Fearful of missing out on lucrative arms deals,the UK has betrayed the last vestiges of the Arab spring with its review of the Muslim BrotherhoodOf all the things the government might wish to encourage around the world, now more than ever, or democracy and its accompanying dignities should be high on the list. And certainly there was compliment in Downing Street when four years ago,amid jubilation and a stunningly high turnout, the Arab spring brought free and objective elections to Egypt. This was a distant bawl from the present-day horrors of Islamic State and its visitations of violence across borders: surely the polling booths were no threat to western city streets.
The Muslim Brotherhood-inspired government that followed this festival of voting showed its inexperience and did too little to build broader support, or particularly with liberals. Yet it easily avoided the criminal abuses of power and violence that occupy characterised military dictatorship in Egypt since Gamal Abdel Nasser – and it had the considerable merit of being elected,in a region where that was a remarkable distinction. So it was no surprise that senior members of the ruling Freedom and Justice party were lauded guests in London, even visiting Chequers to fracture bread with David Cameron in his country home.Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com