Brittany Somerset/Demotix. All rights reserved.
Cognitive dissonance is defined as a state of contradiction
or inconsistency between one's beliefs and actions. Recently, this term has aptly described the state of Egypt's officials – if we assume that they believe what they say – and President Sisi's recent visit to the US is
the clearest manifestation of it.
President Sisi was in New York last week to address the
United Nations General Assembly. The numbers of supporters welcoming him were
remarkably low compared to the previous year. He addressed numerous issues during
his speech, including extremism, regional conflicts, and Egypt's latest economic
projects such as the expansion of the Suez Canal.
A number of American media outlets also interviewed Sisi,
such as CNN.
This is when he expressed his views on Syria and his preference for keeping
Assad in power, asserting the importance of countering terrorism and extremist
ideas. He also emphasised that Egypt is not a repressive state.
A closer look at what is taking place in Egypt indicates
otherwise, however. While Sisi presents himself as a custodian of moderation, claiming
his regime fights "extremism", his security forces have been
reluctant to protect Copts from attacks
by extremists in the neighborhood of Amreya in Alexandria. The latest incident took place the very same week he was addressing the UN in New York. The homes of the Coptic community were attacked with stones and the church was besieged.
According to the church pastor, he called the police but they failed to come to
the rescue.
Those who had a little faith have now lost it.
This is not the first time Sisi presents the world with a picture
that is the complete opposite of reality. Last year during his visit to the 2014 UNGA, while he discussed "countering extremism", Egyptian security forces broke into the houses
of Copts in the village of Deir Gabal al-Tayr in Minya, Upper Egypt. Hundreds
of men were rounded up, and according to victims, women and children were
beaten and called “infidels”. This is another clear example of the conflict between
what the Egyptian regime wants people to believe and what it does.
This year, when asked about freedom of expression by CNN, Sisi replied: “We
have unprecedented freedom of expression in Egypt. No one in Egypt can bar
anyone working in media or journalism or on TV from expressing their
views". This came a few days after the Aljazeera
journalists were pardoned after having been sentenced to three years in prison on
flimsy, absurd evidence.
The Egyptian media is now effectively a choir of supporters who spread lies without question as if they were ‘real’ news. TV anchors like Yosri Fouda and Dina Abdel Rahman have been barred from
presenting their shows, and even political satire is no longer accepted—Bassem
Youssef was pressured not to continue his work.
Egyptian rights groups were quick to respond to Sisi's
claims by stating that there are currently 60 journalists behind bars. The
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) counts at least 18 journalists
imprisoned in Egypt. The Egyptian Press syndicate said the number of detained
journalists has in fact jumped from 22 at the beginning of this year to 35 last
August.
Some journalists were also detained for months without trail
or charges being brought forward. Photojournalist Mahmoud Shawkan was arrested while
covering the forcible dispersal of the Muslim Brotherhood's Rabaa sit-in summer
of 2013. His trial was only recently set for December
2015. Shawkan has been unjustly detained for over two years without charges.
During this UNGA speech, Sisi announced a new youth initiative
called "Hope and Action for a New Direction" that is aimed "to employ youth's capabilities in building the future that will soon be
their own”. I personally have not heard anything about this initiative
nor do I know anyone who has, which is quite typical of government initiatives—just talk, no action, public involvement, or follow up.
On the other hand, at the beginning of his rule, Sisi met a group of young techies
and entrepreneurs, including some friends and work colleagues. They expressed
ideas and projects that could benefit the country in fields such as education,
e-commerce, etc. The meeting was widely touted by Egyptian media as the beginning
of a new era between the regime and the country’s youth and the attendees were
told that the government would support their ambitions. My friends were never
contacted again and their projects were either put on hold or carried out of their own accord. One can safely assume that it was a publicity stunt.
As time has passed one thing seems certain, the
relation between this regime and the youth is one of aversion. The youth have
been greatly marginalised, prosecuted and many are languishing in jail
for just protesting. Those who had a little faith have now lost it.
While the Egyptian regime tries to show the world an image of respect
for freedoms and rights, it widely violates them. And while it uses media outlets to secure support from the Egyptian public, it does the
least to ensure their welfare.