Egypt protests to lead to new revolution – activist
Press TV has conducted an interview with Hazem Salem, anti-coup activist from Cairo, to further discuss the presidential elections in Egypt.
Press TV: Well we are talking about ten or eleven percent, some of the activists are saying now as for as turnout in Egypt. What is going to happen in your perspective because obviously if it was such a low turnout, then this government of el-Sisi cannot attain legitimacy?
So, how do you forecast or predict what is going to happen in near future on the ground in Egypt now?
Salem: Well, on the ground people will continue resisting because this turnout will not give legitimacy and that the fact is after a popular revolution, you expected the power of the people to vote and this happened with Morsi and he was elected with 52 percent and he recognizes that.
But after a military coup like that of el-Sisi, he would not take 52 percent. He wants to have at least the equal number of voters like Morsi and then he takes 95 percent of that. So the bluff is very obvious to all Egyptians. These kinds of elections have been played by Mubarak all the time.
So on the ground people will continue resisting. Politics is dead and the legitimacy is not there for the regime. The regime is only resorting to imprisonment of activists and killing people in the streets and therefore the movement of the people will lead to another revolution that will counter the existing counter-revolution that brings el-Sisi to power.
Press TV: When you look at your country and where it is at this point in time, how do you assess it compared to pre-2011 revolution and now 2014?
Salem: Well actually now we have a very unsuccessful counter-revolution and this has given strength to the initial forces of the 2011 revolution. Therefore, the people who were hanging around the revolution in 2011 but they are hypocrites and they are liars and they are just ... the wave, they have just exposed themselves whether they are political parties or even religious leaders like ... and the al-Nour Party.
Therefore revolution has been purified and it is getting more momentum. The fact is Egyptians ignore the existing regime since the July 3rd and therefore they will not give it legitimacy and they will not accept its presence in power.
The issue now is the power of the people. They do not have to rely on anybody but themselves and that they will take things to another extreme where they can topple this existing counter-revolution and establish a real revolution. They established a real state that established a real move in history and civilization.
The turn of civilization will come to Egypt very soon when it becomes with a true, real Egyptian Islamic revolution.