Once
again, Tahrir Square has been filled with tens of thousands of
Egyptians rallying against the government, which is headed by the
Supreme Council of the Armed Force and the transitional government of
Prime Minister Essam Sharaf. On July 15 Egyptians rallied under the
banner of “The Last Warning,” calling for the resignation of
Field Marshall Mohammed Tantawi. The protesters chanted “Down, Down
with Tantawi.”
In
Alexandria, thousands of protesters rallied in front of “Commander
Ibrahim” mosque after Friday’s prayers ended. Protesters marched
to the state security center denouncing the new director and rejected
the latest reshuffle in the interior ministry.
In Tanta, the military used force to end the staged sit-in, which was
being held in solidarity with the demands of Tahrir Square.
The
week-long demonstrations across the country were triggered by the
actions of the SCAF since the ousting of former dictator Hosni
Mubarak. The protesters called for a civil government and to bring
former high-ranking Mubarak ministers to justice, as well as the
police officers who were involved in killing more than 1,000 Egyptian
during the uprising.
The
people’s demands
The
protesters’ key demands were an end to military trials; according
to human rights groups about 7,000
have been detained in military prisons. Another demand was the need
for speedy and open trials of former regime officials. The Egyptian
people demand the immediate prosecution of Mubarak rather than the
pending investigation and his so-called “arrest” in a hospital in
the city of Sharm el- Sheikh.
The protesters also demanded that former members of the former ruling
party, the National Democratic Party, be banned from the political
sphere for at least five years.
The
anger of family members of the 10,000 Egyptians killed or injured who
have not been compensated by the government was a key factor in the
demonstrations.
The prime minister had announced a reshuffle of his cabinet and,
along with Interior Minister Mansour, promised that 505 generals and
164 officers would be terminated from their positions on Aug. 1.
On July 17, the ministers of finance, industry, education and foreign
affairs stepped down before the cabinet shuffle. Protesters called
for the purging of all politicians linked to the Mubarak regime and
continued to stage their sit-in against the government.
Egyptian
workers and the protest movement have demanded a raise in the minimum
wage
and have called for an end to anti-protest laws. These laws, which
were passed in March, ban organizing and striking and punish
violators with jail or fines of up to 500,000 Egyptian pounds<
Egyptians see the passage of anti-protest laws as a continuation of
the old regime’s tactics to crush independent unions and political
parties.
Role
of political parties
The
Wafd party, the Nasserists, the Democratic Front and the Communist
party of Egypt participated in the “Last Warning,” siding with
the grassroots protest movement.
The Muslim Brotherhood declared that it would not participate in the
demonstrations after getting concessions from the government and the
SCAF.
The Muslim Brotherhood was once banned as a political party during
the Mubarak years. After the toppling of Mubarak, the Muslim
Brotherhood took advantage as the most organized group to secure
relations with the military, and “welcomed talks” with the United
States government.
The
Egyptian state-controlled media have attempted to demonize protests
and strikes in an effort to redirect the anger of the Egyptian people
and to halt grassroots organizing in the country. The media has
accused the protest movement of causing economic hardship. In a
pro-SCAF rally that did not have significant participation, speakers
claimed that the protesters at Tahrir Square were foreign agents,
thugs and provocateurs.
According to a poll by Al-Ahram English, almost 65 percent of those
questioned said that they support the open-ended sit in, which began
on July 8, and that they would join the protest as well.
The
Egyptian people have flooded the streets to pressure the government
to comply with their demands. After the successful overthrow of
Mubarak, the Egyptian masses started forming unions and organizing
themselves into political committees and political parties. The SCAF
had weighed in at the tipping point of the January 25 revolt, knowing
that Mubarak and his regime were no longer legitimate in the eyes of
the Egyptian people. The high-ranking generals of the SCAF are
Mubarak’s generals; the Egyptian military over the past 30 years
has received military aid from the United States and sided with U.S.
and Western imperialism. Highlighting the illegitimacy of the ruling
body are recent clashes with the police, who fired tear gas canisters
at protesters with labels “Made in USA.”
The
explosion of the Egyptian-Israeli gas pipeline is another sign of
popular discontent against Egypt’s continuing relations with
Israel. The pipeline is another historical artifact of the Mubarak
regime and a sign of U.S. domination in Egypt
which the Egyptian people want to completely break away from.
Mubarak
and his closest collaborators might be gone, but elements of his
regime that included the SCAF have yet to be dismantled. For the
Egyptian people, taking the streets again in massive numbers is the
way forward to successfully complete their revolution.
