Egypt: The People Still want the Fall of the Regime<http://www.juancole.com/2013/01/egypt-people-regime.html>
Posted on 01/26/2013 by Juan On the two-year anniversary of the demonstration that kicked off the Egyptian Revolution and the Second Republic, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians came out to demonstrate. They were not so much commemorating the fall of the Mubarak regime as protesting its successor, the government of Muhammad Morsi, the first freely elected Egyptian president in history. In the city of Suez on the canal, anti-government forces clashed with police, and 7 of the protesters and one policeman are said to have been killed.<http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/26/us-egypt-anniversary-idUSBRE90N1E620130126> Another protester was killed in Ismailia. Hundreds were wounded throughout the country. In Egypts second city, Alexandria, a huge crowd assembled at Qaid Ibrahim Mosque after Friday prayers, demanding the abrogation of the constitution and a correction<http://www.albayan.ae/one-world/arabs/2013-01-26-1.1810647> of the course of the revolution. In the provinces, angry crowds attacked government offices, blocked rails, and in some instances attacked the local HQ of the Muslim Brotherhood. Inthe Delta depot town of Damanhour, protesters set the Muslim Brotherhood HQ on fire<http://www.moheet.com/2013/01/25/%D8%A5%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9/> . The Muslim Brotherhood itself, which has substantial support in rural Egypt, decided against engaging in counter-demonstrations, for fear that clashes would break out between pro-Morsi and anti-Morsi factions. But the police and security forces, now under the command of the fundamentalist president, were deployed in attempts to disperse the young protesters, just as they had been in the time of Mubarak. Many of the protesters are demanding revisions to the hastily-passed, fundamentalist-leaning constitution, and are demanding that Morsi step down and pave the way for new presidential elections. Morsi expects to be in power for at least 4 years, and by the new constitution could serve two terms. He is preparing for parliamentary elections in late February, in which his Freedom and Justice Party (the civil wing of the Muslim Brotherhood) hopes to emerge dominant. The ascendancy of the Religious Right and its male chauvinist and puritanical emphases has alienated mainstream Egyptians, even many religious ones. Morsi, representing the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, has acted high-handedly has favored market-based solutions to the countrys problems, and has cracked down on striking laborers. It has provoked the anger of secular, centrist, feminist, Coptic Christian, leftist and labor groups. In Cairo, there were several centers of protest, including the iconic Tahrir Square downtown, the presidential palace, the Maspero area around the state television station, and October 6 bridge linking the downtown area with neighborhoods beyond the Nile. There were active clashes between protesters and police on October 6 bridge for much of Friday. The army and state security forces used tear gas against the protesters. A youth anarchist group, the Black Bloc, which dressed themselves in black, including masks, attempted to set fire to the presidential palace with Molotov cocktails <http://www.almasryalyoum.com/node/1418386> before being dispersed with heavy tear gas barrages. But most of the Cairo protests, despite provocation by security forces, remained peaceful. Protesters are consolidating their position in Tahrir Square and pledging to camp out in it until their goals are met. Aljazeera English reports <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UifzomTopIU>: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UifzomTopIU ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Opposition forces to march for killed protesters Ahram Online , Saturday 26 Jan 2013 Opposition forces plan to march Saturday on the Shura Council in protest at the killing of demonstrators yesterday Several political parties and groups have called for a demonstration to take place Saturday at 3pm, marching from Tahrir Square's Omar Makram Mosque to the nearby Shura Council protesting yesterday's killings and calling for the realisation of the revolution's demands. Political forces mourned in their statement those killed across Egypt, estimated by the Ministry of Health to have reached 10, calling on Egyptians to continue on the path of Friday pressing for the revolution's demands of "freedom, dignity and social justice." The signatory forces include the Egyptian Popular Current, the Constitution Party, the Nasserist Karama Party, the Socialist Popular Alliance, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Free Egyptians Party, the Freedom Egypt Party, the Justice and Freedom Youth Movement, the Free Egyptian Movement, the Lotus Revolution Alliance, the National Front for Justice and Democracy, the 6 April Democratic Front, the Revolutionary Socialists, the Free Front for Peaceful Change and the Maspero Youth Union. The political forces said they will escalate their action if their demands are ignored by marching on the presidential palace. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/63339.aspx ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Revolution Will Not Be Celebrated<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9774/the-revolution-will-not-be-celebrated> Jan 25 2013by Jadaliyya Egypt Editors<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/contributors/44036> [image: Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker]<http://app.readspeaker.com/cgi-bin/rsent?customerid=5919&lang=en_us&readid=rscontent&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jadaliyya.com%2Fpages%2Findex%2F9774%2Fthe-revolution-will-not-be-celebrated> [image: [A protestor encourages others to defy the police, Cairo, 26 January 2011. Photo by Pauline Beugnies]][A protestor encourages others to defy the police, Cairo, 26 January 2011. Photo by Pauline Beugnies] The common, seemingly benign question where were you during the revolution leaves most partisans of the January 25 Revolution with a strong sense of unease. While it is obvious that the question, whenever it comes up, is almost always posed in reference to the 2011 eighteen days of national protests that led to the end of Hosni Mubaraks thirty-year rule, this innocent query fails to do justice to the belief that the revolution and the eighteen-day uprising are not one and the same. The phrasing of the question, moreover, proceeds on an assumption that the revolution ended with Mubaraks departure, and that what followed was politics as usual. This assumption happens to coincide with a narrative that successive wielders of power have tried to sell to the Egyptian people over the past two years, namely one that purports that the revolution succeeded (and therefore ended) with Mubaraks departure, and that dissenters need to vacate public squares and factories, and begin deferring to their elders among the politicians, the legislators, and the constitution writers. Where were you during the revolution, in other words, is a question that evokes our own fears about the counter-revolution and its efforts to build a popular consciousness that reduces the January 25 Revolution to an event of the pastone that warrants commemoration and celebrationand not a living phenomenon and an ongoing struggle that has ways to go. These concerns are heightened at a time when it has become acceptable in international media to call revolutionaries anti-Morsi protesters or the secular opposition, embracing the distortive view that the struggle for revolutionary change in Egypt has taken a backseat to ideological spats and partisan politics. This is to say that partisans of the revolution in Egypt confront more than just a battle against the wielders of power as they continue to resist calls for transformative change, demands for social and economic rights, and efforts to create a meaningful social depth for the January 25 Revolution. They also face a serious battle against the hegemonic narrative that the days of revolution in Egypt are over, and that the country has re-entered into a state of normalcy in which contentious political action is no longer deemed socially or legally acceptable. Aware of the fact that the revolutions biggest enemy today is the past tense, advocates of change in Egypt are refusing to celebrate the January 25 Revolution, and are taking to the streets and the squares to renew their commitment to bread, freedom, and social justicethe same words that brought the Egypt of Hosni Mubarak and Ahmad Ezz to its knees and that are seriously challenging the Egypt of Mohamed Morsi and Khairat El-Shater. It is in this context that Jadaliyya uses the occasion of the two-year anniversary of January 25 to present a set of critical articles that take seriously what veteran labor activist Kamal Abu-Eita once said<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/7468/egyptian-workers-and-the-revolution_an-interview-w>: the January 25 Revolution did not start on 25 January and did not end on 11 February. Capturing the spirit of the first part of that same quote, Paul Sedra highlights<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9764/the-revolution-and-history> how the underlying realities and the events of the past two years in Egypt challenge historians to reassess the history of Egypt in light of the January 25 Revolution. He writes: In much the way that the revolutions of 1968 inspired American historian Howard Zinn to write his *Peoples History of the United States* a history less concerned with statesmen than with slaves, soldiers, and suffragettes the January 25 Revolution must yield a history of modern Egypt that examines the manifold ways in which Egyptians have defied the central authority that has, for centuries, sought to control them. A military-centric history that posits 1952 and 1973 as Egypts milestones, and that does not grapple with 1919, 1968 and moments that brought to the fore popular struggles for change, is no longer appropriate, he says. Situating Egypts current realities in the often-distorted meaning and history of revolutions, Joel Beinin argues<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9766/was-there-a-january-25-revolution>that the January 25 Revolution is not over. Rather, it has not yet occurred. While resistance to the status quo has not waned, he observes, much is yet to be done to build a new Egypt that speaks to the type of change that lives up to the term revolution. Aly El Raggals contribution<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9758/%D8%B9%D9%80%D9%80%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B9%D9%80%D9%84%D9%80%D9%80%D9%89-25-%D9%8A%D9%80%D9%86%D9%80%D9%80%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%B1-%D9%81%D9%80%D9%80%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B5%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%80%D9%83> (Arabic) brings to light one critical obstacle facing Egypts revolutionary struggle, namely the coercive apparatus inherited from the Mubarak era and that continues to adhere to the same repressive practices that arguably paved the way for anti-regime mobilization during the 2011 eighteen-day uprising. While revolutionary activists have thus far failed to force meaningful changes inside the security sector, El Raggal anticipates greater tension between the Muslim Brotherhood and security institutions in the future. At a time when observers are carefully assessing the prospects for conflict between the Muslim Brotherhood-controlled presidency and entrenched powers inside the Egyptian state, most notably the military, Wael Eskandar explores<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9765/brothers-and-officers_a-history-of-pacts> the history of the Brotherhoods relations with the wielders of power in Egypt. Eskandars contribution suggests that the emergent détente between military leaders and the Muslim Brotherhood speaks to a long history in which the group has consistently opted for accommodation rather than confrontation with the countrys power holders. Also examining how the Muslim Brotherhood is managing its alliances and relations with important political actors after coming to power, Islam Abdel Baris article<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9757/%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A8%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B0%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%A9%D8%9F> (Arabic) analyzes how recent developments within the Salafist camp, including defections from Al-Nour Party, could impact the Brotherhoods competition with such groups. As advocates of transformative change continue their struggle to build an Egypt in which equality and freedom transcend religious difference, Karim Malak examines<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9773/playing-the-numbers-game_copts-and-the-exercise-of> the perennial dilemma of demographics when thinking about Copts in the modern Egyptian nation-state. The article offers valuable insights into how various powerful actors have exploited demographic statistics and numbers for political gains. Underscoring the extent to which the January 25 Revolution has been transformed into a living struggle, Mona Abazas photo essay<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9724/the-dramaturgy-of-a-street-corner> shows how the evolution of street art on Mohamed Mahmoud Street has mirrored a spirit of resistance and subversion that animates artistic expression in Egypt. She writes: As long as Egypts wielders of power continue to undermine calls for revolutionary change in the country, the walls of Mohamed Mahmoud Street, and many others, will continue to offer an arena for the lively expression of political dissent and resistance. The dramaturgical performance that Mohamed Mahmoud Street is witnessing today will continue to unfold. The play is far from over. Another photo essay by Amro Ali<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9760/alexandria-re-imagined_the-revolution-through-art> attempts to use artwork from the streets of Alexandria to tell the story of the two years of revolution that Egypt has experienced thus far. As we enter the second anniversary of the revolution, he writes, Egypt needs to find a way to tell the art scene, It is ok to dream too high. The series of articles also feature a much-needed effort to reassess our understanding of the eighteen-day uprising and how it relates to the current state of the revolutionary struggle in Egypt. Arguing against the conventional narrative that presents the eighteen days as a primarily Cairene initiative based in Tahrir Square, Mahmoud Salah provides an important report<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9756/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86> (Arabic) that explains the crucial role played by the mobilization that occurred outside the capital in forcing Mubaraks ouster. These insights could not be more relevant in our present day, when analyses on the state of revolutionary dissent in Egypt are overly focused on Cairo-based elites. Jadaliyya is also featuring an exclusive interview (Arabic with English subtitles) conducted by Linda Herrera with Abdelrahman Mansour<http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9772/meet-abdelrahman-mansour-who-made-25-january-a-dat> founding co-admin of We Are All Khaled Said Facebook page and the person who set the date of 25 January 2011 for the protests that sparked the Egyptian revolution. AbdelRahman, who has been almost entirely overlooked by international media, talks about what it means to be a youth leader in the age of social media, the pros and cons of anonymity, where he turns for new ideas, and the struggles involved in building a new Egypt. All these contributions are united by a commitment to resist the past tense in assessing the January 25 Revolution and its significance. Such an effort mirrors the determination of many Egyptians to sideline calls for reducing the revolution to a distant memory to be celebrated and remembered. Today, 25 January, is an opportunity for partisans of the revolution to reflect on the sacrifices that many individuals have made in the name of a more just and humane social order, and to find strength in these sacrifices as they continue to push forward. Ask any of them where were you during the revolution, and they will answer you back with great confidence and conviction: Right here, right now. http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9774/the-revolution-will-not-be-celebrated Send via email<?subject=%22Egypt:%20The%20People%20Still%20want%20the%20Fall%20of%20the%20Regime%22%20on%20Informed%20Comment&body=Link:%20http%3A%2F%2Fwww.juancole.com%2F2013%2F01%2Fegypt-people-regime.html%20%0D%0A%0D%0A----%0D%0A%20On%20the%20two-year%20anniversary%20of%20the%20demonstration%20that%20kicked%20off%20the%20Egyptian%20Revolution%20and%20the%20Second%20Republic,%20hundreds%20of%20thousands%20of%20Egyptians%20came%20out%20to%20demonstrate.%20They%20were%20not%20so%20much%20commemorating%20the%20fall%20of%20the%20Mubarak%20regime%20as%20protesting%20its%20successor,%20the%20government%20of%20Muhammad%20Morsi,%20the%20first%20freely%20elected%20Egyptian%20president%20in%20history.%20[...]> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:la...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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