With the first crisis of 2011 underway, I decided that I should dedicate a post to it. However, I didn’t understand how so many people avoided the Egyptian crisis news, and didn’t know exactly what was going on, thus I will attempt to catch everyone up to speed. If any of my remarks are incorrect, just let me know.
Egypt’s government is an autocratic style, which means they have one ruler. The difference between autocracy and a totalitarian government is that an autocrat is a person who rules with unlimited power, while a totalitarian government extends to regulating every aspect of public and private life
Current President Hosni Mubarak has ruled since 1981, when he was the vice president, and President Anwar El-Sadat was assassinated. Mubarak is in his fifth term in office (28 years), and is the ruler of the National Democratic Party (NDP). The Egyptian people do get to vote for president, but due to several restrictions, the best candidates that oppose the current president usually don’t end up on the ballot.
Mubarak as president of Egypt was able to get Egypt back into the Arab League, after they were suspended for having a treaty with Israel. Mubarak has allegedly survived six assassination attempts over his presidential career. Also, Mubarak was strongly opposed to the US – Iraq War in 2003, but now does not support an immediate pull out because he believes it will leave Iraq in chaos.
In 2005, Mubarak was re-elected for president, but it is widely suspected of being a rigged election. Civil organizations close to the elections believe that votes for Mubarak were brought in from poor suburbs and rural areas, and that Mubarak got thousands of votes from people not registered to vote. Also, runner-up Ayman Nour contested the election and demanded a re-count. Nour was persecuted for contesting the election and sentenced to five years of hard labor for forgery. The United States condemned the persecution of Nour in a statement.
The number one rival group against President Mubarak is the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood was started in the 1920s as a terrorist organization and resulted in violence as the attempted to assassinate former presidents. In the 2005 elections, candidates from the Brotherhood had to run as independents as it is banned as a political party won 20% of the seats to form the largest opposition bloc.
Fast forward to January 25, 2011 where as many as 20,000 protesters went into the streets of Cairo, the capital. The protesters were in an anti-government rage inspired from the revolt in Tunisia. Police and protesters clashed at some points causing three people to die and 49 wounded.
January 26 – Police decided to go on the offensive and use water cannons and tear gas to keep protesters out of the streets.
January 27 – The Muslim Brotherhood calls on its supporters to join in protests. The government shut down the Internet and text messaging services.
January 28 – The headquarters of Mubarak’s NDP is set ablaze. Egyptian troops move through the streets and release tear gas into the crowd to enforce a curfew, the first time since 1985 that the Egyptian army has been used in its own country to put down domestic unrest.
January 29 – President Mubarak acknowledges the ‘legitimate demand’ for political and economic reforms. Protesters are not happy because they feel that Mubarak will still trick them in the end and won’t stop until he is officially out of office.
January 30 – Protestors call on Mubarak to leave office and save the country. Egyptian warplanes and helicopters buzz Tahrir Square (where the protesters are staying) as the thousands of protesters defy curfew orders.
January 31 – The protesters plan a large march for February 1st. Egypt’s military announces it won’t open fire on peaceful protesters. Egyptian authorities shut down the country’s rail network and post troops at key locations ahead of the next round of demonstrations. The government announces it has begun discussing reform with opposing parties.
February 1 – Mubarak announces he will not seek a new term in September’s election, but vows that he will stay in the country and finish his current term. The United States attempts to work with Mubarak to draw up plans for a transitional government and have Mubarak step down.
February 2 – Pro and anti-Mubarak protesters battle each other with rocks, concrete and Molotov cocktails in Tahirir Square. Opposition protestors say that pro-Mubarak demonstrators include plainclothes police officers and government workers who are paid to take part, yet the government denies this accusation.
February 3 – Egyptian authorities crack down on journalists and human rights activists. The Egyptian vice president blames foreign journalists as the reason for the protesters (as he believes that they are giving them confidence to keep going and that foreign journalists are siding with anti-Mubarak’s). Mubarak tells ABC News that he is unhappy with the violence, and says that he would step down right away but fears his immediate resignation would plunge Egypt into further chaos.
February 4 – The anti-Mubarak movement draws 10,000+ into Tahrir Square for a largely peaceful mass rally. Journalists from CNN, New York Times, Washington Post and Al-Jazeera have all been attacked and told not to show video or pictures of the protests (not all news stations were attacked on this day).
February 5- Key members of Egypt’s ruling party, including Mubarak’s once heir-apparent son, step down from their positions. Protesters continue to demonstrate, as Mubarak still is the president.
It has been a battle for both sides, as the pro-Mubarak people want the demonstrators to wait until September for the reform, and the anti-Mubarak’s want Mubarak to step down immediately as they feel that he will trick them in September by ensuring the NDP of another victory.
Must-See Links:
Christians allowing Muslims to pray by linking up arms to prevent distractions.
The Police driving through crowds to keep them out of the streets. *WARNING* Extremely graphic! (1 person is believed to be killed around the :55 mark)
Protestors flee tear gas
CNN Live Blog
CNN pictures
Sources:
CNN
Wikipedia
