This is so because the unsaid deal seems to be the provision that military will remain in gear as far as a foreign and defence policies are concerned — and at the same time exempted from being answerable before any civilian set-up. That’s the reason protests are in vogue and demands for a more open system of governance are being voiced in order to realise the intentions for which the regime of President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown last year.



Such sentiments, however, got a shot in the arm as Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei voiced his concern over the delaying tactics that the interim government is adopting in making its plans clear for the new elected order. ElBaradei’s thrust that he would not be a candidate for presidential elections, due in June, as he lacks trust in the junta is a severe credibility blow. The scientist, a notable opposition figure, is widely credited on the international forums and his candidature would have come as a welcome development at home and abroad. ElBaradei, however, has a point when he says that the evolutionary pace in Cairo doesn’t come to reflect the seriousness for which the revolution at Tahrir Square took place, and socio-economic indicators are very much the same in Egypt. His contention and subsequent decision not to stake his claim for the presidency will go a long way in mobilising public support, and is bound to create more pressure on the government. Opinions of dissent such as those of ElBaradei and countless other stalwarts who truly wish to see a representative and accountable system at work are in need of being channelised. Mere criticism of the transition process or boycott business would not help. The complexities of views are in need of being addressed, eloquently. Khaleej Times