{"id":12776,"date":"2017-03-27T18:07:49","date_gmt":"2017-03-27T12:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/?p=12776"},"modified":"2017-03-27T18:44:49","modified_gmt":"2017-03-27T13:14:49","slug":"hosni-mubarak-survivor-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/world-news\/hosni-mubarak-survivor-returns\/","title":{"rendered":"Hosni Mubarak, the survivor, returns"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The former Egyptian president\u2019s acquittal shows he still wields power with the West. The question is will his influence lead to the release of the thousands of other political prisoners languishing behind bars?\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n By Sujit Bhar<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n That Egypt\u2019s military junta respects tradition was proved once again through the acquittal and release of ex-President Hosni Mubarak from house arrest.<\/span><\/p>\n On March 24 Mubarak left the military hospital where he was detained\u2014in Maadi, south of Cairo\u2014and immediately left under heavy security for his home in the posh Heliopolis area. Egyptian newspaper al-Masry al-Youm<\/em> has quoted his lawyer Farid el-Deeb as saying that Mubarak had a relaxed breakfast with wife Suzanne and their two sons Alaa and Gamal.<\/span><\/p>\n The 88-year-old leader had always maintained that he was in no way responsible for the death of nearly 900 protesters during the 25 January 25 to February 11 uprising in 2011. He had been sentenced to life, but an appeals court later had dismissed charges against him.<\/span><\/p>\n Technically, there has been no one directly held responsible for the deaths and, according to experts, nor will any one be. The deaths will have been for nothing. The expert, quoted in the media, says that for all practical purposes Egypt has remained in the grips of the military since 1952. That was when Egypt\u2019s first president Gamal Abdel Nasser took over power, overthrowing King Farouk in what can be called the first Egyptian Revolution.<\/span><\/p>\n Anwar Sadat, who can be called the real builder of modern Egypt, was a confidante of Nasser, and became his vice-president as the new junta took control. Sadat was never too far away from the military, which always had a say in matters of policy.<\/span><\/p>\n When Sadat was assassinated in 1981, openly during a military parade in Cairo, Mubarak was at his side, and narrowly escaped the bullets. He was inducted into the presidency, with senior leaders expecting him to be a puppet president who does their bidding. Mubarak was, anyway, not expected to last long in the position.<\/span><\/p>\n The military believed it too, but later joined hands with Mubarak in steering the country, and Mubarak lasted a little under 30 years in his position with the tacit support from the military and, of course, the West.<\/span><\/p>\n The Sadat-Mubarak period has been the most colourful and, according to some, the most politically romantic in Middle East politics.<\/span><\/p>\n Sadat was a visionary. Despite the overarching presence of the military, he led the country from relative insignificance to a politically prominent position the world. In the 11 years that he led Egypt (he became president in 1970), he not only set up another multi-party system of democracy, but also opened up the country\u2019s economy in what was called his Infitah economic policy.<\/span><\/p>\n Those were his wise development agendas, while on the populist side his dealings with old enemy Israel were incredibly impressive. As a start, he gave his Arab reply to Israel\u2019s 1967 Six-Day War through his 1973 Yom Kippur War in which he regained Egypt\u2019s Sinai Peninsula. That sealed the hearts of the people of not just Egypt, but of all the Arab world.<\/span><\/p>\n