Mubarak Regarded As Authoritarian Ruler

By HAMZA HENDAWI
.c The Associated Press

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Hosni Mubarak has been the face of Egypt for nearly a quarter-century. Once seen as a straight-talking air force general who inspired hope, he is now regarded as an authoritarian ruler who runs the country like a personal fiefdom.

But Egyptians aren't likely to follow the examples of Lebanon, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan and launch a ``Revolution on the Nile'' anytime soon. That's because most feel the political situation is beyond their power to change. Apathy - not anger - sums up the mood here.

Still, a series of small but highly publicized protests in recent months has made it clear some people are prepared to push for change. The demonstrations included several by a new movement of intellectuals and professionals demanding that Mubarak quit and that his son, Gamal, not be allowed to replace him.

The movement's name says it all: ``Kifayah,'' Arabic for ``Enough.''

``There is a deeply rooted conviction among Egyptians that politics is outside their range of interests,'' said Abdel-Halim Qandil, an outspoken critic and prominent columnist. ``True, Egyptians silently endure oppression for long spells of time. But when they have had enough, they erupt like a cyclone.''

That can be dangerous. In November, after a series of columns highly critical of the regime, Qandil was briefly kidnapped, beaten, stripped to his underwear and dumped in a deserted area outside Cairo. He blames government security agents; no arrests have been made.

Mubarak's regime has been nowhere as brutal as those of, say, former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein or the late Syrian leader Hafez Assad. But it has proven highly efficient in crushing opponents.

Mubarak, 76, came to power after his predecessor Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981. Even before he took over, his National Democratic Party practically had a monopoly on politics. Mubarak tightened the grip by imposing emergency laws and giving security agencies a free rein in detaining thousands of Muslim militants, in effect creating a police state.

Supporters cite the defeat of the Islamic insurgency in the 1990s as one of Mubarak's main achievements, along with honoring the country's 1979 peace treaty with Israel and upgrading Egypt's rickety infrastructure.

International and local rights groups complain the price has been systematic torture and loss of liberties. Street protests and strikes are officially banned. Moreover, Mubarak's critics say, he has allowed an extensive web of corruption to ensure the loyalty of politicians and businessmen.

Humor is one way Egyptians defend themselves from all this, swapping biting jokes about their president, his family, government ministers and their own perceived helplessness.

Others fall back on the fatalism Egyptians are known for, hoping their faith will help.

``It makes no difference to me who is president,'' Shawki Mahrous, a 42-year-old Cairo taxi driver explained as he negotiated traffic during Cairo's evening rush hour. ``When I want to complain, I will not go to the president of the republic. I will go to God, only to him.''

Sensing their disenfranchisement in a society where knowing the right people often is more important than a good education or experience, many Egyptians disdainfully refer to the ruling establishment - Mubarak, his family, lawmakers and wealthy businessmen - as ``them.''

``Mahi el-balad baladhom,'' or ``Because the country is theirs,'' is a phrase often heard from Egyptians reading about corruption in the opposition press.

Mohammed Fawzi, a Cairo laborer in his mid-40s, puts it this way: ``They can get on a flight to Switzerland with their money when things go wrong. But I was born here, will die here and have nowhere else to go.''

For his part, Mubarak blames Egypt's economic problems on population growth - Egypt's 72 million people grow by some 1 million a year - and often cites an increase in schools and telephone lines since he took office as evidence of his success. He denies he is grooming his son to take over. Gamal Mubarak, 41, heads a powerful policy-making committee in his father's party.

``Ruling Egypt is not a picnic. It is not an easy task,'' the president said in one recent interview. In another, he said: ``To get out of it is not easy. If it was up to me, I would like to rest.''

Mubarak's assertion in another interview in January that his son was merely helping him, not being groomed to take over, proved too much for columnist Qandil. He wrote in the weekly al-Arabi that the president should apologize for a remark that undermined the prestige of his high office and made Egypt look like a family business.

Under internal and U.S. pressure, Mubarak recently asked parliament to adopt a constitutional change that would open up this fall's presidential election to more than one candidate. Parliament approved the change in principal but is still working on the details. Yet Mubarak will still have a vast advantage because the conditions for candidacy are likely to be restrictive and the government controls media access, critics say.

Omar Ibrahim, 22, is one of many who would like to see Mubarak go yet does not plan to vote. ``Anyone else, I don't care who, will be a welcome change,'' the engineering student said.

So far Mubarak has only one challenger, Ayman Nour, an opposition leader recently released from prison on bail. He is accused of forging signatures to obtain a license for his party.

State-controlled media portray Mubarak as something of a deity, a pair of safe hands without which Egypt would plunge into strife and despair.

``Anyone who takes over in a system that allows dictatorship will be a dictator,'' said Alaa al-Aswani, a political commentator and one of Egypt's better-known novelists. ``If Tony Blair could get away with making his son prime minister, he would.''



03/28/05 05:30 EST