Antonia Dimou

THE ARAB SPRING:
A REGION IN TRANSITION**

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“Egypt will Honor its Peace Treaty with Israel”

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INTERVIEW WITH Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Shaker

Conducted by Antonia Dimou

1. In your own opinion, what is the reason of the mass wave of protests and of the sectarian crisis which has suddenly emerged in Egypt, in an unprecedented manner?

It is a combination of factors. With regard to the mass wave of protests, groups of different professions and government employees asked for an increase in their salaries and privileges. These groups are taking advantage of the revolution to improve their lot. As to the sectarian crisis it was triggered, in my view, by an accusation to the Coptic Church that it has withheld a married Coptic lady who allegedly converted to Islam and without knowing her whereabouts. This case led to a number of attacks on Churches including an attack on 7^th May against another church for similar reasons. There is an accumulation of other allegations such as that certain positions in the government are exclusively reserved for Muslims.

2. The pace of change in Egypt has been extraordinary, and a step-by-step transition to democracy and renewed stability has great public and regional appeal. Is Egypt ready for democratic reforms this quickly or is it your sense that this will be a decades’ long process?

Egypt is ready for democratic reforms after more than 30 years of President Mubarak’s era. It will be a quick process, and to give you an example, elections for legislative bodies will be conducted in September followed by presidential elections in November. These elections would require a new constitution that has to be worked out in the meantime and be put to a referendum. So as you can see, we are in a rush.

Some are advocating for a slower pace that would allow also the formation of new political parties with membership open to the youth who triggered the whole revolution. It is feared that if elections were to be held by the end of the year, the old political parties on the scene and the former members of the National Democratic Party which has been dissolved as well as the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi Muslims will all have the upper hand in these elections. Therefore, there are voices addressed to the Higher Council of the Armed Forces to remain in power a little bit longer to allow the political national mosaic to take shape.

3. According to regional experts, the massive wave of protests in Egypt set off a chain reaction that has blown up the entire region, and has engulfed most of the states of North Africa and the Middle East, with spreading effects into countries like Libya and Syria. That said, how is what is happening in the neighbourhood being seen by the Egyptians at the moment and how is it affecting Egypt?

In my view and without interfering in the internal policies of other Arab nations, what is happening around us in the Arab world is welcomed by Egyptians who are proud to see that their revolution had an impact on other sister nations. I must also admit that Tunisia was ahead of us. It may have not been a factor in our revolution but it was an indicator that time had come for drastic change in the region. Egyptians are satisfied that other Arab nations are moving ahead as well. It gives Egyptians a great sense of comfort and accomplishment.

4. On Sunday 20, 2011, Egyptians voted 77 per cent in favour for a swift return to civilian rule. Specifically, more than 14 million Egyptians approved the constitutional amendments intended to guide Egypt through new presidential and parliamentary elections within six months. Will these changes go far enough in overhauling the Mubarak-era charter, or is there need for additional changes to be introduced so that the Mubarak-era is completely rewritten?

The vote was a prelude and an appetizer for more to come as I have already indicated. The amendments of the constitution present just the beginning for a whole review of the constitution and the making of a new one.

5. Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Nowadays, there are concerns whether the new president-to-be in Egypt will honour the peace treaty with Israel or whether it needs to be revised at best, or scrapped at worst. What is your opinion?

I must assert here that one of the very first statements issued by the Higher Council of the Armed Forces was to assure the world community that Egypt will honor all the treaties it is party of. Therefore, this statement should be read as that Egypt will honor its peace treaty with Israel. In case there is need for change or amendments, it goes without saying that they will have to be agreed upon a mutual basis.

6. Egypt has traditionally played a major and catalytic role between Israel and the Palestinians towards the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this context, after years of dispute, rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah recently signed an Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation agreement in Cairo, which provides a timeframe for legislative and presidential elections and calls for the formation of an interim government. That said, how do you evaluate Egyptian mediation and what are the primary reasons behind the timing of the agreement along with the possibilities and challenges ahead on the regional and international levels?

The Egyptian mediation was critical in reaching the agreement between the Palestinian factions. Egypt was involved for years in negotiating a reconciliation agreement and I believe the revolution in Egypt has prompted the Palestinians to benefit from the new climate that has emerged as a result of this revolution. Palestinians, especially those living in Gaza, are encouraged by the reopening of the Rafah crossing which I believe has also contributed to this new atmosphere.

7. The Muslim Brotherhood, the popular Islamic movement long banned from politics by former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, recently announced that it has formed a political party that will put forward candidates in parliamentary elections scheduled for upcoming September, but it will refrain from participating in the presidential election, expected two months later. That said, is the chief political platform of the new party consistent with the agenda of democratization and reform and in what ways do you predict that the new party will become more actively involved in the emerging new state of politics and governance in Egypt?

Let me say at the outset that a significant dichotomy exists in the establishment of a party by the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood has existed for many years but not developed into an association according to Egyptian Law. Therefore, for the Muslim Brotherhood leadership to form a new party it has to conform to national regulation. The new party will probably be active in Parliament. As promised, the party will run for 50% of the seats in Parliament and will be satisfied if it gets between 25% and 30% of the seats. It is not going to be the first time for the Muslim Brotherhood in Parliament. The Muslim Brotherhood was in parliament for the 2005-2010 term, as independent. This time it will be represented as a party, and it will have to perform according to the constitution now in the making.

* Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Shaker is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, Chairman of the Board of the Regional Information Technology Institute and Vice-Chair of the Board of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs. Dr. Mohamed Shaker held the position of Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Kingdom (1988-1997) and was the Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Court of St. James. He was Ambassador to Austria and member of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna (1986-1988).

He also held a number of positions at the UN, including UN Deputy Permanent Representative (1984-1986), member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters (1993 – 1998), Chair of the Advisory Board for 1995, and member of the UN Expert Group on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education (2001-2002). He holds a degree in Law from Cairo University and a PhD in Political Science from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, University of Geneva.

** SOURCE: Middle East Observer, Issue #4, Vol. 2, March-June 2011