Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Protests and Democracy in Egypt (February 11)
The failure to address this situation effectively, with all of its consequences for poverty and unbalanced development, together with limitations on basic freedoms, has triggered this historic outpouring of popular demands in Egypt. The number of protesters was as high as two million and on February 11, they finally succeeded to eject Egyptian President Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak from his long dictatorship. What do you expect to see in Egypt? Would Egyptians be able to bring democracy to the country?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
President Mubarak’s resignation surely gave all Egyptians more relief and hopes that military forces would bring democracy to the country. The world’s stock markets started to rise and the rate of increase in oil price slowed down as confidence grew up on Suez Canal. But I do not think this will be the end of this crisis and it will not be easy to bring democracy to Egypt. As Mubarak was military commander before he became the president, there will be someone in the military forces that might have had strong supports from Mubarak as a leader. I expect to see civil wars happening between those who would want to take over the dictatorship. It is human’s basic instinct to seek for power and authority. Even if military forces bring the democracy by carrying out elections for the next president, it will take so much time to establish a firm government because it has been controlled by Mubarak for so long. It is still a great thing that they achieved up to this level, but there are much more painful jobs to be made. But I really respect for the courage and perseverance of Egyptian protesters. It is something that not many people can stand out.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0w0W2evTXs
I agree that Mubarak's resignation is overall beneficial for the country as a whole. His family’s' dictatorship has been creating civil unrest within Egypt for generations. It is hard to know if I myself would partake in the riots that occurred, as I have known democracy my whole life and can not really empathize with the Egyptian people. The problem with removing one dictator is that it is very easy for another one to step right in. The Egyptians have to set up some form of elections that won't be tainted by corruption and people with money, which is easier said than done.
ReplyDeleteThe protests in Egypt were a good thing because it shows that people want their independence and will fight for it. Mubarak did the right thing to step down and hand over the power to the military until they can hold an election. What I heard is the election will be held in September and everyone will be able to vote. Mubarak did have supporters that liked his dictatorship but even more wanted to see him gone. Just because he still has supporters hanging around, that might mean that they might be some revolts in the near future. Most of the middle east and some African country’s are going through revolutions right now and the world is responding to it by supporting them. My only concern is that more and more country’s are going through revolution’s and if Saudi Arabia goes into it. You can watch the gas price go well above what they were in 2008. It is good to see people stepping up for there rights.
ReplyDelete• This blog is really personal for me. Last year I traveled to Egypt with my family. My dad’s uncle has lived in Egypt for 20 years and married an Egyptian (Nasha). We went to visit our cousins, it was the trip of a lifetime for me, I was in Tahir square where the protests took place less than a year ago … at the time of our trip the locals were expecting change and unrest in the near future. It was neat being in Cairo and hanging with the locals, we got to see and experience the ‘real’ Egypt not just the touristy spots.
ReplyDelete•
• This is what Nasha had to say ‘Mubarak resigns - people power has won - Military control - what does this mean - time will tell, but a step in right direction........... quote from Nasha - Egyptian wife now heading down to Tahir to celebrate with her many compatriots...’ During the protests we knew Nasha was there fighting for her rights and those of their family … we were concerned for her safety and kept glued to Facebook for updates continually. Thankfully the protests weren’t overly violent and had I been there I would have participated alongside Nasha.
Wow that’s pretty interesting Blair I had no idea you went to Egypt last year! As I have read the comments I understand we can all agree that the protests were a good thing for the Egyptian people I don’t think in any way we should be rushing their actions to democracy though they need to take quality over quantity. I mean it took 18 days to get rid of President Mubarak and it’s going to take more than 18 days to get it right. They really have to open up the political system and developed some legitimate political parties where the people let them do what you do in a democracy. Gain a Majority!
ReplyDeleteBut on the priority list they need to get that economy going!
And THEY NEED TO WRITE A NEW CONSTITUTION
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/11/eveningnews/main20031622.shtml
The protests in Egypt were definitely a good thing, the Egyptian people actually took the initiative to make a change instead of sitting around and just complaining about their government like many of us do. But, personally I don't think they will be able to bring democracy into action. If they do, things may be fine and dandy for a little while, but in the end the army will take over the country and another dictator will emerge. Sadly, there hasn't been any history of democracy in the Middle East. The only country in the Middle East that has an established democracy is Israel. People are going to go back to the form of government they are used to.
ReplyDeletehttp://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51491
I honestly dont think Egypt will be a democratic country anytime soon, not because i dont want it to but because they have a treaty signed with Isreal.Protesters reminded everyone that now the time has come to build up a democracy in Egypt with proper freedom of press as well as the possibility for exiles to return toEgypt.Egypt's democracy protests across the board spell bad news for Israel and most of the Arab countries. Although Israel is certainly more democratic than its Arab neighbors, it is not democratic enough,Mubarak is the worst Arab tyrant in the Middle East, but he is viewed as a puppet of the United States, which finds itself in a curious position. Does the U.S. back pro-democracy forces in Egypt, as it has in other countries like China, Europe and elsewhere? Or does it try to help Egypt make a transition from its dictatorship to one that is less of a dictatorship? On its face, Egypt's turn to democracy sounds good, although it has put America and Israel in awkward positions. Sure they want democracy,but not if that democracy undermines the peace accords with Israel.Peace with Israel under its present terms can only be enforced by a dictator like Mubarak. Democracy will give the people a voice, and their voice clearly demands that the peace accord be broken.
ReplyDeleteThe most important thing in Egypt is whether these protests will give the Egyptians more freedom and economical growth. I do not think any Egyptians want to have democracy because they did not like the way Mubarak did during his dictatorship, but they would think that democracy will help their country to develop faster and get them out of poverty and unemployment. If they could have someone that can actually care for the citizens and does what is best for them, a new dictatorship can be better for the country as a whole. Bringing democracy is still a great thing, but as I said, there will be so much costs that people would have to incur to set a firm foundation. If you look at China, it is still running as communist country but the economy of it has grown so fast that it will overtake USA by 2020, according to Newsweek. Only thing the Egyptians are looking for from their country is reestablishment of their economy, so that this will satisfy their financial needs for living.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newsweek.com/2008/08/19/the-real-china-threat.html