In an op-ed in the Qatari daily Al-Arab, columnist Sayyed Ahmad Al-Khader wrote that the praise being heaped on the armies of Tunisia and Egypt for their support for the revolutions in their respective countries was completely unjustified, because in actuality these armies remained loyal to the deposed rulers until the last minute. Furthermore, he said, they did not protect the demonstrating citizens from police violence.
He said that the Egyptian army is still following the path of the ousted Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, and that it seeks to thwart the revolution by taking it upon itself, on Mubarak's orders, to run the country, while ignoring its citizens' demands.
Al-Khader also criticized the Arab armies, saying that for decades they had served despotic rulers and helped them to plunder the wealth of the Arab peoples, and at the same time had only brought defeat and shame to their countries.
The following are translated excerpts from Al-Khader's op-ed.[1]
"The military wants to bring down the revolution, if it hasn't already done so. Perhaps because the Arab peoples have not known [any] national institution [that listens] to their hopes and aspirations, we [Arabs felt] this fondness for the armies, and [felt] the need to talk about their acts of heroism and their love for their peoples, and about many other things for which not only is there no evidence, but which [both] history and present [events] actually disprove. The joy of victory in Tunisia and in Egypt should not make us forget the truth about the Arab armies, which pile up long lists of defeats and retreats, and which always conspired against the interests of the peoples, and propped up presidents who sold the nations' affairs and spent all its capital.
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"It is a paradox to call the leaders of the countries of the region [foreign] agents, tyrants, and thieves, while at the same time praising the armies for what they have not done. It is a lie to say that they are the bulwark and help of the citizens, and that it is natural for them to go along with the choices [of the citizens] in hard times. Have we forgotten that most, if not all, of the presidents seized power by military force, which helped keep them there for decades, and sometimes even ensured that [this power] be handed down to [these presidents'] sons? How can those who sing the army's praises ignore the fact that the senior officers are far wealthier than businessmen, and that, instead of planning wars, the generals invest in media and buy stocks on the world stock exchanges?
"The armies of the Arab region, like the police, press, and political parties in the region, know how to do one thing and one thing only – to serve tyranny and to maintain tyrannical [control] over the people and over the country's resources. It is unjust to boast about armies which, throughout their long history, have brought nothing but shame, and then to refuse to forgive the police, whose officers daily demonstrate [alongside the people] out of regret for what was done in the past.
"All we need to do is to review recent events to see that the Arab armies are nothing but the aides of the corrupt rulers, and that as soon as the police apparatus falls, the armies remain to provide the presidents protection and an opportunity to transfer [abroad] the gold and silver that they stole. This is the heroism of the armies of which you speak. In Tunisia, which witnessed a revolution unprecedented in Arab history, and the most important in modern history, the army did not lift a finger when Ben Ali's police killed hundreds of the people within a single week. And when the loyalists despaired [of the attempt] to rescue the police from the young people of the praiseworthy revolution, the army smuggled the tyrant and his clan [out of the country]. And then they told us that the military had defended the revolution and not killed civilians! Have you ever seen such foolishness?
"The pro-army propaganda was even more audacious in Egypt, where the intellectuals and media loudly praised and glorified the army when the army did not take a single noteworthy stand... It was said that the army had chosen to support the street, and had strengthened the revolution, believing that it should serve the homeland and the citizens... [But] we followed the events minute by minute, and [saw] that the army was nothing but the servant of Hosni Mubarak, until his final breath.
"This was obvious in the 'battle of the camel,' when the [camel-mounted] NDP gang wreaked havoc at Al-Tahrir square and killed dozens of Egypt's real heroes, right in front of the army and its tanks. Even after the officers learned that their master had departed, they insisted on remaining loyal to him; in its second communiqué, the armed forces stressed that they would guarantee the implementation of measures to be decided on by President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak!
"And when the moment for which everyone had been waiting arrived, the military chose to humiliate the Egyptians and the millions of free men who stood alongside them, when [Vice President 'Omar] Suleiman said that the president had decided to step down, and had handed over the running of the country to the armed forces! Who is this president, that he should [have the right] to decide or assign [such a task]? The armed forces stood alongside Mubarak's arrogance at the expense of the great Egyptian people...
"Worst of all is that the army wants to bring down the revolution by heeding external [elements] only – while ignoring the demands of the Egyptians, who will not settle for less than prosecuting Mubarak, lifting the emergency law, and freeing the political prisoners."
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Arab (Qatar), February 18, 2011.
