Sunday, November 20, 2011

Egypt: Ongoing protests in Tahrir Square

 Clashes during the day have left at three dead and scores wounded. A standoff seems in progress as of this posting. Protesters have regained control of the square. Police and security forces had retreated from the area into side streets.
     As many as 3000 protesters have returned after being chased out earlier in violent clashes. During the earlier revolution the army often seemed to side with the protesters. However the ruling military council is filled with officers with ties to the Mubarak government.
     Since the revolution military tribunals have been used to try people even more often than they were during Mubarak's regime. Bloggers who have criticized the ruling military council have been jailed. Now protesters are being treated just as they were during the old regime.
      The government has praised the restraint used by the security forces echoing the same type of propaganda that was common during the Mubarak rule. Protesters are particularly incensed that the army is trying to pass measures that would ensure that the army would not come under civilian control. In Egypt the army is closely connected to many commercial enterprises and the business elite is in part composed of army officers.  Many protesters want the army council to hand over power to a civilian government as soon as possible. For more see this article.



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