Egypt's Revolution, Round Two

Fire, tear gas, explosions, and blood. At least 20 are dead. Over 1,000 have been injured and the casualties continue to rise in number. On Saturday November 19th, Egyptian protestors took to the streets in Tahrir Square for the second time since the end of the revolution in February in order to enforce efforts in preventing the Egyptian Military from interfering with this year's elections and sustaining their power. They have been and still are demanding that the military officials provide a final statement, in which a finalized date is given for when the military would officially hand over power to the newly elected government. The people took to the streets for assurance that the elections would be carried out impartially and fairly and that this wasn't just a hoax that would later result in complete military rule as it was in Mubarak's regime.

The peaceful protest quickly turned into a violent fiasco as hostile armed forces clashed with the protestors. Armed military officials fired tear gas a rubber bullets at the prostestors. Within less than 24 hours the battle jumped from bad to brutal. One police officer was even caught on camera dragging a protestor's dead body across the pavement in Tahrir and then tossing it into a trash pile on the curb.

When protestors took to the streets in Tahrir square on Saturday to ensure the follow through of the step down of Marshall Hussein Tantawi, the violent reaction which erupted from the armed forces proved that the military is not prepared to give up government power any time soon and that indeed there have been no changes since Mubarak left, nor will there be, lest the people of Egypt take matters into their own hands. Mubaraks' regime is definitely not over yet, nor do I ever think it will be until every single official that was a part of Mubarak's regime is thrown out and put on trial.

 

Until now, Egyptians have not had the opportunity to carry out a proper sentencing on former president Hosni Mubarak or his cabinet members. At one point, England even offered to carry out this sentencing (as they have also attempted to do with Libya in regards to Saif Islam El-Qaddafi) due to Mubarak's British Citizenship, which just highlights another one of Mubarak's many violations to the Egyptian constitution, consdering that only a pure Egyptian citizen without dual citizen can rule Egypt, by law.

 

For more than 30 years now, Egypt has been reaped and sowed on bribery and government corruption, hence the military's desperate desire to remain in power and continue the regime in which they were satisified, despite the abuse and desregard towards the people of Egypt themselves, otherwise known as El-Sha3b El Masry.

As the elections continue to draw closer and the people fight harder, it is only a matter of time before the true future of Egypt is defined. I support those fighting for their freedom in Egypt and pray that they pull through  as they did in February, this revolution will not be forgotten, and those who died for its sake cannot die in vain.