KARACHI: “Egypt should fortify its relations with Pakistan. Not only because it is an Islamic country but also because it is a nuclear power. With such a powerful ally Egypt does not have to be fearful of Israel. We share the same problems and if we don’t work on it, we shall be the biggest losers. We need to be partners.”

These thoughts were expressed by Dr Helmy al Hadidy, president of the Afro-Asian Peoples’ Solidarity Organisation at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs on Wednesday.

At the outset of the talk titled ‘The Middle East of the Arab Spring’, Dr Hadidy said that he disliked the term Arab Spring. “It is a western title when in fact it was a revolution with specifics peculiar to each of the country where it occurred,” he said.

“According to political science a revolution is a phenomenon in which a large group of people are led by leaders towards a desired goal. And when they achieve the goal, they start governing.

“But in Egypt this definition was inapplicable as the revolution was led by the youth who were mostly educated and working professionals. It was a mass uprising which had no leaders and no roadmap. The participants never got the chance to govern and had to go back home,” said Dr Hadidy.

He said that since the youth comprised nearly two-thirds of Egypt’s population and they had been neglected for a long time, it led to an uprising in the region.

“The older generation under the Mubarak regime did everything to cause the decay of the middle class. Wealth and authority was concentrated in the hands of a few and this led to corruption. The revolutionaries were fighting against corruption and dictatorship. They wanted a better state of life along with social justice,” he said.

Role of the Muslim Brotherhood

“Since the uprising was leaderless it was hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood as it was the most organised party having the best resources. Then the elections took place which the US said was transparent but that is not the complete truth,” he said.

Dr Hadidy told the audience that Morsi and his Brotherhood supporters had threatened to burn down the country if they did not succeed at the ballot box.

Members of civil society met with Morsi and they agreed on an agenda the gist of which was sharing and inclusion. However, Morsi and the Brotherhood-led government reneged on their promise.

“The opposite happened and everyone was excluded. They made their own constitution [which was a controversial document].”

At this point Dr Hadidy lamented the role of the liberal and social forces in his country which he felt had no political influence whatsoever and were merely good for issuing shallow statements. But he also justified their minimal political presence due to the protracted dictatorial regimes that brutally suppressed opposition voices in Egypt.

Coming back to Morsi-led regime, he said Morsi was given three choices by the army, either to organise presidential elections, resign or be toppled. “He refused the first two. There was no choice but for him to be toppled,” reasoned Dr Hadidy. “Some people say the army did it [removal of Morsi]. No, that is not true. They helped the people bring about the revolution. They helped the people achieve their goal.”

Post-Arab Spring in other countries

"Tunisia’s Ghannouchi could have taken absolute control over the country as he and his party had won elections by a majority. However, he did not do so and divided the power with all other parties. He behaved reasonably.

“In Libya and Yemen there was foreign intervention that destroyed the country. Everyone is trying to gain an upper hand in Yemen at the expense of the Yemenis. British and French forces on land, the US on air and the Houthis supported by Iran are instances of foreign intervention in Yemen.

“There is a civil war raging in Syria between the regime’s army and the various groups like Al Qaeda and, IS. Fighters from all over [the world] have joined these coalitions. The regional powers Turkey and Iran say they are siding with the people and Russia and China are siding with Bashar al-Assad,” he said.

Responding to a query about lack of unity between Muslim countries, he said that in Sri Lanka where he had gone to attend a meeting, he met a Turkish man who asked for his opinion on formation of a west Asian organisation comprising Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria and perhaps Egypt.

“I told him it will fail. Turkey and Iran have nothing in common. Turkey has mostly Sunni population and Iran has Shia population. Both are regional powers who are trying to expand their power in the region,” he remarked.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2014