Political meltdown

By Salama A Salama

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Finally, the National Democratic Party (NDP) overcame its hesitation and renewed the state of emergency for two more years. The NDP's parliamentary majority backed the action while opposition parties and civil society groups denounced it. It runs in the face of all the promises President Hosni Mubarak made only a few months ago.

The government is acting as it always did. It has chosen the cheapest and easiest way out. It has dodged, procrastinated and then found the flimsiest of reasons to postpone reforms. Not long ago, the president promised to abrogate emergency laws. And yet the government waited until only a few weeks ago to ask legal experts to draft an anti-terror law. Then it said it couldn't annul the state of emergency until the new law is drafted. Furthermore, the government used sectarian tensions, the recent bombings in Dahab and the capture of suspected groups to convince the nation that it did the right thing. That the recent bombings happened with emergency laws in force seems, to our government, beside the point.

The government acted similarly when it decided to postpone local elections. The elections could have kept the momentum of political activity in the country going. But the government couldn't be bothered to hold them. Aware of how weak the NDP is, the government has decided to backslide both on emergency laws and elections. It is buying time. But how long will it be before the house of cards collapses? The government is still dragging its feet with reforms. Meanwhile, the NDP is still busy trying to restructure itself and infuse new blood into its ranks -- an effort that hasn't borne fruit so far.

Meanwhile, judges have taken to the streets to protest against judiciary regulations as well as the irregularities that occurred in recent elections. The government claimed that disputes in the judiciary community were none of its business. Nonetheless, it worked behind the scenes to divide judges. The government's action may spell the imminent collapse of the judiciary, without which no modern state can operate. One sees no change in the state of professional syndicates, many of which has been under receivership for over 10 years. In campuses across the country, anger has spread over the interference of security services in academic life. All the above are the bitter results of emergency laws.

The government offers nothing but security solutions for the country's political and social problems. At the first sign of anger and dissatisfaction the government resorts to force. In view of this, the National Council for Human Rights has called for limiting the role of security services in matters such as sectarian strife, the judiciary, and Sinai. A recent human development report points out that injustices done to the inhabitants of Sinai resulted in the recent acts of violence. Heavy-handed police tactics have alienated the Bedouin community; a community still barred from police and army services.

The government resorts to force because it has run out of politicians. We have no political figures of worth in this country. Look around you and you will see nothing but old faces, or new ones cloned from the same old faces, minus the experience and leverage.

The renewal of emergency laws is just as senseless as the justifications given for renewal. With political tensions building up, a political meltdown is to be expected. With development stalling, corruption spreading and freedoms quashed, one has little to look forward to.