Activist: Egypt’s war on terror threatens human rights

BY AHMED EL SEBAIE

A leading human rights activist urged youth movements to take action against what he described as human rights violations which have been taking place in Egypt.

Hossam Bahgat, speaking at AUC on Wednesday, said activism should not be postponed at times of crisis. He added that initiatives by youth movements have already started to face what he described as a “counter revolution” by remnants of the Mubarak and Morsi regimes.

“Our recent experience taught us that human rights cannot wait, and that the damage is going to be irreparable,” said Bahgat in a lecture entitled “Human Rights in Times of Crisis.”

Bahgat explained that Egypt witnessed a series of terrorist attacks in the 90’s, targeting Coptic Christians, police, members of government and tourists. Back then, people did not stand against human rights abuses for fear of terrorism which was the turning point of transforming Egypt into a police state, he added.

The crackdown on the 90s terror was used as an excuse to use violence against militant Islamists.

Human rights organizations have long criticized the Mubarak regime for human rights abuses against civilians.

Ever since the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi from power last July, several churches have been burnt, Christians attacked, and police and army officers targeted by armed groups.

“It started with people being targeted for having supported Tamarod,” said Bahgat. “But then it just became indiscriminate after the removal of Morsi.”

Around 22 million Egyptians reportedly signed Tamarod, taking to the streets on June 30 to demand the removal of former president Morsi.

Bahgat said the geographic reach of sectarian crimes that have taken place since Morsi’s ouster is alarming.

The escalation of violence erupting after Morsi’s ouster led to another public outcry against terrorism. Egyptians took to the streets on July 26 responding to General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s call for a popular consent to combat terrorism.

Bahgat said evacuating the pro-Morsi sit-ins at Rabaah and Al-Nahda squares on Aug. 14 using excessive force was heavily criticized.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement on Aug. 19 saying, “Egyptian security forces’ rapid and massive use of lethal force to disperse sit-ins on Aug. 14, 2013 led to the most serious incident of mass unlawful killings in modern Egyptian history.”

Blaming the government for the current abysmal state of human rights, Bahgat said Egypt is now witnessing more random arrests, selective prosecution and military trials for civilians.

There are records of at least eight children under arrest, the state of emergency is back and the government adopts a very broad definition for terrorism, he added.

Bahgat noted that the Muslim Brotherhood also committed a number of human rights violations during the time of Morsi. This made it easy for the majority of the population to “look the other way, or even encourage the government’s discourse on the current war on terror,” he said.