Egypt: Mubarak’s issue opposes the army and the people

By on April 13, 2011
Two months after the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, the honeymoon between the Egyptian army and the rebels of Tahrir Square seems to be over.

For the first time since the revolution of the Nile, tens of thousands of protesters massed in central Cairo chanted slogans against the military and called for the resignation of Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the armed forces. Later on, the intervention of the military police to evacuate the place ended in clashes and the army seemed unsure of how to keep control of the situation. The military, so far untouched by the violent rejection expressed against the regime of Hosni Mubarak, now is walking on tightrope. On the one hand, the military refused to suppress the protest movement because they want to remain popular. On the other, they are well aware that making concessions, leads to encourage the more radical protesters, at the risk of delaying the return to a normal situation. “Marshal Tantawi focuses the impatience of Egyptian protesters. He has been targeted by the protesters, who chanted: “Tantawi, you are part of the band. One blogger was sentenced to three years in prison for “defaming” the army, and as to smooth these signs of strength, the minister of interior, announced that the former Egyptian president and his son Alaa and Gamal will soon be heard by the court as part of investigations into the misappropriation of public money and the repression of demonstrations by Mubarak, during which 840 people were killed. Hosni Mubarak’s fate is one of the main points of tension between the demonstrators and the army, which refuses to sacrifice one of theirs on the altar of the revolution.

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