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By Madeleine Mezagopian

Last week, a crucial development unfolded in Lebanon, the hub of Arab democracy, however without receiving due attention albeit representing a prelude for other crucial developments in the region. Lebanon's army, with its modest credibility, surprised the concerned through its unexpected containment of a terrorist network threatening the national security of Lebanon. After series of free-hand terrorist acts, Ahmad Al-Assir and his followers attacked Lebanon's military members resulting in a decisive counter-attack by the army targeting not only Al-Assir's headquarters including a mosque turned into an arms storage, but the scheme to spread disorder and disobedience as a prelude for all-out sectarian civil war in Lebanon. The army acted without political but with popular clout. People delegated the army to advocate their human rights and civil liberties hijacked by extremists like Al-Assir and his followers.

Within much larger scale and intensity however with amazing crucial commonality, similar development emerged in another Arab state, Egypt.

Amid pillars of democracy being shaken through suffocating freedom of expression, persecuting and terminating opponents, rejecting pluralism, dialogue and compromise, resisting cultural diversity, freeing Muslim Brotherhood (MB) detainees, promoting blood shed and revenge, undermining authorities foremost the judiciary to prevent enforcement of law and order, jeopardizing national security through hosting thousands of extremists, the Egyptian people were left with only one option of returning to the streets and loudly announcing their withdrawal of confidence in the one-year old government of the now ex-Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. Thirty-three million Egyptians asked for the ouster of Morsi, which was materialized with the help of the military, worried already with the deteriorated security situation of Egypt since the arrival of Morsi, who intervened to prevent a civil war. The Egyptian Army exhibited solidarity and responded to the calls of the Egyptian people while highlighting their rejection to become political actors. Again, an Arab army acted without official political but with colossal popular clout.

Some perceived Egypt's military intervention as a military coup d'etat, an undemocratic approach overlooking the preceding middle-man role of the head of the Egyptian military mediating between the Egyptian people and Morsi, with the approval of both parties and the succeeding democracy enhancing components of the military statement which resulted in the appointment of the revered head of the constitutional court as interim president and the determination to establish a transitional strong government inviting Egypt's elites at home and in the Diaspora to meet Egypt's challenges, overlook the writing of new constitution and presidential elections. Civil, not military, interim government will be established, constitution will be drawn securing the human rights of all Egyptians.

Was Egypt’s newly-born Democracy salvaged or terminated by the military and Morsi's legitimacy hijacked?

Legitimacy can be withdrawn by the people, which was the case with the Egyptian people once Morsi's government hijacked Egyptians democracy after he and his MB clout hijacked their revolution. Egyptians, civil and military, did meet and concerted efforts to salvage their newly-born democracy and prevented from its being terminated. The Arab military proved to be the advocate and not the executioner of democracy delegated by and on behalf the Arab peoples.


The crucial question is no longer whether Egypt's military or the will of the Egyptian people toppled Morsi's government, rather how such a person, with very modest standard whose incompetence and true intentions were exposed the more he was vocal, was accepted and elected by the Egyptians and continued to rule Egypt for one year with the support of regional and global actors who were indifferent to the fatal repercussions of his undemocratic policies? Was the legitimacy of Morsi legitimate? Who awarded Morsi legitimacy, the advocates or the Executioners of Democracy?


Madeleine Mezagopian is an academic researcher, adviser and analyst in the field of Conflict Resolution/Peace and Socioeconomic and Political Development. She contributed this article to Ammon News English.