Morsi sworn in as Egypt president
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The inauguration ceremony of Egypt's elected President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, was held Saturday in the High Constitutional Court. It was aired live by state television. "Today sees the birth of the Second Republic," a judge said at the beginning of the ceremony, which began with the national anthem and nearly two hours late.
"I swear by Almighty God to preserve the Republican system, to respect the Constitution and the law and to fully protect the interests of the people," said Mr. Morsi.
The Court is located right next to the military hospital where the ousted president Hosni Mubarak, 84, had been transferred there about ten days ago from Tora prison hospital. The former president was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the killing of hundreds of protesters during the uprising last year.
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For the time being, Mr Morsi will be only one-half president, attending civilians and routine diplomatic matters. The Egyptian military junta (SCAF) will hold the power on military matters, military alliances, and foreign policy direction. Obviously, the U.S. that stands behind the SCAF will try to force Mursi to maintain a pro-Israeli, anti-Hamas, anti-Iran, and anti-Hezbollah foreign policy. And here is where the clash between Mr. Mursi on one side, and the U.S. and SCAF on the other will occur in the months ahead.
The fact that Mr. Mursi promised to work for the release of Omar Abdul Rahman, a blind Egyptian militant cleric jailed for life in the United States over a 1993 bomb attack on New York's World Trade Centre immediately after his inauguration, proves that Mr. Mursi won't be an easy pushover for the U.S. Abdul Rahman was an enemy of Mubarak, and he was convicted for inspiring Islamist militants in an FBI video sting shown on national news - not for any bombing. I believe this is a message to the U.S. by Mursi that the Muslim Brotherhood has been unfairly prosecuted both in Egypt [under U.S. pressure] and in the U.S., and the U.S. has to make amends.
It is definitely a new day in Egypt, as well as a new day in the Egyptian and U.S. relations - with some sharp curves to be navigated ahead. But the full control of Egypt
by the U.S. as it was during the Mubarak's rule is over! Nikos Retsos, retired professor
