Habib al-Adli, were sentenced to life in prison and six police chiefs were acquitted for the murder of protesters during last year's revolution.
Mubarak and the seven other defendants were charged with ordering the killing of nearly 900 protesters during the popular uprising that ousted the dictator on February 11, 2011.
The verdict sparked fierce clashes between the families of the victims and security officials inside the court while angry spectators called the court illegitimate and demanded that Mubarak be executed.
Thousands of people also protested against the verdict in Alexandria and several other Egyptian cities.
Meanwhile at a press conference in Cairo on Saturday, Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi urged Egyptians to continue the revolution.
Morsi, who will face former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in a run-off election on June 16 and 17, said the demonstrators are the only ones who can guarantee a free and fair election and the transfer of power from the ruling junta, which took power after Mubarak was toppled in February 2011.
The following is a rush transcript of Press TV’s interview with Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire in Detroit, about this issue:
Press TV: Let’s talks about the six security officials. Their charges have been dropped. It appears that it is not just. So how was this verdict reached? Because some are speculating perhaps there is some type of political influence that the SCAF exerted on this which puts the question of the validity of the judicial system that reached the verdict.
Azikiwe: There appears to have been strong political influence in regard to this verdict. It is almost reprehensible that Mubarak would be given a life sentence and then of course his two sons, one of whom was supposed to be his heir apparent, have been acquitted along with six security officials who are in fact were in charge of implementing these draconian policies that were carried out last January and February.
It is remarkable, however, that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the other people who are in fact in charge of the political system in Egypt could not have anticipated the public reaction to these verdicts. People have gone out to the streets and demonstrated against the justness of these verdicts and I think these demonstrations will continue.
The problem is that even if Mubarak is given a life sentence, he is already in his mid-eighties. People are already very angry about the outcome as well as the results of the first round of the presidential elections.
It appears as if two political forces that have largely dominated Egypt over the last six decades are now going to be involved in the runoff. The Freedom and Justice Party which is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and of course the military, represented by Ahmed Shafiq.
The turnout for the election was clearly a reflection of discontent. The fact that only 46 percent of electorate came out for the vote is an indication that the people are not satisfied with the direction that things are going politically in Egypt.
Now, of course, these verdicts are going to create even more apprehension leading up to the second round--the runoff to the elections that is going to take place on the 16th and the 17th. So it is still not a situation that bodes well for national reconciliation as well establishing some type of social stability inside Egypt.
Press TV: There is a point that comes up here. It appears that the ruling military council is not taking efforts and steps to purge the system, as the Egyptians are saying, of “the remnants of the old regime.” They are also looking at Omar Suleiman who is of course part of the old regime and of course Ahmad Shafiq. Why is it that the steps are not being taken? Because after all of this still one of them is running for presidency and the other one wanted to run for the presidency and perhaps they can steer directions politically inside Egypt. Not to mention that they are going to influence the Egyptians in one way or another. What is that a reflection of A: them not taking steps to purge the system and B: that these remnants are still there of course different politicians are working with them?
Azikiwe: We can all assume that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces still has a tremendous amount of influence in regard to the overall political system and economic system in Egypt--even if we look at the composition of the Presidential electoral commission.
It is obvious. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, even in announcing the election results, they indicated that the army was the guarantor of the stability and national security of Egypt. This is obviously an unfair situation that we are facing now in Egypt.
You mentioned Omar Suleiman. He was designated by the corporate media in the United States as “the CIA's man in Egypt.”
He (Suleiman) has not been seen at all over the last several months. And this of course is something that is quite surprising to many people who are looking at the situation in Egypt from the outside.
Also if we look at the role of the Egyptian military forces in backing Ahmed Shafiq who many people in Egypt think should have been barred from participating in the national elections because of his connections with the previous military government.
This is a government that has been closely allied with the United States. It is a government that has maintained a separate peace agreement with Israel. It has also supplied natural gas resources from Egypt to Israel. It is a government that does not have a lot of public support inside Egypt itself. So it is going to be really a challenge on the part of the SCAF to maintain any kind of credibility.
Today we have discontent over the recently-held first round of the national presidential elections. We have the continuation of basically the same domestic and foreign policy in regard to the alliances with the military and the role of the military within the Egyptian society and Egypt’s relationship with Israel as well as the United States.
So, all of these are factors need to be taken care of if there is going to be any real stability in Egypt.
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