source of frustration

More Violence in Egypt

It is hard for me to say exactly what country has caused my biggest disappointment over the last year or two, but Egypt has to be in the top five. It is impossible to rule a country based on public whim. Several months ago, Egypt went through their “Arab Spring” and threw out their longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. Following this, they went through a somewhat democratic process in which they set up democratic institutions and largely elected representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood. A year later, Egyptians were frustrated. The exact source of frustration is somewhat confusing. It seems to be a combination of economic woes plus new religious restrictions imposed by the Muslim Brotherhood. What is clear is that Egyptians took to the strange. Their military deposed, ousted and overthrew the democratically elected president and his government. As far as I know, this isn’t how democracy works.

From NYT:

The police and armed civilians opened fire Saturday with live ammunition on protesters against Egypt’s new military government, witnesses said, killing scores of people as hopes faded that the Egyptian military would reach any political accommodation with the Muslim Brotherhood and its ousted president, Mohamed Morsi. (more…)