Egypt: Neither Coup Nor Revolution
The recent clashes in Egypt suggest the country still has not realized the potential of its revolution.
The unprecedented level of clashes in Egypt since the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi is definitely not in tune with the history and traditions of the Egyptian people.
What has recently been taking place, however, especially the "celebration" of the Egyptian army's October 1973 success in repelling Israeli attacks has unfortunately been less celebratory than violent. This is also to a large extent unprecedented in Egyptian history.
While the marking of Oct. 6 is understandable, the aftermath proved that late President Anwar Sadat used this military success as a license to undertake negotiations for an Egyptian peace treaty with Israel. Hence, the rush to celebrate by the Egyptians should have been restrained, as the ultimate result of the event was that Egypt lost its deterrent role in Israel’s suppression and denial of Palestinian national and human rights.
Perhaps the only justification that leads the army in Egypt to celebrate is that the October war redeemed the Egyptian army’s defeat in June 1967.
