Egypt

I think in the case of Egypt, it wasn't just the army. But, as a rule, no. Look what happened after the assassination of Sadat.

I wonder how much the military was involved in whipping up anti-government frenzy - now they can say they are merely responding to the demands of the people. Incidentally, there was no sign of any unrest in the little town of Nuweiba when I was there last month.
If I were an optimist, I would say that perhaps the tide was turning against misogynistic Islamic regimes but I doubt if the oppression of women was high on the agenda of most of the men involved.

They are between the devil and the deep blue sea: the army on the one hand, the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood on the other.

Just what political intrigue were you up to out there Greatnan? Snorkeling indeed! Greatnan goes snorkeling and they have another coup!

The military aren't taking over, according to last night's news. A temporary technocratic group headed by a judge will govern whilst further elections are arranged. I hope so!

Did they not realise he was muslim before they voted him in?

What did they expect?!

I think the army was acting on behalf of the majorityt of the people. What else could they do? Start shooting the demonstrators?

I just wish the World Service would stoip going on and on about it.

Yes I know it's important. I know where the Suez Canal is, before anyone starts trying to educate.

Last time I went to Egypt a bomb was detonated in Sharm and the time before that the Hilton, Taba, was bombed. Luckily, I was in other resorts both times!
I must admit I had to resist the temptation to ask the all-male staff about their attitudes to women! At least I was only asked once where my husband was. If only Scandinavia had coral!

I'm really struggling with this one. There is something fundementally wrong with a democratically elected government being removed without an election and armies in power don't exactly have a great track record (I know they say there are going to be elections)
On the other hand, the president was granting enormous powers and influence to the Moslem Brotherhood. But how can I logically let my antipathy to them override the basic principle? Look at Chile - that was a democratically elected left wing government, ousted with US help and look what happened next

Clegg: " "We don’t support coups. We support democracy. We’re worried about the violence".

Yes. I think that's why the army finally stepped in.

Maybe this judge will be the best option in the long run. They don't seem to have anyone else.

Do they not have the equivalent of votes of no confidence in the government? Its all a rather dangerous mess.

I agree with bluebell's thoughts about deposing a democratically elected government, the US did Chile no favours in toppling Allende, Pinochet was a vile dictator.

Nevertheless, the Moslem Brotherhood seem very questionable and they don't seem to represent the hopes and aspiration of the younger generation. I don't think Morsi and his cohorts do women any favours, allegedly there have been 100 or so women who have been sexually assaulted, possibly raped around Tahir Square in the past week. This seems to be some sort of intimidation tactic to keep them off the streets, it's quite apparent that this party have a hardline attitude towards the role and presence of women. I also believe the minority Christians who have been part of Egyptian society for so long now live in fear.

I think there was a lot of over optimism regarding the Arab Spring. Having swept away autocratic governments they seem to replace them something equally as bad.

It would be so encouraging if the Egyptians could vote in some democratic and secular government who treats both women, minorities and minority faiths favourably.

Yes BAnanas when we first went to Egypt we were told there were no problems between the different religions but last year our Egyptian Christian friends were really worried about the threat of the Islamists. It is very hard for them as they were educated outside Egypt and therefore have experience of other democracies.

We went to Egypt last year and met educated, middle class muslims and christians. They were all so proud of their recent revolution and had such optimism for their country. This was before the election that brought the muslim brotherhood to power. We were told that the biggest need was for education as outside the big cities a huge percentage of the population are barely literate. I suspect this gives a fertile breeding ground for fundamentalism, and high levels of unemployment mean that keeping women at home and out of competition for jobs has an obvious appeal.

I know that at the time we listened to our egyptian friends optimism about the future and worried for them as it didn't seem so straightforward to us.

I suppose the problem with democratic elections is that it's great if the person you want gets elected. Whether it is a good thing for the army to step in is debateable. Should the army take over indefinitely? I really don't know.

Oh my God! Army opened fire. What a situation.

We have not heard from the young Egyptian woman who was posting a lot on Gransnet a wee while ago. I hope she and her family are OK.

That's what armies do. They are not trained in crowd control