This is insight from "The Hindu" a long standing news media source in India. It is fairly reliable. They are reporting this military crackdown is not simply clearing the streets of demonstrations. Better said, they aren't just dispersing.
August 14, 2013
...Eyewitnesses reported (click here) thick smoke rising from the areas of the
assemblage amid sounds of gunfire. Television pictures showed an army
bulldozer taking down the tents, sandbags and a makeshift brick wall
that the protesters had erected in Nasr city encampment for their
illusionary defence. Protesters set alight tires as the raid progressed,
while the security forces torched the tents.
Significant casualties
The storming of the two sit-ins has caused significant casualties, but
claims of the death toll have fluctuated wildly. The Muslim Brotherhood -
Mr. Morsy’s parent organisation - claimed that 250 people had been
killed, describing the encounter with the police as a “massacre.” In the
absence of an official count, others estimated that 40 people had died.
"This is not an attempt to disperse, but a bloody attempt to crush all
voices of opposition to the military coup," said Brotherhood spokesman
Gehad al-Haddad on Twitter.
The intrusion by the security forces triggered an impassioned call by
the Brotherhood for countrywide protests—its appeal finding deep
resonance in several cities in Upper Egypt—the Brotherhood’s stronghold....
The New York Times is stating there are now 19 military governors of 25 in Egypt. I mean Egypt isn't that big a country. The USA has 50 okay? But, when one considers this decentralization of military authority it helps explain the escalation in confrontation.
By
DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and MAYY EL SHEIKH
Published: August 13, 2013
CAIRO — Egypt’s new military-appointed government (click here) on Tuesday named a
roster of generals as provincial governors, raising fears of a return to
the authoritarianism of former President Hosni Mubarak.
Of the 25 provincial governors named, 19 are generals: 17 from the military and 2 from the police. One police general has become well known for his openly insubordinate refusal to protect supporters of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist whose candidacy was advanced by the Muslim Brotherhood.
A military general appointee, Gov. Mahmoud Othman Ateeq of Sohag, a former deputy governor in Alexandria, was filmed in 2011 raising a gun at a demonstration of teachers, who can be heard begging for their lives....
I am not willing to point fingers at Murbarak or anti-Murbarak and the same for Morsi. The 'brain trust' within the Morsi camp is simply not there. When a country is in disarray I am not surprised the leaders are coming from the most experienced people. The elections have to go forward.
Some of this is the concern for a sovereign nation and the influx of militants. The Egyptian military in all honesty is attempting to keep order and function within the country. If the country is in complete disarray there can't be elections.
That said, the UN needs to entertain a power sharing arrangement that should come out of the elections. There should be Morsi influence in the country within a structured settlement after the elections. The purpose is to grow the brain trust of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is not pacifying them, it is about bringing them on board within a power structure that demands civility and ECONOMIC FUNCTION.
There can be dual candidate outcomes. The majority leader and the minority leader. The 'authority' of the power sharing can be proportional to the electorate favor, but, the minority has to have a function and not just a figurehead in the government. If the Muslim Brotherhood is to ever have a real place in Egypt it has to have some degree of recognition within the government to help mold policy.
There can't be a defacto dictatorship on either side of the equation. We value culture. Seeking to eliminate one culture over another is a form of genocide. Those at UN know that. Politics is part of the culture, it's integrity must be respected.
Of the 25 provincial governors named, 19 are generals: 17 from the military and 2 from the police. One police general has become well known for his openly insubordinate refusal to protect supporters of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist whose candidacy was advanced by the Muslim Brotherhood.
A military general appointee, Gov. Mahmoud Othman Ateeq of Sohag, a former deputy governor in Alexandria, was filmed in 2011 raising a gun at a demonstration of teachers, who can be heard begging for their lives....
I am not willing to point fingers at Murbarak or anti-Murbarak and the same for Morsi. The 'brain trust' within the Morsi camp is simply not there. When a country is in disarray I am not surprised the leaders are coming from the most experienced people. The elections have to go forward.
Some of this is the concern for a sovereign nation and the influx of militants. The Egyptian military in all honesty is attempting to keep order and function within the country. If the country is in complete disarray there can't be elections.
That said, the UN needs to entertain a power sharing arrangement that should come out of the elections. There should be Morsi influence in the country within a structured settlement after the elections. The purpose is to grow the brain trust of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is not pacifying them, it is about bringing them on board within a power structure that demands civility and ECONOMIC FUNCTION.
There can be dual candidate outcomes. The majority leader and the minority leader. The 'authority' of the power sharing can be proportional to the electorate favor, but, the minority has to have a function and not just a figurehead in the government. If the Muslim Brotherhood is to ever have a real place in Egypt it has to have some degree of recognition within the government to help mold policy.
There can't be a defacto dictatorship on either side of the equation. We value culture. Seeking to eliminate one culture over another is a form of genocide. Those at UN know that. Politics is part of the culture, it's integrity must be respected.
