After I wrote in defense of Hosni Mubarak, the readers' comments were as I expected. Some objected and expressed a different opinion, such as Mr. Kamal Abdul Qader, and the extremist who wanted me to stop writing just because I have a different opinion, while he claimed that he started the Egyptian youth revolution in the quest for the freedom of opinion, i.e. his opinion alone. Others agreed with my views, and some even added to what I wrote in defense of the former President of Egypt. To all readers I say: This column is not a charity. It is a work that combines facts and some opinion. The facts are always accurate and well-documented, while the opinion may be subject to debate. Would the reader who disagrees with me have preferred instead an opportunistic writer who immediately attacked Mubarak as soon as he was ousted? I thus insist that Mubarak steered his country clear of military adventures, that he defeated domestic terrorism in the nineties, and that he did not fail to support Kuwait in its ordeal. His abilities then declined following his first surgery in Germany in 2005 (and not in 2000 as was mistakenly published in the original article due to a repeating technical error involving the conversion of numbers between Arabic and English, during electronic printing). For this reason, I asked the readers to judge all 30 years of his tenure, and not just the last six years. I return to this topic today as a new element has entered the debate over it with the readers. My friend Hussein Agha, who played a prominent role in and chronicled the peace process in the nineties, sent me an article written by the known Israeli journalist Smadar Peri, published in Yedioth Ahronoth on 19/7/2011 under the title of “Let Mubarak Die in Peace”. Smadar Peri is a prominent expert on Arab affairs. I have seen her in many conferences on the Middle East, from Sharm el-Sheikh to the Dead Sea, Davos and elsewhere. I remember that she conducted a lengthy interview with President Mubarak two or three years ago. Also, her newspaper is one of the most widely circulated papers in Israel. The Israeli journalist wrote (I translated some of the relevant paragraphs literally): “Five months after he was removed from power […], President Mubarak has someone who […] defends him. Jihad al-Khazen, one of the most prominent, influential and respected columnists in the Arab world, defended Mubarak in an op-ed published by leading newspaper al-Hayat: It doesn't befit you. Al-Khazen reprimands those who demand the death penalty for Mubarak. [Khazen wrote:] I too have criticism over his conduct and I too did not spare him harsh words. Yet look at his contributions and achievements on behalf of Egypt during his 30-year rule and compare them to the […] accusations you level at him. After all, Mubarak was the best of Egypt's four rulers, al-Khazen writes. He urges his readers to compare the ousted president to the hedonistic, corrupt King Farouk, to the adventurous Gamal Abdul Nasser with his iron fists, and to Sadat, who was detached from realities within Egypt. You will discover that Mubarak was the responsible adult, who kept Egypt away from security and economic adventures, al-Khazen wrote. Stop being so cruel to him, Mubarak doesn't deserve it and this is incommensurate with the Egyptian people's mercifulness.” Smadar Peri's article then concludes with the trial of Mubarak, the fact that he is in hospital, and denial of his German doctor's request to see him. The debate with the readers and the fact that an Israeli journalist has gotten involved make me add another fact about Hosni Mubarak, from the interviews I conducted with him, and from what he said off the record with each interview, in addition to other private meetings. President Mubarak did his best for the cause of peace in the nineties. He supported and helped Yasser Arafat in every way available to him, as he believed that Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin were capable of achieving peace. However, the assassination of Rabin brought Benjamin Netanyahu to power. Hosni Mubarak believed from the beginning that Netanyahu is bad news and a charlatan who is opposed to peace, and maintained this opinion as Netanyahu returned as Prime Minister. I want to add an important, albeit incomplete, fact for the benefit of the readers today, about the thinking of Hosni Mubarak, which perhaps may explain his aversion to any military adventures. He told me many times that the Arabs do not want to fight a war, and that they instead “want me to fight with Egypt's youths and gamble with Egypt's future, and then go like a beggar to this and that leader…” Actually, he did not say this and that leader, and I chose to use these words instead of the original ones out of politeness. Perhaps I will one day write down his exact words in a book. He only had a good relation with two or three countries in the Gulf, but did not trust many Arab countries and their leaders. I want the readers who objected to what I wrote about Hosni Mubarak, and this is indeed their right, to get back to me with their views on the former president's opinions about certain Arab countries, and whether he was right or wrong. Brothers, be reasonable and have mercy. [email protected]
