I never imagined as I followed the activities of the climate change conference COP27 in Sharm al-Sheikh in 6 – 18 November, that there would be hidden intentions to politicise the conference and hijack its declared agenda. Together with many others, I followed the COP27 sessions, eager to learn their outcome vis-à-vis climate change and pollution, also cooperation of rich countries with developing nations to finance the climate loss and damage incurred by developing countries. I was astounded to see the discussion panels and press conferences held on the sideline of the convention hacked by people who raised rights issues with the intention of embarrassing the Egyptian regime; the issues in question did not even warrant being raised, given that they had been already determined by Egypt’s judiciary. So the efforts by rights activists during COP27 appeared to be no more than attempts to undermine Egyptian sovereignty and law, hoping to twist the arm of Egyptian authorities into releasing individuals already convicted by law and spending their terms in prison. These attempts failed.
At first, I thought these attempts to be no more than some arbitrary COP27 infiltration that would soon be contained, till it was obvious that the matter went beyond individual venture. It was more of a premeditated organised plan to swell the case in question into a human rights and freedom of expression issue. This was obvious once British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak advocated for the case, then packed off in disappointment and left Sharm al-Sheikh once his advocacy failed.
This was not the only issue, however, that cast a shadow on COP27. Under the motto 11/11, calls surfaced for protest on 11 November against President Sisi and the Egyptian regime. This, coincidental with COP27, fostered a climate of wary anticipation in Sharm al-Sheikh and all over Egypt. But as 11 November drew nearer, Egyptian sovereign apparatuses revealed one of the worst conspiracies that targeted Egypt’s sovereignty and stability. It turned out that what everybody thought was a futile attempt by the Muslim Brothers (MB) to work unrest in Egypt through violent demonstrations was much bigger than that. MB activists were but the cat’s paw employed for a diabolic scheme nurtured by US intelligence apparatuses to destabilise Egypt and jeopardise its security.
I admit that I was shocked to learn that, yet I can blame no one but myself for my credulity. I have for long believed and written that politics is a dirty unpredictable game. I have also long said that the US can only be trusted as far as its own strategic interests are concerned, but that given the chance, it has no qualms about conspiring against our country and damaging it. So there was the US weaving the 11/11 conspiracy which we erroneously thought was the work of the MB.
We thank the Lord for protecting Egypt from all harm. We extend our profound thanks and gratitude to the Egyptian leadership and its intelligence apparatus, and bow in respect to its armed forces; all of them represent the strong shield that protects our Egypt and its good people. Thanks to their vigilance and wisdom, they were able to halt the conspiracy in its tracks, crack down on those who were party to it, and secure the nation. Hats off for the wisdom and resolve of the Egyptian leaders in the face of the crisis. They calmly and quietly went ahead with the preparations to receive American President Joe Biden who arrived at Sharm al-Sheikh on 11 November. The Egyptian leadership refrained from expressing deserved resentment and condemnation of the American conspiracy. The Egyptians only sent a meaningful message to the US administration when President Sisi refrained from receiving his American counterpart at the Sharm al-Sheikh Airport, sending in his stead Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala Elsaid.
President Biden’s visit to Egypt was the embodiment of the Arabic proverb: “If you have no shame, do whatever you wish.” President Biden was fully aware of the conspiracy that was being woven against Egyptian sovereignty, and also knew that it was exposed and aborted. Yet he had no qualms about going ahead with his visit, feigning angelic behaviour and uttering a bunch of flowery declarations of the type: “Egypt is mother of the world, and is the best place to host the climate change summit; Egypt is the stronghold of security and stability in the Middle East; we are keen on dialogue with Egypt, and I am eager for constructive participation in the climate summit; Egypt has taken an important stance on the Ukraine crisis, and we aspire for stronger relations with Egypt.”
My only reply to President Biden is another Egyptian saying: “I hear your words and I believe you, but I see your deeds and they confound me”.
Watani International
16 November 2022