ECONOMIC TURNAROUND
Sisi seized power on the back of protests that began on June 30, 2013 and ended a divisive experiment in Brotherhood rule.
The Brotherhood won Egypt's first free parliamentary and presidential elections after the 2011 revolt but faced protests within a year amid power cuts, petrol shortages and resistance from state institutions. Its supporters see Sisi as a usurper.
But a broad cross section of the public admired the stern general in dark sunglasses, who promised to restore stability.
Even after security forces killed hundreds of Brotherhood supporters in the street and detained thousands, shops sold out of cakes decorated with Sisi's face. A year on, Sisi was elected president with 97 percent of the vote.
But Sisi's star has faded as an economic renaissance has failed to materialize; inflation has reached seven-year highs, hard currency is in short supply, the pound is under pressure and economic growth is slowing.
"Tell Sisi, tell the president, we can't live like this," said Mohamed Mahmoud, a baker in a poor area of Cairo. He says beleaguered customers have cut spending and his profit is now about 50 pounds a day, not enough for the family of seven.
Economists have derided what they see as Sisi's ill-conceived infrastructure mega-projects, crowned by the costly Suez Canal extension, which have been rushed through under military supervision.
Sisi said in his TV interview that such projects were needed because of a legacy of underinvestment in infrastructure.
However, while they have shown rapid results, they have failed to create jobs for a rapidly growing population.
"What were the three main pillars that he promised? Stability, economic growth and security and he has failed on all three counts," said Timothy Kaldas, non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.
"So they are doubling down... If they can get away with expanding their repression against high-level targets and keep people in line, why wouldn't they?"
"NO ONE CARES"
Without international pressure, say activists, Sisi has little incentive to loosen his grip. France has sold Sisi's Egypt billions of dollars worth of arms and U.S. military aid has continued as Egypt battles Islamic State militants in Sinai.
Early this year, videos appeared online in which a group of youths performed skits in the street satirizing Egypt's crackdown, mocking its foreign policy and skewering its leader.
By early May, four members of Atfal al-Shawareh, or Street Children, were behind bars accused of trying to overturn the ruling order and undermine the state. A fifth is out on bail.
Friends and family said they were shocked that a handful of videos by an unknown group could prompt such serious charges.
More than 200 people were detained in April in connection with protests against the government's plan to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia -- a subject that featured in Atfal al-Shawareh's skits. Many have received jail terms or fines but most have since been acquitted.
"Can you imagine how it is to be a young person in medical college or any other college and be imprisoned for a year or two," said Mohamed Sadat, who heads the human rights committee in parliament.
"Will they come out good citizens? Or people full of hatred... without loyalty or belonging to this country?"
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-sisi-idUSKCN0ZG2EI?il=0
Sisi seized power on the back of protests that began on June 30, 2013 and ended a divisive experiment in Brotherhood rule.
The Brotherhood won Egypt's first free parliamentary and presidential elections after the 2011 revolt but faced protests within a year amid power cuts, petrol shortages and resistance from state institutions. Its supporters see Sisi as a usurper.
But a broad cross section of the public admired the stern general in dark sunglasses, who promised to restore stability.
Even after security forces killed hundreds of Brotherhood supporters in the street and detained thousands, shops sold out of cakes decorated with Sisi's face. A year on, Sisi was elected president with 97 percent of the vote.
But Sisi's star has faded as an economic renaissance has failed to materialize; inflation has reached seven-year highs, hard currency is in short supply, the pound is under pressure and economic growth is slowing.
"Tell Sisi, tell the president, we can't live like this," said Mohamed Mahmoud, a baker in a poor area of Cairo. He says beleaguered customers have cut spending and his profit is now about 50 pounds a day, not enough for the family of seven.
Economists have derided what they see as Sisi's ill-conceived infrastructure mega-projects, crowned by the costly Suez Canal extension, which have been rushed through under military supervision.
Sisi said in his TV interview that such projects were needed because of a legacy of underinvestment in infrastructure.
However, while they have shown rapid results, they have failed to create jobs for a rapidly growing population.
"What were the three main pillars that he promised? Stability, economic growth and security and he has failed on all three counts," said Timothy Kaldas, non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.
"So they are doubling down... If they can get away with expanding their repression against high-level targets and keep people in line, why wouldn't they?"
"NO ONE CARES"
Without international pressure, say activists, Sisi has little incentive to loosen his grip. France has sold Sisi's Egypt billions of dollars worth of arms and U.S. military aid has continued as Egypt battles Islamic State militants in Sinai.
But with the country lurching from one crisis to the next, criticism has mounted on social media and burst into the once-fawning press, as Egyptians have begun to openly mock Sisi's increasingly rambling speeches.
Early this year, videos appeared online in which a group of youths performed skits in the street satirizing Egypt's crackdown, mocking its foreign policy and skewering its leader.
By early May, four members of Atfal al-Shawareh, or Street Children, were behind bars accused of trying to overturn the ruling order and undermine the state. A fifth is out on bail.
Friends and family said they were shocked that a handful of videos by an unknown group could prompt such serious charges.
More than 200 people were detained in April in connection with protests against the government's plan to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia -- a subject that featured in Atfal al-Shawareh's skits. Many have received jail terms or fines but most have since been acquitted.
"Can you imagine how it is to be a young person in medical college or any other college and be imprisoned for a year or two," said Mohamed Sadat, who heads the human rights committee in parliament.
"Will they come out good citizens? Or people full of hatred... without loyalty or belonging to this country?"
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-sisi-idUSKCN0ZG2EI?il=0
