Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - "Someone has launched the slogan to begin the second revolution, but I do not think this will happen, even if protests are scheduled because important issues are at stake, such as the role of the Military Council", says to Fides Fr. Luciano Verdoscia, a Comboni missionary who lives and works in Cairo, where today, January 25, the first anniversary of the fall of Hosni Mubarak's regime is celebrated. The participation of tens of thousands of people at the event scheduled in Tahrir Square is expected.
With Fr. Luciano we trace a brief summary of a year of "Arab revolutions". "The first fact that strikes the eye and that in Countries where there has been change of regime there has been a strong advance of Islamist parties", said the missionary. "Here in Egypt, the political parties that appeal to religious positions have been given a total of 70% of seats in the Lower House. 40% went to the Muslim Brotherhood and 30% to the Salafis. There have been complaints: someone says that 20% of these results was obtained by fraud, others 15%, but these protests do not seem to have had consequences".
In Egypt, elections for the Senate and for the Head of State will be held in the coming months and the results appear to go in the same direction as the previous elections. "As I have said on other occasions this result is explained by the strong religious identity of the Egyptian population. In a Country where 40% of the local population lives below the poverty line, religious identity is often the only thing that gives dignity to the person", explained Fr. Luciano. "The Muslim Brotherhood then collected the fruit of decades of social and charitable activities in poor neighborhoods and rural areas".
We ask Fr. Luciano what will happen to the young people who gave life to the revolution. "Who started the revolution are the young people who acted not for religious reasons, but to demand more democracy and justice. The protagonists of this first phase of the revolution were movements such as the "6 April" and "Kifaya" ("that is enough"). In a second step these movements were bypassed by the Muslim Brotherhood and by the Salafis, well-organized and well funded".
This does not mean, according to Fr. Luciano, that democracy has been put aside because "within the Muslim Brotherhood there are different positions, even in contrast. Now they are going to power we will see how they rule".
"Among the issues that need to be faced by the new rulers is the re-launch of the economy and to define the future role of the military. On these issues I think that voters will measure their results", concludes the missionary. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 25/01/2012)
