The new surge of protest in Egypt
After months in which the Egyptian revolution faded from the headlines of Western newspapers, a wave of protests during July has brought renewed attention to the struggle--and the efforts to win further and lasting change over the wishes of the country's military rulers. reports from Cairo on the latest mobilizations of the Egyptian revolution.
SIX MONTHS after the revolution forced Hosni Mubarak from power, a surge of energy has revitalized the Egyptian struggle.
On July 8, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took over Tahrir Square for the "Friday of Persistence." Chants of "One hand, the people are one hand" and "Where are the results of the revolution?" rang through the square throughout the weekend. Activists have mobilized millions more in cities throughout Egypt to demand that the revolution's demands be met, in open opposition to the Supreme Council of Military Forces.
Strikes, demonstrations and marches continued in the days after July 8 and into the workweek, forcing the Mogamma, the bureaucratic and administrative center of the government in Cairo, to close on Sunday and Monday.
In Suez, where workers have been on strike since June 14, demonstrators attempted to take over the central control building for the Suez Canal. When they were stymied by a cordon of soldiers, Suez activists blocked the road to Ain Sukhna, the main access to the port area, forcing 150 companies to shut down operations on Sunday.
In Alexandria, demonstrators closed the Corniche, a main thoroughfare in the heart of the city. Activists occupied town squares and staged sit-ins in Mansoura, Fayoum, Al Minya, Ismaïlia, Luxor, Tanta, Assiut, and El Arish. In addition, hundreds of university professors went on strike July 3, and thousands of students are occupying university campuses.
These tremendous mobilizations come from a growing recognition of the recalcitrance of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces after months of counterrevolutionary policy.
The Second Egyptian Revolution Coalition, including members of the April 6 Youth Movement, issued a set of seven demands, including: 1) the immediate release of civilians who have been tried in military courts and their retrial in civilian courts; 2) the creation of a new court to try those accused of killing protesters during the January 25 revolution, and the immediate suspension of all accused police officers; 3) the removal of the Minister of the Interior and the development of a restructuring plan for the Interior Ministry; 4) the removal of the current prosecutor general; 5) the trial of Hosni Mubarak and his cronies for political crimes against the Egyptian people; 6) the withdrawal of the current budget and the drafting of a new budget addressing the priorities of the nation's poor, to be publicly debated before its adoption; and 7) clear boundaries on the powers of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to ensure that it does not infringe on the powers of the cabinet.
SO FAR, the government has presented a carrot-and-stick response to the protesters' demands.
In a speech on Saturday, July 9, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf promised the immediate dismissal of all officers implicated in the deaths of January 25 protesters, as well as a review process and appeals in the related court cases. Shortly afterward, officials set a court date of August 3 for the proceedings against Hosni Mubarak--and Deputy Prime Minister Yehia al-Gamal, a holdover from Mubarak's government, was pushed out of the govenrment. On July 10, after the Tahrir protesters rejected Sharaf's token measures, Major Gen. Mohsen al-Fingari delivered an official Supreme Council statement full of warnings and implied threat toward protesters.
These responses from the state stirred greater anger from large numbers of people, leading to an influx of demonstrators on Saturday and Sunday evenings. In addition to the closure of the Mogamma, Tahrir organizers called for a march on July 12 to the Council of Ministers building, which drew several thousand people. Thousands more remained behind during the march to defend the square, forming a human cordon to prevent entry by security or by unarmed thugs.
As of several days after the July 12 action, the Tahrir occupation continued, along with other demonstrations across Egypt, and organizers called for ongoing protests and marches.
The new phase of the Egyptian revolution is heating up, providing an inspiring example of the power of masses of people to challenge those who rule over them--and showing the need for everyone who supports the revolution to stand in solidarity with the protesters against the threats of the Egyptian state.
