Let 25 January be a day of national reconciliation

22/1/2013

As the second anniversary of the January 25 Revolution approaches, a lot of people expect demonstrations by opposition parties who reject the legitimacy of the government. Many anticipate clashes between supporters of the opposition and supporters of the current regime. God only knows what will be the extent and the results of this.

I have a completely different scenario in mind, one that carries a dose of optimism and is described in the language of reason. The opposition forces can make as many demonstrations as they wish to reject the legitimacy of the existing regime, but I do not think their goals will be achieved on January 25. Wouldn’t it be better to focus on immediately achievable demands?

One of these would be to amend certain provisions of the new constitution to create a true balance of powers by separating the three branches of government. To begin with, the executive authority should respect the independence of Egypt’s judicial branch, and refrain from using provisions in the new constitution that serve the interests of the executive at the expense of judicial independence. For a country that has respected the sanctity of the judiciary since the Constitution of 1923, such a conflict of interest is unacceptable.

Do we have enough patriotism and awareness to unite under one banner and remind ourselves, “Economy first, second, and third?” Do we have enough consideration for our future to carry out national reconciliation with those who came with the revolution and those who came before it, without any distinctions that could deprive us of the benefit of experienced individuals?

If so, let us bring together those with knowledge and capabilities for the sake of Egypt today and empower them to help us build the Egypt of tomorrow.

translated from Al Ahram