Anan remains elusive on presidential bid

In a lengthy interview with the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, former Armed Forces Chief of Staff Sami Anan carefully evaded the question of whether he plans to join Egypt’s upcoming presidential race.

Anan said he will announce his decision “with clarity and courage” when the time comes. He talked about his good relationship with Defense Minister Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, saying that the military institution is one family, according to the newspaper.

Published on February 10, the interview comes at a critical time — almost three years to the day after former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power and succeeded by the 18-month rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Within the council, Anan was second in command until he and Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi were forced into retirement the summer former President Mohamed Morsi came into power.

It is also just days before the official window for candidates to register in the presidential race opens on February 15.

“Honest confrontation is my weapon,” he said, adding that “my only goal… is to serve my country.”

Al-Shorouk had recently quoted unnamed sources as saying that a number of Anan’s friends and public personalities “have convinced him not to run so as not to fracture the consensus that exists on the Egyptian street around the nationalistic personality that is expected to announce its final position in the middle of this month.”

The vague quotes refer to Sisi, who just days ago seemed to be the only presidential candidate after the army council delegated the defense minister to nominate himself in response to popular demand. He is yet to confirm his intent to bid for the country’s top post.

On Saturday, however, leftist politician Hamdeen Sabbahi said he would run in the presidential elections, representing himself as the candidate that forces of the revolution can rally around. Meanwhile, former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh said he would not run, while his Strong Egypt Party said it would not field a candidate.

Throughout the interview with Asharq al-Awsat, Anan sheds light on the transitional period, which saw SCAF in power until Morsi was elected president, vehemently refuting claims that the council helped the Muslim Brotherhood come to power. The council put a democratic process in motion without intervening in it, he says, adding that many of the political forces that formed coalitions with the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party later went on to accuse SCAF of brokering power deals with the group.

He pointed to the popular chant of “the army and the people are one hand,” saying it is a reflection of the reality on the ground.

During the transitional period following Mubarak’s ouster, protests and demands took on a sectoral nature, which the army council did its best to deal with despite limited resources, he adds. At the same time, “forces planning to carry out personal agendas were able to fuel the street with chants like ‘down with military rule’.”

He goes on in disbelief, saying, “Can you believe this improper chant was taught in schools? They wanted a whole generation to grow up without any loyalty to the armed forces.” Without specifying who “they” were, Anan is expanding on an earlier reference to the powers that wanted to fuel the Egyptian street for their own interests.

He later asks whether this isn’t a clear conspiracy against Egypt, and says SCAF quickly became aware of these hidden agendas aiming to “break the armed forces…and the Egyptian state and its people.”

Anan describes the June 30 mass protests and subsequent removal of Morsi by the army as an extension of the January 25 revolution, “correcting the mistakes and negative consequences.” He adds that the armed forces played an integral role in both, “always unconditionally siding with the people, who possess and create the legitimacy.”

He pointed to Morsi’s constitutional declaration, which gave him sweeping powers and safeguarded all of his decisions from judicial review, and the ensuing anger on the streets, as eventually leading to the June 30 protests against the former president. The armed forces, Anan adds, once again took the side of the people, otherwise Egypt would have “turned into Syria or Libya.”

Asked about the role of the youth, Anan said they “were not and will not be marginalized.” He added that he hopes they would form a political party and be represented, saying it is vital for the youth to play a role.

However, several prominent activists and faces of the January 25 uprising are behind bars for protesting against what is seen as a restrictive protest law, as rights groups continually demand their release along with that of journalists who have come under accusations of reporting false news.

In the interview, Anan says that “the youth has fragmented its power…and they realized that recently,” adding that future lies in preparing the youth to become leaders of Egypt.

Anan also expounds on Egypt’s relationship with the Gulf states, which have fluctuated according to who is in power. Under Morsi, Egypt and Qatar had the best of ties while relations strained with the United Arab Emirates.