{UAH} THE AFRICAN WOUND

 

The African wound
Egypt supported all African liberation movements, but the African Union did not support Egypt when its people rose to express their voice, writes Mohamed Salmawy

Former Mali President Alpha Oumar Konaré, who headed a high level African Union (AU) delegation to Egypt last week, said: “We in the AU have never said that what happened in Egypt was a coup. Nor have we called for the reinstatement of Morsi. The problem was that what had occurred was not a constitutional change and, therefore, we did not know how to describe it.”

I pointed out that the way the African Union described those developments was inaccurate. “To describe them as ‘unconstitutional’ is wrong,” I said. “The Egyptian people followed a constitutional road from the outset in order to express their will. First, they asked for early presidential elections, which is a constitutional measure. But Morsi refused. Then they collected signatures to a petition demanding that he step down. The number of signatories collected came to twice the number of votes he had obtained in the previous year’s election. This was also a constitutional measure. It is called a recall election and it has been applied in the US and other countries hundreds of times. When the number of people who withdraw confidence from an elected official reaches a certain ratio to the number of votes he had originally received he is required to step down. Morsi refused to do this as well. As a result, the people had no alternative but to march. And this they did on 30 June, in the unprecedented millions that filled our streets and squares, the images of which were seen the world over. Then the people had to ask the army to carry out their will in view of the absence of a constitutional mechanism for change, namely a standing parliament. So what fault did the people commit? Who had rejected constitutional methods from the outset?”

During the meeting with the AU delegation that was hosted by the Wafd Party, I went on to say: “Your Excellency, please permit me to speak frankly. As long as you have voiced your criticism of the method of change used in Egypt, permit me to transmit to you the Egyptian people’s criticisms of you. You will not hear these in your official meetings with Egyptian leaders. But here, the participants in this meeting do not occupy official posts. They represent the Egyptian people through political parties and movements, NGOs, women’s groups and intellectual associations. The Egyptian people have been deeply disappointed by their African brothers. Egypt stood by the African peoples in their battle for independence. It embraced every African liberation movement, supported it in the face of the might of the colonialist West and paid the price for having elevated the will of African peoples over all other political considerations. Yet, when the Egyptian people expressed their will, all they heard from the representatives of their African brothers were the same remarks and positions that were coming out of the West. That caused a deep wound in the relationship between the Egyptian people and the representatives of the African peoples.”

Concluding my remarks in that meeting I said: “You have undertaken three visits to Cairo so far. But Egypt’s participation in AU activities remains suspended. You will always be welcome in Egypt, which has been and remains a country for African peoples. But we hope that your fourth visit will not be for the same purpose but rather to offer congratulations that Egypt and Africa have reunited as one to voice the will of the African peoples against all forces that seek to obstruct the people’s will.”

 

            Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
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