A columnist for the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper has said that at a meeting he had with Omar Suleiman, the former intelligence chief gave him a bleak vision of Egypt’s future if Islamists completely take over power.
Journalist Jihad al-Khazen in his column Monday quoted Suleiman as warning that an Islamist takeover would result in domestic violence, loss of strategic relations with the US and engagement in an uneven confrontation with Israel which, he said, would create buffer zones in Sinai under the pretext of protecting its security.
“I hope Egyptians will realize the magnitude of the challenge the upcoming election involves, and I hope they will avoid those who adopt an Islamist platform that would fuel a social conflict and increase Egypt’s alienation,” Khazen quoted Suleiman as saying.
Suleiman, who served as vice president briefly before Hosni Mubarak resigned from office last year, was disqualified from his presidential bid when the Presidential Elections Commission said he had presented fake endorsement documents.
The former candidate defended the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took power after Hosni Mubarak resigned last year amid the uprising against his rule.
“The military council has not been treated fairly because it had never practiced politics, but rather assumed power in a transitional period after Mubarak and before the start of the new era,” Suleiman told Khazen. “All laws adopted by the military were meant to hasten the handover of power.”
But he said military council members are not aware how sly the Muslim Brotherhood can be, Suleiman said.
“The SCAF mistakenly thought the Brotherhood — as a strong, organized group — could be obedient,” he said. “SCAF’s first error was choosing a Brotherhood member as chairman of the Constituent Assembly, but the group, however, pressured the council with protests to achieve its own goals.”
Khazen said Suleiman was “very honest” and spoke to him without restrictions.
He said Suleiman told him about a meeting he had had with a serving Gulf official who accused him and SCAF head Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi of plotting to bring Mubarak down. Mubarak had exhibited understanding of the situation and responded to people’s demands for him to step down, Suleiman said.
