11 February 2011

Jonathan Wright

Reuters


CAIRO: The confrontation between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and a million or more of his compatriots has brought long-serving intelligence chief and newly empowered vice president Omar Suleiman out of the shadows.

Mubarak said Thursday he would hand his presidential powers to Suleiman but added that he would remain in office until September to oversee a constitutional transition.

But far from reassuring Egyptians demanding that Mubarak leave office, Suleiman has alienated many of them with his security-minded inflexibility. To many, he is repeating the mantras long used by Mubarak.

Suleiman gave his first full-length interview on Feb. 3 and spoke to Egyptian newspaper editors Tuesday. In his role as spy chief, he had rarely spoken in public, except for occasional comments during his visits to Israel.

In an interview with ABC television, Suleiman declared that he wanted to see democracy, adding quickly: “but when will we do that? When the people here have the culture of democracy.”

Even the White House, which sees Suleiman as a welcome successor to Mubarak, stated that his remark was unhelpful. “I don’t think that in any way squares with what those seeking greater opportunity and freedom think is a timetable for progress,” spokesman Robert Gibbs underlined.

Suleiman, who now appears on television almost daily, has rejected the central demand of the protest movement. He insists Mubarak must stay in office to see through a transition process leading to constitutional amendments and a free presidential election.

So far, he has offered the opposition little to make them trust the government’s good intentions, after years of what rights groups say have been rigged elections and brutality against political dissidents. The government denies the charges.

In his talk to Egyptian editors, Suleiman echoed many of the themes Mubarak has emphasized over the years, especially when he faced an internal challenge to his authority.

Echoing comments in Mubarak’s Feb. 1 speech when the president promised not to run for office again, Suleiman said Egypt faced a choice between stability and chaos, which could only be prevented if Mubarak stayed on until a September vote.

Suleiman portrayed Egypt as a country besieged by malevolent forces, including satellite television channels.

“Pressures will never be in the interests of society but will be an invitation to more chaos and for the bats of the night to come out and alarm society,” he stressed.

“We are sure that Egypt is being targeted and this is an opportunity for them and not for change, but all they are interested in is weakening Egypt and creating chaos, the extent of which God alone knows,” Suleiman added.

Mubarak, 82, has for years presented his rule as the shield against “chaos” and those, usually identified as Islamists, determined to destroy the state. He has a history of reneging on promises, such as his 2005 electoral pledge to abolish a state of emergency in force since he came to power in 1981.

Suleiman, 74, a former army general with no political experience, has offered the opposition what he calls a road map for change. Even the changes that do take place under his watch must be “studied and stable,” Suleiman added, using the kind of words that anger protesters who have demanded a change now not later.

Many Egyptians, even those in the protest movement, have underscored they are willing to let Suleiman run the country during a transitional period after Mubarak leaves. However, his public remarks have persuaded many others that he is not the right man.

“Suleiman is just like the rest of the old regime,” declared Egyptian blogger Zainab Mohamed.

“He is too arrogant to respect the Egyptian people. He is too arrogant to accept the fact that he is working for the people, not the people working for him according to the real culture of democracy,” she explained.

Suleiman’s public remarks and comments in diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks show that his strategy in dealing with the West and with Israel is to portray the Egyptian government as a bastion against Iranian influence and militant Islamists, again mirroring Mubarak’s warnings.

The popular uprising in Egypt, which brings together liberals, Islamists and leftists, has started to undermine that excuse, at least for the moment.

Suleiman’s role in enforcing the blockade of Gaza and working with Israel against Hamas has also made him unpopular among the protesters.

Born on July 2, 1936, in Qena in southern Egypt, Suleiman spent all his working life in the army and intelligence. He was in charge of the most important political security files, and was the mastermind behind the fragmentation of Islamist groups who rose up against the state in the 1990s.

Copyright The Daily Star 2011.