Egyptian authorities are intensifying their most recent crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood – Friday morning’s Reuters headline tersely noted “Egypt arrests more Brotherhood supporters, more protests anticipated” – days after the country’s army-backed interim government designated the Islamist group as a terrorist organization.
At least 32 figures linked to the Brotherhood have been arrested in the aftermath of the Wednesday designation, which came amid an escalation in terror attacks that saw Islamist violence, which had largely been limited to the Sinai Peninsula, spread across Egypt. The move will enable Cairo to shutter Brotherhood-linked institutions and freeze the group’s assets. It also has the potential to affect regional and global diplomacy, with various actors being called upon to position themselves in response to the designation.
The Egyptians have already announced [Arabic] that they will press Arab countries to make good on signed counter-terror obligations and cooperate against the Brotherhood. The Palestinian Fatah faction called on the Brotherhood-linked Hamas faction to untangle itself from the organization for the sake of advancing Palestinian interests:
Ahmed Assaf, the spokesman for Fatah, said in a statement that the continuation of Hamas’s “subordination” to the international Muslim Brotherhood organisation will put millions of Palestinians — especially those in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip — in confrontation with several Arab states, including Egypt.
“This will lead to dangerous security and economic situation that will threaten the future and lives of the people there [in Gaza],” Assaf said.
Assaf called on Hamas, an ideological offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, to prioritise the interests of the Palestinians over other “partisan interests and foreign connections.”
Egyptian media reported last week on statements supporting the designation from liberal political groups that had last summer demanded the resignation of the country’s then-Brotherhood linked government:
The Rebel (Tamarod) group which had lobbied for the ouster of Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi, said that labelling the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation was delayed but “better late than never.”
“We believe that the great Egyptian people will conquer terrorism; the 14 and 15 January will be the greatest evidence on how the Egyptians support the roadmap and revolution’s constitution,” read a statement on the group’s official Facebook page, referring to a referendum to be held on the recently-amended constitution in January.
The Egyptian Social Democratic Party also welcomed the decision of the government. “This decision calmed the Egyptian people, especially after the terrorist attacks this group has been doing in the Egyptian street,” said the party’s head, Mohamed Abul-Ghar, on Al-Hayat TV channel on Wednesday.
The liberal Free Egyptians Party issued a statement on Thursday welcoming the “historic decision” that puts an end to “one of the most horrible fascist and racist groups.” The Brotherhood has utilised religion as a cover and threatened not only Egypt but also “the modern civil state and human civilisation in general,” claimed the statement.
The United States for its part has expressed reservations over Egypt’s moves against the Brotherhood – State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki conveyed to reporters the details of a call between Secretary of State John Kerry and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Fahmy in which Kerry expressed as much – and is reportedly not considering following Cairo’s lead in designating the group.
[Photo: TheGuardian / YouTube ]