Fleeing west .. Is Sisi taking advantage of Libya to escape his internal crises?

Abdullah Hamed - Cairo

By simmering artists, journalists, electronic committees and various media outlets, and under slogans such as "neutrality betrayal" and "100 million guerrillas," the Egyptian regime launched a major media campaign to reject Turkish interference in Libya.

Observers believe that the escalation of the media arms and electronic committees of the regime of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the attempt to arm the Egyptians behind him regarding the Libyan file, is only an attempt to escape west towards a safe file, instead of facing the intractable internal and external crises that threaten his regime, with mounting public tension and anger over his policies In light of the approaching date of the haunting January revolution of his security services.

They believe that because of the differences between the authorities in Turkey and Egypt, the Sisi regime fears the Turkish presence in Libya on its own, not on Egypt, which is more dangerous than the south and east, not the West.

Despite the rigid statements of Ethiopian officials regarding the Egyptian demands regarding the Nile River crisis and the serious impact of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Egypt, the Egyptian media's tongues and electronic committees did not find threatening the waters of the Nile River with a threat to the country's national security.

The prevailing discourse on the Renaissance Dam - which is primarily a security-oriented discourse - focuses on the need to identify with the predominant official calm, and the need to act wisely and calmly with the Ethiopian side, and to consider them friends with whom the crisis can be resolved with understanding.

Organized campaign
Sources told Al-Jazeera Net that the security authorities responsible for the media had asked journalists and artists to urge and mobilize the Egyptians to "line up behind the political leadership regarding the Libyan issue."

The messages also included an attempt to emphasize "Sisi's intelligence by purchasing Rafale aircraft, and the Mistral aircraft carrier for a day like this, and not to buy the European Union's silence about the violations taking place in Egypt, as critics said at the time."

The letters demanded that anyone who rejects the war decision be charged with "treason and employment", and that "he should be ostracized and even informed if necessary."

In this context, and simultaneously, many Egyptian media professionals and artists announced their support for Sisi in defense of Egyptian national security, while publishing lists of Turkish products on the market to boycott them.

Satellite channels - under the control of the regime - broadcast frequent and continuous video clips of the Egyptian army equipment, and in its background, Sisi’s voice speaks about "the dangers facing the country and the sacrifices of its sons."

The official spokesman for the Presidency of the Republic, Ambassador Bassam Radi, said that Sisi presided over the National Security Council meeting last Thursday to deal with developments in the Libyan crisis and the threats that the Turkish military intervention in Libya would represent, and define necessary measures to address any threat to Egyptian national security.

Despite these statements, observers believe that it is "pure media escalation", as no statements were issued by Egyptian soldiers regarding the crisis, other than the movements and statements of Turkish political and military leaders regarding military support to Libya, which means that the Egyptian regime does not intend to actually escalate to the ground, but to escalate The media has other goals for Sisi.

Other goals
Former parliamentarian Muhammed Jaber said that it had become known that Sisi had sent military forces to Libya long ago in secret to support retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, while Turkey supported the legitimate government in compliance with international resolutions.

In his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, Jaber expressed his surprise at Sisi’s support for Haftar and his multinational militia, which is the “real threat” to the Egyptian national security, because it is closer to the borders of Egypt than Tripoli, where the Turkish army will be present, which means that there are other targets for the army against Turkish interference. .

He stressed that Egypt's national security requires it to be on the side of internationally recognized institutions, and not on the side of "mercenaries."

He pointed out that the border demarcation agreement that Turkey concluded with Libya recently represented a real opportunity for Egypt to recover a large part of its economic waters, which it lost under its agreement with Cyprus and Greece.

According to press author Syed Amin, Sisi is trying to flee westward and present himself to Europe and America as a military bet ready to deter any interference from emerging regional powers such as Turkey and Iran in the region.

The problem facing Sisi, in his opinion, is that the proposal he makes to the West will be rejected by the Egyptian army, which refuses to be a "mercenary army" to achieve the agendas of the great powers.

He continued in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net that Al-Sisi needed to escape from the internal failure to find greater excuses, to justify the failure before his supporters with the wars and international conspiracies that he is exposed to.

Confronting aggression
On the other hand, former Foreign Minister Mohamed El-Orabi said that Egypt has one goal in the face of "Turkish aggression" against the Libyan state, which is to protect Egyptian national security, stressing the need for the whole world to realize that Libya is a red line for Egypt that cannot be crossed.

And Al-Urabi continued, in press statements, that Egypt has a completely firm stand against Turkish interference, and will respond with full efficiency, and will not remain silent in the face of Turkish moves in Libya to place the international community in front of its responsibilities.

And Al-Urabi considered that the approval of the Turkish parliament to "occupy" Libya aims to escalate the situation, and will complicate matters further and enter the Turkish state in a political and military predicament in the face of the international and regional situation.