Egypt’s Revolution: Reclaiming People Power

The week-long popular protests culminating in Friday’s mass rally at Tahrir Square have reasserted people power and rekindled debates about the best route to democratic change in Egypt amid ongoing military rule and ahead of parliamentary elections.

Cairo - Tahrir Square, the heart of the Egyptian revolution, was once again beating with revolutionary fervor Friday as it overflowed with hundreds of thousands of people united in their determination to end military rule. Thousands more joined in other Egyptians cities, including Alexandria and Ismailia.

Many stayed well beyond sunset to express their desire to see the fruits of a revolution that has brought as much hope as it has bloodshed. In the past week alone, a bloody crackdown by the security forces left dozens dead and hundreds - possibly thousands - injured.

“Tantawi, leave! Down with Tantawi, just like Mubarak!” cheered protesters gathering in the square, in reference to chairman of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).
The mood was festive all across downtown Cairo, and unequivocally opposed to SCAF’s appointment of new interim Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri.

Meanwhile, the all too recent memory of brutal army and security forces crackdown over the week, coupled with the immanence of parliamentary elections Monday, have pushed debate within the revolutionary camp to new depths.

Political science student Nermeen, aged 21, arrived at Tahrir Square early in the day. Proud to take part in reclaiming the emblematic square, she was uncertain about how the protest movement will continue to flourish beyond the street and into more mainstream political life.

“We ousted Mubarak by taking the streets, but we need to do much more than protest if we want to rid Egypt of military rule,” Nermeen said. “I just wonder whether we really know what we’re up against. Armies are aggressive by default. We need to put forward alternatives, or else be forced into a corner.”

Nermeen’s concerns were echoed throughout the day, by activists and protesters from numerous political backgrounds. In all, there is a strong sense that participants in the revolution that took the world by storm understood that they are once again on the threshold of achieving a real coup.

“Egyptians have been forced out of political life for 60 years, so reclaiming our place in public life is not simple,” said Alaa Shukrallah, medical doctor, political activist and member of a new leftist coalition, the Popular Socialist Alliance. “We’re at a stage now where people really need the revolution to be fully realized.”

One new proposal that emerged from Tahrir Square put forward the idea of setting up a transitional council led by three presidential hopefuls: Abdel Moneim Abul Futouh, a former member of the more liberal wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, Nasserist Hamdeen Sabbahi and former International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed El-Baradei. Hours later, during an Egyptian CBC television interview, Sabbahi said a national salvation government needs to be set up, one that protesters in Tahrir Square can agree to.

To Shukrallah, the idea of setting up a council that would enable an immediate transition from military to civilian power is a great idea. “I think people are in agreement that we need to start setting up mechanisms to make our demands possible in real terms,” he said.

But young protester Nermeen disagreed, “because these politicians don’t have any real legitimacy. The people who do have legitimacy are here on the square, protesting. We need to make our own choices, and we need to reach a consensus among us. Isn’t that what democracy is all about?”

Arriving at the point where Tahrir Square - and indeed the country’s revolutionary movement as a whole - can arrive at a given agenda as such may be difficult at this stage. At the very least, real grassroots consensus on key political issues will no doubt take more time to come into being than what the timeline for the immanent parliamentary election appears to allow. Two days away from the first day of elections, it is difficult to gauge the extent to which protesters will be participating or boycotting.

Shukrallah and Futouh Qura, also of the Popular Socialist Alliance, are opposed to holding elections as scheduled.

“Emergency law is still in place. We have no guarantees that ensure there will be no rigging or corruption,” says Qura. If we go to the polls now, we’d simply be handing back the power we’ve achieved to forces that do not represent us.”

Nermeen disagreed, however, on the basis that “we need to take responsibility. I will definitely be voting if elections are held as scheduled.”

The city remains dotted with billboards promoting candidates and their slogans. In all, 11,405 candidates are running on voting lists for 116 seats in parliament, while 2,356 are running for 56 individual seats. A total of 59 parties are running, 19 of which are liberal and 15 Islamist.

But serious doubts remain as to whether elections will be held in light of the dozens killed in clashes between security forces and protesters over the past week.

Broadly speaking, the youth and the left, which have the least representation in the bid for parliamentary power, are the forces that insist most clearly that the future of Egypt must be decided from the streets.

“It really isn’t about making a bid for parliament right now,” said Mohammed al-Hamidi, a young leftist activist, lawyer and former 6 April movement member. “SCAF is conspiring against the revolution. The worst mistake we can make is to fall into its trap, thereby letting forces that have had nothing to do with the revolution take advantage of the people’s struggle and sacrifice.”

Energetic and eloquent, 23-year-old al-Hamidi was particularly concerned that the Muslim Brotherhood is attempting to ride on the coat tails of the revolution. Banned under the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, the MB’s leadership did not endorse the mass protests at Tahrir Square Friday. Instead they organized a protest al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, protesting against Israel’s threats to demolish the passage to al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Approximately 2,000 people took part in the rally.

“The Muslim Brotherhood is opportunistically taking advantage of the revolution, without supporting it,” al-Hamidi said. “Now that the old regime is out, they want to take power. But this is not what we struggled for.”

Recent SCAF statements have sought to divert attention from the struggle al-Hamidi and thousands of other young people have been involved in, while claiming that the security forces have not used live ammunition against protesters. “Egypt cannot be reduced to Tahrir Square and Mohammed Mahmoud Street,” said General Malla during a press conference on November 24.

The general’s statement seems to lose all meaning when juxtaposed to the intensity of experience undergone by people who have been determined to defend the revolution even if they lost their life doing so.

“During the recent clashes, we were besieged in the volunteer field hospital in downtown Cairo,” said al-Hamidi, this time with an audible tremor in his voice.

“We rushed to the hospital because friends of mine needed immediate medical attention. The security forces then cordoned off the entrance and launched tear gas canisters into the field hospital. This is a crime.”

“We will not sell out the revolution,” said al-Hamidi. “We have achieved too much already to stop now. We’re just a few steps away from making it. We just need to keep going.”

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt%E2%80%99s-revolution-reclaiming-people-power