Once the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) collapsed and their strategy against Egypt and the Egyptian people was exposed in all its ugliness, Egypt in its entirety—the people, army,
and police—rose to battle the savage war of terror unleashed against them by the MB. The MB leaders were caught, and are being tried in court for the deeds they committed against the nation and the people. Their ethical and political degradation was exposed as their leaders unashamedly resorted to their usual disguise and prevarication; their renunciation of the public seditious and terrorist incitement they had overtly conducted bordered on the ridiculous.
But every cloud has a silver lining. The disgraceful image of the MB heads contributed greatly to the conceptual revision many among the MB youth are undergoing. A number of these young men said they had been lured into the Brotherhood and fed principles that were all about monopolising power, excluding other political streams, and adopting loyalties that defended MB interests even if they went against those of Egypt and the will of the Egyptians. Small wonder then that they were dragged into “burning Egypt”, trouncing Egyptians and demanding help against the Egyptians form outside forces with the objective of restoring the authority they lost. I believe that this faction of MB youth who now reject violence and terrorism represents a political force that warrants invitation to join the national dialogue. They can join the ranks of the various Egyptian political movements currently in the process of implementing the Roadmap for the democratic transition during the upcoming period. There can be no conflict between rooting out terrorists and terrorism, and leaving the door open for all Egypt’s peaceful children to sit to national dialogue.
After justice is served, and the propagators of terrorism pay the fair price for the evil, tyranny and brutality they inflicted upon peaceful Egyptians—whether civilian or members of the police or military—one issue remains. Who settles the bill for the repair of the reckless ruin brought on by the scorched earth exercise the MB and their supporters carried out against Egypt as they resisted the overthrow of their regime then penalised Egyptians for bringing it about?
Throughout one and a half months, Egyptians closely followed the so-called peaceful sit-ins of the MB supporters at the east Cairo quarter of Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, and in the vicinity of Nahda Square in Giza, west of Cairo. They had to live through a dreadful series of demonstrations that roamed the streets and squares of Egypt’s governorates, besides those which surrounded and attacked official State institutions. Egyptians were aghast at the roadblocks and the assault, destruction, looting and burning of churches and monasteries. Mosques, hospitals and schools in the vicinity of the ‘peaceful sit-ins’ also had their fair share of the looting, assault and burning before the ‘peaceful protestors’ left.
Talks on official efforts to clean up the remains and rebuild the ruin of this chaotic assault are now ongoing. The tons of garbage and debris that the demonstrators left behind are to be removed from the sites of the sit-ins; and the ruined streets, sidewalks and gardens will be restored. The means and cost of refurbishing the ruined buildings—be they public or private—will be assessed, along with the losses incurred by civilians whose houses, business or property were plundered. The shocking truth is that the terrorist damage inflicted by the MB on Egypt may be safely likened to that caused by the Barbarians who invaded Egypt during the Middle Ages.
Again, who will settle the repair bill? I cannot see the State treasury, already overburdened by providing for the basic needs of Egyptians and by putting the economy back on track, capable of incurring such a bill. It is thus imperative that the MB leaders who are brought to justice for their evil work against Egypt be made to pay the repair bill. This approach goes perfectly along with the law; the articles of the law that convict terrorism and stipulate retribution stipulate that all means could be resorted to in order to compensate the community for the harm it incurred, in this case as a result of the ‘peaceful sit-ins’ Egypt was forced to host against her will.
WATANI International
1 September 2013