A coup can be described as “an illegal and overt attempt by the military or other elites within the state apparatus to unseat the sitting executive (Powell and Thyne 2011).”
The military coup of 2013 in Egypt not only saw the overthrow of the then president Mohamed Morsi by a coalition led by Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi but also the rupturing of relations between the army and the Muslim Brotherhood whose ascension to power was earlier supported by the army. Although the Egyptian president is the chief commander of forces, the army has always been independent of the civil governments and one of the reasons for the overthrow of the Morsi government was his attempt to take some of the powers from the army. The 2013 overthrow of the first democratically elected government in Egypt led by Morsi called a coup and a democratic transition depending on the affiliations of the people describing it. While Morsi and his supporters called it a coup, the military called it an effort at ‘national reconciliation’. At a televised news conference after the removal of Morsi, General Sisi announced that the military had no interest in politics but had to remove Morsi because he failed to fulfil ‘ the hope for a national consensus’ (KirkPatrick 2013).
Reasons for the coup
Many reasons have been attributed to the coup which ousted Morsi from power. The major reason was the people’s protest against the year long rule by Morsi during which Egypt went through a series of economic and diplomatic crisis. The lack of security for women and minorities as well as energy shortages also led people to protest against Morsi’s rule. Although Morsi and his Muslim brotherhood were not responsible for the economic plight of Egypt and was rather a result of the shoddy economic practices of the earlier Mubarak regime, the people were expecting a miracle after the revolution which overthrew Mubarak. Although Mubarak was overthrown, many state apparatus were still manned by Mubarak loyalists. Another reason for the dip in Morsi’s popularity was his decision to make constitutional amendments (Spencer 2012). make declarations that granted him power to appoint the public prosecutor as well as making his decisions final (English Version 2012). His decisions could not be appealed till a new constitution was framed or till a new people’s assembly was elected. Morsi also proceeded to fire officials from the previous regime and the judiciary which earned him a few enemies. Morsi used his allies and party members to pass the constitution and although an overwhelming majority approved it, only 30% of people with voting rights in Egypt had voted in the referendum. Secularists, liberal parties and church representatives abstained from voting. There were also threats against the Christian community to stop them from voting against Morsi (Egyptian Churches 2012). Morsi had also planned to cut down government subsidies in the energy and power sector in return for a loan from the IMF and which if implemented would have seen the rise of food, gas and electricity (Egypt to Issue 2013).
Morsi’s diplomatic failures included the problem with Ethiopia constructing a dam over the Nile which would have affected water supply to Egypt. Moreover security under Morsi’s rule was questioned with the killing of 16 border guards in Sinai and the abduction of Egyptian security people (Abducted Egyptian 2013). With Morsi declaring that his decisions would be final and the acceptance of IMF loans for developmental process, the economic interests of the army was threatened. The army in Egypt for long had not only been in charge of the security of the country but was also involved in many economic interests such as construction, energy, air and maritime transport and environmental projects. Decision making under civilian rule would have undoubtedly taken away much of the power from the army and this was not acceptable for an institution which had long been autonomous of the civilian governments. Morsi was also accused of orchestrating a dictatorial one party state in Egypt from the army as well as the people. Since he was from the Muslim brotherhood, Morsi appointed previously convicted terrorists in high positions and also called for the release of Al-Qaida terrorists in the US custody. He also covertly encouraged fighters against the Egyptian army in Sinai, was willing to give up disputed lands to Islamic militants near Khartoum and was close to waging a war against the Assad regime in Syria. The support for Islamic extremism is said to be another decisive factor in general Sisi deciding to overthrow Morsi (Raymond 2014).
The Coup
On the 28th of June 2013, a series of protests started against president Morsi led by anti-Morsi demonstrators as well as by Tamrod, a grassroots movement that developed in Egypt in protest to the election of Morsi as president. The protests started in major cities of the country such as Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan and Ghabriya. These protests served as a build up to the major protest march on the 30th which was exclusively called for by Tamrod. The situation got complicated when pro-Morsi demonstrators started their own protests in Nasr city. There were reports of pro-Morsi supporters threatening the Christian community with death if they were to support the anti-Morsi supporters. Tamrod even claimed that it had collected over 22 million signatures that called for the stepping down of Morsi from power. On the day of the protest march called by tamrod, over 14 million people gathered across the country asking Morsi to give up power. The protesters accused Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood of hijacking the people’s revolution and using it to further their political cause and create an Islamic state. The state police also joined the protesters and called for Morsi to get down from power. Renewed violence against the supporters of Morsi and others saw the demolishing of the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Mokatam and the death of eight people (Egypt Protesters 2013).
The first to give Morsi an ultimatum to quit from office was Tamrod and they asked Morsi to step down from office on the 2nd of July. Following the ultimatum issued by Tamrod, the army also gave Morsi an ultimatum to step down from power in 48 hours and meet the demands of the protesters. The day also saw four of Morsi’s ministers resigning from office. Tourism minister Hisham Zazou , Communication and IT minister Atef helmi, Khaled Abdul Al, State minister for environment and Hatem Bagato, minister for parliamentary affairs quit leaving Morsi with ministers from just his allied parties (Werr 2013). The first of July saw more protests and more ministers from Morsi’s cabinet resigning. These included the presidential spokesperson as well as the spokesman for the cabinet. At this stage, Morsi had more support on the street than from people in his cabinet or his party. The pro-Morsi supporters and other members were however not a match for the combined force of the army as well as the anti-Morsi supporters on the street. Morsi made an announcement on the second of July telling the army and the people that he would not resign and that he would protect the legitimate power of the presidency with his life. He claimed that he was a democratically elected leader and that the military could not force or threaten him into stepping down from his constitutional duties.
The third of July was when the actual coup took place. People on the streets expected fresh violence to break out as the deadline set by the army had expired and Morsi still had not resigned as the president. Clashes between the pro and anti-Morsi supporters were reported from around the country. Close to the deadline Morsi relented from his position and agreed to form a consensus government. but before this the protesters against Morsi had met with the military representatives and had called for swift action. At the end of the day, the military took over and arrested Morsi. General Sisi also announced that he would be calling for new presidential elections as well as elections for Shura-the upper house of the Egyptian parliament. The existing Shura council was dissolved and Sisi appointed Chief justice Adly Mansour as the interim president. General Sisi issued a statement saying that Morsi’s statement the previous day failed to meet with the demands of the people and that bowing to the need of the people the army was taking over control of the Egyptian government. Morsi’s arrest set the tone for more arrests of leaders from the Freedom and Justice party as well as leaders from the Muslim brotherhood. Morsi was placed under house arrest and severe travel restrictions was placed on him.Morsi as well as the leaders from the allied parties condemned the arrests and called the military coup deplorable. It was not only the political leaders who were arrested but also Morsi supporters on the street and in the media. Journalists sympathetic to Morsi were arrested together with Morsi sympathisers in the government. The arrests signified that the army was quite determined to remove any vestiges of power from the Muslim Brotherhood and their march towards making Egypt a state under Islamic law.
The aftermath
Morsi’s arrest and the military takeover of power did not mean that the violence on the streets ended. The coup was far from bloodless and a lot of people on both the sides lost their lives along with the policemen who were sent to control the clashes. Although the Muslim brotherhood asked the protesters to protest peacefully and called for no violence, there were many instances of violent clashes among the pro and anti-Morsi groups with hundreds of people losing their lives. Although the army had given permission for peaceful protest by the Muslim brotherhood, many reporters covering the protests said that the army had shot, wounded and killed many protesters. The military government also put a lot of restrictions on people entering from Syria as it suspected Syrians fighters of supporting the pro-Morsi supporters. The arrests of members and leaders of the Muslim brotherhood continued with the army coming down heavily on anyone who were involved with the party or Morsi.
One of the worst military offensive against Morsi and his supporters happened on the 14th of August. The army raided two camps set up by pro -Morsi protesters and started indiscriminate shooting. Although the army claimed that they first used water to disperse the crowds , later reports showed that they fired first. Accounts on the number of deaths vary with the military claiming the deaths were in hundreds while the Muslim brotherhood claimed that the deaths were in excess of two thousand. Amnesty international and other human rights groups also put the death toll at over a thousand and called for official investigation into the killings of the protesters. While there were many clashes among pro and anti-Morsi protesters there were also increased violence against Coptic Christians in the country. The Christians had supported the army in the coup and the violence was largely believed to be a result of that. Civilians and leaders of the Coptic Christian community were killed with masked men opening fire on churches and other places where the Christians gathered. clashes between the military and the protesters continued even after a year of the coup and in 2014, the military had to start an operation called Operation Sinai which was aimed at putting down the Islamic militants operating in the country. the same year, there was a referendum and over 98% of people voted for a change in the constitution. Sisi was also elected as the president of the country in June 2014.
The military has had an increased role in the security as well as the domestic affairs ever since the overthrow of Morsi as well as Sisi becoming the President. Soon after Sisi had assumed office the defence ministry was awarded many infrastructure and developmental projects from the ministries of health and transportation. The choice was justified by the cabinet of ministers as they claimed that the military was more efficient and had high standards in clearing the projects than the private operators. Although the military’s involvement in civilian projects and the economy of the country is nothing new in Egyptian history, the scale and size of the projects have made it stand out. The army also has contracts to build new housing projects with the help of the UAE government. The amount of money involved in these projects have raised questions over the accountability of the army to the state as well as the public. Since the army officials could only be investigated and ruled by the jUdges in the army, there is little transparency in how the projects are carried out or if there had been any instances of bribe taking by the officials. The tax benefits enjoyed by the army also mean that the civilian and the other state agencies competing for the same infrastructure projects do not stand much chance against the army. In April 2014, the government approved a law that restricts the right of third parties to challenge business and real estate contracts signed with the state. That right is now reserved for the government, the institutions involved in the deal, and business partners. Although the government justified this law as a way to encourage foreign investment, the action’s potential to diminish oversight and accountability looms large (Morsy 2014).
One of the notable improvements under the military rule after the overthrow of the Morsi government is the improvement in women’s rights in the country. Women have largely participated in the protest against the Morsi government and have also played an important role in the referendum of 2014. Also President Sisi’s visit to one of the women harassed in the Tahrir square protests was the first in the country’s history where a president visited a victim of abuse. New laws have also been enacted in the new constitution that gives women more rights and also citizenship rights for anyone born in Egypt. Although the condition of women are much better under the military rule than they were during Morsi’s rule, commentators say that it will be some time before any visible changes could be seen in a country like Egypt (Are Egypt’s Women 2014). The military has also given the death sentence to Morsi as well as his political supporters. Although it will take sometime for the verdict to come into effect and might not even happen it is a clear signal that the military is sending to the Muslim brotherhood as well as any Islamic fundamentalists who want to operate out of Egypt.
The threat of Islamic fundamentalism is a major factor for the military to take control of the Egyptian government. Egypt after Saudi Arabia and Israel is one of the important allies of the US in the region and also receives a lot of aid from the country. The military then needs to curtail the Islamic fundamentalists in order to remain an ally of the US as well as maintain peace within its borders. It also needs to tread cautiously within the country as the people have huge expectations for a better economy as well as political stability in the country. Rising tensions in the countries surrounding Egypt also play an important role in shaping the political decisions made by the military. Since Egypt shares borders with many countries and also receives a lot of refugees from Palestine, there is an high instance of immigration which places a lot of stress on the Egyptian economy. Since the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in 2011, the SCAF, Supreme Council of the Armed Forces have taken power over Egypt except the time when Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood were in power. Egypt is no stranger to military rule and the army has always had a powerful and autonomous role to play in the country. With the election of Sisi, Egypt is returning to a semblance of normalcy both in the economic and political sphere. The overthrow of Morsi government in 2013 brought in an unprecedented level of political violence in Egypt. Even the UN mentioned that these attacks were the most brutal in recent history. The US however changed its policy of not sending aid to a military government in the case of Egypt. Insurgency has increased in Egypt and the military government has come down brutally on all the insurgents. Along with the Islamic fundamentalists there also have been instances of violence against any opposition to the current military rule. Mubarak and Morsi lost power because they were either dictatorial or tried to be a dictator. They were thrown by popular protest and revolution of the people who were not expecting strict Islamic laws to govern them but economic growth and stability. The military has so far governed with a level of reform compared to the previous governments, although it is too early to Judge the governance of the military government.
Although the country is relatively stable under the military rule, Egypt is still boiling underneath and straining under the tension between the military and the supporters of Morsi and the Muslim brotherhood. The military as a result of the coup has become more powerful than ever and is influential in the internal as well as external affairs of the country. The current state of the country is influenced by the pressured from the US, terrorist threats from the local Islamists as well as fighters from the region. The military government thus has a long road ahead in bringing peace and stability to the region.
References
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Morsy, Ahmed, 2014. The Military Crowds out Civilian Businesses in Egypt. Available from: http://carnegieendowment.org/2014/06/24/military-crowds-out-civilian-business-in-egypt. [20 April 2015]
Are Egypt's women really better off under Sisi?2014. Available from: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/egypt-women-status-sisi-rule-muslim-brotherhood.html#. [20 April 2014]
