I just returned from a public panel discussion helt at AUC, the American University Cairo. Under the headline „The Role of Political Parties in the Transitional Period“, the AUC's School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP) and the German Konrad-Adenauer Foundation (KAS) have assembled as speakers: Dr. Amr Hamzawy, Political Science Professor (Carnegie Center for International Peace, Beirut), Abu El Ela Madi (Founder of "Wasat-Party") and Dr. Essam El-Eryan (Spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood) with Dr. Mustapha Kamel El-Sayyed (Political Science Professor, AUC and Cairo University) serving as the moderator.
Thanks god, the organizers provided simultaneous translation to English, I would not have been able to handle a political discussion of that kind in Arabic, yet. Unfortunately the translation was interrupted the moment El-Eryan, took the floor as the second speaker. After his first two sentences the audience broke into applause and cheers...from my neighbour I learned that this had something to do with Amn IlDawla, the state security.
But it was only now back to home and the internet that I understood the dimensions: Today the interior minister, Maj. Gen. Mansour el-Essawy, has announced that the state security apparatus, known and feared as „Amn ilDawla“ among Egyptians, is to be dissolved. While the English language newssites do not yet give more information on the dismantling of the institution, the extremely active, uptodatte and pronounced blogger Zeinobia has already translated parts of the interior minister's statement and provides us with the following additional information:
Amn IlDawla is to be replaced by a new-found institution carrying the interesting name “National security sector“. (AlMasr AlYoum translates it as „agency“ but considering that not only Zeinobia but also other Egyptians I spoke to called it „sector“ hints at an Egyptian word which doesnt translate unambiguously). Whatever its name, this new institution is entrusted with protecting National security (whatever this is...) and fighting terrorism (whatever this is...). According to Zeinobia, the ministry's statement emphasizes that the national security sector will be bound the constitution, and abide by the law and honour human rights. The agency is supposed to resume work after one month's time. Also the ministry announced it will be recruiting new officers in the coming days and ensure that the new agency will not include any officers who had been previously involved in human rights violations. I wonder: Doesn't that mean that all the former staff has to be fired?
And all these well-intended statements not withstanding there are fears that the whole endevaour will end up in nothing else than renaming and re-painting the apparatus, while keeping its structures, powers and inhuman practices in place. As Zeinobia's reasoning shows, these fears are at least partially based on the fact that a change of name as mere razzle-dazzle had already been considered by authorities early on. Also the assigned tasks of the national security sector do not serve to dilute suspicions: after all it was the constant reference to a terrorist threat which allowed Mubarak and his system to torture under the eyes of the international community.
Yet, there is also more optimistic voices regarding the breaking of Amn IlDawla's power: just today I had spoken to a European diplomat who was pretty sure that Amn IlDawla was on its last legs, if not already down. Rather than an unnoticed recovery of the apparatus he feared the unnoticed dissolution of the institution and the destruction of all its remnants – including documents which would help to uncover and trace the apparatus' crimes. He was pretty sure that other than in Eastern Europe no real investigation and re-evaluation (Aufarbeitung) of this period would take place. Instead the activities of Amn IlDawla would be added to the many skeletons in Egypt's national cupboard...
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