Egypt’s New Pharaoh by Chris Hedges

by Chris Hedges
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Truthdig
December 17, 2012

Image by MoudBarthez via Flickr

When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 14 years in exile on Feb. 1, 1979, he set out to destroy the secular opposition forces, including the Communist Party of Iran, which had been instrumental in bringing down the shah. Khomeini’s declaration of an Islamic government, supported by referendum, saw him rewrite the constitution, close opposition newspapers and ban opposition groups including the National Democratic Front and the Muslim People’s Republican Party. Dissidents who had spent years inside Iran’s notoriously brutal prison system under the shah were incarcerated once again by the new regime. Some returned to their cells to be greeted by their old jailers, who had offered their services to the new regime.

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via Truthdig

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Chris Hedges spent two decades as a foreign reporter covering wars in Latin America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. His latest books are Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, Death of the Liberal Class, and The World as It Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress.

Copyright © 2012 Truthdig

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[DS added the videos.]

Constitutional Vote Polarizes Egypt

TheRealNews·Dec 17, 2012

Unofficial results show central Cairo voted against the constitution while rural regions, where the ruling Muslim Brotherhood wields influence, voted in favor

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Street battles as Egypt votes on new sharia-based constitution

RussiaToday-Dec 15, 2012

Egyptians are deciding the fate of a brand-new constitution which has divided the nation and turned the streets in the country’s key cities into battlefields. A chorus of critics have pushed for the referendum’s delay, saying that the Islamic-led document is flawed and not representative of the population.

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Mass Protests in Egypt Demand Morsi Cancel Referendum

TheRealNews·Dec 11, 2012

Mayssoun Sukarieh: Many forces from the elite, workers, students and women have their own reasons for opposing new constitution

UPDATE AP: The full vote was initially scheduled to take place on Dec. 15, but in a last minute Tuesday decree, Morsi ordered the voting stretched into another round on Dec. 22. Voting must be overseen by judges but the powerful judges’ union voted late Tuesday not to supervise the process, protesting an earlier and now rescinded decree by Morsi placing him above judicial oversight.

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Muslim Brotherhood offices torched as protesters clash in Egypt

RussiaToday·Dec 5, 2012

Four people have been killed and some 350 injured as supporters and opponents of Egyptian president clashed in Cairo. Demonstrators have also set fire to and attacked a number of Muslim Brotherhood offices throughout the country, according to local media. Offices in Ismailia and Damietta, north of Cairo, were attacked. Molotov cocktails were thrown into offices in Zagazig. READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/90i3no

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‘Revolution in Egypt hijacked by West-backed govt’

RussiaToday-Dec 6, 2012

Egypt’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has called the situation in the country “a civil war” demanding politicians to address the situation. Lawrence K. Freeman from Executive Intelligence Review magazine says the Egyptian people have been deprived of their revolution. READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/remb99

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