Inside Story - Egypt: In no mood for compromise. 11/23 The Headlines. The morning’s headlines from Al-Tahrir (liberal, independent), Al-Masry Al-Youm (liberal/moderate, independent), and Al-Ahram (state-owned) respectively: Above, Tahrir’s large text up top reads “The square demands the general leaves.”
Below the picture: “Group meeting with political forces: Ideas, not decisions” subheaded with “Acceptance of Sharaf’s resignation…and the salvation government – did not determine – it’s president…and the drafting of the constitution in one month…and presidential elections will be at the latest June 30, 2012…and everyone is still waiting on the decision of the general” Al-Masry Al-Youm, above, takes a different approach, using the front page to compare Egypt’s current state with the progress made next door in Tunisia. To left, the headline “Tunisia” is accompanied by a radically different scene relative to its Egyptian counterpart, with families sitting at benches with pictures of their martyred family members in front of them. Egyptian Protesters Reject Military Concessions, Demand Officers Return to Barracks. On Wednesday morning there were clashes between protesters and the military at the Ministry of Interior, which the interim government feared might be invaded and/or torched.
In Egypt, Interior is in charge of security police (Amn al-Dawlah), the force that is accused of using undue force and killing dozens of protesters since last Friday. The protesters are thus furious with the ministry. There were also clashes in Alexandria between protesters and police in front of the municipality building, in which one demonstrator was killed. Air Marshall Hussein Tantawi, the de facto military dictator of Egypt, attempted on Tuesday to mollify the hundreds of thousands of Egyptians demonstrating in cities up and down the Nile Valley on Tuesday. In a major concession, he agreed to move elections for a new civilian president (i.e. for his own replacement) to no later than June 2012.
The groups gathered in Tahrir Square rejected the general’s speech, demanding that he “get out of here” (irhal!) Révolution égyptienne, acte II. Je voudrais, avant de commencer ce post, faire un appel à ses lecteurs.
Comme vous le savez, ce blog comme de nombreuses publications sur ce site ne sont possibles que parce que « Le Monde diplomatique » existe et finance ces activités. Comme tous les ans, nous faisons appel aux dons des lecteurs pour aider et consolider notre indépendance. Je vous invite à y participer, dans la mesure de vos moyens, et à relayer cet appel autour de vous. Vous trouverez à cette adresse, la traduction en arabe de cet article.
Les prévisions les plus pessimistes étaient devenues monnaie courante. The Second Republic of Tahrir - By Ashraf Khalil. CAIRO – Tahrir Square is back.
For the past four days, protesters opposed to military rule have done battle with Egyptian security forces -- and on Tuesday, Nov. 22, the tide appeared to finally turn in their favor. Buoyed by crowds that exceeded 100,000, the protesters forced the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to announce an accelerated transition to civilian rule. But with mistrust between the two sides running high, nobody is celebrating just yet. "The Armed Forces do not seek power and are ready to leave power immediately through the holding of a popular referendum if necessary," SCAF chairman Field Marshall Mohamed Tantawi said in a televised address. "Some tried to drag us into confrontation … But we will control ourselves to the maximum.
International : Alaa el-Aswany : «L'Égypte connait un vrai massacre» Revolution Revived: Egyptian Diary, Part Two. The second and last installment of Wiam El-Tamami’s diary of the ongoing turmoil in Egypt.
Monday 21 November On the metro home, a man (one of State Security’s many informants?) Was swearing that he’d just been at the midan and that there was nothing going on, that it was all lies. The people sitting around shouted him down, saying they’d seen the videos with their own eyes, police beating and shooting, setting the square on fire, dragging a dead man into a rubbish heap. Egyptian rights groups call for indictment of senior police and military officials.