'Soft coup' could reignite Egyptian revolution

Renewed street demonstrations could be in Egypt's near future, experts say High court ruling dissolves new parliament, further empowering military Events amount to a "soft coup" for the military, often seen as bulwark against Islamists "Egypt is entering into a very dangerous stage," analyst says (CNN) -- An Egyptian high court ruling Thursday that dissolves Egypt's freshly elected parliament is akin to a coup d'état favoring the old guard and the military and could bring renewed unrest, according to many analysts. Experts are watching to see whether the decision reignites the unrest and street demonstrations that drove former strongman Hosni Mubarak from power last year and whether ordinary Egyptians will consider the ruling an attempt by the ruling elite to snuff out the promise of democracy fought for in Tahrir Square. The court is considered partial to the prior regime headed by Mubarak, in which the military played a pivotal role. The military is considered by many to be a bulwark against the power and i
nfluence of Islamists in Egypt. The ruling also comes as the country faces the prospect of Islamist control -- Islamists dominated the voided parliament and one of the two final candidates running for president has strong ties to the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and their political wing the Freedom and Justice Party. var currExpandable="expand15"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2012/06/14/sot-amanpour-egypt-fahmy.cnn'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120614091104-sot-amanpour-egypt-fahmy-00004327-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand15Store=mObj; Opposing views on ruling in Egypt var currExpandable="expand25"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='world/2012/06/12/wedeman-lklv-mubarak-egypt.cnn'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120612070242-wedeman-lklv-mubarak-egypt-00004117-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand25Store=mObj; Egypt: Mubarak in 'full coma' What is the Muslim Brotherhood? "Essentially, no, the court is not neutral," said Steven Cook, a senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. "It is very much part of the old regime. I think you are going to see people pouring into the streets and demand change." Following the court decision, Egypt's interim military rulers declared full legislative authority, creating deep anxiety and uncertainty about the country's future. It was just on January 23 -- two days before the anniversary of the birth of a revolution that eventually toppled Mubarak -- when the military surrendered legislative powers to the first parliament in the country's history to be dominated by Islamists, whose two parties won about 70% of the seats in the lower house. Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center, said the court rulings were the "worst possible outcome" for Egypt and that the transition to civilian rule was "effectively over." The real obstacle to democracy in Egypt "Egypt is entering into a very dangerous stage, and I think a lot of people were caught by surprise," Hamid said. "We knew it was getting bad, but we didn't think it was getting this bad." Eric Trager, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, characterized the situation as a "soft coup in Egypt, in which the military has moved at the very least to use a judicial decision that involved one third of the parliament to dissolve the whole parliament." That action "really signals it's moving very sharply against the political process," Trager said. Trager said the military leadership is really piling on the pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political group. var currExpandable="expand115"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='world/2011/02/02/natpkg.mubarak.in.his.words.cnn'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120611054337-hosni-mubarak-october-1981-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand115Store=mObj; 2008: Hosni Mubarak in his own words var currExpandable="expand215"; if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);} var mObj={}; mObj.type='video'; mObj.contentId=''; mObj.source='bestoftv/2012/06/07/pkg-egypt-street-fighter.cnn'; mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120607110956-pkg-egypt-street-fighter-00014415-story-body.jpg"; mObj.lgImageX=300; mObj.lgImageY=169; mObj.origImageX="214"; mObj.origImageY="120"; mObj.contentType='video'; CNN.expElements.expand215Store=mObj; Egyptian street fighter vies for change "The question is whether that's going to lead the Muslim Brotherhood to up its own confrontation with the military or whether the Brotherhood will use it as an opportunity to seek some kind of accord with the military," he said. Under a separate decision by the high court Thursday, Ahmed Shafik -- the last prime minister under Mubarak -- will be allowed to run in this weekend's runoff election. The court rejected a law barring former regime members from running in the election. The runoff Saturday and Sunday pits Shafik against Mohamed Morsi, head of the Freedom and Justice Party. Right now, the military and the Muslim Brotherhood have ongoing conversations, but it is not yet clear what they may produce, Trager said. The Brotherhood could seek a deal where Morsi is made prime minister if Shafik wins the presidency, Trager said. If the Muslim Brotherhood commits itself to confrontation in the form of street protests -- thereby threatening a second revolution -- that could be a game-changing situation, Trager said. Photos: A look back at Egypt's uprisings On Thursday, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, in control of the country since Mubarak's ouster, announced that it will impanel a 100-person assembly that will write the country's new constitution by Friday. Taken together, the military leadership's actions indicate "there's a high likelihood of Shafik being aided to victory by the military," Trager said. Are you there? Share photos and videos with us on CNN iReport. A wild election weekend for Egypt, France and Greece Mubarak clings to life in Cairo hospital Saving the sound of the Middle East if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}

'Soft coup' could reignite Egyptian revolution 2012-06-15T00:15:00-07:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Undercover 999