(Los Angeles Times) Laura King - On Monday, Egypt's top generals gave their blessing to a presidential run by army chief Abdel Fattah Sisi, 59, hours after he was promoted from general to field marshal. Sisi engineered the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July, after huge demonstrations demanded his removal. Seven months later, a cult of personality has taken hold among large swaths of Egyptian society. Sisi's image is emblazoned on everything from cupcakes to lingerie; songs and poems celebrate him. State media routinely run adoring columns praising his wisdom. Official commemorations Saturday of the third anniversary of the uprising against Mubarak were transformed into rallies lionizing Sisi, with light shows, military flyovers and song-and-dance spectacles. In Cairo's Tahrir Square, a woman dabbed at her eyes as she brandished a poster of the general. Asked why she was weeping, she said: "For joy. Because Sisi is here to save us."
2014-01-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive