SLet’s be honest,” says Anwar el-Sadat, “we don’t have many means of influencing the processes here.” The Egyptian politician sits in his office in Cairo’s Heliopolis district and searches for formulations to describe the current state of mind of the opposition parties in the country describe. Sentences like: “We welcome that, but we remain cautious.” Or: “We have to wait and see what happens.” In the end, el-Sadat finally admitted that everyone in the opposition was “desperate” and hot every opening welcome, no matter how small. “It’s not what we were hoping to see, but whatever is to come is a success.”
The military has ruled Egypt with an iron fist since taking power in 2013. The scope for political activity outside of the parties and organizations loyal to the regime was becoming ever narrower, and the human rights situation ever gloomier. Several weeks ago, President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi surprisingly announced a “national dialogue” and a number of political prisoners were released. Since then, el-Sadat and others from the opposition camp have been faced with the question: is the door ajar, or does it only appear so?
#National #Dialogue #Egypt #freer #liberal