As this article was being prepared for publication, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, chairman of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, stated that presidential elections will be held at the end of June 2012 and that he will hand over his authority after the elections take place.
The streets of Tahrir Square are once again filled with tear gas canisters, so called “non-lethal” rubber bullets and large numbers of Central Security Forces and military police. You would think it was Jan. 25 —the beginning of the uprising—but it is not. In fact, it is the militancy and the determination of the Egyptian people’s struggle for self-determination against the U.S.-backed client regime headed by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces. The revolution is still raging on against the former elements of Mubarak’s dictatorship, the same system without the dictator. Previously people chanted: “Down! Down with Hosni Mubarak.” Now they chant: “Down! Down with the field marshall,” and “The people want the elimination of the marshall.”
Since Nov. 19, Tahrir Square has become a war zone, with protesters on one side and the riot and military police on the other. As of Nov. 25, more than 30 Egyptians have been killed and more than 1,700 have been wounded. The massive wave of repression conducted by the CSF—the riot police—was similar to the Jan. 25 uprising. The violent events in Cairo’s Tahrir and other major Egyptian cities, especially Suez and Alexandria, reflect the continuation of the revolutionary process.
On Nov. 18, a massive rally called by Islamic forces demanded the end of military rule. “End of military rule” was the main demand for the rally, which targeted SCAF. The rally occurred two weeks before the Nov. 28 parliamentary elections and denounced SCAF’s plans to give the council the final dictate over governmental affairs.
The Muslim Brotherhood had formed an alliance with SCAF after the ousting of Mubarak. Under Mubarak, the Brotherhood was once a banned organization. The April 6 Movement, a grassroots organization that played a key role in the uprising, also participated in the rally and called for power to be transferred to the lower house of Parliament.
On Nov. 19, more than a dozen protesters, including Jan. 25 martyr family members, set up tents. They were attacked by CSF officers, who destroyed the encampment and killed two protesters. At one point, dead bodies filled the sidewalks of Tahrir Square as police officers tossed a body onto a trash heap, illustrating the brutal nature of the Egyptian police force, which is backed by the military.
‘Million man marches’
Following a call for a million protesters to come out on Nov. 23, tens of thousands rallied in Tahrir Square chanting : “Leave! Leave!” at Field Marshall Tantawi after he gave his speech. Tantawi promised that the military would not interfere in politics and that SCAF would stick with its original plan to hold presidential elections in July 2013. The resignation of Essam Sharif as prime minister and his cabinet was not enough for the Egyptian people. The vocal demand is the immediate resignation of Tantawi and SCAF and the immediate transition to civilian rule. The Muslim Brotherhood boycotted the million man (and woman) marches.
The CSF and military police fired tear gas canisters containing expired CR gas and “non-lethal” ammunition and have used live ammunition as well. Within the rank and file of the CSF are hired thugs who hurl rocks at protesters, a repressive tactic under Mubarak. CSF officers started fires within Tahrir Square and surrounding buildings so that state-owned television could demonize the protesters and glorify the actions of the CSF as necessary for the security of the country.
According to eyewitnesses, the tear gas canisters contained CR gas that has been expired for five years and can cause severe pulmonary damage, as well as damage to the heart and liver. It is also reported to increase the risk of miscarriages, according to international studies. A lethal dose can be inhaled within minutes in a poorly ventilated area.
The military used this gas on a field hospital on Mohamed Mahmud Street. The individuals exposed to this gas coughed and vomited. Mohamed Mahmud Street is where the hardest and fiercest fighting has been going on for the past six days just off Tahrir Square.
Reasons behind mobilization
The latest mobilization is a result of repression by SCAF and CSF of the revolutionary movement in Egypt. SCAF claimed that it would deliver power to civilian rulers last September, but it postponed that handover until the constitution was modified to their liking. Presidential elections were promised for sometime in 2013. The military had not agreed to surrender power to the Parliament once elected or when the new constitution was drafted.
Another factor bringing people back onto the streets of Egypt are that the same methods of repression under Mubarak are still being used by the military and the interior ministry. Over 12,000 civilians have been held in military tribunals, which have targeted prominent revolutionary activists.
People are outraged at SCAF’s inability to protect the Egyptian borders from Israel. Five Egyptian soldiers and two civilians were killed by air strikes in September. SCAF continues to protect big businesses that Mubarak helped sponsor—for example, the Misr Oil Processing Company in Damietta, which has polluted the water supply and destroyed the seasonal harvest with toxic chemicals. The residents of Damietta held a sit-in in front of the plant demanding it stop production, and were met with violent repression from the army.
SCAF announced the continuation of the emergency law for ”national security” and for “the stability of the country.” In reality, it is to keep the status quo of Mubarak’s dictatorship. The military has been involved in killing Egyptians in different demonstrations, strikes and marches. One of the bloodiest was the Maspero massacre. Coptic Christians were marching to protest the burning of a church when army officers fired upon protesters, and armored vehicles ran over 12 protesters—leaving 28 dead and 325 injured. While seeking to stir up violence and hatred against the Coptic minority, the military does not discriminate between Muslim or Christian when it comes to repression; a young man, Essam Atta, was tortured to death by prison guards Oct. 27.
SCAF continues to demonize the Egyptian revolutionary youth and activists as foreign agents and provocateurs.
The role of the U.S. government
The U.S. government supported Mubarak for the past 30 years. During the January 25 uprising, former State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley stated, “ Egypt is an ally, a friend, and an anchor of stability in the region.” For the imperialists, Mubarak was a stable support for their geo-political interests like the free access of the U.S. Navy to the Suez Canal, as well as the unimpeded flow of oil. Mubarak served imperialist interests by repressing the Egyptian masses from playing their historic anti-imperialist role, and upholding the genocidal policy against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Egypt is the second largest recipient of U.S. economic/military aid after Israel. According to the State Department website, the United States gave $1.2 million in aid to Egypt in 2009. Most of the aid was used by Mubarak’s military to purchase tear gas, riot control agents and associated equipment. The United States has truly one goal in the Middle East and North Africa: to install and maintain U.S.-friendly presidents and kings who serve U.S geo-political and economic interests in the region.
In major cities across the United States, people have joined the Occupy movement to march in solidarity with the Egyptian revolution. Egyptians living in Europe and the United States have been planning to occupy the Egyptian Embassy in solidarity with their brothers and sisters.
The Egyptian people have come a long way in their struggle for self-determination, independence and civilian rule.
Long live the heroic Egyptian people! Hands off Tahrir! U.S. out of the Middle East!
