Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Protests Clash With Police in Cairo, Egypt

Since we are discussing Egypt this week, I figured I would keep my blog post on the same topic.  Today marked the two year anniversary since the overthrow of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.  The Egyptian people are very upset with their current government, with many Egyptians wanting Mubarak's successor Mohamed Morsi out of office.  Last night, a small group of Egyptian protestors in Cairo approached the presidential palace and began throwing rocks over the fence.  The Egyptian police quickly responded with water cannons to shut the rallies down.  Then, the police released tear gas to break up the remaining protestors.

This incident, to me, demonstrates the frustration of the Egyptian people toward their government.  Two years ago, Hosni Mubarak and his government was overthrown.  Now, two years later, the transition to the current regime has been a failure.  This reminds me of our conversation we had in class about Tunisia, and if revolutions can be deemed successful or unsuccessful.  Obviously, the Egyptian people were optimistic only two years ago, but after watching a few interviews with people in Cairo, they are even more upset than when Mubarak was in office.  One individual said he and everyone else wants Morsi and his government to step down.  He says, "Only a quarter of Egyptians elected him and now he [Morsi] is killing his own people."

Furthermore, after clashes with the police for the past several months, many protestors have been killed.  Yet, activists said that nobody has been held responsible for these killings.

It will be interesting to learn more about Egypt's situation during lecture this week.  This entire situation just enforces the fact that nothing is for certain, and that even transitions that seem successful can always turn bad in a heartbeat.  I feel bad for the local protestors who got hit with tear gas, although they did begin the rally by throwing rocks at the presidential palace.  However, some people

Original article: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/02/20132111843493885.html

6 comments:

  1. I think it is too soon to rule the revolution in Egypt (or any of the other Arab Spring movements) a failure. The road to democracy is a long and rocky one. In my opinion, what is going on in Egypt is positive. The Egyptian people are showing Morsi and his government that there are certain limits he can not cross. If he continues to do so, he may find himself removed from power in Mubarak fashion. We certainly do not have democracy in Egypt yet, but it is too soon to count this movement out.

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    1. i agree. I think that even though Morsi may not be the leader the Egyptian people want, he is the leader that the country needs right now. By that he did not come up from military ranks. This seems like a small fact to highlight, but the history of Egyptian leaders have been military and have then ruled through this military power. Morsi, does not have that ability. The military is sitting aside, letting the government and people work out their issues. I like to look as this is a glimmer of hope that the military is trying to let the country become more democratic and kind of forcing Morsi to play a more democratic hand.

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  2. I also agree that we can’t say Egypt is a failure quit yet. The people need to realize that with any economy and government it takes time to implement change. Whenever any major economic reform is implemented it takes years and years of hardship. Egypt needs to give time, space and faith to the government in order for them to focus on the future of Egypt. How can any leader move forward when the people are constantly pushing the country back. The only way that developed countries work is through having faith that their government and economy is working for them. The dollar wouldn’t be worth anything more then a silly green piece of paper if we the people didn’t believe in its value. This is what drives our economy and our nation is the trust that we have in our system. Although Egypt is rightfully reluctant to let the government do whatever it needs or wants to do ultimately people need to start believing in the legitimacy of elections and how the government carries out its business. Until then Egypt will economically suffer without clear cut goals for the future.

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    1. As has been commented above, it is too early to declare the Egyptian case a failure. But, I don't think that continued protests by portions of Egyptian society show a lack of belief in elections or an attempt to purposefully push the economy backwards. Remember, a major part of the protests was a lack of jobs and economic opportunities--and although the situation has not improved, I don't think that the right idea is to just sit idly by and hope and trust in the government to make it happen.

      I do not believe that in the end violent protests are the way to make change happen, but continued peaceful protests are important to make sure that those in power (either Morsi or the Military) are reminded of the people. There is a rich history of corruption in the government, and so I do not think that people will sit back and trust the government to work out in their best interests.

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  3. It seems clear that Egyptians are no longer scared of protesting for what they want. It is unfortunate that change is not coming fast enough for many. Nonetheless, this situation might be one that we will see happen over and over again until the uproar has settled down and the government has been re-established. Many things that people took for granted would change as soon as Mubarak left office have not shown any signs of leading anywhere, I believe that this is the reason why so many people still remain to be frustrated with the current government.

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  4. I think it will be interesting to monitor the economic path of Egypt during their attempt at establishing a stable government. Economic stability will not likely ensue until there is a degree of political stability in any given country. The fact that many protesters are heavily concerned with economic matters as a top priority makes me worry that some of their demands may be too much for any one regime to realistically deliver upon, ultimately leading to continuous dissatisfaction with the government and possibly even continued protest and instability. Even a country like the United States is limited in it's ability to promote economic success and provide the jobs and economic status demanded by citizens. An established government is often only equipped with the power to provide economic stability and enforce regulations that promote economic growth. Even after political stability is established, economic growth and progress is often a gradual process. This makes me fear that many protesters will not see their economic demands met in the time frame or manner they expect, leading to continued economic dissatisfaction and political unrest in Egypt. This somewhat cyclical speculation could make it difficult to establish a truly stable Egyptian government in the long run.

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