By Rania Al Malky
CAIRO: Egypt’s youth are once again taking matters into their own hands, as leaders of political parties continue to do what they do best: wage ideological wars against each other through silly Mickey Mouse tweets and hurling the proverbial holier-than-thou shoe in the name of guarding Islam.
Calls by youth groups for the July 8 protests, which started weeks ago, were fueled over the past ten days by three major events: the gratuitous violence used by police and central security forces against protesters on June 28 and 29, complete with teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition; the clearing of three ex-ministers in graft cases; and the release on bail of seven policemen accused of killing protesters in Suez.
Just one of these events would have been sufficient to galvanize popular support for the protests, which have won over even those Egyptians who believe that protests must end for Egypt to move towards the much-needed political stability that is the bedrock of the path towards economic recovery.
But what is it that has sent Egyptians back to Tahrir? The short answer: crisis of confidence.
Authorities, whether it’s members of the interim Cabinet or the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) have done very little to deserve the benefit of the doubt, according to the growing masses of agitated Egyptians.
For one, their priorities are clearly muddled. While on the one hand they are placing huge focus on keeping the people off the streets, they are doing very little to tackle the reasons why the people keep going back.
The martyrs’ families protests, which were central to the violent clashes between police and protesters last month, could have been easily avoided. True that an official fact-finding mission had concluded that the confrontation was orchestrated by “remnants of the old regime” and that car-loads of rocks were brought in to fuel the violence, the entire face-off would not have taken place if the LE 100 million martyr’s fund which suddenly emerged less than 48 hours later had been announced a month ago.
The feeling that the sacrifices of those who died for the freedom and dignity of this country have not only been ignored, but also their families are being coerced into dropping charges against their alleged killers incensed even those who have not lost a loved one or a breadwinner. Indignant and infuriated, it was only natural for what may have started off as an all-too-common altercation to turn into a full-fledged clash reminiscent of the early days of the Jan. 25 uprising.
And the story doesn’t end there. Within one week of this unjustified and illegitimate use of force, a Suez criminal court releases on bail pending investigations, seven policemen including the former chief of the Suez police directorate and his assistant in a move that has enraged the families and sent a provocative message to the wider Egyptian society that justice is not being served. Suspicion in the independence of the judiciary and the feeling that the interior ministry is insincere in its committed to purging its ranks from “criminals who have killed our children” can only mean that before we know it, even the ousted dictator Mubarak will get away with it.
The shocking disclosure to Daily News Egypt last week by one of the lawyer of some of the martyrs’ families that the Interior Ministry had illegally paid off five families LE 100,000 each to drop the cases against those charged with their children’s death has confirmed the general suspicion that it’s business as usual at the ministry.
It was no surprise when Loai Nagati, one of the activists arrested on June 28 and falsely accused of “acts of thuggary” — that increasingly elastic and vague charge — who was released Thursday on health grounds, said during an interview on private satellite channel On TV the same night, that the police gave him “the royal treatment,” a good hiding and the threat of rape.
Interior Minister Mansour El-Essawy has since made public statements that sweeping changes within the ranks of the ministry will see the removal of hundreds of top brass police generals including 130 leading central security figures and 75 implicated in the killing of protesters.
Many, however, see the announcement as too little, too late. Why, they ask, has it taken almost five months to start these purges while at the same time over 5,000 civilians have been subjected to military trials and put away in military prisons for years? Why has there been a complete lack of transparency in the trials of ex-regime figures, three of whom were cleared of graft charges — though they are still being tried in other cases?
The mistakes are clear and undisputed and to set matters straight three things must be done: Trials must be made public, which means that the ban on filming court sessions for TV broadcasts must be revoked immediately, people must see the accused in the dock; special tribunals for police officers accused of killing protesters must be set up in order to speed up the process; and court documents, including those of high-profile cases, especially those of former regime figures, must be made public or at least the media must have access to them.
Unless the core demands of the millions of ordinary Egyptians who brought about this colossal upheaval on Egypt’s political scene are met with absolute transparency, the country will continue being rocked by street action. The ramifications too will be colossal, whether on the economic or social fronts because the ensuing economic stagnation will affect the most vulnerable, those who can only exercise patience for so long before their children get hungry.
Let’s not allow that to happen.
Rania Al Malky is the Chief Editor of Daily News Egypt.
