martes, 23 de julio de 2013

EL MUNDO › SNOWDEN REVELO QUE EE.UU. “TRABAJA MANO A MANO CON LOS ALEMANES Y OTROS PAISES OCCIDENTALES”

Cuando nadie se salva del Gran Hermano mundial

Los “aliados” se espían entre ellos, y luego cada uno por su lado espían al mundo; y cuando a alguien se le ocurre denunciar la dictadura tecnológica, se vuelve un delincuente. El ex agente de la NSA se sumó a la lista de Manning y Assange.
 Por Eduardo Febbro
Desde París
Un momento tan exquisito de hipocresía, cinismo, sumisión, violación del Derecho internacional, abuso del poder tecnológico y paternalismo occidental merece un lugar destacado en la historia humana. El episodio infamante que condujo a que el avión del presidente Evo Morales fuese bloqueado en Viena en base a un rumor infundado lanzado por España y según el cual el ex miembro de la Agencia Nacional de Seguridad de Estados Unidos (NSA), Edward Snowden, se encontraba a bordo es la consecuencia de una cacería humana lanzada por Occidente en nombre de un nuevo delito: la información. En contra de todas las reglas internacionales, Francia, Italia, España y Portugal le negaron el acceso a sus espacios aéreos al avión presidencial boliviano. Querían capturar al hombre que reveló cómo Washington, a través de su dispositivo Prism, espía las comunicaciones telefónicas, los correos electrónicos, las páginas Facebook, los fax y Twitter del todo el planeta, incluidos los de sus propios aliados europeos. Según asegura el presidente austríaco Heinz Fischer en una entrevista publicada ayer por el diario Kurier, el avión del presidente boliviano no fue controlado. Fischer afirma que “no hubo control científico. No había ninguna razón para hacerlo a causa del Derecho internacional. Un avión presidencial es un territorio extranjero y no puede ser controlado”.
Los dirigentes del Viejo Continente apenas levantaron la voz cuando se reveló al alcance masivo del programa de espionaje norteamericano Prism. Y se entiende por qué: pocos días después, el vespertino francés Le Monde contaba cómo Francia hace lo mismo con su Big Brother nacional. “La totalidad de nuestras comunicaciones son espiadas. El conjunto de los e—mails, SMS, los listados telefónicos, los accesos a Facebook y Twitter son conservados luego durante años”, escribe Le Monde. En une entrevista publicada este fin de semana por el semanario alemán Der Spiegel, el informático Edward Snowden contó que “la NSA norteamericana trabaja mano a mano con los alemanes y los otros países occidentales”. El ahora ex agente de la NSA precisa que ese espionaje conjunto se lleva a cabo de manera que se “pueda proteger a los dirigentes políticos de la indignación pública”. En suma, los “aliados” se espían entre ellos y luego, cada uno por su lado, espía al mundo y cuando a alguien se le ocurre denunciar la dictadura tecnológica universal éste se vuelve un delincuente. Muchos asesinos, genocidas y ladrones de sus pueblos viven cómodamente exiliados en los países occidentales. Estados Unidos no le negó su protección al ex presidente boliviano, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. Francia tampoco le cerró las puertas al ex presidente de Haití, el traficante de droga y asesino notorio Jean Claude Duvalier, Baby Doc. Pero a Edward Snowden sí. El ministro de Interior francés, Manuel Vals, dijo que en caso de que el agente norteamericano lo solicitara no era “favorable” a acordarle el asilo. Snowden habría recibido una respuesta semejante de más de 20 países.
Con ello, Snowden se ha convertido en el tercer hombre de la historia moderna en ganarse la medalla de perseguido por haber alertado al mundo. Además del mismo Snowden, la galería la componen Bradley Manning, el soldado estadounidense acusado de haber filtrado el mayor número de documentos de la historia militar de los Estados Unidos. En 2010, Manning trabajaba como analista de datos en Irak. Entró en contacto con el hacker norteamericano Adrián Lamo, a quien le dijo que contaba con una base de datos donde se demostraba “cómo el primer mundo explota al tercer mundo”. Manning le entregó la base de datos entera a Julian Assange, quien la difundió a través de Wikileaks. Varios días después Lamo denunció a Bradley ante el FBI. El otro que pagó por hacer circular información es el mismo Assange. Objeto de una turbia historia de sexo, Assange vive desde hace más de un año refugiado en la embajada ecuatoriana de Londres. Decir la verdad sobre cómo somos controlados, engañados, sobre cómo los imperios asesinan (video de Wikileaks sobre el asesinato de civiles en Irak), mutilan y torturan es un crimen que no autoriza ninguna tolerancia.
El pecado de informar es tan grande que hasta Europa se pone de rodillas ante Estados Unidos y llega, colmo de la vergüenza, a bloquear un avión presidencial. Y quienes participan en el complot son las mismas potencias que luego, en las Naciones Unidas, pretenden dar lecciones de moral al mundo. El Ministro francés de Relaciones Exteriores, Laurent Fabious, y el presidente François Hollande, pidieron luego disculpas por el incidente. Pero el mal estaba hecho. Según informaciones suministradas por el vespertino Le Monde, la “orden” de bloquear el avión no vino desde la presidencia francesa sino del gobierno. Fuentes concordantes del palacio presidencial francés y del gobierno citadas por la prensa aseguran que la decisión fue tomada por la directora adjunta del gabinete del primer ministro Jean-Marc Ayrault, Camille Putois. Christophe Chantepy, director del gabinete, dijo no obstante que “se trata de una decisión gubernamental. Hubo un error, como lo dijo Laurent Fabius, y Francia expresó que lo lamentaba”.
Ninguna declaración puede borrar tremendo papelón. El incidente no hizo más que poner en evidencia la inexistencia de Europa como entidad autónoma y libre y, de paso, la recolonización del Viejo Mundo por Estados Unidos. Y no es todo: al igual que la norteamericana, las grandes democracias espían al mundo. Eso fue lo que reveló Le Monde en lo que atañe al sistema francés. Se trata de un procedimiento “clandestino”, escribe el diario, cuya particularidad reside no en explorar el “contenido” sino cuál es la identidad de quienes intercambian conversaciones telefónicas, fax, correos electrónicos, mensajes en Facebook o Twitter. Según Le Monde, “la DGSE (servicios de inteligencia) colecta los datos telefónicos de millones de abonados, identifica al que llama y al que recibe la llamada, el lugar, la fecha, el peso del mensaje. Lo mismo ocurre con los correos electrónicos (con la posibilidad de leer el objeto del correo), los SMS, los fax. Y toda la actividad en internet que transita por Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo”. Con ese sistema se llega a diseñar una suerte de mapa entre personas “a partir de su actividad numérica”. A este respecto, el diario francés destaca que “este dispositivo es evidentemente precioso para luchar contra el terrorismo, pero permite espiar a cualquier persona, en cualquier lugar, en cualquier momento”. Francia cuenta con el quinto dispositivo de mayor penetración informática del mundo. Su sistema de espionaje electrónico es el más potente de Europa después del británico. La DGSE se mueve con un presupuesto anual de 600 millones de euros.
Estamos todos conectados. Sin saberlo, participamos en la hermandad universal de los sospechosos, de las personas que viven bajo el recelo de los Estados, cuyos mensajes amorosos o no son conservados durante años. Inocentes enamorados se codean en las bases de datos con criminales y ladrones, dictadores y financistas corruptos. Se puede apostar con los ojos cerrados a que las últimas categorías mencionadas vivirán impunes eternamente.

La FIDH et la LDH portent plainte dans l'affaire Snowden

LE MONDE |  • Mis à jour le  |Par 

Sont susceptibles d'être reprochés aux société incriminées un "accès non autorisé sur un système de traitement de données, des collectes de données à caractère personnel, des atteintes volontaires à l'intimité de la vie privée, le fait de porter atteinte au secret des correspondances électroniques".

Après la réaction plus que mesurée de l'exécutif français à la suite des révélations d'Edward Snowden sur le système d'espionnage mondial mis en place par l'agence américaine de sécurité (NSA), la Fédération internationale des droits de l'homme (FIDH) et la Ligue des droits de l'homme (LDH) ont conjointement déposé une plainte contre X, jeudi 11 juillet, auprès du procureur de la République de Paris. Celle-ci pointe plusieurs infractions: l'accès frauduleux dans un système de traitement automatisé de données, la collecte illicite de données personnelles, l'atteinte à la vie privée, ou encore l'atteinte au secret des correspondances électroniques. Un large éventail à la mesure des faits dénoncés par l'ancien technicien de la NSA, relayés par le Guardian, le Washington Post puis le Spiegel.
Publiant au compte-gouttes les documents qui leur avaient été transmis, ces journaux avaient notamment mis au jour l'existence d'une surveillance massive des moyens de communication numériques. La NSA, comme le FBI, collectent et analysent depuis des années les données laissées en ligne par des millions de personnes aux Etats-Unis et à l'étranger.
A travers un système baptisé "Prism", les deux agences américaines peuvent ainsi scanner les communications échangées sur Facebook, Google ouMicrosoft. Des affirmations démenties depuis par les entreprises concernées qui n'ont pas nié pour autant des collaborations ponctuelles avec la NSA dans le cadre de procédures judiciaires définies. Fin juin, on apprenait que les Etats-Unis, via la NSA, s'étaient livrés à des opérations d'espionnage sur leurs alliés, notamment les Européens. Plusieurs ambassades à Washington, ainsi que certains sites protégés de l'Union européenne ont ainsi été mis sur écoute.
Voir notre infographie : Comprendre le programme "Prism"
Pour Patrick Baudouin, avocat et président d'honneur de la FIDH, "ces accusations, d'une gravité exceptionnelle, n'ont pas suscité de réactions à la hauteur. Depuis le Patriot Act, en 2001, il y a eu des dérives constantes au nom de la lutte contre le terrorisme. On s'est affranchi de tous les garde-fous que comportent les démocraties quand il s'agit d'investiguer sur les citoyens tout en instrumentalisant les peurs à des fins démagogiques. L'utilisation des drones, en dehors de toute légalité internationale (...), repose sur le même principe." Michel Tubiana, l'avocat historique de la LDH, ne dit pas autre chose. "On ne peut pas impunément, de manière impériale, projeter sa législation hors de ses frontières sans avoir de comptes à rendre."
De quoi inquiéter Barack Obama ? "Il faut être réaliste et modérément optimiste,répond Me Baudouin. On ne sous-estime pas la difficulté que l'on pourraitrencontrer avec les services de sécurité américains même s'il y a des moyens de correspondance judiciaire avec les Etats-Unis, qui restent un Etat de droit. Par ailleurs, les sociétés privées qui se sont prêtées au jeu, dont certaines ont des filiales en Europe, pourraient donner des réponses sur le fond, les moyens qu'elles mettent en œuvre aujourd'hui pour protéger la vie privée des citoyens français, et en creux, leur responsabilité dans cette affaire."

INITIATIVE ISOLÉE
Pour l'instant, cette initiative de la FIDH et de la LDH paraît bien isolée. Seule l'association "Europe versus Facebook", composée notamment d'étudiants autrichiens, a annoncé avoir déposé une série de plaintes contre les filiales européennes de Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Skype et Yahoo! pour leur collaboration présumée avec la NSA dans le cadre du programme Prism. Après les révélations du Monde sur un Big Brother français, une plainte contre les pratiques de la DGSE, hors de tout cadre légal, est à l'étude chez les organisations de défense des droits de l'homme.
Du côté des responsables politiques, la chancelière allemande s'est pour la première fois exprimée sur Prism dans un entretien publié jeudi par l'hebdomadaire Die Zeit. Si elle y défend la protection des données personnelles, elle assure que "le travail des services de renseignements dans une société démocratique a toujours été indispensable pour la sécurité des citoyens et le restera à l'avenir".
Une position centriste à l'image de celle de la France qui, tout en condamnant les pratiques des services de renseignement américains, a rejeté la demande d'asile d'Edward Snowden, refusant par ailleurs que l'avion présidentiel bolivien supposé le transporter survole son espace aérien. "La France est un nain politique qui n'a pas les moyens de ses indignations", déplore ainsi MEmmanuel Daoud, avocat de la FIDH et dont le cabinet jouxte l'ambassade américaine.

martes, 9 de julio de 2013

Sumatran Tigers Kill One, Trap Five Others in Aceh National Park

A Sumatran Tiger sits inside its cage at a Sumatran Tiger Captivity Center in Safari Park Indonesia, Cisarua, West Java, on Oct. 10.2011. (JG Photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno) 
A Sumatran Tiger sits inside its cage at a Sumatran Tiger Captivity Center in Safari Park Indonesia, Cisarua, West Java, on Oct. 10.2011. (JG Photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno)
Banda Aceh. Search and rescue crews began the long trek into the depths of the Gunung Leuser National Park on Saturday to rescue five men who spent the last three days trapped in a tree after Sumatran tigers killed and ate a sixth member of their party, police said.
A 30-member team entered the 7,927 square-kilometer national park on Saturday after villagers’ attempts to rescue the men were thwarted by the site of four Sumatran tigers near the base of the tree, Aceh Tamiang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Dicky Sondani said on Sunday.
“It might need two or three days to walk on foot to the depths of Leuser jungle,” Dicky said. “If the tigers are still under the tree, we will have to shoot and anesthetize them so that we can rescue the five [men].”
The men, all residents of Simpang Kiri village in Aceh Tamiang district, entered the dense national forest in search of the agarwood — known locally as gaharu — a rare and extremely expensive type of heartwood used in the production of aromatic oils and incense. Resin-infused agarwood is the result of a mold that infects the alim tree (aquilaria malaccensis), an endangered tropical evergreen found in the jungles of Southeast Asia.
A kilogram of agarwood can fetch some Rp 5 million ($505), Dicky said, but the jungles of the Gunung Leuser National Park house dangerous tigers and elephants. The police recently had to rescue another group of men trapped in the park, he said.
“It’s worse this time because there are tigers waiting for the villagers,” Dicky said. “People keep entering the jungle to look for alim wood because it’s very expensive; up to Rp 5 million ($505) per kilogram. But, well, that’s the risk; there are many tigers and elephants in Gunung Leuser’s jungle.”
The men were attacked by tigers on Thursday after they caught and killed a tiger cub in a snare meant to catch a deer, police said. Nearby tigers drawn to the scene of the injured cub and pounced on the men, killing and eating 28-year-old David as the five others climbed a tree to safety.
The residents of Simpang Kiri village entered the national park after the men called for help on their cell phones. But as the villagers neared the tree, the site of four large tigers and David’s partially eaten remains kept the rescue party at bay.
They have remained in the tree for three days.
Tiger attacks have become increasingly common in Sumatra, where palm oil and pulp plantations have destroyed much of the rainforest, shrinking animal habitats and putting the endangered tigers in contact with local residents. More than a hundred Sumatran tigers are believed to roam the grounds of the Gunung Leuser National Park, according to reports.

President Morsi overthrown in Egypt by the Army

Morsi reportedly being held with top aides at a military facility after army suspends constitution.

Last Modified: 04 Jul 2013 07:23 | Al Jazeera
The Egyptian army has overthrown President Mohamed Morsi, announcing a roadmap for the country’s political future that will be implemented by a national reconciliation committee.
According to a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi is being held in a military facility with top aides.

"Morsi and the entire presidential team are under house arrest in the Presidential Republican Guards Club," Gehad El-Haddad, the son of a top Morsi aide, told AFP news agency on Thursday. Haddad's father, Essam El-Haddad, widely seen as Morsi's right-hand man, was among those held, he added.
The head of Egypt's armed forces issued a declaration on Wednesday evening suspending the constitution and appointing the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mansour, as interim head of state.

Mansour would be sworn in on Thursday.

Morsi's presidential Facebook page quoted him as saying he rejected the army statement as a military coup.

The ousted leader was believed to be at a Republican Guard barracks in Cairo but it was not clear whether he was under arrest.

In a televised broadcast, flanked by military leaders, religious authorities and political figures, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi effectively declared the removal of  Morsi.

Early elections

Sisi called for presidential and parliamentary elections, a panel to review the constitution and a national reconciliation committee that would include youth movements. He said the roadmap had been agreed by a range of political groups.

Islamist supporters of Morsi who have gathered in a Cairo suburb reacted angrily to the announcement by the army.

Some broke up paving stones, forming piles of rocks. Muslim Brotherhood security guards in hard hats and holding sticks formed a cordon around the encampment, close to a mosque. Men and women wept and chanted.

Denouncing military chief Sisi, some shouted: "Sisi is void! Islam is coming! We will not leave!"

Violent clashes

At least 14 people were killed when opponents and supporters of Morsi clashed after the army announced his removal,  officials said. Eight of those died in the northern city of Marsa Matrouh, including two members of the security fources.

Three people were killed and at least 50 wounded in Alexandria, state news agency MENA reported; a woman stabbed in the stomach, and two men killed by birdshot.

Three people were also killed and 14 wounded in the southern city of Minya, including two police, MENA said.

Dozens more were wounded in Fayoum, south of Cairo, where unidentified assailants looted the local offices of the Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood's political wing, MENA said.

In Cairo's Tahrir Square, the security forces looked on as tens of thousands of anti-Morsi protesters rallied in a demonstration that dwarfed that of Morsi supporters in Nasr City, on the opposite side of town.

'Revolution re-launched'

Speaking shortly after Sisi's announcement, liberal opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said the "2011 revolution was re-launched" and that the roadmap meets the demand of the protesters.
Egypt's leading Muslim and Christian clerics also backed the army-sponsored roadmap.

Army Roadmap:
  • Suspending the constitution
  • Constitutional court to declare early presidential elections
  • Chief Justice has presidential powers until elections
  • A technocrat, national government will be formed
  • Securing and guaranteeing freedom of expression
  • All necessary measures will be taken to empower youth
  • Army appeals to Egyptians to steer away from violence
Pope Tawadros, the head of the Coptic Church, said the plan offered a political vision and would ensure security for all Egyptians, about 10 percent of whom are Christian. Egypt's second largest Islamist group, the Nour party, said in a statement that it agreed to the army roadmap in order to avoid further conflict.

Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, came under huge pressure in the run-up to Sunday's anniversary of his maiden year in office, with his opponents accusing him of failing the 2011 revolution by concentrating power in Islamist hands.

The embattled 62-year-old proposed a "consensus government" as a way out of the crisis. That was not enough for the army, and Mansour, a previously little known judge, was installed as the country's interim leader.

Egypt’s military growing impatient with Morsi

Army officials threaten to intervene politically, if necessary, to prevent a national collapse

 February 21, 2013, 4:14 am | The Times of Israel

Egyptian soldiers stand guard during a demonstration in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, last December (photo credit: AP/Petr David Josek)
Egyptian soldiers stand guard during a demonstration in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, last December (photo credit: AP/Petr David Josek
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s powerful military is showing signs of growing impatience with the country’s Islamist leaders, indirectly criticizing their policies and issuing thinly veiled threats that it might seize power again.
The tension is raising the specter of another military intervention much like the one in 2011, when generals replaced longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak after they sided with anti-regime protesters in their 18-day popular uprising.

The strains come at a time when many Egyptians are despairing of an imminent end to the crippling political impasse between President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group on one side, and the mostly secular and liberal opposition on the other.
The tug of war between the two camps is being waged against a grim backdrop of spreading unrest, rising crime and a worsening economy.
“In essence, the military will not allow national stability or its own institutional privileges to come under threat from a breakdown in Egypt’s social fabric or a broad-based civil strife,” said Michael W. Hanna, an Egypt expert from the New York-based Century Foundation.
“This is not an ideological army or one that seeks to destabilize civilian governance. … But it is also not an army that will sit by while the country reaches the tipping point on the path to civil strife.”
The latest friction began when a rumor circulated that Morsi planned to replace Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, his defense minister and the army chief, because of his resistance to bringing the military under the sway of the Brotherhood-dominated government.
Egyptian Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, left, meets with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, Egypt, last August (photo credit: AP/Egyptian Presidency/File)
Egyptian Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, left, meets with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, Egypt, last August (photo credit: AP/Egyptian Presidency/File)

El-Sissi may have angered Morsi last month when he signaled the military’s readiness to step in, warning that the state would collapse if no solution was found to the political crisis. Pointedly, he also spoke of how the military faces a dilemma in marrying the task of protecting state installations in restive locations with its resolve not to harm peaceful protesters.
In another provocative comment earlier this month, el-Sissi was quoted as saying he would never allow the armed forces to be dominated by the Brotherhood, or any other group, stressing the military’s national identity.
A Brotherhood spokesman, Yasser Mehrez, dismissed claims that the group sought to bring the military under its sway. “This is old talk that has been repeated over and over again,” he said.
The rumor about el-Sissi’s dismissal was widely suspected to be a trial balloon floated by the Muslim Brotherhood to gauge military and public reaction.
The military did not officially respond. But widely published comments attributed to an anonymous military source threatened that any attempt to remove the military’s top commanders would be “suicide” for the government and spoke of widespread anger within the armed forces.
The source was quoted as saying the public will not accept any meddling in the military and will close ranks to counter any pressures or challenges.
The military distanced itself from the comments on a statement posted on its official Facebook page. But the situation was deemed serious enough for Morsi’s office to issue a statement late Monday that appeared aimed at calming the military.
It reassured commanders of the administration’s appreciation of the armed forces and said the president had confidence in el-Sissi.
But the statement, which blamed media for spreading “lies and rumors,” may have done little to ease the tension.
“The two sides may be publicly dismissing reports of tension, but the army is making it very clear to the presidency that any attempt to dismiss el-Sissi would backfire,” said military analyst and retired army Gen. Mohammed Qadri Said.
“They claim mutual love and respect, but what is happening is not indicative of this.”
The military also handed Morsi a public humiliation when army commanders chose not to enforce a night curfew he imposed on three restive Suez Canal cities in riots last month.
In a direct challenge to the president, several top field commanders said they would not use force against civilians in the three cities. Residents openly defied Morsi by staging demonstrations during the curfew hours, playing soccer in the streets and setting off fireworks.
El-Sissi’s top lieutenant, Chief of Staff Sedki Sobhi, delivered another implicit warning to Morsi and the Brotherhood this week.
While the military was not currently involved in politics, he said: “It keeps an eye on what goes on in the nation and if the Egyptian people ever needed the armed forces, they will be on the streets in less than a second.”
Significantly, Sobhi made his comments in the United Arab Emirates, whose government accuses Egypt’s Brotherhood of meddling in its affairs and has arrested 11 Egyptian expatriates there for their membership of the group.
Morsi and the Brotherhood have made it clear that they do not want the military to play any political role.
But that did not stop el-Sissi from extending an invitation to the opposition and Islamist leaders loyal to Morsi to sit down informally over lunch to defuse a crisis over presidential decrees issued in November that gave Morsi near absolute powers. The decrees have since been rescinded.
Under pressure from the Brotherhood, el-Sissi withdrew the invitation just hours before the meeting was to start.
Morsi appointed el-Sissi less than two months after taking office as Egypt’s first freely elected president. The Aug. 12 appointment followed Morsi’s bold decision to retire the nation’s two top generals, restoring the full powers of the president’s office and ending a months-long power struggle between the two sides. Before Morsi’s move, the military had the power to legislate since the legislature was dissolved in June by a court ruling. The military also held veto power over a panel that was drafting a new constitution at the time.
Still, few ever took el-Sissi to be the president’s man. And there were doubts that six decades of de facto military rule had come to an end or that the military had been relegated to playing second fiddle to civilians.
Morsi and his Islamist supporters passed up a major opportunity to curb the military’s power — something that would have meant a major confrontation with the generals.
The new constitution drafted by Islamists enshrined the military’s near-complete independence and kept its vast economic interests above oversight, against the wishes of many who participated in the 2011 revolt.
With chaos in the country deepening, chants calling for military intervention during street protests, last heard en masse during the uprising, are making a timid comeback.
“Millions of Egyptians want the army to come back and deliver us from chaos,” Ibrahim Issa, host of a political talk show on television, said this week.
“This is the sentiment on the Egyptian street, and ignoring it is stupid,” said the popular Issa, a harsh critic of Morsi, the Brotherhood and the military when it was in power.
Since taking office in June 2012, Morsi has made little progress in tackling Egypt’s pressing problems — steep price increases, surging crime, deteriorating services and fuel shortages.
The Brotherhood, which dominates parliament and the government after winning every election since Mubarak’s ouster, is accused of monopolizing power. And Morsi has been criticized for failing to deliver on a promise of an inclusive government representing the Christian minority, liberal and secular political factions, and women.
The highly charged political climate and the collapsing economy could make a military takeover seem like a welcome development in some corners of Egypt — or at least a necessary evil that could salvage the nation.
But the military may not be willing to insert itself directly again in politics or governance. Its prestige was badly tarnished by scathing criticism of its handling of the post-Mubarak transition period.
A few days into the uprising, Mubarak ordered the army into the streets to replace a police force that melted away when confronted with massive public outrage over decades of abuse.
With the country in chaos and paralyzed, the military later sided with protesters who demanded that Mubarak leave office. A council of ruling generals took over the reins of power, but the relationship soon turned sour.
Activists and pro-democracy groups accused the generals of widespread human rights violations during their rule, including the torture of detainees and the trial of at least 10,000 civilians before military tribunals.
The military later made good on its promise to hand over power to an elected government, although Morsi and his Brotherhood would clearly not have been the generals’ choice if they had to make one.
With that history in mind, there are serious questions about whether a military intervention can even solve any of Egypt’s problems in a time short enough to satisfy a population seething with anger over the chaos and hardships of the last two years.
The military would be risking more vilification if it does not move the country onto firmer ground quickly.
Nevertheless, there may be enough goodwill toward the military and popular discontent to give it another chance.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.