Sir, – To point to the hypocrisy of the United States – as champions of democracy – in welcoming the removal of Mohamed Morsi, as Hugh O’ Donnell (August 17th) does, is based on a flawed conception of democracy.
Democratic elections are a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for a democratic government. A democracy requires the proper representation of minority groups and the protection of their fundamental rights. In Egypt, there was little to suggest that this was the case with the boycott of the constitutional referendum, in which less than a third of the electorate voted.
Supporters of democracy should all welcome the end of Morsi’s theocracy, but we should be very worried about what has replaced it – Yours, etc,
ASODE GORM,
Gainsford Street,
London,
England.
Sir, – The horrific events in Egypt serve to demonstrate once again that the Western-style winner-takes-all democracy does not work in a country that is deeply divided on fundamental values.
It behoves the international community to examine other models. We Irish may well be able to contribute to that debate.We may have had a nuanced devotion to democracy in the recent past – from Éamon de Valera’s dictum “the majority have no right to do wrong”, to the reluctance to recognise the democratic mandate of the Northern Ireland government – but we have now shown that the D’Hondt system can bring a measure of accommodation between divided communities, and is worthy of consideration in troubled countries. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK NOLAN,
Cherbury Gardens,
Booterstown,
Co Dublin.