Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, is a news analyst for various international media outlets globally. His writings and interviews are published around the world., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Interview with Abayomi Azikiwe
Fri Jul 26, 2013 2:18PM GMT
To watch this Press TV World News interview with Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, just click on the website below:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/07/26/315683/egypt-military-serves-as-conduit-for-us/
Press TV has conducted an interview with Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan African News Wire, about the United States' claim that the ouster of Egypt’s elected President Mohamed Morsi by the country’s army was not a military coup.
What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.
Press TV: Now this decision although very expected does shed light on the double standards the US applies when it comes to things like democracy and freedom all over the world, doesn’t it?
Azikiwe: Most definitely and it does provide insight as well in regard to the role of the United States in the military seizure of power on July 3rd.
Many people within the Muslim Brotherhood allied organizations have speculated now for several weeks that the United States was either behind the coup or endorsed the military coup d'état but the fact that they would not admit that it is a coup d'état under whatever perverted logic that they are utilizing, indicates that they do support what is going on in Egypt.
The Egyptian military has been subsidized now for well over three decades to the tune of 1.3 billion dollars annually from the tax dollars of the United States working people. Another two hundred million dollars, of course, goes to other forms of assistance to Egypt. They have done joint military operations with the US now for many decades. They were involved in the AWACS program, even back during the 1980s and 1990s.
And now of course with them saying that this is not a military seizure of power will open up for them to break this brief delay in the transfer of four F-16 fighter jets which of course are going to be utilized for US interest. They are not going to be utilized against the enemies of the Egyptian people but utilized against the Egyptian people themselves and other people in the region who are deemed to be working against the interests of US imperialism.
Press TV: One does not have to be a Muslim Brotherhood fan to understand that a lot of this decision has to do with the protection of Israel which the US has made its priority for decades now.
One does have to question then, how long can the US continue to keep holding the people of the Middle East as well as their aspirations hostage for the sake of Israeli interests?
Azikiwe: It depends on the people of the region themselves. When they organize independently, when they take a firm anti-imperialist position in regard to their relationship to the United States as well as the state of Israel, then of course we will see a totally different political atmosphere in Egypt as well as in other countries throughout the region.
But if we have a situation where people are not clear in regard to what the actual role of the United States is in Egypt, they do not have a good class analysis of the role of the military within the Egyptian society, then of course there will be this type of confusion that is going to rein within Egypt as well as other countries throughout the region.
We see that the role of the United States in Egypt has stalled building Egypt as an independent viable society. There's still a lot of economic problems, the problems have worsen as result of the July 3rd military coup and of course they are going to be more dependent on countries that are allied with the US, i.e. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and even the state of Israel in regard to the transfer of natural gas and other operating agreements under the Camp David Accords which was signed in 1979.
Press TV: And very quickly if you can, a lot of the anti-Morsi protesters who welcomed the military coup in Egypt seem to forget for the time being the military aid that the army receives from the US on an annual basis.
Do you think with this decision, this part of US involvement will come to mind again and these people will question whether the military’s and the army’s motives are pure when it comes to Egypt?
Azikiwe: I think it will be a very short period of time before many of the groups who have allied themselves with General al-Sisi will reassess their position and of course take a more independent view of the role of the military as well as the US alliance with the Egyptian military.
The Egyptian military in essence serves as a conduit for US foreign policy not only in Egypt but also throughout North Africa and indeed the entire region of the Middle East because they are formidable political force inside the country and it will take a broad-based alliance to minimize or to overthrow the influence of the military in Egypt.
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