On the 11th of June, Egyptian President Dr. Morsi finally made a speech regarding the Ethiopian dam issue; a pressing matter which, although it has existed for the past two years, was never seriously addressed by the current government until then. The speech itself was highly anticipated as Dr. Morsi's appearances have been becoming increasingly scarce since he was elected as president of Egypt. Egyptians sat down and watched the speech, hoping to be reassured that the matter is being dealt with. The Nile having been taken for granted for so long is something that all Egyptians are aware of, especially now that work on the dam has been initiated and Egyptians are faced with the fact that very soon, their share of water may substantially decrease. Dr. Morsi's speech, however, was neither reassuring nor informative. For one thing, it took Dr. Morsi four whole minutes until he actually started talking about the Nile, our water share and the Ethiopian dam, and when he did speak of it, he only mentioned it briefly. If we did not know that the speech was going to be about the Ethiopian dam, one would have thought that he was only making a routine speech as he spoke about attempts from the inside and outside of Egypt to bring Egyptians down. Speaking in metaphors as usual, not entirely pin-pointing a certain issue and being extremely vague and poetic about Egyptians' struggle to better their country. When he did return to the topic at hand, he also continued to speak in metaphors but now they were more alarming. Dr. Morsi said that if Egyptian soil was to lose water, Egyptians would sacrifice their blood for it – a statement at which his supporters cheered at once. From then on, Dr. Morsi took on a threatening tone, saying that Egypt's borders and security will always be safe and if anyone thought to threaten them, Egyptians will protect them with their lives. After that, Dr. Morsi stated facts about the Egyptian efforts to come to common grounds with the Ethiopian government. Surprisingly speaking warmly again of Ethiopia, Sudan and neighboring African countries. He stated that it was a pressing matter for all African nations to cooperate together to make sure that any future projects do not threaten any other country. One cannot help but think that those statements would have had a much better effect had he not used such a harsh tone earlier on. This relief was short lived as his tone, yet again, changed back to sound more threatening, going as far as saying that although he is carrying a message of peace, he will not hesitate to protect Egyptian security by any means possible and that all options are still open. He then asked if the Egyptian people were ready (?). This went on for around 20 more minutes, making the whole speech around 40 minutes long. Throughout the duration of said 40 minutes – and although at the end he concluded his speech with another call to dialogue with all political leaders – the same pattern was repeated for the most part. Listening to the speech for the second time, I could not be more concerned. At a time like this we are in desperate need for someone who is precise, decisive and straight-forward. The issue of the Ethiopian dam is extremely dangerous and the Egyptian government is walking on very thin ice as they are not exactly in a strong position. That is why they cannot afford to send mixed signals regarding their position. Another set of mixed signals was directed at the opposition. While Dr. Morsi called out to all political leaders from different backgrounds to come together and put their differences aside, he still used the phrase "anyone who threatens Egypt's security, either from within Egypt or outside of it." Keeping in mind that there are calls for protests on June 30th, it is clear that this statement can be directed at political leaders who have chosen to support the opposition and participate in those protests. It is a well-known fact that protests should not be considered a threat to national security but Dr. Morsi's government is no stranger to pointing fingers towards the opposition, claiming that their calls for protests are threatening Egypt's security. With June 30th approaching and the work on the dam initiated, Dr. Morsi's need to figure out where he stands on both those issues is becoming more urgent, especially now that it is starting to reflect on the Egyptian people as well. Not getting a straight response from the government is making Egyptians apprehensive and uncertain. Wherever you go in Egypt you will hear people talking about both the dam issue and June 30th and they are almost always concerned. It is not only the fact that both matters will affect their future, but also the way the government is facing them is of no consolation. The indecisiveness of the current leadership is starting to sink in and the damage it is inflicting on their already damaged credibility is immense. Dr. Morsi's government cannot be more unpredictable right now and Egyptians do not know what to expect, cannot know what to expect. It is leading me to believe, personally, that even if this government survives June 30th, the self-inflicted damage to their credibility is now irreversible. BN
