Western leaders should not support Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as long as he continues on his path of stomping out political opposition and radicalizing Islamists, said the Financial Times in a Monday editorial.
Sisi has championed himself as a bulwark of stability in the Middle East, and many Western countries have consequently opted for his narrative, increasingly opening up to him like during his recent trip to Germany to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel and his upcoming visit with UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
But by buying into this narrative, the Times says, Western countries are actually supporting Sisi's campaign to wipe out all political opposition, filling Egypt's jails with Muslim Brotherhood members and liberal activists whose only crime has been to voice their opinion against the president.
The newspaper argues that Western countries are repeating the same mistake they did when they befriended the oppressive regime of Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted during the January 25 revolution, only now the Sisi administration is unprecedented in its disregard for public institutions and its autocracy, which is only focused on one man.
The Times adds, however, that the oppression and brutality of Sisi is not nearly at the level of the Syrian regime, and that Sisi did receive popular support due to the failure of Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi. Nonetheless, the newspaper says, Western leaders should not give him a free pass simply because he ended the chaos engulfing the country.
The West must make it clear to Sisi, the newspaper argues, that they will no longer do business with the Egyptian government if it does not put an end to the Muslim Brotherhood death sentences, as well as allow political opposition and civil society organizations to operate freely, otherwise the country will incite more chaos.
