Spring No Longer

The unraveling of Egyptian society since the downfall of Hosni Mubarak's regime nearly three years ago - a period which began hopefully, and was even described as an Arab Spring - has taken a further turn this week. The interim army-backed government, that in July deposed Egypt's freely-elected President, Mohammed Morsi, and kept him hidden and under house arrest ever since, yesterday brought the former President and fourteen other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood into an improvised court room in a police academy, on charges of murder and instilling violence that led to the killing of at least ten protesters last December. This was to be a big, political show-trial, designed to cast an air of legitimacy over the military's removal and arrest of the President.

But the proceedings didn't go well - in fact, they lasted a little over thirty minutes before chaos in the court finally forced an adjournment until early in the new year. Mr. Morsi, refusing to wear a prisoner's uniform, interrupted the proceedings repeatedly, calling the trial and the charges illegitimate, stating that he was the legitimate President of the republic, and protesting that he was forced into the courtroom against his will. A group of journalists then made clear their opposing view, shouting out, "Hang him! Hang him!". No wonder, then, that the judge gave up and postponed the proceedings.

America was evidently concerned - as it turned out, unnecessarily - that the trial would lead to the sort of widespread and violent demonstrations seen so often over the past two years throughout Egypt. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived, unannounced, Sunday night in Cairo, for the first time since Morsi's ouster, meeting with General Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi and his interim government. His message was direct, but hardly intrusive - to not lose sight of scheduling new elections, thereby restoring the democratic process. He urged officials to avoid further politically-motivated arrests, but tellingly made no mention at all of the Morsi trial. Seems that the Secretary did not want to distance America very far from the military government, noting innocuously that "there are questions we have here and there about one thing or another".

So, it appears that Egypt's Arab Spring remains, at best, on hold, with an almost absurd degree of polarization - Islamists on one side, more secular Egyptians on the other - unresolved and, seemingly, unresolvable. The world's attention is focused on General el-Sisi - can he, and will he begin to draw back the army's influence, permitting Egyptians another chance to freely chose a government that can be not only inclusive, but also effective in restoring a battered Egyptian economy.