"The Massacre One Year Later"

Ahmad Shokar's essay deserves to be read.  It very much relates to my earlier post on the repressive Egyptian regime.

Shokar observes:

The vigorous attempts by state officials, along with media and public figures, to justify the killings are signs that Raba‘a is an enduring trauma whose memory will not be easily expunged. Raba‘a is in fact the pivotal event of Egyptian politics after the coup. Even though, as Mosaab al-Shamy (one of the foremost photographers of the massacre) observed, the state works hard to scrub the public sphere clean of commemorative icons, Raba‘a is far from invisible. As competing narratives are made to serve rival political agendas, the very persistence of contestation over the facts suggests that the massacre will not die along with its victims.

Egyptian Ambassador to the U.S.: Husni who?

Christine Amanpour  (January 30, 2011) to  Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian Ambassador to the U.S.:  "Do you expect President Mubarak to survive in power?"  He answers that the people of Egypt have shown solidarity and that every loyal Egyptian will contribute to the nation, and he never mentions Mubarak.  


In other words, dear readers, Mubarak is history.


Update:
"Would you like President to stay in power?"
Later, on Jan. 30, Ambassador Shoukry appears on CNN (12:15 EST).   He notes that it is up to the people, civil society, national dialogue to determine the future of Egypt.  When asked about Mubarak, he avoids any affirmation of President Mubarak, and refers to the Egyptians peoples' aspirations.  He refers to the importance of Egypt's institutions, never letting the president's name pass his lips.
He denies that Muhammad Baradei was under house arrest, incidentially.

Regime moves

January 30, 2011:

Minister of Defense visits protesters at Tahrir Square reports al-Masry al-Youm.

Information Minister withdraws accreditation for al-Jazeera, in attempt to stifle the coverage of the protests.  Al-Jazeera is unquestionably provided the most in-depth coverage of the events.

The army is a key piece of the puzzle in post-Mubarak Egypt: Here soldiers shield demonstrators from police

The Army:

Term Limits in Egypt

Old hands will remember that Husni Mubarak promised, in 1981, that he would be a one term President. Well, he quickly forgot that promise.

In contrast, the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Muhammad Mahdi Akif is vowing to step down in January 2010, a half dozen year after he replaced the former Supreme Guide Ma'moun Hudeibi, who died in January 2004. Hudeibi was one of the old guard. I interviewed him in February 2003, and while he was affable and forthcoming there was no mistaking him for a democrat. In fact, when I asked Hudeibi about the attempt of younger member to create a political party outside of the Ikhwan, he expressed his annoyance at their insolence.

In contrast, Akef has been been much more comfortable with pluralism of opinion within the Ikhwan. While I have not interviewed Akef, I did interview his deputy, Muhammad Habib, and he revealed what certainly sounded like a sincere embrace of democracy as essential for Egypt's development and for the restoration of freedom to the increasingly autocratic state.

It is probably too early to predict who might succeed Akef, although Habib is certainly a front-runner. If Akef follows through on his promise, it will enhance the Ikhwan's reputation, and only underline the calcified regime stultifies politics in Egypt, and undermines the country's vitality. I would not be surprised to see the regime attempting to pressure Akef to stay in place to avoid the bad example.

Surprising times for outlawed opposition - The National Newspaper