I know that right now all eyes are on Libya (and quite understandably so), but events in Egypt continue to be really quite fascinating, with the curious relationship between the police, army and protestors continues, and for the most part it looks like the police are not doing well out of it.
I ought to catch up on it all this weekend. Rallies and protests continue daily in Cairo, and still on a large scale every Friday. Clashes have occurred with the police in Alexandria (and I think elsewhere), with protestors trying to stop police from allegedly destroying incriminating documents in state security buildings and the police opening fire, but the army have backed the protestors, and the damage has reportedly been relatively small. Leading figures from the information ministry and state tv were arrested last week and are being investigated for corruption, as well as several business types with major links to the NDP, Mubarak's party.
This last point is very interesting as it ties in with what I've read about the military in general in Egypt - it is a fairly liberal outfit with more of an interest in business and economy than might be expected, which means a big issue for them is doing away with the corruption that stifled the economy there for so long. The potential for corruption obviously remains, but if the military's awareness of corruption and will to prosecute it continue and is passed on to the next government, the country's economic prospects could be a lot brighter than the current instability would suggest.
The widely hated Ahmad Shafiq stepped down as prime minister and has been replaced by Essam Sharaf, a former transport minister (I think). He is rather popular with the people, and apparently well received by opposition parties and the military council, and has now been charged with forming a new cabinet.
It looks like genuine progress is being made and the protestors are showing no sign of letting up when it comes to their political demands. Still very early yet, obviously, but while much more complicated and less dramatic, the aftermath of last month's incredible scenes is just as fascinating.
With that said, however, I'm reading some troubling accounts of 'thousands' of militant muslims attacking coptic churches in Helwan (which is pressed directly up against Cairo). Sounds genuine, but I don't suppose details will come out until tomorrow.
Broader than just Egypt, but
this look at the sociopolitical situation in the Middle East and prevailing attitudes to it here is an excellent bit of editorial.
Quote:
It is now clear to all that the modern, post-colonial Arab state has failed miserably, even in what it believed it was best at: Maintaining security and stability. Over the decades, Arab interior ministers and police chiefs devoted enormous resources and expertise to monitoring and spying on their own people. Yet now, the security machineries in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have disintegrated in short order, while the rest of the authoritarian and repressive regimes in the region can see the writing on the wall.
These revolutions have exposed not just the failure of traditional politicians but also the moral, political and economic bankruptcy of the old Arab elites. Those elites not only attempted to control their own people, but also sought to shape and taint the views of news media in the region and across the world.
Indeed, it should surprise no one that so many Western analysts, researchers, journalists and government experts failed to recognise the obvious signs of Arab youth movements that would soon erupt into revolutions capable of bringing down some of the most pro-Western regimes in the Middle East. That failure has exposed a profound lack of understanding in the West of Arab reality.