WikiLeaks on Egyptian Situation

I have some leads on documents in the WikiLeaks database that I will share with you while I’m reading them. These provide we here netizens with an unprecedented look behind the scenes of a rapidly-evolving world situation. Check it out. Thank you Julian, Liz and the WikiLeaks editors who dug out this information.

1. The Egyptian military planned for a “smooth” transfer of power to the president’s son in the event of regime change, according to recently published US diplomatic cables.A remark interpreted by the US official as a “pointed reference” to Gamal Mubarak. Dessouki went on to dismiss the possible danger of protests against the current regime, calling opposition parties “weak” and democracy a “long term goal.” Read more.

2. The suppression of dissent and collective action for change goes beyond direct use of force; it includes using legal threats to prosecute even the most harmless forms of dissent, including poetry: “A recent series of selective GOE actions against journalists, bloggers and even an amateur poet illustrates the variety of methods available to the GOE to suppress critical opinion, including an array of investigative authorities and public and private legal actions.” Read more.

3. A cable originating from the U.S. embassy in Cairo written Feb. 23, 2010, states, “Comment: Mohammed El Baradei’s presence on the political scene remains more notable than his message, which echoes existing opposition demands. Yet El Baradei’s sober and broad-ranging criticism of President Mubarak’s regime, buttressed by his credentials as a Nobel Prize winner and former IAEA chairman, distinguished his message from that of largely ineffective opposition leaders. Despite his reluctance to declare himself a candidate, he appears, for now, to have captured the imagination of some section of the secular elite that wants democracy but is wary of the popularity of the Muslim Brotherhood.” This is a wide-ranging and detailed primary source document that describes what we are now seeing, only it’s nearly year-old news. Read more.