By Hanan Solayman
CAIRO: “Transitional periods are dangerous and they make us all skeptical towards anything so we have to be cautious and know how to hinder domestic or foreign groups from staging a coup and controlling over,” senior scholar and founder of the Albert Einstein Institution told Daily News Egypt.
The 83-year-old scholar’s writings on nonviolent resistance can be drawn from to guide Egypt through this transitional period after the January 25 Revolution and counter what is referred to as the counter-revolution.
“Anti Coup” is the title of a study by Sharp on advancing the use of strategic nonviolent action in conflicts throughout the world defending freedom, democracy. The guidebook is described by Sharp as a “guide to self-liberation” whether from dictators or other forms of oppression.
This how-to plan can be developed from Sharp’s “Anti Coup,” co-authored by Bruce Jenkins, which he recommended to Egyptians to learn from and prevent restoring the old corrupt regime or lose the nonviolent struggle’s achievements.
“Toppling the existing regime is much easier then the step that follows because nonviolent struggle doesn’t produce perfect societies all of a sudden,” Sharp said. “Uncertainty is a common feeling now; it is uniting many Egyptians on one front keeping an eye on the military’s behavior. Institutional change becomes necessary in the time being since Egypt isn’t yet ready for the perfect society,” he noted.
Sharp has been focusing his efforts in the past years on research and studies offering some consultations but no actual trainings which don’t produce results as he says. He’s currently working on a terminology dictionary called “Field of Conflict” which includes 900 entries defining 830 of terms used in civil resistance in conflict. The dictionary will be published in November by the Oxford Alumni Association of New York (OAANY).
“You can download all my writings online and then you have all tactics in mind then you develop your own plan and come out with the most massive example in history on how to topple a dictatorship, becoming a model for other countries like Egypt did,” Sharp said.
In Egypt’s case, he believes he shouldn’t take any credit for the revolution, especially that he “didn’t get in touch with any Egyptian activist about it.” He only knew he was not far from the scene when he saw that revolutionaries refused to negotiate with the regime, something that his nonviolent resistance strategy calls for.
Defense strategy
Realizing how cautious people should be in transitional periods, Sharp developed the idea of a defense strategy that should be ready against counter-revolution plots that may dangerously develop into a coup.
According to Sharp’s book, serious social unrest, acute economic problems, sharp political conflicts or internal violence may make the major parts of the society willing to accept a new strong government which promises to act to restore order and to end crises.
But even when conditions for a coup may be favorable, counter-revolutionists may not make the attempt if it’s likely to fail due to the opposition of important sections of military personnel, police, civil servants as well as lower governmental levels and their likely resistance, along with independent institutions in society that may be inclined to oppose the coup and are strong enough to act against it especially in societies where masses are politically mobilized, involved and powerful.
Another coup mentioned is one that’s carried by a political party, aided by paramilitary forces or sometimes foreign agents, or a military coup.
Popular defense
Yet, the basics of preventing to any counter-attack as Sharp mentions, is the ban of coups d’état by law and the removal of justifiable grievances in the society by alternative authorities in transition or the democratic government that came to power after ousting the old regime.
“It’s naïve to expect that international influence will be able to prevent or unseat an internal takeover,” Sharp wrote.
In terms of popular defense, Sharp divided the resistance into organized and general types. In the first, there’s a leadership defense group that may include members of the legitimate government, whereas the second involves each citizen’s contribution to the defense plan in his circle according to a clear strategy. However, Sharp stressed that in both types, no arms should be used since nonviolent struggle, such as boycotts or strikes, is the only effective way to fight anti-coups.
But the real deterrence to a coup, according to Sharp, is the people who must deny the legitimacy of the illegal coup and refuse to work for it in any field. The people should defend its own freedom directly and disrupt the flow in all sectors, making the society impossible to rule.
He cited the most important “weapons” to fight a coup such as “the paralysis of each part of political system that putschists attempt to seize, persistent operation of uncontrolled parts of the political system, sweeping the streets with demonstrators, leaving streets empty, massive subversion of attackers’ troops and functionaries, defiant publication of TV with resistance news, general strikes and economic shutdown,” he explained.
Moreover, the society should encourage dissent and opposition among putschists, stimulate international opposition to the coup by diplomatic, economic and public opinion, seeking wide international support.
