The Chicken or the Egg
Egypt extends its emergency laws
Egypt has extended controversial emergency laws giving the security forces broad powers to arrest and detain people without charge.
Parliament agreed another two years of the legislation on Sunday. It had been in place since President Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981.
The “Emergency Laws” an Egyptian version of the Patriot Act on steroids are what some claim to be what stands between us and the terrorists and what others claim to be the main source of breading terrorists.
Very little in the actual law is very shocking in this day and age of global terrorism (albeit it was implemented before it was internationally acceptable to impede basic rights in the pursuit of security). It is the implementation that is hair rising. The Emergency Laws are what everyone in the Egyptian Security Apparatus, from the Interior Minister on down, hides behind and justifies their actions with.
The “far right” everywhere have a strategic tendency to push draconian measures the population would normally shun during times of panic that typically ensue acts of terrorism. After Sinai this was inevitable.
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif (not that he is even that far right) said the law was vital after recent bomb attacks.
That isn’t the case in point though. This is:
But opposition groups said the law failed to combat terrorism and was used to violate the rights of Egyptians.
Yeah right.
And the fact that someone like me that would typically be venomly opposed to the extension of laws like these and the inevitable trampling of rights that would follow isn’t quite sure this is a bad idea. For starters the claim above that this has failed to combat terrorism is ridicules. Of course it did; it did better than any other idea I’ve heard of.
"They use (the legislation) to silence and oppress the opposition," deputy of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Habib, said.
One thing I would like see happen though is some kind of awareness campaign by a NGO to start monitoring the implementation and getting the security app to start doing things by the book (which is thick enough as is).
So let me know; the chicken or the egg…. Which way should we go.
-Karim Elsahy
You sort of contradict yourself when you state that the laws are good in preventing terrorism yet you wish the implementation be monitored. The whole idea behind it combating terrorism is that it abides by no books in detaining and questioning suspects.
If you have a law that allows you to pickup, detain, and torture an entire demographic sector within a village you know some terrorist is hiding within, then it should be no surprise that eventually you will get either:
<b> a. The right person you're looking for.
b. Someone else who couldn't take the torture so they decided to confess to a crime they didn't commit! </b>
As you mentioned, its the chicken or the egg, and combating terror is by no means something easy or could be done over the radar.
The abuse of emergency laws over the last 27 years is leaving no more room in people's minds for extensions because that card was played too soon and for too long!
If Egypt has any chance of thwarting the rise in terrorism, they have to figure out a way to relieve the pressure people are feeling or else an political explosion is bound to destroy everyone.
The Egyptian government can't have their cake and eat it too! (Comment this)