In the fifth and final part of our series on the Egyptian military coup, we talked to Engineer Midhat al-Haddad, Member of the Council of the Muslim Brotherhood. Answering the questions of the Milli Gazete, Haddad told our newspaper about the destruction caused to Egypt by the coup administration for 9 years.
“MUSLIM BROTHERS ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF EGYPTIAN SOCIETY”
What kind of damage did the military coup that took place on July 3, 2013, to Egyptian society, especially to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Movement?
The damages caused by the military coup go beyond the borders of the Egyptian, Arab and Islamic communities. Undoubtedly, the military coup was a clear violation of international conventions, customs and laws. The damage of the coup to the Egyptian people was very severe. Egyptians were not respected for their political choices and votes. The Muslim Brotherhood is an essential part of Egyptian society. The Brotherhood took responsibility when the people chose them, and within a year, the martyred President Dr. He provided a model of honorable rule under the leadership of Mohammed Morsi. The Egyptian people also witnessed the murder of the first president they elected of their own free will.
“THERE ARE 60.000 POLITICAL PRISONERS IN EGYPT”
How do you evaluate the current political situation in Egypt? Can we listen to what happened as a representative of a movement that was the first victim of the coup?
The 2013 coup in Egypt was a major trauma. The target of the coup were the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, who were killed in prisons. Not only the Muslim Brotherhood, but also those who oppose the regime are punished by the putschists. Transparency has disappeared from the scene in Egypt. There are no exact statistics on the number of detainees, but many human rights organizations report estimates of 60,000 political prisoners. According to the organization 'We Record', at least 5,778 women, including minors, have been subjected to physical or psychological torture or ill-treatment from 2013 to date.
“WE DON'T FORGET THOSE WHO COLLABORATED WITH THE COUP PLOTTERS”
The international community, especially Western countries, remained indifferent to the 2013 coup. There were even countries from Egypt's neighbors that supported the coup. What will you say about this?
International and regional powers watched the massacre in Egypt live on the screens. We will never forget this. We saw how the political community cooperated regionally and internationally to break the will of the Egyptian people and destroy the victory over the January 25 Revolution, instead of standing up to this military coup as in many other countries. The course of this coup started in a bloody way and has continued under the protection and support of regional and international powers until today. However, President Morsi, from his first day as President, has been open to everyone by providing a helping hand, dialogue and understanding with all components of the Egyptian state and all partners of the January Revolution. He also made 12 international visits to draw up an independent foreign policy for Egypt that ensures the interests of the people and the sovereignty of the state.
“EGYPTIAN SOCIETY IS CRUSHED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF INJUSTICE”
We hope that the coup administration in Egypt will be removed from power and the will of the people will come back to power. What does Egyptian society think about this?
Egyptian society is groaning under the weight of injustice and tyranny, and is barely recovering under failed economic measures and policies that have plunged Egypt into debt, pushing the state into a debt spiral and a chronic deficit in the state budget, and raising the rates of those living below the poverty line. The people are now suffering like never before in the grip of the worst regime in Egypt's contemporary history, brought on by poor planning, management failure, waste of resources and wasteful spending. All of these and others are pushing Egypt towards the spread of crime and the social, moral, security, economic and political decline the people are experiencing, along with high suicide rates. The situation that Egypt reached after the military coup is difficult to deal with in the case of the continuation of the existing policies or those responsible for them. As for my personal opinion; I say that this victory will inevitably come. Because it is impossible for the Egyptian people to endure all this bad luck forever.
Translation: Muhammed ÖZDEMİR