Mubarak Regarded As Authoritarian
Ruler
By
HAMZA HENDAWI
.c
The Associated Press
CAIRO,
Egypt (AP) - Hosni Mubarak has been the face of Egypt for
nearly a quarter-century. Once seen as a straight-talking air
force general who inspired hope, he is now regarded as an
authoritarian ruler who runs the country like a personal
fiefdom.
But Egyptians aren't likely to follow the examples of Lebanon,
Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan and launch a ``Revolution on the Nile''
anytime soon. That's because most feel the political situation
is beyond their power to change. Apathy - not anger - sums up
the mood here.
Still, a series of small but highly publicized protests in
recent months has made it clear some people are prepared to
push for change. The demonstrations included several by a new
movement of intellectuals and professionals demanding that
Mubarak quit and that his son, Gamal, not be allowed to
replace him.
The movement's name says it all: ``Kifayah,'' Arabic for
``Enough.''
``There is a deeply rooted conviction among Egyptians that
politics is outside their range of interests,'' said
Abdel-Halim Qandil, an outspoken critic and prominent
columnist. ``True, Egyptians silently endure oppression for
long spells of time. But when they have had enough, they erupt
like a cyclone.''
That can be dangerous. In November, after a series of columns
highly critical of the regime, Qandil was briefly kidnapped,
beaten, stripped to his underwear and dumped in a deserted
area outside Cairo. He blames government security agents; no
arrests have been made.
Mubarak's regime has been nowhere as brutal as those of, say,
former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein or the late Syrian leader
Hafez Assad. But it has proven highly efficient in crushing
opponents.
Mubarak, 76, came to power after his predecessor Anwar Sadat
was assassinated in 1981. Even before he took over, his
National Democratic Party practically had a monopoly on
politics. Mubarak tightened the grip by imposing emergency
laws and giving security agencies a free rein in detaining
thousands of Muslim militants, in effect creating a police
state.
Supporters cite the defeat of the Islamic insurgency in the
1990s as one of Mubarak's main achievements, along with
honoring the country's 1979 peace treaty with Israel and
upgrading Egypt's rickety infrastructure.
International and local rights groups complain the price has
been systematic torture and loss of liberties. Street protests
and strikes are officially banned. Moreover, Mubarak's critics
say, he has allowed an extensive web of corruption to ensure
the loyalty of politicians and businessmen.
Humor is one way Egyptians defend themselves from all this,
swapping biting jokes about their president, his family,
government ministers and their own perceived helplessness.
Others fall back on the fatalism Egyptians are known for,
hoping their faith will help.
``It makes no difference to me who is president,'' Shawki
Mahrous, a 42-year-old Cairo taxi driver explained as he
negotiated traffic during Cairo's evening rush hour. ``When I
want to complain, I will not go to the president of the
republic. I will go to God, only to him.''
Sensing their disenfranchisement in a society where knowing
the right people often is more important than a good education
or experience, many Egyptians disdainfully refer to the ruling
establishment - Mubarak, his family, lawmakers and wealthy
businessmen - as ``them.''
``Mahi el-balad baladhom,'' or ``Because the country is
theirs,'' is a phrase often heard from Egyptians reading about
corruption in the opposition press.
Mohammed Fawzi, a Cairo laborer in his mid-40s, puts it this
way: ``They can get on a flight to Switzerland with their
money when things go wrong. But I was born here, will die here
and have nowhere else to go.''
For his part, Mubarak blames Egypt's economic problems on
population growth - Egypt's 72 million people grow by some 1
million a year - and often cites an increase in schools and
telephone lines since he took office as evidence of his
success. He denies he is grooming his son to take over. Gamal
Mubarak, 41, heads a powerful policy-making committee in his
father's party.
``Ruling Egypt is not a picnic. It is not an easy task,'' the
president said in one recent interview. In another, he said:
``To get out of it is not easy. If it was up to me, I would
like to rest.''
Mubarak's assertion in another interview in January that his
son was merely helping him, not being groomed to take over,
proved too much for columnist Qandil. He wrote in the weekly
al-Arabi that the president should apologize for a remark that
undermined the prestige of his high office and made Egypt look
like a family business.
Under internal and U.S. pressure, Mubarak recently asked
parliament to adopt a constitutional change that would open up
this fall's presidential election to more than one candidate.
Parliament approved the change in principal but is still
working on the details. Yet Mubarak will still have a vast
advantage because the conditions for candidacy are likely to
be restrictive and the government controls media access,
critics say.
Omar Ibrahim, 22, is one of many who would like to see Mubarak
go yet does not plan to vote. ``Anyone else, I don't care who,
will be a welcome change,'' the engineering student said.
So far Mubarak has only one challenger, Ayman Nour, an
opposition leader recently released from prison on bail. He is
accused of forging signatures to obtain a license for his
party.
State-controlled media portray Mubarak as something of a
deity, a pair of safe hands without which Egypt would plunge
into strife and despair.
``Anyone who takes over in a system that allows dictatorship
will be a dictator,'' said Alaa al-Aswani, a political
commentator and one of Egypt's better-known novelists. ``If
Tony Blair could get away with making his son prime minister,
he would.''
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