Political Unrest Stalks Egypt
By Eric Sande
CAIRO---Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have clashed with police in Cairo and other cities in the largest demonstration in Egypt in a generation. The demonstrators early Tuesday took it to the street demanding an end to the authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak's near 30 years of power inspired by the toppling of the government in Tunisia.
"Mubarak, Saudi Arabia awaits you," the demonstrators chanted, referring to the refuge of the Tunisian ex-dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. "Out! Out! Revolution until victory," shouted a group of mothers, babies in arms. Across Cairo, Alexandria and beyond, the banners of the Tunisian intifada waved like semaphore flags, wishfully signalling an end to the ancient regime.
The situation seems to be escalating quite dramatically, as three people are reported died in the protests. Reports say two protesters were killed in Suez, while a police officer died after being hit by a rock in Cairo.
"What is happening in Egypt is a major warning to the system," said Nabil Abdel Fattah, a political analyst. He said the uprising would continue to gather momentum unless the government swiftly addressed demands for reform.
The unfolding events could be counted as a litmus test for the strength of a new generation of anti-government activists, who have rejected the moribund landscape of formal politics and use internet as there mobilizing tool.
After parliamentary elections in November which handed the ruling NDP a 93 per cent majority and were widely thought to be rigged, this "day of revolt" was seen as the best chance yet for youthful dissidents to prove they could command widespread support on the streets.
Away from their comfort zone, President Hosni Mubarak and his ministers had to sit and think of the next move. Interior minister Habib al-Adli had said earlier he held no objection to stationary protests by small groups. But marching en masse, uncontrolled and officially undirected, along a central Cairo boulevard, heading for the regime heartland of Tahrir Square – this was something new and dangerous.
"Our assessment is that the Egyptian government is stable and is looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people," US secretary of state Hillary Clinton declared on Tuesday night. They thought that about Ben Ali's Tunisia, too. Clinton's hurried words show how worried they are.
The revolution is knocking its doors in Egypt, if Mubarak were to fall, the consequences would be incalculable – for 80 million Egyptians, for Israel and the peace process, for the ascending power of Iran, for US influence across the Middle East, and for the future rise and spread of militant, anti-western Islam.