Al-Sisi: A clever commander … Not a coup leader

Syntagma Square is the most famous place in Athens. Syntagma means “constitutions’ and it has a great story of how it was named.

King Otto of Greece promised his people a new constitution, which they fought for before Greece’s independence a decade before, but he never lived up to his promises. On the 3rd of September 1843, after he had his mandate from a peoples uprising, colonels Kallergis (the commander of the cavalry of Athens) led his men to Otto’s palace, surrounded it, and requested that he give the people the constitution they deserve. Under pressure from the Greeks uprising and the leadership of colonel Kallergis, King Otto accepted the people’s request which he refused several times before. After this the Kallergis and his soldiers left the palace and returned to their barracks, cheering for the constitutional king. If you follow the Egyptian army Chief’s speech, you will know that history is repeating itself.

In his speech to new military graduates, Egypt s army chief, Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, invited Egyptians to fill the squares on Friday, warning of forces of darkness that are driving the country into a “dark tunnel” of terrorism.
Since the ousting of Morsi on July the 3rd, the police have been unable to end the chaos caused by terrorists’ attacks that aim to spread anarchy and deceitfully portray the political unrest in Egypt as a war against Islam, bidding to create another Syria from the Egyptian state of affairs.

Terrorists attacks have been going on in the streets – in all the Egyptian Governorates especially the Sinai Peninsula, Cairo and Al-Mansoura (Dakahlia Governorate) – leading to the deaths of hundreds of innocent Egyptians by terrorists.

Al-Sisi’s declaration of war on terrorism is not on the Muslim brothers nor is it on other Islamist movements, but it is closely related to the Al-Mansoura bomb that killed 20 innocents early on Wednesday. A week´-or-so ago, Al-Sisi announced war on terrorism in Sinai following terrorists attacks which targeted military and police personnel. Reflecting on the difference between the war in Al-Mansoura and the one in Sinai makes us appreciate why Al-Sisi has called on Egyptians to show support by going out on the streets to back the military and police in their effort to confront terrorism within the Egyptians homeland.

The nature of the Al-Mansoura bomb attack had four main criteria that make it different from the war on terrorism in the Sinai. These were, Al-Mansoura attack was on the Egyptians homeland, seemed to be organised by Egyptians, targeted police and civilians, and marked an escalation in methods used in the attack. The Military and Egyptian people saw the attack as a full blown terrorist attack and considered it a real step towards changing the conflict in Egypt to mirror that in Syria. This provoked a wave of shock and outrage across the country, and Egyptians were waiting for both Military and police to announce how they will bring those who committed such atrocity to justice.

Once again, the military found itself obliged - in this transitional period of Egyptian history - to protect and maintain the Egyptian national security and citizens’ safety. The army saw that the only suitable and civilised way for the Military to politically intervene is for the army to call on the people to give them permission to fight terrorism. Al-Sisi requests the people’s mandate to intervene. This is a man who doesn’t act as a coup leader, but a clever commander who believes that people are the source of power not politicians.

Al-Sisi read the millions of Egyptians protesting on 30 June as a request to get rid of Morsi and his theocratic regime, and he did so. He also assumed that Egyptians expected the Military’s role would end by installing a new civilian government as a first step towards a democratically elected government. He understood that the military has no authority to act as a political power – apart from protecting people’s legitimacy and keeping the Egyptians’ safety during this critical period – unless the people ask him to do so.

Therefore Al-Sisi and his men decided to ask for a mandate from the Egyptian people to fight terrorism which is now wreaking havoc all over the country. In one way´-or-another, Al-Sisi asked the Egyptian people to take their responsibilities in confronting terriorism – by giving him permission to stand in the face of terrorism. This is how he requested the mandate: «I say to the Egyptians, we lived up to your expectation, and achieved everything you asked us to do. But, now I ask all honourable and decent Egyptians to rally in the streets next Friday to give me both a mandate and order to confront the expected violence and terrorism».

Al-Sisi call carries a reassuring message to the Egyptian people, and a blistering message to terrorists, that Egypt will bring those criminals to justice, not only by the rule of the law, but also by the might of the Egyptian army. Al-Sisi also made it clear that neither the military nor the Police will use unnecessary force against civilians regardless of their political identities.

Finally, Al-Sisi’s speech made it clear that despite that he has the support of Egyptian people in the fighting against terrorism, Egypt will not be governed by a military government, and that the country is stepping fast onto the roadmap to take the country to a civilian democratic government.

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