Gold Magazine September - October 2013, Issue 30 | Page 52

interview

RENEWING

EGYPT’S
DEMOCRATIC
ASPIRATIONS

THE COUNTRY’S
AMBASSADOR TO CYPRUS
REMAINS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT
HER COUNTRY’S FUTURE.

By John Vickers. Photograph by Jo Michaelides

A

lmost one year to the day
after the world hailed another
‘Arab Spring’ as Egypt held its
first-ever democratic elections,
the elected president Mohammed Morsi was removed by
the military after giving himself wide-ranging
powers that were beyond any kind of review.
The situation in the country remains tense
but Egypt’s Ambassador to Cyprus, Dr. Heba
Elmarassi tells Gold that she is confident
that the situation will soon have returned to
normal. Not only that, she unhesitatingly gives
readers the all-clear to visit the country’s Red
Sea resorts at anytime.
Gold: I think we have to start by asking
you about the current situation in your
country. After the removal of President
Morsi and the subsequent chaos and bloodshed, how confident are you that things
can soon return to peace and normality in
Egypt?
Heba Elmarassi: I am quite confident that
order and calm will soon be restored in Egypt.
Egypt has demonstrated its commitment to
implementing democratic principles and the
restoration of democratic governance in the
earliest time possible, by announcing a clear
road map stipulated in the constitutional declaration of July 3, 2013. On August 21, 2013,
H.E. the Prime Minister of Egypt announced
some important developments in the Government’s Programme for a Sustainable Path to
Democracy. I can assure you that Egyptians are
resolved to create an environment that embodies a modern, civil and democratic society,
one that respects the rule of law, and one that
certainly does not discriminate on the basis of
gender, race or belief.

I AM QUITE CONFIDENT THAT
ORDER AND CALM WILL SOON
BE RESTORED IN EGYPT
Gold: Do you believe that Egypt is capable
of ever becoming a Western-style democracy or is that something that the country
does not actually aspire to?
H.E.: I believe that Egypt will and should
become a democracy, with all the consequences that this term entails. Having said that, I
can be more specific and say that Egypt will be
aspiring to restore law and order all over the
country, to maintain the security of its citizens,
irrespective of religious denomination or
political affiliation, places of worship and other
governmental, private and public properties,
as well as the protection of the rights and liberties of its citizens according to international
standards. We shall also be endeavouring to
implement an all-inclusive, transparent roadmap based on equal opportunities and aimed
at restoring democratically elected institutions,

an elected parliament and electing a new
president. The constitution will be amended in
such a way as to reflect the identity, desires and
hopes of the Egyptian people and we shall hold
a referendum to approve the amended