End of the state of emergency in Egypt | Repression is likely to continue

The President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, announced earlier this week that he did not intend to renew the state of emergency in force for four years in the country, arguing that it had become “An oasis of security and stability”.

Marc Thibodeau
Press

The decision is a step forward, but does not mean that the repressive policies carried out under the leadership of the controversial leader are now a thing of the past, warn analysts interviewed by Press.

Amr Magdi, a Middle East and North Africa specialist attached to Human Rights Watch, believes that the lifting of the state of emergency, put in place in 2017 following terrorist attacks targeting Christians, represents essentially a “cosmetic” measure.

In theory, it should greatly limit the powers of the security forces, since they were given the right to detain suspects almost indefinitely, to monitor the private communications of the population and to prohibit gatherings with little or no judicial oversight.

The problem, notes Mr. Magdi, is that the Egyptian regime has adopted “dozens” of repressive laws that will remain in place despite the end of the state of emergency, and thus ensure that the authorities retain great latitude. to act.

The Human Rights Watch representative points out that President Sisi notably endorsed a law against demonstrations in 2013 that led to the arrest of tens of thousands of people.

In 2015, another law to be used to “confront terrorism” was passed. It includes a very broad definition of terrorism allowing virtually any form of civil disobedience to be included and has been used “exhaustively” to silence critics of the regime.

A strategic announcement

“The security forces will be able to continue the repression without a state of emergency,” summarizes Mr. Magdi, who sees President Sisi’s announcement as a strategy to silence international criticism of his regime.

Seth Binder, advocacy director at Project on Middle East Democracy, an organization in Washington, also believes that the Egyptian regime “can continue its campaign of harsh repression if it wishes.”

Lifting the state of emergency, he says, is “important and necessary” in a country that has seen virtually nothing else for decades, but it is “largely insufficient” to stop the abuses.

The real aim of the Egyptian regime, Judge Binder, is to offer a response to the criticisms of the United States, which recently conditioned the payment of a sum of 130 million US dollars – representing “only” 10% of the total. annual military assistance to the country – to the introduction of certain human rights reforms.

With the arrival of President Joe Biden, Washington has made much of its willingness to put human rights at the heart of its foreign policy and has raised the tone towards Egypt, a longtime ally.

“However, actions did not follow,” notes the analyst, who attributes the relatively timid approach of the administration to the geostrategic importance of Egypt in the Israeli-Palestinian issue as well as to the will of the new administration “not to make waves in the region” with drastic policy changes.

A “deceptive” stability

Amr Magdi notes that the approach of the United States and other European countries, which turns a blind eye to the repressive excesses of the Egyptian regime while continuing to sell it arms and finance large loans, does not bode well. Well.

The Egyptian president had argued to the people that his muscular security approach would ensure the economic development of the country and would benefit them, but this “Faustian pact” has failed and a large number of Egyptians continue to languish in poverty while being deprived of fundamental freedoms.

The situation is likely to fuel new generations of extremists, warns Mr. Magdi. “The stability of the country is deceptive. It hides a boiling kettle that can explode unexpectedly, ”he says.

Mr. Binder also believes that the tolerance shown by Washington and other countries for human rights abuses in Egypt is misguided and could pave the way for new crises.

“We are recreating the same ineffective policies that have persisted for decades,” he laments.