There will ‘absolutely not’ be civil war in Egypt

Embassy trying its best to set up communication with detained Canadians, ambassador says

Egypt will “absolutely not” descend into civil war, says Egyptian Ambassador Wael Aboulmagd. And he promises his embassy is doing everything it can to facilitate communication with the two Canadians who have been detained in Egypt in the wake of violent clashes between the military and supporters of overthrown president Mohammed Morsi.

“We’re very much involved in a supportive role to the government of Canada and the Canadian embassy in Cairo,” he said of the detainment of filmmaker John Greyson and physician Tarek Loubani, who are being held without charges.

“We are receiving daily communications from friends, supporters and family members of the two gentlemen and we’re fully committed to providing every assistance we can,” adding that he met with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird Tuesday.

“Ultimately, this is a matter for the prosecutor in charge and we have no authority over prosecutors. I literally do not know the circumstances of their arrest — information is that scarce.”

Mubarak out:

MICHAEL DEN TANDT RANKIN INLET, Nunavut fter days of singing the praises of Arctic sovereignty, resource extraction and development, Prime Minister Stephen Harper came face to face here with the stark challenge of catalyzing a 21st-century gold rush in a society afflicted by grinding poverty and

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More globally, Aboulmagd would like Canadians to understand that one can’t apply the standards of this society when looking at recent events in Egypt.

“Because of your clear-cut legalistic environment here, things have to be put in these neat categories and when you analyse situations in different countries, you fall back on your own experience,” he said, noting that he’s not singling out Canadians, as others are doing the same. “(Egypt’s) is a very different environment than the one that you deal with here, in Canada.”

He says the overthrown president, Morsi, ruled as if he had absolute power. “Unfortunately, he governed with disregard to the fact that he only had a slim majority,” Aboulmagd said. “He wasn’t cognizant of the voices opposing him and a lot of the rhetoric coming from him and other leaders lacked tact and was dismissive of many people.”

Resentment for that style of leadership grew among those who opposed him but also, Aboulmagd says, among many who voted for him. It culminated in a petition, signed by hundreds of thousands, asking for early elections.

“When the numbers came out and the masses amassed, there was a lack of wisdom in dealing with this situation (on the part of Morsi),” he said. “It was confrontational. It didn’t acknowledge these were average Egyptians from multiple cities and all walks of life. They were saying ‘ we want early elections’ because after a year, they felt that the country was going in the wrong direction.”

He said the military “responded to the will of the people” and moved in with its “road map” for change, after millions were in the street. He noted that the road map, which includes the parliamentary and presidential elections and constitutional changes, has a specific time-frame of eight to 10 months before everything “returns to normal.”

Aboulmagd also charged that foreign analysts sometimes forget that the military gave Morsi a week to respond

‘Everyone is in agreement to move forward to get us back to a political environment where we fight with words and ideas rather than stones and knives and machine guns.’

to protesters’ demands, and then another 48 hours before moving in.

“Ultimately, they didn’t ever say they want to govern, but simply said they were taking the side of the large number of people who were making a simple demand to have elections, amend the constitution and return to a parliamentary existence,” he said. “Egyptians are dealing with a threat of serious, high levels of violence. Everyone is in agreement to move forward to get us back to a political environment where we fight with words and ideas rather than stones and knives and machine guns.”

He said he regrets the deaths of Morsi supporters, who have now taken to the streets to protest the overthrow, and said the focus on them is understandable. But Aboulmagd also laments the lack of attention to the deaths of authorities, such as the 25 conscripts who were returning from vacation to their camp and were killed. Prior to that, he said, a police station and blood bank were ransacked.

Asked about his hopes for democracy someday, the ambassador said his country is getting a second chance to get it right.

“The thing that gives me the most hope is that people are not complacent,” he said. “They are vocal, they have a sense of ownership and they’re involved. The fact that they feel this sense of ownership is the No. 1 guarantee (of hope).”

Speaking on the same day the E.U. announced it would keep sending aid to Egypt but would regularly review that decision, he said donors have been “reluctant and lukewarm at best” in giving funds “that would have made the whole process easier” for the fledgling democracy.

The ambassador was home in Egypt for summer break when his foreign minister asked him to return to Ottawa. Having been there briefly during the turmoil, he said it is all-consuming.

“It is a powerful moment and everyone is really emotional,” he said. “When you have a revolution, it’s not just something you observe, it really affects you.”