Sunday, November 20, 2011

19th of November: A New Revolution for Egypt ?

After the Million man protest on Friday 18th of November, which was to refuse the "pre-constitutional" document proposed by the SCAF (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) and to demand a fixed date for presidential elections, some groups decided to stay in Tahrir Square, but were met with brute force on the 19th !

The "pre-constitutional" document (often called Al-Silmi's document named after the deputy prime minister who formally orchestrated it) gives unprecedented authorities to the SCAF, which make it above the law, above transparency and above parliamentary monitoring and evaluation. It makes Egypt just as any country ruled by a military junta, Egyptian political factions have collectively rejected the document, although some regime cronies under the guise of new groups and elitists under the guise of liberals who want to halt the political process to take away Islamist political influence in the coming parliament.

at least one has died and 700 injured in the clashes between security forces and protestors, from allover the country. Police forces clashed with those who stayed after the 18th, on hearing the news, Egyptians poured from all directions into Tahrir, by the 7:00pm local time, security forces have left the

Memories of the 25th and 28th of January when the revolution first broke out was the talk of Egyptians, Tear gas everywhere, gun shots of pallet bullets heard, Mulims praying on Kasr Al-Nile Bridge surrounded by protecting Copts, a ground mini-hospital for first aid and focal for tranfering the injured right infront of KFC in the Square.

Switching on Egyptian TV stations, the same rhetoric and discourse overwhelms what has been said in the eary days of the revolution, go online and it is a different discourse, different perception, a different world. Egyptian state run media have been trying very hard to depict it into an Islamist uprising, despite the participation of liberals including the 6th of April movement.

The picture below shows a comparison between state run Channel One, and independent Aljazeera. Below on the heading, explaining the scene of Aljazeera has" Egyptian Movements and Political Parties participate in a million's protest demanding a fixed day to transfer authority (to a civil government) and rejecting al-Silimi's document. on the left the Egyptian state run Channel One, it says Mobilized protests by Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood) and Salafis in Tahrir.

The picture above shows a comparison between state run Channel One, and independent Aljazeera. Below on the heading, explaining the scene of Aljazeera has" Egyptian Movements and Political Parties participate in a million's protest demanding a fixed day to transfer authority (to a civil government) and rejecting al-Silimi's document". on the left the
Egyptian state run Channel One, says: "Mobilized protests by Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood) and Salafis in Tahrir".

It is absolutely clear that the SCAF is not going to let go of its transnational authority easily, however Egyptians are still in a revolutionary and furious at the response. Many in Egypt say a second revolution is in the making, and with the Arab spring still ongoing in Syria and Yemen, and the progress made in Tunis and Libya; it would stupid to think the political situation will settle in Egypt with a repressive authoritarian regime.

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