Readers' corner

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Enjoying the quiet

Sir-- I believe Amira Howeidy's 'Lessons learned' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 1-7 December) is more of the sad and sorry tale of a ruling party so complacent that it failed to focus on the real goal of achieving a credible and convincing win to regain its legitimacy. Oppositions, legitimate or otherwise, don't win elections; governments lose them, and although the NDP will not lose, its base is now eroded enough as to make it so vulnerable next time around that it better start working from now on its so far pathetic approach to what promises to be a fairly serious situation not only to its survival but to Egypt's well-being.

As for the Muslim Brotherhood parliament members-elect, you have been elected to serve us and your legitimacy is derived from the will of the Egyptian electorate which should be your only guide.

Reda Wassef
Sydney
Australia

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Steady but slow

Sir-- The parliamentary elections come at a time when the whole nation aspires to democracy and pluralism, in order to create a genuine democratic atmosphere, promote awareness of political issues and push forward for more reforms. This has been accompanied with an open discussion of previously taboo subjects which encouraged greater independence and professionalism in the media.

The election results, despite some irregularities, represent a dramatic shift in public opinion. It proved that the Muslim Brotherhood has a social and political presence, peerless organisational capabilities and a highly intelligent way of reading the political scene with room for manoeuvrability in times of crisis. The ruling NDP and the state have become one entity with the old guard dominating the party and holding on to their positions. Moreover, the weakness of the opposition parties made them the biggest casualty, leaving prominent and leading figures out in the cold. There is also a huge silent majority which has turned its back on the elections, refusing to take part in spite of repeated assurances and promises ensuring transparency and fairness.

The winds of change are still blowing slowly and sometimes sluggishly. Building a fine and strong democracy is not an easy goal. But I think the picture is not so black because the wheels of change will not reverse. There are unprecedented developments whose importance cannot be diminished. President Mubarak categorically denied that his son is president-in- waiting. We saw demonstrators express their views freely. There is significant progress in the press, more privately-owned outlets with a new dynamism and with a larger margin for debate. The most meaningful was when the government started a positive policy towards the Muslim Brotherhood. I know all these developments are not enough but they are great achievements when compared with the last century.

Alaa Abdel-Hakim
Assiut
Egypt

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Almost all gone

Sir-- Concerning 'The truth you don't hear' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 1-7 December) when is the Palestinian leadership going to come to their senses and ask for implementation and enforcement of UN Resolution 181? They've negotiated and discussed our rights away. The only thing left to discuss and negotiate is our self-respect.

Ghazy Kader
Washington
USA

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Worse off

Sir-- In 'Foot-dragging forebodes Darfur peace' ( Al-Ahram Weekly, 1-7 December) Gamal Nkrumah's justification of the "international community's" bias in favour of the split of Darfur rebels is off-point. The peoples of Darfur are ultimately worse off due to the armed uprising of the rebel groups. Development never grows out of the barrel of a gun. It is Western countries and not the international community as a whole who are biased in favour of the Darfur rebels.

Moreover, the "unresolved economic and social problems of underdevelopment in Sudan generally, and in Darfur in particular" are endemic to Africa as a whole and not specific to Darfur. The same countries who are lamenting the misery of Darfur did not react in a similar manner to Sudan's 50-year civil war and are not reacting in a similar magnitude to the famine in Niger, the contemporary plight of the displaced Western Saharans or to the worrying escalation of tension between Eritrea and Ethiopia amongst many other examples.

There is a problem of marginalisation in Darfur but perhaps Darfur's exiled former political representatives should explain why under their (mis)management, the peoples of Darfur did not particularly benefit and an atmosphere of banditry, violence and lawlessness was allowed to fester.

Hamza Harun
An-Nuhoud
Sudan