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Acquittal of Mubarak

Hosni Mubarak must be enjoying a quiet chuckle as Egypt bears witness to a defiance of history. This arguably is…

Acquittal of Mubarak

Former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak (PHOTO: Facebook)

Hosni Mubarak must be enjoying a quiet chuckle as Egypt bears witness to a defiance of history. This arguably is the most charitable construct that can be placed upon Thursday’s order of the country’s Supreme Court that has found the repressive dictator innocent of involvement in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his 30-year rule.

It is quite obvious that the focus of the judiciary was on the upheaval, and not on the prolonged phase of repression that brought matters to a head. In the aftermath of Tunisia, Egypt had ignited the spark of the Jasmine Revolution.

Yet if this is the final verdict in what the democratic world reckons was a landmark case, it is hard not to wonder whether the judiciary has relegated the repression to the footnotes of history. On closer reflection, however, this scarcely occasions surprise as the judiciary in Egypt, much like the military and the legislature, is but a relic of the ancien regime.

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Thursday’s development must rank as the bizarre irony of the Arab Spring on its sixth anniversary, most importantly the upheaval in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Mubarak was the first of the toppled leaders to face trial, and his acquittal comes in the face of charges ranging from corruption to complicity in the murder of protesters.

It was an uprising that inspired hope for an era of democracy and social justice. That hope was dashed in the courtroom on Thursday. Trends over the past six years do suggest that relics of the Mubarak era are calling the shots — the government of the Muslim Brotherhood was deposed in 2013, and a Field Marshal’s government is now in place. The deceptive facade is complete.

Any balance-sheet on the sixth anniversary of the Arab Spring, that the democratic bloc might contemplate, must be a distressing calibration of contemporary history. It has been partially effective in Tunisia — where it all began — but Libya remains ever so fractious.

The dictator soldiers on in Syria, a country in tatters. Yemen and Saudi Arabia, if unscathed, are in ferment. Across the region, only ISIS has gained a foothold — a testament to the political vacuum generally. More accurately, the Supreme Court has spoken against the democratic upheaval. It is the way history often works, as the British historian, GR Elton, had remarked in another context.

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