Making noise.
I'm receiving emails from people I know and people who know me (for some strange reason this is true), who are aware of my posts about Alaa and his imprisonment in Egypt earlier this year.
Well, it seems the authorities there have consistent policies against dissent.
Recently Abdel Karim Sulaiman Amer was arrested and detained [apparently] because of his critical writings on his blog.
Similarly Rami Siyam aka Ayyoub got arrested and detained on November 20.
Let's not forget the imprisonment of Tal’at Sadat, a member of parliament, for “spreading false rumours and insulting the armed forces".
Or Mohamed el-Ashkar - a coordinator of the Kefaya opposition movement in Cairo, arrested earlier this month.
Well, the list can go on and on. While I resent politically motivated arrests, detention and other persecution, Egypt is a sovereign country and it is their laws that matter. Yes a lot of people will make noise about it but does it really matter?
Egypt is an ally in the war on terror, so the softly-softly politics from US, UK and most of the rest 'democracies' applies. Well, please, get rid of the "we fight for democracy" slogan, but use "Looking for safety" or "Drilling oil" or whatever else suits your agenda. It is obvious that these are not simple issues but surely if you want to have the high moral ground be consistent and don't engage in 'pragmatist' politics, which usually is an excuse for 'I need something done, I need these ones on board, I don't like them, but I need them, so let's not criticise them, keep quiet and maybe mention in private, rather than go for an open PR war'.
It's true that Egypt is not the worst case example of a police state. Far from it. It's true that the 'democratic' states are moving gently into that direction as well. But that shouldn't stop us from making noise.
just about related links:
Amnesty - Egypt: New concerns about freedom of expression
Egypt: RSF report
Human Rights in Egypt blog
Manal and Alaa's bit bucket
Middle Eastern Times
Miss Mabrouk's blog - who said that Muslim women can't have a voice?
