Tragedy in Cairo a lesson in why coups don't work

Almost immediately after last week’s coup that ousted President Morsi, Egypt ran into one quagmire after another. It didn’t take long for initial celebrations by opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood government to disappear as the new coalition began to fall apart. The army-backed interim government was soon sliding into an abyss.  

Naturally, the army maintains that it is merely supporting the will of the people and restoring law and order. But the reality on the ground speaks otherwise.

The Muslim Brotherhood has denounced the army’s shooting at its sit-in protest at the Republican Guard club in Cairo a “massacre”, while the army says it was responding to a “terrorist” attack. No matter what one calls it, 51 people died and more than 300 were injured in this deadliest single incident since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.  

Because of the army’s behaviour, the country’s top cleric, the grand imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, threatened to leave the army-backed coalition if the bloodshed continues. His group has called on the army to release those who have been arrested as a result of the coup, saying the country cannot move forward as long as Morsi and his people are behind bars.  

Another Islamist group, the ultra-conservative Al-Nour Party, has also threatened to leave the coalition.  

With the threat of a boycott by these two groups, the army could be left without any Islamist force to support its transitional government.  

In post-Mubarak Egypt, it is virtually impossible to exclude Islamists from any political order.

Because of the massacre, as well as the arrests of Muslim Brotherhood leaders, there is no reason why the Muslim Brotherhood would want to make life easier for the army. More mass demonstrations are expected and the number of protesters is expected to grow as time goes on.  

Before the country spirals into a civil war, the army needs to back down and think of ways to make this transition as inclusive as possible. And that means inclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose leadership the army ousted from power just a few days ago.  

It goes without saying that the Egyptian coup should inspire no one, no matter how unpopular Morsi has become among the Egyptian electorate. There are a number of people in Thailand who wouldn’t mind seeing the army launch another coup to oust the government of Yingluck Shinawatra. But no matter how incompetent and morally bankrupt her government may be, a coup is not the answer. If anything, the Egyptian case shows that there is no way a coup can bring about a clean slate.  

A nation and society are not a computer with a reset button that can be pushed so we can start all over again. And even if there were such a button, the people who push it should certainly not be the men with the guns. It should be the citizens of the land.

Egypt cannot repeat the same mistake as the last transition. Morsi may have more votes than other candidates, but the ballot result should not constitute a green-light to draft the constitution the way he sees fit. It has to be a collective effort and it must reflect the ideals and desire of a country’s people, regardless of religion, ethnicity or political affiliation. There is a lesson in this for all.

A leader cannot afford to rush into amending the constitution and an election without permitting polarised factions to carry out consensus building. Besides putting the future at risk, such moves could well make the process even less inclusive and democratic. This country cannot afford to make the same mistake. Egyptians don’t need to look far; it was just two years ago. They must reflect on the kind of mistakes that were made.