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February 25, 2011
Egypt: Surprise Surprise, plus ça change...
As the French saying goes, "plus ça change..."
Gaddafi defiant amid Libya turmoil – live | World news | guardian.co.uk
9pm GMT: The Guardian's Jack Shenker reports from Cairo on another massive demonstration there and increased unease at the country's military rulers:Emphasis added.
Jack Shenker
After a major rally in Tahrir Square to mark the one-month anniversary of the 25 January protests that launched Egypt's revolution, several hundred demonstrators are now camping outside parliament in an effort to force out Ahmed Shafiq, an old member of the Mubarak-era cabinet who has improbably clung on to the post of prime minister in the aftermath of Mubarak's departure.
General public frustration towards the remnants of the Mubarak regime - and the ruling Supreme Military Council's apparent unwillingness to remove them - is beginning to crystallise, and Shafiq is the most visible target.
Earlier this evening there were clashes outside the parliament building between protesters and the army, and stories of activists being tortured at the hands of military police are circulating.
Although many have been suspicious of the armed forces' intentions from the moment Mubarak stepped down, today marks a real escalation in the strength of public sentiment against the way Egypt's "transition period" is being handled by the generals, whom many want to see pushed aside in favour of a civilian cabinet.
"The army is acting with the same unaccountable violence against civilians as the police force did," warned one activist on Twitter.
It is dawning on the protesters / opposition that the departure of Mubarek was more a sleight of hand by the system than an actual change.
Posted by The Lounsbury at February 25, 2011 06:21 PM
Filed Under: North Africa
, Political Development
, The MENA '48
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Comments
It is dawning on the protesters / opposition that the departure of Mubarek was more a sleight of hand by the system than an actual change.
I don't think the protestors are unaware that the same institution runs the show; Mubarak's removal was Step 1.
The change that matters is not who's currently running the show, though even that shifted when Pharoah was told to let his people go, but that they are facing a consistent and unprecedented mass of Egyptians, insistent that things keep moving and that top down authority should become a thing of the past.
Posted by: matthew h at February 25, 2011 10:50 PM
I disagree, in following the protests on AJC ar. and Al Arabiya, I rather believe that a good portion of the protesters had fallen into the trap of thinking the Army was somehow separate from the regime.
Posted by: The Lounsbury at February 26, 2011 05:18 PM
