Democracy News
Anti-Mubarak Regime Uprising Erupts in Egypt
January 28, 2011
By: Chinyelu Odunze | Printer Friendly
On January 25, 2011, the largest demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak’s decades-old rule erupted.
Egyptian police fired tear gas and beat anti-government protestors to clear thousands of people from a central Cairo square last week. The Los Angeles Times reports that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that nongovernmental sources in Egypt claim that "casualties have been mounting on a daily basis, with unconfirmed reports suggesting as many as 300 people may have been killed so far, more than 3,000 injured and hundreds arrested.”
The demonstrators have been protesting in Cairo’s Tahrir Square since January 25. There were also protests in other areas, including the eastern city of Ismailiya and the northern port city of Alexandria with some protestors chanting: "Revolution, revolution, like a volcano, against Mubarak the coward," reports the BBC News.
According to Voice of America, on January 25, Egyptians called for political and economic reforms in rallies inspired by demonstrations in Tunisia that led to the ousting of the Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali earlier this month.
"I think Egyptian young [people] mainly have been inspired by what happened in Tunisia, and they saw one of the most prominent dictatorships in the Arab region -- our neighbors -- leave [due to] the people's pressure," Ehab el-Zelaky, managing editor of the Cairo-based "Al-Masry Al-Youm" newspaper, told Radio Farda. "And I think many of them are saying, 'Why not? Why can't we [make] our own destiny here in Egypt also?'"
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported that protesters had gathered outside the Supreme Court holding large signs that read: "Tunisia is the solution."
Cairo resident Abd-Allah told the BBC that some protesters were saying they would not give up until President Mubarak was ousted. "People are behaving as if they are ready to die," he said. "The atmosphere is very tense, it feels like a revolution. I see people who are determined, people who have nothing to lose, people who want a better future."
Groups representing young Egyptians frustrated with the kind of poverty and oppression that triggered Tunisia's unrest promoted the protest online via social media networks Twitter and Facebook. Although some people found out about the revolt through the online promotion, much of the movement was spurred spontaneously.
Since then, Twitter and Facebook have been shut down. Also, the Swedish-based website Bambuser, which streams video from mobile phones, said it had been blocked in Egypt. On its blog, it accused Egyptian officials of trying to control the news agenda. Additionally, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies reports that as of January 26, authorities shut down the mobile-phone network in some heavy protest areas. State TV also reports government orders forced the internet to be shut down too.
Also on January 29, President Mubarak addressed the people of Egypt announcing the sacking of his cabinet. Nevertheless, Mubarak refused to step down, which was the main demand of the protestors. He also vowed to address the political and economic concerns of the protestors. In an excerpt in Reuters from his address, the President said the following:
"The path of reform which we have chosen is irreversible and cannot go backward. We will proceed with new steps that affirm our respect for the independence of the judiciary ... new steps toward more democracy and freedoms ... new steps to face unemployment and increase the standard of living and services ... new steps to stand by the poor and those with limited income. Our choices and our goals are what will determine our fate and our future ...”
Despite President Mubarak’s promises, Egyptians remain skeptical. Reuters captured the reaction of the general public by quoting a 33 year old taxi driver, "his speech was provocative. We were expecting him to say he would leave. But now his speech would provoke more people to take to the streets. He said he would change the government, but he would only change a couple of ministers and that will be all. We want him to leave."
The New York Times asserts that the unprecedented and rare civil unrest appears to threaten the stability of one of the United States’ closest Arab allies. The United States (US) government has been criticized for how it is handling the situation. According to Jackson Diehl’s Op-Ed in the Washington Post, the Obama administration has had the “most shortsighted and wrongheaded policies the United States has ever pursued in the Middle East.”
In an oft-criticized remark, US Secretary of State Clinton prematurely called Mubarak’s government “stable” on January 25 and claimed it was responding to “legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people.” Hours later, riot police attacked the thousands of demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Egyptians are still weary of the US’ position towards the upheaval. "This administration has been at best lukewarm towards our cause of democracy," Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a respected Egyptian opposition leader, told the Washington Post. "Clinton's statement on Tuesday reflected what the policy has been for two years," Ibrahim said. “What we hope for is explicit support for the demands that are being put forward by the people in the streets."
Egypt is the most populous country in the Middle East and a crucial ally of the United States.
According the Washington Post, On ABC's This Week, Secretary Clinton said that under Mubarak, Egypt has been a "partner in achieving historic peace with Israel [and] a partner in trying to stabilize a region that is subject to a lot of challenges." At the same time, she said, the US has always pushed for democracy in the country even as it has worked with Mubarak.
RFE/RL additionally notes that observers are watching the events as they unfold because it has yet to be seen the full impact that the Tunisian revolt has had on the mobilization of opposition movements elsewhere in the Arab world.
Sources:
BBC News - Egypt protests: Three killed in 'day of revolt'
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies - Far-reaching political reforms, not repression: the only reasonable approach to the Egyptian 'Day of Rage'
Los Angeles Times - EGYPT: Rights advocates report protest death toll as high as 300
New York Review of Books - Uprisings: From Tunis to Cairo
New York Times - Key European Leaders Urge Restraint in Cairo
New York Times - Violent Clashes Mark Protests Against Mubarak’s Rule
Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)- Egypt Opposition Protests Gain Momentum
Reuters - Highlights: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's speech
Voice of America - Egypt Police Disperse Anti-Mubarak Protesters
Washington Post - Clinton calls for democracy in Egypt, but not Mubarak's ouster
Washington Post - Obama administration could still get it right on Egypt
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