Egypt: Emergency State

At approximately 10:00 pm on Sunday January 27th, Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi declared a state of emergency in the governorates of Ismailia, Port Said and Suez for the next 30 days. This statement came on the heels of three days of widespread protest and violence pursuant to the second anniversary of the January 25th revolution and the Port Said massacre trial on January 26th. 

The president’s statement also imposed a curfew from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am in the aforementioned governorates for an equal duration. Other notable highlights of the statement included the president of the “free” post-revolutionary republic of Egypt publicly threatening the public with further crackdowns, followed quickly and conveniently with a declaration of his commitment to democracy. For many outsides, this may seem like a classic case of schizophrenia. For Egyptians, this is just another symptom of the cognitive dissonance we have grown accustomed to.

With every appearance made by the Morsi administration, the opposition runs the risk of immediately disagreeing with every decision or statement that is made on principle alone. At a juncture as critical as this, with the violence we have witnessed in the past three days, it is vital to not fall into this trap. The premise of Morsi’s statement does have merit – the violence must stop. The issue, however, is when the premise is being espoused by the very authority that many are blaming for the violence itself. If state apparatuses are complicit in the violence, how can we then trust them to utilize the powers vested in them under the emergency law to bring an end to this very violence? 

And that comment, the one blatantly threatening the public if violence does not subside? I’m going to choose to ignore that.

I would like to say that the significance of the past 72 hours in Egypt cannot be overstated. Truth be told, however, this could just as easily and heartbreakingly subdue in mere days. If I have learned anything since January 25th 2011, it’s that the trajectory of major political upheavals and their aftermath is unpredictable. Matters that seemed catastrophic, moments that were the quintessential tipping point, events that screamed “you went too far”, are now just distant memories. Meanwhile, movements that were seemingly doomed to fail or sparks that seemed too miniscule to light a fire, were able to move mountains. 

So now, we wait. My prayers go out to the people of Ismailia, Port Said and Suez. May the violence finally come to an end.