The traffic and rubbish were cleared for the president’s visit, but memory of old and broken US promises brought apathy, writes IAN BLACK in Cairo
BARACK OBAMA moved briskly wherever he went in Egypt yesterday – down the steps of Air Force One, up the steps of the palace to embrace Hosni Mubarak, then on to the podium at Cairo University to give his long-heralded speech to the Muslim world.
Every part of his day was choreographed and broadcast live on Egyptian TV, from the lance- wielding cavalry escort before talks with Mubarak at the ornate Qubbeh palace, to his guided tour – with a headscarfed Hillary Clinton in tow – of a medieval Cairo mosque. Last stop before leaving for Germany was the pyramids at Giza.
On arrival, the president stood stock still with his hand across his heart as an Egyptian army band boomed out the Star-Spangled Banner, a tad off-key and far too heavy on the cymbals.
Obama saw little of ordinary Cairenes as many took an enforced day off work while this sprawling capital’s normally traffic-choked, sunbaked streets were cleared for his snaking motorcade of black limousines, trucks and vans. The massive security operation was a stark reminder of one of Egypt’s biggest problems – the availability of plentiful, cheap manpower in the service of an authoritarian state which lacks opportunities for young people and whose human rights record is notoriously bad.
Mubarak, strikingly, did not attend the president’s speech. Perhaps it was ill health – he is 84, looks it and is mourning the recent loss of a grandson – or a way of avoiding Obama’s clear though carefully non-specific strictures about democracy, freedom and accountability, all conspicuously absent for nearly 80 million Egyptians.
Rehan, a 27-year-old cleaner, felt the key question was peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the issue that has involved Egypt in four wars, dominated its foreign policy for 60 years, and led to the country’s isolation when Anwar Sadat dared to break Arab ranks in 1977.
“Inshallah, maybe Obama can succeed,” he said. “We are very happy he is here.”
But there is a strong sense of apathy, especially about the prospects for internal change when there is no international pressure. The piles of rubbish normally rotting in front of the university campus had been cleared away, giving rise to sarcastic jokes from passers-by.
Warm praise for Obama was mixed with scepticism. Condoleezza Rice was here five years ago, promising to promote democracy, but that was abandoned in favour of “stability”.
Ezzedine Fishere-Shoukri, a political scientist, was disappointed by the speech: “People like Obama and trust him, but what’s really new here in terms of policies?”
But there was little visible opposition, apart from a protest by the secular group Kefaya, meaning “enough”, in front of the US embassy, against what it called America’s “unchangeable policies and double standards in dealing with the problems of the Middle East”.
Ibrahim Eissa, the editor of the independent al-Dusturnewspaper and an outspoken critic of the regime, turned down the invitation to attend the speech.
“If I went it would mean that the problem was just with Bush, but the problem is with US policies in the world and in the Muslim world which haven’t yet changed.” – (Guardian service)