エジプト騒乱 流血の拡大をまず食い止めよ

The Yomiuri Shimbun August 17, 2013
International pressure needed to stop bloodshed in Egypt
エジプト騒乱　流血の拡大をまず食い止めよ（8月16日付・読売社説）

Egypt has seen its bloodiest incident since the autocratic rule of Hosni Mubarak ended in 2011.
　２０１１年のムバラク独裁政権崩壊以降、最悪の流血の事態となった。

An early end to the violence is to be hoped for, but a bumpy road lies ahead.
一日も早い収束が望まれるが、前途は多難だ。

Egypt’s military-led interim government crushed sit-in protests by supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo on Wednesday. His supporters clashed with government security forces across the country, resulting in a death toll that the Egyptian Health Ministry reported as more than 500.
　エジプト軍主導の暫定政府が、カイロで、モルシ前大統領支持派による座り込みを強制排除した。モルシ派は全土で治安部隊と衝突し、保健省の発表で死者数は５００人を超えた。

The interim government declared a one-month state of emergency, but there is no prospect of the chaos subsiding. Eyewitnesses say security forces fired live bullets at rally participants. The government cannot escape condemnation for using excessive force.
　暫定政府は１か月間の非常事態を宣言したものの、沈静化へのメドは立っていない。治安部隊がデモ参加者を実弾で撃ったとの目撃証言もある。過度の実力行使をしたとの非難は、免れまい。

Diplomatic efforts by the United States and the European Union to avoid clashes between the military-led government and Morsi’s supporters have come to nothing.
　軍・暫定政府と、モルシ派の衝突を回避しようとした米国と欧州連合（ＥＵ）による外交努力は、水泡に帰した。

It was natural that the United States and the EU strongly condemned the interim government over its brutal crushing of the demonstrations. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed “strong concern and anxiety” about the bloody incident.
　米国やＥＵが、強制排除で多数の死者が出たことを強く非難したのは当然だ。岸田外相も「強い懸念と憂慮の念」を表明した。

Secularist Mohamed ElBaradei, a former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, resigned as Egypt’s vice president in protest, saying “there must have been a more peaceful choice.”
　世俗派代表の副大統領だったエルバラダイ前国際原子力機関（ＩＡＥＡ）事務局長は、「より平和的な選択肢があったはずだ」と述べ、辞表を提出した。

The military ousted and detained Morsi in a de facto coup in July. Even after the establishment of the interim government, the military increased pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi’s main support base, in such ways as seeking criminal charges against its leaders on suspicion of instigating riots.
　軍は、７月の事実上のクーデターで、モルシ氏を解任し、拘束した。暫定政府の樹立後も、モルシ派の中心であるイスラム主義組織「ムスリム同胞団」に対し、暴力扇動などの疑いで幹部の刑事責任を問うなど圧力を強めていた。

Brotherhood also to blame

The Muslim Brotherhood is also to blame for the situation.
　こうした事態を招いた責任は、同胞団側にもある。

Despite the Morsi administration having made policy blunders that worsened the economy and reduced public safety, the Brotherhood clung to its demand for Morsi’s reinstatement after he was deposed. The Islamist organization rejected dialogue with the military-led provisional government, thereby intensifying confrontation.
　同胞団は、モルシ政権が経済や治安の悪化など失政を重ねたにもかかわらず、モルシ氏復職の要求に固執してきた。軍・暫定政府との対話にも応じず、対立を激化させている。

The interim government has announced a road map for democratization that calls for revising the Constitution within this year, holding a parliamentary election early next year and then calling a new presidential election.
　暫定政府は、年内に憲法を改正し、来年初めには議会選を実施して、大統領選を行うという民主化への行程表を発表している。

But without participation of the Brotherhood, the biggest political force in Egypt, in the process of reinstating a civilian government, it will hardly be possible to realize social and political stability. To help achieve a return to civilian rule, the interim government should take conciliatory steps such as releasing Morsi in preparation for resuming dialogue with its political adversaries.
　しかし、最大の政治勢力である同胞団の民政復帰プロセスへの参加を得られなければ、社会や政治の安定は到底望めない。暫定政府は民政復帰を実現するために、モルシ氏の解放など、対話再開の環境を整えるべきではないか。

The Brotherhood, for its part, should take a more flexible stance toward dialogue.
　同胞団も、より柔軟な姿勢で対話を模索すべきだ。

Arab Spring reforms still have a long way to go. If the chaos is protracted in Egypt, a great regional power, there is concern that the stabilization of the Middle East as a whole will be further delayed.
　「アラブの春」の変革は、なお途上にある。地域大国エジプトの混乱が長引くと、中東全体の安定化が遠のく懸念がある。　

As long as the military-led interim government continues to use force against its opponents, the situation will only go from bad to worse. International pressure must be brought to bear in such ways as suspending military assistance by the United States, Egypt’s biggest aid donor, thereby forcing the interim government to refrain from bloodily quashing its political foes.
　軍・暫定政府が強権行使をやめない限り、事態は深刻化するだけである。最大の支援国である米国が軍事援助を一時停止するなど、国際的圧力を強化して、弾圧をやめさせなければならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 16, 2013)
（2013年8月16日01時27分  読売新聞）