In any previous revolution for example, the revolutions in– in East Europe, when the military intervene– intervene and when– when people see the tanks in the streets, the situation get more and more tensions. Something very strange (LAUGH) happened in Tahrir Square. When the Egyptian military intervene, the direct reaction of average (LAUGH) Egyptian is to feel happy. Young people keep spreading and doing graffiti on the Egyptian military. Saying, “Down for Mubarak.”
Egyptians jump on Egyptian military tanks and saluting the soldiers. Exactly like what Yeltsin did previously. Suddenly all the Square became Yeltsins. All the Square didn´t feel the threat that this tanks is going to be against them. When you are a military leader in this moment, should be very hard for you to take a decision of shooting someone.
And you have totally to think differently. I think no reasonable, rational military officer in the Egyptian military would take the decision of shooting demonstrators. When you see this kind of dynamics between the average people and the average soldiers, they are (LAUGH) both– participating in the revolution, even if that– that was not a decision made by the military. But we didn´t fear the tanks at all. People thought the tanks like big toys. And they keep jumping on it and taking pictures.
We even have this nice joke that the Egyptian military– and will announce in the newspaper for any Egyptian who didn´t take a picture in front or over a tank please go hurry up and take this picture. We want to go back to the barracks. That was the main slogan in the Square. Like, everybody there, everybody see take a picture in front of the tank and feel seems very happy that the tanks there.
We have, in our background historically our military service is powerful. And Egyptian have the notion that military usually is a friendly more than more than aggressively against you. We have the notion that military people are respecting Egyptians more than police people. Till now, I don´t know why exactly. But nobody we didn´t have a meeting saying what we will do against attacks.
People take the decision and jump over the tanks, saluting them. And keep yelling and keep chanting and keep singing and keep spraying, “Down. Down for Mubarak” on his own military tanks. That was a very, very powerful message from the first second the Egyptian military intervene. That was a message that Egyptians have to deal with their own military to bring democracy.
Ahmed has extensive experience as an organizer and trainer in international programs for human rights education. He has served as a media adviser and director of media observation in a national campaign for monitoring elections in Egypt sponsored by USAID. He has also been a trainer for projects sponsored by the Norwegian Human Rights Fund, such as Supporting NGOs and Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion and Combating Propaganda for War. He is the founder of various organizations: Liberal Youth Seminar sponsored by New Civic Forum, Knowledge Club, and Free Youth Association sponsored by Al JEEL Center for Youth and Social Studies. Currently, Ahmed is the Director of the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies and the director of EGYPT 1st online internet radio.
With a history dating back to the 10th millennium B.C., Egypt has long played a central role in the Middle East. Egypt is the largest Arab nation and has an influential voice in Arabic and Middle Eastern culture. Egypt has a diverse economy, but has struggled to create sustained economic growth and opportunities for its population of 84 million people.
The country has little experience with representative democracy. From 1956 to 1970, President Gamal Abdel Nasser ruled Egypt with a strong hand, nationalizing the Suez Canal and taking the country into conflict with the new state of Israel. Upon his death, Anwar al-Sadat became president. Together with other Arab nations, Sadat launched the October War against Israel in 1973. In 1979, Sadat signed a groundbreaking peace treaty with Israel.
From Sadat’s assassination in 1981 until the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Egypt was governed by President Hosni Mubarak. For all of Mubarak’s time in office, and for much of the time since his resignation, Egypt has been under “Emergency Law,” which allows the government to suspend constitutional rights, including limiting political activity and restricting free speech. Emergency Law also allows the government to use summary arrests against political opponents.
For four successive terms, Mubarak was reelected in referenda without an opponent. In 2005, under domestic and international pressure, Mubarak proposed a constitutional amendment to allow Egypt’s first multicandidate presidential elections. Because the amendment would have imposed severe restrictions on the eligibility of opposition candidates, opposition groups boycotted the vote. Mubarak claimed to have won the September 2005 presidential election with an official 88 percent of the vote, amid widespread allegations of fraud and vote rigging. The main opposition leader, Ayman Nour, was subsequently prosecuted by the government for forging signatures on petitions and was sentenced to five years in prison, provoking protests from the United States and other democratic countries.
Following the example of the Tunisian Revolution, large protests swept Egypt in early 2011. The military, led by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), withdrew its support of Mubarak. On February 11, 2011, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak had resigned. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) headed by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi then assumed power in Egypt. SCAF dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution.
In November 2011, Egypt held parliamentary elections that were reportedly fair and democratic. In June 2012, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was elected President, in part because liberal and secular forces failed to coalesce around a single candidate. Morsi’s popularity declined as he declared his orders immune from challenge, removed judicial review processes, and was accused of taking steps towards the implementation of Islamist policies. Conflict arose between those supporting Islamist policies and those seeking a more liberal and secular government. Protests occurred throughout his presidency until Morsi was ousted by the military in July 2013. Muslim Brotherhood leaders were arrested and their camps and offices raided. Until new elections are held, a SCAF-installed provisional government led by acting President Adly Mansour is in control.
In its most recent report, the independent watchdog group Freedom House classifies Egypt as “partly free.” On its scale where 1 is the most free and 7is the least free, Egypt earned scores of 5 in both the civil liberties and political rights categories.
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