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Confrontation brews in Cairo Anger is simmering in Egypt over the crackdown against democracy activists. Thursday may see the boiling point hit
By GREGORY KATZ Middle East Bureau
CAIRO, EGYPT - Riot police are preparing for another confrontation on the smoggy streets of downtown Cairo on Thursday while opposition leaders are calling for mass demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak.
Last week, when Mubarak's opponents last mobilized for a showdown with the helmeted security forces, bloody scenes unfolded near the famed Egyptian Museum where the treasures of King Tut are housed and other landmarks as the police beat dozens of protesters and arrested several hundred others.
Street fighting pitting police against protesters has become a regular feature of Cairo life such head-banging is a rite of passage for most university students but the current demonstrations are potentially more potent than any previous ones.
The next round in the escalating struggle over Mubarak's future is expected Thursday, when demonstrations are planned to mark the first anniversary of a crackdown on democracy activists.
As the heat begins to intensify, spreading like a moist blanket over much of Egypt, Mubarak faces increasing pressure to make good on last year's pledge to overhaul the country's autocratic electoral system. His critics say the 78-year-old president has become like the Pharaohs of old an all-powerful leader impossible to remove.
Instead of moving toward democracy, Mubarak has clamped down on opponents since the start of this year, jailing on fraud charges the lawyer who opposed Mubarak in last year's election and reprimanding a judge who accused the government of rigging elections.
Broad opposition coalition The action against Judge Hisham Bastawisi, who suffered a major heart attack last week, has galvanized public anger and highlighted the weakness of the courts.
Thousands of judges have made public calls for independence from the government, but to no avail. It was the judges who called unfair and one-sided last year's elections that kept Mubarak and his party in power for another six years,
The dissident judges have joined a broad opposition coalition that includes religious and secular organizations seeking an end to the Mubarak era, which began when he came to power after the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat.
"The law is totally controlled by the government, and we want the judges to be independent, like they are everywhere else but Egypt," said George Isaac, coordinator of the secular "Kefaya" movement.
The group is calling for constitutional change to allow "everyone" to run for president in open elections, he said. Its members were beaten, and some female activists sexually abused, last May 25 when they urged a boycott of a referendum on a Mubarak proposal held that day.
The referendum, approved by voters, allowed a limited reform of presidential voting but left Mubarak in control.
"Condoleezza Rice said that Mubarak is a wise man," Isaac said. "Tell me how? The obstacles he is putting in our way are destroying the chance for democracy. He is no democrat."
Isaac said Egyptians are willing to ignore the Ministry of Police when it bans public protests. Authorities prohibited protests outside the judges' union hall last week, but the demonstrators came anyway.
Isaac said the small democratic openings of the last year, made under pressure from Washington, are closing.
The government in the last week has arrested more than 200 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned Islamic organization that has scored surprisingly well in parliamentary elections by running its activists as independents. Several senior figures also have been imprisoned.
In a White House statement, President Bush has criticized the crackdown on the fledgling democracy movement, and U.S. diplomats here have called in vain for the release of Ayman Nour. The defeated presidential candidate has been sentenced to five years on fraud charges viewed as politically motivated.
Egyptian officials have shrugged off criticism from Washington, insisting that the Americans stay out of Egypt's internal affairs. Egypt, a vital U.S. ally, receives more than $2 billion each year in aid.
Critics of U.S. policy believe the Bush administration should take an active role in promoting democracy in Egypt.
"Condoleezza Rice went to the region saying America would no longer stand by despots but would press for democratization across the board," said Eugene Rogan, director of the Middle East Center at Oxford University in England. "But that policy has been reversed. The more the Americans ignore it, the more the Egyptians crack down."
Changes called cosmetic Angry opposition leaders say Mubarak made some cosmetic changes but has retreated from his commitment to open up the system. They believe the aging leader hopes to eventually hand over the presidency to his son Gamal Mubarak rather than allow fair, multiparty elections.
"They have no intention of reforming," Mohammed Habib, deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, said of Mubarak and his advisers. "Instead they are confronting all segments of society the students, the judges and the Muslim Brotherhood. We see them attacking peaceful protesters. They have extended state-of-emergency laws."
"Mubarak made good promises, but everything evaporated."
The Brotherhood has deep roots in the Islamic fundamentalist movement, but it has adopted a more moderate position in the last year. Senior leaders and the group's platform call for the establishment of a democratic government that would respect the rights of all minorities rather than the establishment of an Islamic state.
Mubarak, by contrast, is laying the groundwork for the transfer of power to his son, Habib said, but his path will be "unacceptable" to a majority of Egyptians.
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UHM I WONDER HOW MANY WILL DO THERE PRAYERS WHEN THE AZAAN CALLS AND TAKE LEAVE FROM THE MASS DEMOSTRATION ,I PRESUME NO ONE ALREADY SEEN A MASS DEMONSRTATION THERE AND ITS UGLY ..EVERY ONE PREACHES ALLAH IN IT BUT CANT FIND THE TIME FOR PRAYER UUUUHM .THIS TYPE OF STUFF CREATES MUBARAK TO GET WORSE AND TOUGHER AND INCREASE HIS STAY LONGER .HE HAS MORE MEN WRKING FOR HIM THAT IS ON THE STREETS PROTESTING ..WHO WUD BE AGAINST HIM AND GIVE UP THERE PAY FROM A MILTIARY POINT OF VIEW ...
Posts: 1602 | From: the banana island shake me tweeeeeeee | Registered: Jan 2006
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I don't want to answer that question, I currently live in Egypt, don't want to end up like Ayman Nour. Posts: 13440 | Registered: Feb 2006
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