Egyptian demonstrators outside the Sharm el Sheikh International Hospital where Hosni Mubarak admitted. Photography: Str/EPAIf there is a feature that would better describe the popular uprising in Egypt which had turned into a revolution, it is pure perseverance. Since the beginning of events January 25 and even after the eviction of President Hosni Mubarak, on 11 February, Egyptian have been demanding that Mubarak and his men be prosecuted and that justice is done.
Unwavering determination kept the demonstrators back to Tahrir square and other parts of the country in massive numbers to make their claims heard. Friday, April 8, a popular mock trial of Mubarak occurred in Tahrir, with about 1.5 million people filling the place. The protesters promised to move en masse to Sharm El-Sheikh on Friday 15 April, if their demands were not met.
But before that the prospective market could take place, the new came of the detention of Hosni Mubarak and his two sons with a large number of his aides high for investigation. The charges included abuse of authority, embezzlement of public funds and the murder of protesters. Wednesday, April 13, was a day of high drama. But most importantly, it was the day of perseverance and sacrifices refunded.
Demonstrators have been vehemently calling on the military Council of decision to prosecute members of the former regime, who were accused of sponsoring acts of banditry and spread chaos in the country. There is evidence that some of them were also present at conspiring against demonstrators in the famous incident dubbed the "battle of Camel" on February 2, when thugs paid riding camels and horses loaded in Tahrir square.
The scene is grotesque and tragic, and he left a number of demonstrators dead and wounded. There was widespread anger that these instigators were quickly brought to justice. The military Council appeared to be dragging its heels. No serious action has been taken up until the recent mass arrests and investigations, which facilitated to some extent the growing tensions between the people and the military.
The military Council, however, must take urgent measures to restore the confidence of the people in it and avoid possible future confrontation. There are allegations of torture by members of the military police and videos showing violent repression against the demonstrators to the course in the early hours of April 9. The army has promised to investigate the incidents, but for the moment nothing happened.
More worrying is the trial of Maikel Nabil, a blogger who collected photos and videos posted on the internet and included in his blog critical of the military. He was sentenced by a military court to three years in prison, to the great consternation of the blogosphere who viewed this incident as the first instance of violation of freedom of expression in post-revolutionary Egypt. Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations have urged the military to set aside the award, but with little success so far.
Another fierce battle of wills is also underway concerning the nature of the political system to replace the old authoritarian regime. Liberals and Islamists, are tests of their points of view and assess their strengths in public, perhaps for the first time. While the Liberals seem to have little popular base and need to reach out to other social segments, Islamists do not appear to have won the minds and hearts of Egyptian citizens recently. Some of the media widely publicized reports involving the Salafi made them unpopular who succeeded him in the street. When some Salafis have been reported to have attacked and destroyed holy places, as places of worship of the idol, there was a huge outcry against them by the Egyptian citizens.
The most important Islamic, Muslim Brotherhood faction, has recently lost much of its credibility combining too closely with Salafis. In the elections of the union of University students made last week that the Mulsim brotherhood guaranteed no more than 16% of the attacked is average.
In the past, the rigging of the elections of the student was a common practice under the pretext that a fair election would definitely lead to an Islamist takeover of universities. It has been proven wrong. If general elections were to be conducted fairly and without rigging or buying of votes, Islamist movements could mark not much above. But there is the political will to ensure the fairness of the electoral process? This is the fundamental question to ask.
Also the Egypt does not exist in a vacuum. Regional and global powers have interests in it. The autocratic regimes in the neighbourhood are fighting the frightening democracy in Egypt spectrum because a democratic model could directly threaten their existence. They are looking with increasing apprehension to the events in Egypt.
The international powers who had counted on the longevity of the Mubarak regime had neither the vision nor the will to change their policies. These powers are all concerned that a new order is perhaps not as friendly or as consistent as the former is. And despite all their proclamations of support for the transition to democracy in Egypt, they can resort to various means to stop the process of change or at least to try to channel to maintain the situation in the former mode.
But while the battle over the soul of the Egypt continues, no one can underestimate the enormous challenges of March of the Egypt to democracy. Nevertheless, we need only recall that Mubarak was overthrown his brutal security apparatus and the extensive support of international and regional powers. But the fall, he did. And the catalyst for change was the pure perseverance of Egyptian citizens. Their courage face the bullets and tear gas was simply a tribute to the human tenacity.
There is no sign that this resolution is in decline. If anything, it seems to be stronger growth. In the struggle of wills, it may be that spirit of perseverance, who will ultimately win the day, the particle of light at the end of a tunnel also very vague.
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