Fighting again in Tahrir
Ursula Lindsey
A stencil of the martyr Mustafa Al Sawy. The 25-year-old lab technician was shot in the chest by police on Kasr El Nil bridge on January 28
Violent clashes between protesters (including families of martyrs) and the police broke last night in and around Tahrir Square and have continued into this morning, leaving hundreds injured.
The spark appears to have been a memorial service for the families of martyr's at the Baloon Theatre in Agouza. People disrupted the ceremony (either the relatives of other martyrs, or people posing as them); a group marched to Tahrir, where they were met by riot police, tear gas and rubber bullets. Word spread, and activists and others joined the clashes with the police.
This violence is the inevitable result of the lack of transparency and of momentum in the judicial proceedings against former regime figures and especially the police (something we talked about on the last Arabist podcast). The families of martyrs' were shut out of the last session of the Habib Al Adly (the former Minister of Interior) trial; they went wild when the trial was postponed again. Everyday I read and hear stories about police officers who are on trial (or should be) going back to work at their old posts; and about families being bribed or threatened ("We'll arrest your other son on drug charges") if they don't drop their cases.
Now both Mubarak and Adli are scheduled to next appear in court on the second day of Ramadan. We all know that means a month-long postponement. And while justice drags out, the Ministry of Interior is in complete denial about the extent of its culture of abuse and the need for total reform. The police literally seem to hope that by sulking at home (and thereby showing people how necessary they are); and by making a lot of vague promises and handing out glossy brochures, they can teach people to appreciate them and rehabilitate their "image." But what they really want is their power back; they can't conceive of doing their job in any other way than with total impunity. They view the idea of accountability as undermining their prestige and authority. There is no sense of the moral authority that would come, eventually, from publicly cleaning house.
I can't imagine the suffering of young men disabled for life or of families who have lost their children. I can't imagine being angry or brave or idealistic enough to be ready to die for an idea of justice, a vision of change. Every loss of human life and health is a tragedy, but we owe these losses--losses paid as the price for a great victory, a great hope--special respect. The uprising started because people were tired of being brutalized and humiliated. For me, justice for the martyrs, the injured and their families is the test of whether something has really changed.
Which is why it is so important that some policemen at least be judged, publicly, for what they've done. The families of the dead and injured and the activist community (who in many cases come from quite different backgrounds) have come fully together in calling for justice. I don't think Egyptians are going to be satisfied with anything less.
Reader Comments (5)
Excellent. I wished this was the analysis picked up by everyone (in Egypt and abroad) if they want to understand the real causes of the latest eruption of anger
It is true that reconciliation between the police and the families of the martyrs needs to happen. One idea is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission model used in South Africa and other countries. If you are in Cairo on Monday July 4, the South African ambassador will be speaking at al-Sawy Culture Wheel and www.MasterPeace.org will host a round table discussion. More information here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=178541235537651
Here is something I don't get it. If it is evident shouldn't people protest more clearly against such proceedings? Secondly whose advantage it really is to keep the process so opaque.
My heart goes out to the people who are suffering to bring free enterprise democracy to Egypt.
But, at the same time, I ask for an historical perspective. I suggest that never up to now with the Arab Spring, in the several millennium history of Egypt, have individual Egyptians been free to pursue their individual destinies (in an environment of peace and justice). And the entire elite class has incorporated all the inequities produced by such suppression into their way of being; learning how to ignore the repeated sufferings of the masses. This capacity to ignore injustice can be eradicated over time. But only with persistent effort and lots of people suffering.
So keep up the good work, continue to feel pain for the suffering, but don't allow yourself to assume the path will be short, pain free and effortless.
I am sure relatives of the martys wouldn't have disrupted the ceremony. Much as one would like to attack and denigrate the SS and army it looks like this is being orchestrated for a purpose namely to create instability and delay elections. Who do you think that serves? The MB? I think not...more likely those who know they will not garner enough votes in a free election and are looking for other ways to use their influence to besmirch all other parties.
Sadly it is "secular/liberal" elements spearheading this constitution first debate and they look all the more silly for it and unsurprisingly bear resemblance to the NDP. in so far as they want to feed Egyptians an agenda that few Egyptians want! Looks like more of the same in Tunisia also...Well what did we truly expect.