During the transition from the toppled Mubarak regime and Mohamed
Morsi’s inauguration, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF)
military leadership imposed an undemocratic constitution on Egypt that
did not allow for censuring or removing a president whom the majority
of people wanted replaced
Following the election of Morsi, hopes were high that post-Mubarak
Egypt would establish democracy and lift the economy. After a
disastrous year in office, millions were angered and they turned out on
June 30 demanding Morsi’s resignation.
The SCAF seized the opportunity to initiate a coup and arrested Morsi. They are running Egypt despite the appointment
of a president and prime minister. It is General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who makes the proclamations and has the power.
In early July, the SCAF massacred over 50 protesting members of the
Muslim Brotherhood during their sit-in. General al-Sisi then
called for massive demonstrations to support his initiation of a war on
terror, a war on the Muslim Brotherhood, a bloody campaign of
repression, and a return to the Mubarak era status quo. On July
27, scores of Islamist protestors were killed by government security
men.
On July 29, the interim prime minister was given the power to place the
country in a state of emergency and to initiate a crackdown on not just
“terrorists” but religious and secular activism of all kinds. In
addition, the interior ministry announced the resurrection of several
police units responsible for some of the most egregious human rights
violations including secret detentions, torture, and extrajudicial
killings.
While taking no political position on the Muslim Brotherhood, we
condemn the killings by the military regime of Muslim Brotherhood
supporters and the pre-emptive arrests of their leaders. We
oppose the crackdown on protests and dissidents. We oppose the
scapegoating of Palestinians, the destroying of the tunnels to Gaza,
and the closing down of the border crossing at Rafah.
The SCAF represents the same powers that have controlled Egypt and
repressed its people for decades with a military trained by and
beholden to the Pentagon. We do not believe that a military
government will bring democracy or act in the economic, political and
social interests of Egyptians suffering from severe austerity
measures. Anticipating from past actions, the repressive force
now directed against the Brotherhood will be turned on trade unions and
other popular movements and organizations.
•UNAC opposes all U.S. aid to military dictatorships and repressive regimes in Egypt, Israel, Bahrain, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
•We call for the immediate end of shipments of weapons and crowd
control equipment to Egypt and an end to the U.S. government’s annual
$1.3 billion in military aid to the Egyptian military.
