By Rania Al Malky
CAIRO: Minutes after the confirmation late Tuesday and early Wednesday that ousted president Hosni Mubarak was remanded in custody at the Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital and his sons Gamal and Alaa were flown to Torah prison, also after being remanded in custody for 15 days pending investigation, someone wrote on twitter, “Now that’s a revolution!”
How simple and true his words were.
But looking at the escalation which began on last Friday’s million man protest, one would never have thought that by mid week, the entire equation would be overturned, literally in the blink of an eye.
This historic week kicked off with the shocking confrontation between the army and Tahrir Square protesters that left one dead and some 71 people injured. The clash happened when military police attempted to disperse a sit-in following protests calling for Mubarak and his family to be put on trial and implying the military’s complicity in shielding its ex-commander-in-chief from the ignominy of a public trial.
And in a move which I, along with the broad majority of activists and civil society groups of all stripes, considered to be completely unacceptable, uniformed military officers joined the protesters. As civilians, naturally they have every right to express their opinions freely, but as military officers at this particular moment in Egypt’s history, their gesture was irresponsible. Despite the reservations and perhaps even suspicions, Egyptians have about the army, Egypt’s military establishment has proven beyond a doubt that it did and continues to protect the revolution from the soiled fingers of the anti-revolutionaries.
The fact that there are a few bad apples in the army that have acted out of ignorance, at times using extreme violence with protesters, does not mean that they were following supreme orders. These incidents must be investigated, but should not taint what is otherwise a respected institution. And yes, we must admit that there have been allegations of possible corruption within the ranks of the military, which must also be investigated, but now is definitely not the right time for such a probe.
One thing is for sure, the army has no intention of risking Egypt’s future for the sake of one allegedly corrupt man, his family and their clique all accused of abusing power and squandering public money when over 40 percent of the population lived under $2 a day. And even if they did, the power of the street and of global players will stop them. Egypt is seeking $3.3 billion debt relief from a belt-tightening US congress. According to a report by Agence France-Presse, a last-minute deal reached Friday to fund the US government to Oct. 1 includes $1.3 billion in military assistance for Egypt and $250 million in aid to help the country build strong, transparent and democratic institutions.
However, final approval of this budget requires US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to report in 45 days on Egypt’s progress towards replacing military rule with a democracy. Clearly the timing and swift moves by the army were not a coincidence.
One thing we all learnt about our ousted president this week is that he has been instrumental in creating the conditions of his own undoing. The arrogant, condescending audio recording he aired on the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya channel on Sunday, where he had the audacity to threaten to sue those who have “defamed” him and in which he wished to absolve himself of any wrong-doing, only served to speed up the investigation process and to prove to the public that there are clear rifts between him and the current army leadership.
His underhanded attempt to turn the revolution on its head led to the Prosecutor General’s decision to summon him no more than 20 minutes after airing the doomed audio recording, which one speech analyst described as the speech of a man who still believed that he is the president.
Moving forward, however, it is imperative that the ousted president and his sons receive a fair trial, uninfluenced by the pressure of public opinion. Despite the murder of civilians in peaceful protests and the 30-year corruption of political life, graft and profiteering, the Egyptian judiciary must not descend to the level of a lynch mob, pouncing on its prey to please an understandably angry and indignant public. The last thing this revolution should be remembered for is that it used the same tactics that hundreds of people died to put an end to, against its previous oppressors. What we are building now are the foundations of the rule of law which will inform our entire future. Kangaroo courts have no place in that future, no matter who is in the dock.
While we must vigilantly scrutinize the court proceedings against all ex-officials, businessmen and Mubarak cronies, it is also vital that we look ahead at this stage and prepare for the real battle at the polls in six months: the battle of democracy.
Rania Al Malky is the Chief Editor of Daily News Egypt.
