CAIRO – Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) doesn't run the country, as most people think, as the Government and its prime minister do, according to General Sameh Seif el-Yazal, an expert on national security. “The SCAF does not interfere in administering the country's affairs, as this is mainly something for the prime minister. The Army doesn't interfere in appointing anyone or in the elections,” el-Yazal, also the Chairman of El-Gomhuria Centre for Security Studies, said on Wednesday. El-Yazal's comments came at a Cairo symposium entitled ‘Building Democracy, Exchanging Experiences, Confronting Challenges: Interaction between Egypt, Portugal, Spain and Turkey'. El-Yazal talked about the role of the Armed Forces in building democracy. During the symposium, experts from Turkey, Portugal and Spain have been talking about their countries' experiences with military coups. “Such experiences are useful for us; it's not obligatory to copy and paste, but we can learn from them,” explained el-Yazal, a presidential candidate. “The Egyptian revolution was launched by the people and the Army is protecting it, while, in Turkey and Portugal, the Army launched revolutions to come to power. The Egyptian Army need not continue to rule.” The fact that the economic conditions in these countries are different from Egypt's also makes it difficult to copy their experiences. “The main thing we can learn from their experiences is that the transition to democracy takes time; it cannot be hurried.” The symposium, which is being held at the Arab League Headquarters and ends today, is the first step in a process of dialogue that will develop according to what emerges from it. In principle, a follow-up session will take place back to back with the Lisbon Forum, a joint initiative of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe and the UNAOC, to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 2 and 3. The symposium is a joint initiative put forward by a wide range of partners and stakeholders. They include the League of Arab States, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Portugal, Spain and Turkey; the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance; the Arab Forum for Alternative Studies; the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe; the International Centre for Peace in Toledo, Spain; the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation; the University of Lisbon; the Institute for National Defence, Portugal; the Portuguese Institute for International Relations; and the Canada-Egypt Business Council. It has also counted on the generous support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Cimentos de Portugal (CIMPOR).
