• Protests in Cairo Struck Down by the New Military Government
    47 replies, posted
[quote]CAIRO — Tens of thousands of protesters returned Friday to Tahrir Square, the site of demonstrations that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak two weeks ago, to keep up the pressure on Egypt’s military-led transitional government. But by early Saturday, the military made it clear there would be limits to further dissent as soldiers and plainclothes security officers moved into the square, beating protesters and tearing down their tents, witnesses said. In a day that had begun with equal parts carnival and anti-government demonstration, protesters’ called for the quick cancellation of the Emergency Law, which for three decades has allowed detentions without trial, and the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force general appointed by Mr. Mubarak days before he stepped down. But after night fell, the protest transformed into a tense standoff between protesters and the military, whose neutrality during the uprising, and unwillingness to fire on the protesters, had turned them into popular heroes. The first sign of tension arose when hundreds of people rallied in the intersection in front of the prime minister’s office, barred from taking their protest any closer to the ornate building by armored personnel carriers and a line of soldiers armed with Tasers. The crowd returned to a chant heard often in the days before Mr. Mubarak fell, replacing his name with the prime minister’s: “The people want the overthrow of Ahmed Shafiq!” Military police surrounded the protesters and kept them from leaving until late at night, witnesses said, while in Tahrir about a thousand people began to pitch tents and settle in for the night. After midnight, soldiers and police officers took over the square. Salma Said was asleep in a tent when it began to fall down on top of her. Outside people were screaming, and she emerged to see people being beaten by soldiers and armed plainclothes security officers wearing masks. “They had their faces covered like criminals,” she said, “They only showed their eyes.” “One of the officers threatened to shoot us and said he was going to set our tent on fire,” she said. During the day Friday, the atmosphere could not have been more different. Many protesters had brought their families and were resting on blankets spread out in a grassy traffic island. A man sold chopped liver grilled on a portable stove, vendors offered cheese sandwiches and cups of sweet tea and others sold revolution souvenirs like t-shirts and headbands. Solidarity with the antigovernment protesters in Libya was also a major theme. Crowds circled the square carrying two massive flags more than 25 feet long, one Egyptian and one of the Libyan monarchy overthrown by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in 1969. Throughout the day protesters chanted “Long live free Libya.” Protesters called on the military-led transitional government to fulfill demands made during the 18-day protest in Tahrir Square, including the release of political prisoners, the removal of all ministers appointed by Mr. Mubarak and the prosecution of the former president and high ranking members of his party for corruption and abuse of power. The military has shown little interest in firing Mr. Shafiq, but many Egyptians see him as a proxy for the former president, who has been keeping a low profile in the resort town of Sharm el Sheik since his ouster on Feb. 11. “We overthrew the President and now we want to get rid of the rest of this corrupt government,” said Ashraf Abdel Aziz, a businessman accompanied by two daughters, ages five and two, who wore tight pigtails and whose faces were painted in the colors of Egypt’s flag. He described the girls, who came to daily protests with him for 18 days earlier this month, as “revolutionaries.” The spirit of the revolution, which had included people from all segments of Egyptian society, was still evident in the mix of secular leftists, members of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, and women wearing full Islamic veils with children in their arms. Ismael Abdul Latif, 27, a secular writer, chatted with the religious women, only their eyes showing, as they drew revolutionary posters. “I never dreamed in my wildest dreams that we would be talking to a munaqaba”— as women in full veils are called — “in Tahrir Square,” he said. “A secular artist is having a political debate with a fully veiled lady and having a meaningful conversation. What’s the world coming to?” But after midnight that answer was less clear. Ms. Said, after fleeing her tent, ran with a group of other protesters to a nearby plaza, where they began to plot their next move. “In the morning,” she said, “we are going back to Tahrir.” [/quote] [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/world/middleeast/26egypt.html?_r=1]Source[/url] So, time to flip-flop and say we all wanted Mubarak to stay in power.
Can't say I'm surprised, I just knew they'd end up with another bad egg.
shit sounds brutal
There just couldn't be a happy ending.
Come on guys, people who live in this region were born for chaos. There is no way to stop it ever.
cant say a part of you didn't see this coming
So they kick out the leader, military takes over, and now they're trying to kick out the military and expected not to face resistance? Are they gonna kick out the next leadership until they get one they like?
I don't think anyone here wanted Mubarak in power, but I equally think no one wants the transitional military government to hold and abuse such power. It's not a choice between the two, and any abuses of the military government should be just as criticized and protested as the abuses of the previous gov't.
Well it's not over yet. I'm pretty sure they don't want Mubarak back, but what can getting rid of one man in an entire corrupt government do? I hope they keep at it. Libya is right next door, I'm sure the military would know the blowback from killing its own citizens mercilessly, plus they didn't fire on them before Mubarak stepped down...I'd say they have a pretty good chance of keeping this going.
I hope this new government doesn't start destabalizing shit
Didn't the military issue an apology?
[QUOTE=Badunkadunk;28304623]So they kick out the leader, military takes over, and now they're trying to kick out the military and expected not to face resistance? Are they gonna kick out the next leadership until they get one they like?[/QUOTE] Uh.. you make it sound like a bad thing they want a better government?
[url]http://www.facepunch.com/threads/1053531-I-love-baton?p=28293760&viewfull=1#post28293760[/url]
[QUOTE=Badunkadunk;28304623]So they kick out the leader, military takes over, and now they're trying to kick out the military and expected not to face resistance? Are they gonna kick out the next leadership until they get one they like?[/QUOTE] Good Sir, the idea behind Democracy is that you get to [i]pick[/i] a leader you like, not just "get" one. Hence the kicking-out of leaders that these people did not elect.
[QUOTE=Don Merino;28305151]Good Sir, the idea behind Democracy is that you get to [i]pick[/i] a leader you like, not just "get" one. Hence the kicking-out of leaders that these people did not elect.[/QUOTE] People are too dumb these days, don't waste your time man. In a real democracy, every person would be viewed as an equal, and could directly participate in deciding what goes on. It shouldn't just be voting for a person who you hope will most closely represent what you think. Also, in other news, people all around the world are starting to feel the wrath of the New World Order.
Well fuck. Now how many facepunchers defended the fuck out of the military for it's great organization to hold Egypt together peacefully, swearing that this sort of shit would [I]never[/I] happen? I know I wasn't one.
[QUOTE=Badunkadunk;28304623]So they kick out the leader, military takes over, and now they're trying to kick out the military and expected not to face resistance? Are they gonna kick out the next leadership until they get one they like?[/QUOTE] They want democracy, but so far they have traded one dictatorship for a slightly less evil one. Its the problem with revolutions where people want democracy, there is always going to be a period where there is another dictator (even if they do not intend to be one) while democracy is set up.
[QUOTE=Otsegolation;28310196]People are too dumb these days, don't waste your time man. In a real democracy, every person would be viewed as an equal, and could directly participate in deciding what goes on. It shouldn't just be voting for a person who you hope will most closely represent what you think. Also, in other news, people all around the world are starting to feel the wrath of the New World Order.[/QUOTE] If by real you mean direct which is pretty much impossible in any significantly large group of people, than yeah. Also wtf NWO?
Didn't the military say they would only step down after elections took place in October (or something) this year?
[QUOTE=hegrec;28304618]Come on guys, people who live in this region were born for chaos. There is no way to stop it ever.[/QUOTE] You're an idiot. Everybody who agrees with this post is an idiot.
[QUOTE=Jsm;28310659]They want democracy, but so far they have traded one dictatorship for a slightly less evil one. Its the problem with revolutions where people want democracy, there is always going to be a period where there is another dictator (even if they do not intend to be one) while democracy is set up.[/QUOTE] This would be called a Junta, not a Dictatorship.
ohhhh shit this doesn't sound good
itz teh moslim brohorhood!!!11!!1!! /foxnews /republicantalkshows /rightwingfascistpropaganda Why are they still protesting? The military is simply keeping the shithole from collapsing under it's own weight while the new government is arranged.
"democracy" is pretty false now anyway, every leader is just the same old shit that no one likes, but people don't do anything about it because they think "oh well, in 4 years time we can elect a new leader", it's just one big cycle now
[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;28304658]I don't think anyone here wanted Mubarak in power, but I equally think no one wants the transitional military government to hold and abuse such power. It's not a choice between the two, and any abuses of the military government should be just as criticized and protested as the abuses of the previous gov't.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Xen Tricks;28304658]but I equally think no one wants the transitional military government to hold and abuse such power.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Xen Tricks;28304658]no one wants the transitional military government[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Xen Tricks;28304658]transitional military government[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Xen Tricks;28304658]transitional[/QUOTE] lol
[QUOTE=Badunkadunk;28304623]So they kick out the leader, military takes over, and now they're trying to kick out the military and expected not to face resistance? Are they gonna kick out the next leadership until they get one they like?[/QUOTE] Well they've already started kicking folk out, why just say "Oh once is in enough" and leave themselves in another shit situation, they fucking SHOULD fight back.
[QUOTE=Badunkadunk;28304623]So they kick out the leader, military takes over, and now they're trying to kick out the military and expected not to face resistance? Are they gonna kick out the next leadership until they get one they like?[/QUOTE] I agree. These piece of shit idiot assholes should be grateful with the dictator they've got. Frankly I think we've heard enough of these pricks whinging about life being tough. Did you know my internet went out for nearly 10 minutes today? That's a real problem, not this horseshit.
This reminds me a lot of that book by George Orwell.
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;28318795]This reminds me a lot of that book by George Orwell.[/QUOTE] The hobbit???
whopthefuckingdo
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