Atlantic Council

Developments in the realm of Egypt’s foreign affairs have attracted attention in the opinion sections of the local media over the past week.  President Morsi’s trip to Russia and the evolving nature of the Egyptian-Iranian relationship have been particular points of departure that writers have used to consider Egypt’s international direction more broadly. 

Thousands of Egyptian hardline Islamists marched from a mosque in a Cairo suburb on Thursday night to the state security headquarters to protest against what they said was a return to the force's pre-revolution methods. 

While women in Egypt are habitual victims of sexual harassment in its various forms, the law does little to protect them or guarantee their rights. A survey conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECR) in 2008 indicates that 83% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign women have been subjected to harassment.

Egypt's cabinet reshuffle will see six ministers replaced, al-Ahram Arabic news website has reported, citing a government source. President Morsi had intended to replace ten ministers, the source added, but the number was trimmed to six because he could not persuade enough replacements to join his cabinet. 

Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East Director Michele Dunne appeared on Egyptian channel CBC to discuss the current situation in Egypt. Topics of particular focus including US policy towards Egypt, the Egyptian opposition, and ongoing negotiations between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $4.8 billion loan.

On Wednesday, Egyptian workers will celebrate the first Labor Day since the election of President Mohamed Morsi, by voicing longstanding demands and unfulfilled promises. A march organized by dozens of political parties, movements and labor organizations saw thousands of workers march from Sayyeda Zeinab near downtown Cairo to the Shura Council.

The rhetoric of the Arab spring and the democratization process, perhaps best paraphrased as “new government, new policies, new dynamics,” emphasizes respect for the rule of law and the maintenance of higher moral standards than those of the corrupt prior regimes. There are, nevertheless, many incidents that demonstrate that this rhetoric is not real, and which belie the stark contrast these new governments are trying to draw to separate themselves from their deposed predecessors.

Despite a backdrop of sporadic clashes, presidential power grabs, and crackdowns on freedom of expression, Egypt’s arts and culture sector has flourished since January 2011. While many artists feel unable to respond effectively to political events in their personal work, and traditional institutions have been faced with varying challenges, the past two years have given rise to a number of vibrant new spaces and initiatives.

Egypt said on Monday it was withdrawing from a second week of Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) talks in Geneva in protest at what it called the failure to implement a 1995 resolution for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons. That was an implicit reference to Israel which neither confirms nor denies having nuclear arms and is not a signatory to the NPT. 

In his civilian black suit and blue tie, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel landed in Egypt last week saluted by numerous military officials in uniform. After talking to his Egyptian counterpart, General Abd Al-Fattah al-Sisi, Hagel met with President Mohammed Morsi.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has told Egypt's top judges that he would personally adopt their proposals for a new judicial authority law in hopes of containing mounting tension between Egypt's Islamist forces and the judiciary.  

On the eve of Mubarak’s departure, Al-Jazeera : “The army should form a new ‘patriotic’ government led by a ‘patriotic’ figure, be it Omar Suleiman or Ahmed Shafiq or any other ‘patriotic’ figure to lead the transitional period.” said Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, then a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB).

 The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies denounced a draft law prepared by the country’s Islamist government to grant licenses and monitor the funding for non-governmental groups, describing it as continuation of the former regime’s policy which sought to “besiege” civil society. 

It is no longer surprising news when an Egyptian newspaper suddenly receives that fateful order from above to shutdown. Egypt is, as the saying goes, where newspapers come to die.