Tag: Egypt

Hosni Mubarak has been chased from power, with the military taking over for what is being termed a temporary transitional period. Egyptians are elated, but this is only the first step toward democracy and the citizenry that took to the streets will need to keep the pressure on to ensure that the military does not take advantage of the power vacuum to create a new authoritarian regime.

It is something that at least some protesters are aware of:

Abdel-Rahman Samir, a protest organizer, said the movement would open negotiations with the military, but said demonstrations should also continue to ensure changes are carried out.

“We still don’t have any guarantees yet — if we end the whole situation now it’s like we haven’t done anything,” Mr. Samir told the Associated Press. “So we need to keep sitting in Tahrir until we get all our demands.” 

So, a new chapter begins.

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Hosni Mubarak is still in office and intends to remain there until the fall. Or until he can be pushed, which is going to happen sooner rather than later. From Nick Kristof:

Mubarak’s speech was a striking reminder of the capacity of dictators to fool themselves and see themselves as indispensable. If he thinks that his softer tone will win any support, he’s delusional.

• Send me an e-mail.
• Read poetry at The Subterranean.
• Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
• Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.

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The first chapter does appear to be coming to a close, slowly, painfully. This is what The New York Times is reporting:

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak just said in a televised address to his nation that he intends to remain in office until a new president is elected in September.

When he promised to oversee a peaceful transition of power until September, crowds of protesters erupted in unhappiness if Cairo’s Tahrir Square. As he continued to speak, the protesters in Tahrir Square broke into loud chants of: “Leave! Leave! Leave!”

Mr. Mubarak, who said that he would not “listen to diktats coming from abroad,” also refused to immediately lift the emergency law that has been in continuous effect since 1981, promising only to clear the way for ending the state of emergency once stability and security is restored.

• Send me an e-mail.
• Read poetry at The Subterranean.
• Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
• Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.

It appears likely, according to news reports, that Hosni Mubarak is ready to step aside. The question is what happens next: Does the military take over? Does it take over temporarily under the oversight of a council of civilians? Will there be chaos? Will the Muslim Brotherhood take over?

History unfolds as it unfolds — we can’t predict its outcome nor, as these shifting currents in Egypt prove, can we control it. We just have to go with it and trust that the democracy movement is strong.

• Send me an e-mail.
• Read poetry at The Subterranean.
• Certainties and Uncertainties a chapbook by Hank Kalet, will be published in November by Finishing Line Press. It can be ordered here.
• Suburban Pastoral, a chapbook by Hank Kalet, available here.