El coronel detenido

Joaquín Mª Aguirre (UCM)

A la historia del candidato deportado, Ahmed Shafiq, que contábamos ayer con detalles, le sigue —como en Diez negritos, la novela de Agatha Christie— la caída del siguiente candidato a la presidencia en la lista de presentados, el coronel Ahmed Konsowa, que ha sido detenido.

A cada candidato el sistema responde con lo "suyo" sin contemplaciones, en donde "lo suyo" es la forma de quitarlo de en medio:

Following army Colonel Ahmed Konsowa’s recent announcement that he intends to run for Egypt’s presidency, the country’s military prosecution on Saturday ordered his detention for a period of 15 days.

According to Konsowa’s lawyer Assaed Haikal, who spoke to Egypt Independent on Sunday the prosecution requested him to be present during the criminal investigation, and said that the military considers the detention as a “remand”.

Assaed added that as saying that his client is charged with violating the military rule after his client expressed his political views through the published video footage in which he declared his intent to run for the 2018 Presidential elections, in addition to using his military uniform for purposes unrelated to military service.

The attorney added that the detention of Konsowa cannot be appealed.

Last week, Konsawa announced his intention to run in next year’s presidential elections, becoming the third consecutive candidate to declare their bid for the post, after rights lawyer Khalid Ali and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq did it.*

Cada día hay una nueva sorpresa, si bien relativa. Ayer cerrábamos precisamente mencionado qué le podría ocurrir al coronel candidato a la presidencia, especulando sobre el grado de apoyo que podría tener entre sus compañeros. Es un kamikaze o una lanzadera.

Hasta el momento parece más un kamikaze, pues las dos acusaciones son bastante previsibles, por lo que ha pecado de ingenuidad. Tiene razón al menos en una cosa: el propio presidente ha utilizado su uniforme militar (el que en teoría colgó para presentarse) en actos en los que le ha interesado que se viera el Ejército en su persona. El más evidente es la inauguración del tramo del Canal de Suez. Nadie le dijo nada entonces, pero sí al coronel ahora. Se trataba de bajarle de la carrera y ha bastado una ligera andanada. Pero sigue siendo algo importante su presentación.

Hay más detalles que nos cuentan en Mada Masr que aclaran algunos aspectos:

According to Konsowa, he has attempted to resign from his military post countless times since March 2014 — a decision he said was spurred by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s announcement of his candidacy in the 2014 presidential elections — but has been impeded by what he called bureaucratic red tape.

“Until this day my resignation has not been accepted,” he said.

Konsowa asserted that he has filed 11 lawsuits since 2014 against various Egyptian officials, include the president, the prime minister, the defense minister and the speaker of Parliament, among others, in an attempt to have his resignation accepted. At least two of the lawsuits are ongoing, one of which is before the State Council and the other is before the Supreme Constitutional Court.

Safwat told Mada Masr that her husband “always maintained his pride in his work in the Armed Forces. He has served for around 20 years, all of which has been honorable service, according to the testimony of his superiors.”

In his Facebook statement the colonel justified his decision to announce his intention to run while wearing his military uniform by recalling that other candidates have done so in the past. He stated that his inability to resign from the military has meant he is unable to take off his uniform, adding, “I am not a rebel, a dissident or disobedient of military commands. I am proud of my work and will continue to do it as well as I can until this unlawful legal status is changed.”**

¡Terrible dilema al que le someten por salir a competir con el presidente! Si se presenta con el uniforme, ¡le arrestan!; si se lo quita, le consideran un desertor, traidor o lo que toque y ¡le vuelven a arrestar!

Quizá el coronel explicó demasiadas cosas cuando dijo querer darse de baja y la contestación a su petición se ha perdido por los interminables pasillos.

Como puede apreciarse, competir por la presidencia egipcia no es cualquier cosa. Es difícil entrar y no es fácil salir de ella. Algunos duran poco, como Sadat —asesinado— o Morsi —golpe de Estado— y otros duran mucho, como Mubarak, pero salen por una revolución. Nasser, en cambio, llegó con una revolución y tras el fracaso militar frente a Israel pretendió dimitir, muriendo finalmente de un ataque al corazón. Lo cierto es que, visto de lejos, no es un puesto muy apetecible por las trágicas consecuencias que trae.

La presentación del coronel tiene algo de naif entre los lobos de la política, personas curtidas en la política egipcia, que es como escalar el Everest con los pies descalzos. Unos y otros han vivido la política desde puestos diferentes y durante mucho tiempo. El coronel arquitecto tiene una experiencia limitada y lo está pagando.

¿Implica su retirada como candidato? Es probable que se le inhabilite para la carrera presidencial. Con tardar un par de años más en contestarle es suficiente. Veremos qué ocurre con los otros dos, los civiles.

* "Wife of army colonel who declared bid for president confirms his detention" Egypt Independent 3/12/2017 http://www.egyptindependent.com/wife-of-army-colonel-who-declared-bid-for-president-confirms-his-detention/

** "Wife of Armed Forces officer and presidential hopeful Konsowa says he is being ‘treated well’ in detention" Mada Masr 3/12/2017 https://www.madamasr.com/en/2017/12/03/news/u/wife-of-armed-forces-officer-and-presidential-hopeful-konsowa-says-he-is-being-treated-well-in-detention/