“Fin Annan, Peter” .. Controversy over the absence of the former chief of staff from the series “The Choice”

Cairo -

The state of controversy continued among social media activists in Egypt, regarding the absence of former Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Sami Anan from the events of the series "The Choice 3", which presents the Egyptian authorities' viewpoint during the year of the late President Mohamed Morsi's rule.

and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The series deals with the political events that Egypt witnessed after the resignation of the late President Hosni Mubarak under the pressure of the January 2011 revolution until the military coup in the summer of 2013, focusing on the main figures who managed the political scene at the time, especially the late President Mohamed Morsi, and the current president and Minister of Defense at the time Abdel Al-Fattah Al-Sisi, as well as Khairat Al-Shater, the deputy guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, who is currently imprisoned.

Away from technical criticism, the series sparked controversy on several levels, most notably the truncated leaks that are shown at the end of each episode, especially as they took place in official government headquarters, in addition to the absence of Lieutenant-General Sami Anan, Chief of Staff of the Army at the time, although he was one of the most prominent figures who managed The political scene after Mubarak's resignation.

Where is Annan?

With Anan's continued absence from the events of the series, the state of astonishment among network activists turned into ridicule accompanied by denunciation, and Twitter users wondered how Sami Anan's role in the events could be canceled as if he was just a small officer.

Tweeters asked a question to the series director, Peter Mimi, by saying how a historical series that is supposed to date an important stage in Egypt's history ignores the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces' war, with his prominent and pivotal role in the events?

Others said in Egyptian colloquialism, "I wish Anan, where did you go, Peter?" (Where did you go to Anan, Peter?).

While some of them sarcastically tweeted about the scene of the dismissal of Tantawi and Anan and the appointment of Sisi as Minister of Defense, saying, "Even the scene of the dismissal of Tantawi and Anan, they deleted Annan, and this is the pinnacle of scientific miracles."

In the same context, others questioned the absence of prominent figures in the events at the time - so far - such as Lieutenant-General Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister during the events of the January 2011 revolution and Mohamed Morsi's rival in the presidential elections, as well as symbols of the Salvation Front that took over the opposition to Morsi, such as Mohamed ElBaradei, who became Vice President of the Republic after the military coup, and former Secretary General of the Arab League and former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa.

Sami Annan is not embodied in a character and has not been mentioned

— Ahmed (@Ahmed88282359) April 18, 2022

Guys, there was one team named #Sami Anan.

Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces .

Nor was this a ghost appearing in front of the cameras

— Mahdy El-kholy (@vip_zizo7) April 10, 2022

I do not know how the series is supposed to record an important historical stage and ignore the national role of Lieutenant-General Sami Anan in that crucial stage in the history of Egypt, despite the importance of the position and the role that His Excellency the team played

— The (@oldchitown_moe) April 11, 2022

The dazzling thing is that they completely eliminate Sami Anan from their narration, just because he is not from the "Al-Tantawiya" clan.

Medicine, when he is brothers, why was he fired with Tantawi, and he did not have a defense minister?

May God forgive him, Mubarak remained on his stupidity in letting go of a general leader for 20 years in the position

— Amr Bakly Amr Bakly 🇺🇦 (@ABakly) April 5, 2022

Where is Sami Anan, Ahmed Shafiq, Omar Suleiman, Hala Zayed, and Iman Al-Bahr Darwish?

— Janab Citizen 😑 (@Eslamabdelwaha) April 10, 2022

#Information #Sami_Anan was against Field Marshal Tantawi, and he wanted to complete democracy in Egypt, so Marshal #Tomb_Tantawi got rid of him and removed him from the scene until they seized power, and after Sisi's rule came to him information from within the military establishment that Sisi is working to change the doctrine of the Egyptian army and will dismiss generals

— Guevara (@givara171972001) April 4, 2022

Sisi and Annan

In 2014, Sami Anan announced his candidacy for the presidency, but withdrew before the start of the official race, which Sisi decided in his favour, in light of weak competition. Annan returned in 2018 to announce his candidacy for the presidency and criticized the political and economic conditions in the country.

But Anan was arrested on charges of violating military rules, as he is still in the rank of "commissioned team" and is not allowed to engage in political work.

After that, the two most prominent names in his presidential team were arrested, namely political science professor Hazem Hosni, and the former head of the Central Auditing Organization, Counselor Hisham Genena.

At the time, the Egyptians watched live on Sisi's reaction to a candidate he described as corrupt, and said that he would prevent him from reaching the presidency, without mentioning his name, but the communication sites at the time said that he meant Sami Anan, especially with the absence of other candidates in front of Sisi.

single look

In this context, Mostafa Khedry, head of the Egyptian Center for Media Studies and Public Opinion (Integration of Egypt), refuses to consider the selection series as historical or documentary because it presents a one-sided and biased viewpoint, and there is no space available for the other opinion or balance in presenting events according to his description.

Al-Khudari attributed the reason for the absence of Anan, Shafiq and Amr Moussa from the series to the fact that these three specifically had previously run for the presidency, and the Sisi regime considers them to be potential competitors in the upcoming elections.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Khudari added that any reference to these three, specifically Sami Anan, in the series will be in one of two contexts, the first is to show them well, which will be a funded advertisement for them at the expense of Sisi in the upcoming elections, and the second is for them to be morally assassinated in the events of the series, and this An adventure with its risks.

He pointed out that Anan, Shafiq and Musa are statesmen, and their use in the series to support the regime's narrative may be met by their rejection or denial, which undermines the credibility of the series, and their counter-narrative may be more credible, especially as it will receive support from the opposition media abroad.

Al-Khodari accused the series of deducting some documented scenes from their true context, to redirect public opinion.

He also mocked the series by saying that he cites the dead or the disappeared who cannot respond or deny.

Despite the wide praise that the selection series received from the media of the authority and members of Parliament inside Egypt, as some described it as a historical document that cannot be falsified, the opposition journalist residing abroad, Sami Kamal El-Din, believes that the series made fatal mistakes by “tailoring all the episodes according to Sisi’s size.” Only, "he said.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Kamal El-Din continued that it was illogical and unacceptable to completely delete the character of Sami Anan from the series, as it is unreasonable that Tantawi managed alone the transitional period after the January revolution.

The opposition journalist added that Lieutenant-General Sami Anan is not only absent from the drama, but has also been absent from the political scene.