Live: Al Jazeera coverage of Egypt’s growing revolution

[ninakat]

NPR is trotting out "experts" all telling us, essentially, that 'Suleiman is all we've got, so get used to it, we're going to have to work with him.' There's 'no one else', they say, who has the experience to know 'how to play the game.' And they're making it sound like this will be okay with the protesters, in fact the wishes of the protesters weren't mentioned much at all.

Which is why it's National Propaganda Radio.

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Alice, stay safe. Thank you for your courage and clarity.

[Plutonia]

[Plutonia]

Egypt: Kareem Amer latest to go missing
Feb 7th, 2011 | By Joseph Mayton | Category: Egypt, Media News

Prominent blogger Kareem Amer has reportedly gone missing as of Monday evening Egypt time. Colleagues reported seeing him at the demonstrations in central Cairo’s Tahrir Square, but as he was returning home from the day’s protests, he was allegedly detained by police and has not been heard from since.

Dalia Ziada, a leading blogger and writer on Egyptian politics, told Bikya Masr that Amer was “on his way back home at night. He was accompanied by another friend, Samir. Both of them have now disappeared.”

She said that people close to the blogger claim he was ambushed at the Kasr el-Nil exit from the square and kidnapped, although Bikya Masr has yet to confirm details of the alleged kidnapping.

Amer is known as the first Egyptian blogger to be imprisoned by the Egyptian government.

Arrested on November 6, 2006, Amer was convicted by an Alexandria court on charges of insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak. A student at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, Amer was expelled in 2006 because he frequently criticized the state-run religious university, which he accused of promoting extremist ideas, and Mubarak, whom he referred to as a dictator.

Amer was the first blogger in Egypt to be convicted explicitly for his work. In 2007, inmates severely beat the young man on alleged orders from prison officials.

Ziada and others believe the arrest shows that the Mubarak regime is not standing by their promise to ensure the safety of all activists and protesters.

“They may start hunting us down later,” Ziada said. “Kareem is a very sensitive guy. He did nothing wrong, he is not a criminal to be taken like this. Emergency Law must be removed so no one can be taken again like this. They have wasted 4 years of his life already with the charge of criticizing Mubarak. That is too enough!”

[Plutonia]

Missing Persons List

http://bit.ly/ebAsV8

[Allegro]

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This vimeo shows street scenes of people,
most holding signs with various messages,
some with English subtitles, which might be
better seen by viewing wide screen.

Tahrir Square | Cairo, February 1, 2011

by Oliver Wilkins

[AlicetheKurious]

Most common chants:

Eshaab youreed eskat al-nizam!

The people want the regime to fall!

Yaskot yaskot Hosni Mubarak!

Fall, fall, Hosni Mubarak!

Kallemoo bel Ebry, ma byefhamshi Arabi!

Talk to him in Hebrew, he doesn't understand Arabic!

Erhal!

Go away!

Hosni Mubarak: battel! Gamal Mubarak: battel! Omar Suleiman: battel! Maglis eshaab: battel! El nizam: battel!

Hosni Mubarak: illegitimate! Gamal Mubarak: illegitimate! Omar Suleiman: illegitimate! Parliament: illegitimate! The regime: illegitimate!

La Mubarak, la Suleiman, huwa ameel al-Amrikan!

Not Mubarak, neither Suleiman, he's the agent of the Americans!

Tah ya Masr!

Long live Egypt!

Last night, they finally released Wael Ghoneim, the Google executive and internet activist who was kidnapped by the regime's goons on January 28. A big deal was made of his release, accompanied by Hossam Badrawy, the new kindler, gentler head of the ruling National Democratic Party, who drove him home in his personal car and was very solicitous with him.

The poor guy was an emotional wreck, he said he hadn't slept in 48 hours but looked as though he hadn't slept in 12 days. He had no contact with the outside world and no news about what was happening. He said he hadn't been physically tortured, but for 12 days they hammered at him the message that the nation was being destroyed, that people were being killed, and it was all his fault and the fault of people like him.

Less than 2 hours after his release, he was on a popular current affairs show being interviewed. Stupidly, in my opinion, the show began posting photos of the people murdered during the demonstrations. He broke down, clearly tormented beyond endurance with guilt. At 59 seconds he says: "I swear by Almighty God that it's not our fault. It's the fault of each one who is holding on tight to power and refusing to let go." Then he said, "I want to leave," and walked out.



The regime shut down the economy and then blamed the demonstrators for impoverishing people

The regime sent in armed thugs to kill and terrorize people and then blamed the demonstrators for the death and suffering.

The regime sold Egypt to foreign predators and then blamed the demonstrators for "introducing foreign influences".

And now, while people are celebrating the release of Wael Ghoneim and being persuaded that Hossam Badrawy and Mubarak's "new team" represent real change, Kareem Amer and many others are quietly being disappeared and more people are being killed.

[DoYouEverWonder]

The stakes are high and the greedy bastards in power play for keeps. This is something we all need to keep in mind. The revolution is not for sissies.

Stay strong, stay safe.

We shall overcome.

[AlicetheKurious]

UNBELIEVABLE!! Millions upon millions of people out in Tahrir Square and millions more across Egypt, all demanding Hosni Mubarak's departure and for the regime to fall, with one loud voice.

Speeches calling for a democratic secular state with guarantees of freedom for its citizens.

Thousands of demonstrators have surrounded the Ministries' Headquarters to demand the resignation of the new Cabinet.

This is a real escalation on this, Day 15, of the Egyptian Revolution.

[vanlose kid]

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[vanlose kid]

UNBELIEVABLE!! Millions upon millions of people out in Tahrir Square and millions more across Egypt, all demanding Hosni Mubarak's departure and for the regime to fall, with one loud voice.

Speeches calling for a democratic secular state with guarantees of freedom for its citizens.

Thousands of demonstrators have surrounded the Ministries' Headquarters to demand the resignation of the new Cabinet.

This is a real escalation on this, Day 15, of the Egyptian Revolution.

it ain't over until it's over:

Biggest Protests Yet in Tahrir Square

February 8, 2011
Mark Leon Goldberg
Category: Security
Topics: #Jan25, Egypt

Despite the Egyptian governments best efforts at co-opting the protest movement, the crowd in Tahrir square is as big as it has been since the #jan25 protest began. There is a similarly large gathering in Alexandria.

Al Jazeera is reporting that the make-up of this crowd is somewhat more diverse than in recent weeks. In particular, there seems to be greater representation among the upper classes. From Al Jazeera’s must read blog.

5:07pm Al Jazeera’s correspondents in Cairo said that there are a lot of Egyptians visiting the square for the first time today. Well dressed upper class people.

“The mood is euphoric, they are celebrating the sense of freedom. People chant freedom, we want freedom. They are euphoric about their ability to express themselves, this is something they have not been able to do in the past. we have noticed in the Square that there is a recognition by people that this will not happen over night in order to achieve their aim.”

Also, don’t miss this interview with hip hop artist Omar Offendum, who discusses his new rap anthem for the Egypt protests. The opening line is kinda brilliant: ”I heard them say the revolution won’t be televised/Al Jazeera proved them wrong/Twitter has them paralyzed.”

Check it out.


http://www.undispatch.com/biggest-prote ... rir-square

[vanlose kid]

Revolutionary art: Tahrir Square becomes Cairo's stage
Ali Abdel Mohsen
Mon, 07/02/2011 - 14:39



Photographed by Ali Abdel Mohsen

The past two weeks have seen Cairo’s Tahrir Square filled by mass protests and scarred by violence. Much of the square is torn up and littered with charred vehicles; many surrounding shops are gutted. But amid this, there is a less distressing phenomenon, one that has become increasingly visible.The Mubarak regime is notorious for restricting freedom of expression, and as a result, the country’s landmark of liberation has become its largest performance art venue, inspired by the spirit of resistance and a growing sense of frustration.

Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed, a Tahrir-based poet, feels the latter. The 26-year-old spent Sunday afternoon running back and forth, doing his best to keep his art from being knocked over by the bustling crowd. While numerous protesters have taken advantage of the endless amount of plastic cups now littering the square, using them to spell out words and phrases on the pavement, such as "leave" and "Mubarak, get out," Ahmed has taken a different approach, lining up the cups in a series of spirals with himself at the center in order to draw more attention to his energetic poetry recitals.

“I have a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, and the only job I’ve ever been able to get was as a carpenter’s apprentice,” said Ahmed, who has been unemployed for the past five years. “But, in my heart, I am an artist, and this revolution has inspired me and given me a new purpose,” he said with an exhausted smile. Living in Tahrir Square since 28 January, Ahmed claims to have written an “infinite” number of poems, although his themes are somewhat limited. “They are all anti-Mubarak,” he proudly admits. “Anti-government and anti-Mubarak. I have nothing else to say except ‘leave,’ but I will say it in every way that I can.”

Ahmed is particularly proud of his latest poem, "Take a Hint, Idiot." After repositioning his cups, he leaps into his performance space and begins an animated recital: “Cowardly man, your time is up/ the people have spoken, your government’s now broken.” Ahmed’s waving arms and high-pitched wail immediately draw a crowd who applaud him when he finishes, and disperse before he begins again.

A more restrained example of self-expression can be found a few feet away, where a man claiming to be the current governor of Beheira is lying on his back, pretending to be a corpse. Heavily bandaged and suffering from a cold, Abdel Hadi Abdel Muttalib Ragab says he has been in Tahrir Square “since the very beginning” and, like most of his fellow protesters, “won’t leave until Mubarak does.”

“I saw what was happening here in Cairo on television,” the 42-year-old wheezed from his position on the ground. “And I knew I had to come and be a part of it.” Ragab insisted he hasn’t abandoned his constituents in Beheira, that he’s doing this not only for himself, but for them as well. “I’m doing this for all Egyptians. I am lying on my back, but I am not dead. I am symbolizing the martyrs who have been murdered because they fought for their country. I only took a rubber bullet to the face. I have been lucky, but I will not give up.”

Ragab’s "corpse" is surrounded by empty plastic koshary containers. “The media says we spend our days here laughing and singing and eating Kentucky Fried Chicken for free,” he grunts. “We eat koshari. Here is the proof.”

The message behind Ragab’s morbid demonstration seemed to be largely lost on the crowds, with most people stopping to ask if he was in need of medical attention.

Far less cryptic was an interactive display by Hatem Abdel Razek, who sketched a giant portrait of Mubarak--with trash bags for hair and an impressive set of vampire fangs--and invited the people of the square to defile it.

“Spit on his face, he’s stolen our money!” the 45-year-old cheered as he strolled through a gathering crowd. “Spit on his face, he’s killed out children!” It didn’t take much encouragement--protesters swarmed around Mubarak’s face, laughing, spitting and loudly encouraging each other to drag up “as much phlegm as possible.” One old man in a galabeya announced to the crowd that he had been waiting for this chance his entire life and proceeded to dribble enthusiastically, while others jumped in to wipe their muddy feet all over the image. Several young men made the same joke, fumbling with their belt buckles and asking Hatem if they could do more than just spit.

“Everyone protests in the way that they are comfortable with, and this is what I am comfortable with,” explained Abdel Razek, who has been residing in the square for the past thirteen days. “I am here because I can be here, because Mubarak, bless him, has made it possible for me to be here by keeping me unemployed for the past seven years.” Struggling to support his wife and two children, Abdel Razek is now glowing with optimism at what he believes will be an “inevitable change for the better. The people have had their eyes opened and the world is listening. The coward knows his time is up, he knows his people will not tolerate him any more.”

Staring at the president's vampiric phlegm-stained face, it’s difficult to argue with Abdel Razek. “We have been stifled for years, and denied any real chance to express ourselves,” he yelled. “I am not an artist, I am an engineer who has had to resort to construction work to make a living. But this revolution has made artists out of all of us.”

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/re ... iros-stage

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[vanlose kid]

...

Last night, they finally released Wael Ghoneim, the Google executive and internet activist who was kidnapped by the regime's goons on January 28. ...

Freed young leader energizes Egyptian protests
Updated 11:35 PM Feb 08, 2011

CAIRO (AP) - A massive crowd of anti-government protesters poured into Cairo's Tahrir Square again Tuesday, joined for the first time by a young leader of the campaign the day after he was released from detention and wept through a televised interview where he declared: "We are not traitors."

The tens of thousands standing should-to-shoulder, one of the biggest crowds so far, gave a resounding answer to the question of whether they still had the momentum to go on even though two weeks of streets fights and sit-ins have not achieved their singular goal of ousting entrenched President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled the country for 30 years.

Many said they were inspired by Wael Ghonim, the 30-year-old Google Inc. marketing manager who was a key organizer of the online campaign that sparked the first protest on Jan. 25. Straight from his release from 12 days of detention, Ghonim gave an emotionally charged television interview, sobbing at times over those who have been killed. He dubbed the protests "the revolution of the youth of the Internet."

Fifi Shawqi, a 33-year-old upper-class housewife who came with her three daughters and her sister to the Tahrir protest for the first time, said Ghonim inspired her.

"I saw Wael yesterday (in the interview) and I cried. I felt like he is my son and all the youth here are my sons," she said. "I think Wael brought many, many more."

Others in the crowd said they too were joining for the first time.

Ghonim has emerged as a rallying point for protesters, who reject a group of traditional Egyptian opposition groups that have met with the government amid the most sweeping concessions the regime has made in its three decades in power.

The protesters are insisting that no concessions will do unless Mubarak steps down.

http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC110 ... iro-square

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[vanlose kid]

At least 297 killed in Egypt protests: Human Rights Watch
Agence France-Presse
Cairo, February 08, 2011

At least 297 people have been killed in protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak since January 28, Human Rights Watch said, adding that the real death toll is likely to be significantly higher.

Egypt researcher Heba Morayef said on Human Rights Watch's website that the US-based rights group had verified 232 deaths in Cairo, 52 in Alexandria and 13 in Suez.

"A significant proportion came as a result of rubber bullets fired at too close a range and tear gas canisters fired into the crowd at close range," Morayef said.

The vast majority died on January 28 and 29 as a result of live gunfire, she said. On both days, riot police fought running battles with protesters around the country demanding Mubarak stand down.

Human Rights Watch believes that hospital officials were instructed to downplay the overall number of deaths, Morayef said.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said on February 1 that unconfirmed reports suggested that as many as 300 people may have been killed, with more than 3,000 others injured and hundreds arrested.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/At-least- ... 60041.aspx

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[vanlose kid]

Protesters flock to Tahrir Square as Egyptian revolt reaches third week


Thousands of protesters have flooded Cairo's Tahrir Square, galvanised by the release of a pro-democracy cyber activist as a revolt against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak raged into a third week.

The embattled strongman took a step earlier on Tuesday towards democratic reform, authorising a committee to pursue constitutional change, a gesture that failed to appease the crowds who noisily demanded his immediate ouster.

"We are going in to support the people inside the square. They are the first line of defence," said 26-year-old Mahmud el-Naggar, who came from Fayyoum, south of the capital, with a group of friends and made for the square.

"We've heard there will be a million-strong demonstration today."

Protesters who arrived in the square, past a cordon of troops and tanks that searched them for weapons but made no attempt to halt the demonstration, were greeted by huge new posters of the "martyrs" of their revolt.

Many also carried the symbols of the internet social networks Facebook and Twitter, which have become vital mobilising tools for the opposition thanks to online campaigners like Google executive Wael Ghonim.

Ghonim has himself become a hero to many in the movement, having started one of its most popular Facebook sites and been detained by the regime following a former day of protest on January 27.

Freed late on Monday, he gave an emotional interview to Egypt's Dream 2, weeping as he remembered those killed in two weeks of protests.

"I was blindfolded for 12 days, I couldn't hear anything, I didn't know what was happening," he said, in an appearance that has motivated the protests.

"I'm not a hero, I slept for 12 days," Ghonim said.

"The heroes, they're the ones who were in the street, who took part in the demonstrations, sacrificed their lives, were beaten, arrested and exposed to danger."

For its part, the regime issued a decree forming a committee to oversee constitutional changes ahead of elections later this year.

"The president welcomed the national consensus, confirming we are on the right path to getting out of the current crisis,'' said Vice President Omar Suleiman, whom many now see as the effective power behind the throne.

"A clear road map has been put in place with a set timetable to realise a peaceful and organised transfer of power," he promised, in a televised address.

The vice president has begun meeting representatives of some opposition parties - including the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, but not some of the street protest groups - to draw up plans for a democratic transition.

Mubarak has promised not to stand for re-election in September, but opposition groups say any vote to replace the 82-year-old strongman would not be fair under Egypt's current constitution.

As fresh crowds gathered, several thousand were already occupying the square - the focal point of the past week's unprecedented protests - sleeping under tents or rolled up in blankets at the foot of army tanks.

"Patriotic songs about the country used to sound exaggerated, but we own the country now," said 34-year-old doctor Issam Shebana, who came back from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to staff a makeshift clinic in the square.

"Yesterday, one man in his 60s said: 'We were cowards. We kept quiet all these years, but you've done it.' It's inspiring. It's a rebirth," he said.

"I never thought I'd sleep on asphalt with rain on my face and feel happy."

On Monday, Mubarak tried to buy time, pledging to raise public sector wages by 15 per cent and ordering a probe into the recent deadly violence that has left at least 300 dead in the course of 15 days of protest.

"They announced a pay increase. They are trying to fool us. This is a political bribe to silence people," snorted 36-year-old demonstrator Mohammed Nizar as he queued patiently to join the crowds in Tahrir.

Mubarak met Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan at the presidential palace in Cairo, his first high-level foreign visitor since he crisis began.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported preparations were under way for Mubarak to possibly visit Germany, where he underwent gall bladder surgery last March, for an "extended medical check-up". [exit strategy?]

Agence France-Presse was unable to confirm this.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/ ... 6002560762

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[vanlose kid]

Community amid Egypt's chaos
United against their president, demonstrators in Tahrir Square have managed to bridge the country's political divides.
Gregg Carlstrom Last Modified: 07 Feb 2011 19:19 GMT


Demonstrators in Tahrir Square have formed a self-contained community of sorts [Reuters]

It will perhaps be weeks before the world knows whether pro-democracy protesters in Egypt have successfully dislodged their president, but whether or not they achieve that goal, they have already succeeded in offering a new model for a more engaged Egypt.

The protesters massing in Cairo's Tahrir Square have set up their own self-contained community. Food supplies are limited, but vendors dispense bread, cheese, water and other essentials.

A sign outside the shuttered Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant advertises medical services. Doctors and nurses in white coats roam the grounds, providing care for the thousands of people injured in clashes over the past week.

A newspaper provides the latest updates on the conditions in the square and the politics outside.

Civic engagement is not a new phenomenon in Egypt, of course, and it would be dismissive to claim otherwise.

Mosques play a key role in providing social services to communities, and Egypt's Coptic Christian community - a large percentage of the population - is a political force.

Opposition groups, like the Ghad (Tomorrow) and Wafd (Delegation) parties and the banned-but-tolerated Muslim Brotherhood, have their own media outlets and organise their supporters on key issues.

But all of these outlets are directed from the top down and rooted in specific identities - political preference, religious affiliation.

Those competing identities were on display only occasionally in Tahrir Square, which is perhaps the most striking feature of Egypt's two-week-old pro-democracy protests.

The community in the square is not centrally directed, and its members appeal almost exclusively to Egyptian (and sometimes Arab) nationalism.

Speaking up

On Monday night, on the outskirts of the square, a bearded young man named Ahmed delivered an enthusiastic speech that was broadly sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood.

He called for the group to be legalised, and said that it would push for constitutional reforms, free and fair elections, and the rule of law.

Ahmed told me after his talk that he was a member of the group. But few of the people listening knew it at the time, nor did they seem to care.

"I don't support the Brotherhood," said Ibrahim, a Coptic man listening to Ahmed's performance, much of it delivered as rhymed Arabic poetry. "He's just a very good speaker!"

One of the defining features of the Egyptian opposition - one of its failings, many would say - has been its fragmentation.

Secular politicians like Ayman Nour, the head of the Ghad party, do not trust the Muslim Brotherhood.

The country's legal opposition parties are reluctant to align with outside reformers like Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The old guard of the Coptic community tends to back the Mubarak government, even though many of its younger members blame that government for fomenting the Muslim-Christian violence that has rocked Egypt in recent years.

Protesters in Tahrir Square reject that fragmentation.

Many refuse to endorse specific parties or politicians - asked who should replace Mubarak, several demonstrators simply shrugged - choosing instead to call for an inclusive unity government.

"We should have a new government, a technocratic government," said Negla, a doctor from the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, who travelled to Cairo for the protests.

"We should choose all the best people from all the parties."

'Free country'

Without any official backing, the protesters have been left to organise themselves, providing basic services for a community that has often swelled into the hundreds of thousands.

The most striking examples are the "security forces", the men who check IDs and pockets at the entrance to the square.

Elsewhere in Egypt, security services are almost universally loathed for their corruption and brutality.

They are as likely to commit crimes as they are to prevent them.

Within the square, there have been no reports of theft or violence, and the young men wearing handwritten "security" name tags are seen as trustworthy.

"This is the only place in Egypt where you don’t have to fear being tortured when you speak your mind," said an activist named Saeed.

Food and water are shared freely among the protesters, many of whom also pack into tents and huddle together around campfires to keep warm on Cairo's cold winter nights.

The groups are mixed - old and young, wealthy and poor, Muslim and Coptic - to an extent not often seen in the capital.

Some of these scenes have become iconic, like the stirring image of Copts forming a protective ring around Muslims performing their prayers.

The protesters in the square talk often of restoring their dignity, of allowing their children to lead better lives than they do.

In a country that has often felt trapped in stagnation - economically, politically - the new found sense of optimism is a palpable change.

"They [the government] want us to be slaves. We don't want to be slaves," said Hisham, a 30-year-old architect camped out in Tahrir.

"Why are all the people afraid? Look around [at the square]. We are a free people in a free country. We want this to be Egypt."

Sense of community

The sense of community within Tahrir Square extends to the protesters' handling of foreign journalists.

Young men usher reporters through the security checkpoints, and a "press officer" answers questions and offers to help in cases of emergency.

When I knelt down to compose a shot with my camera on Monday night, three men approached me in the space of one minute.


The protests have made many Egyptians optimistic
about what might follow Mubarak's rule [Reuters]

"Inta b'khair?" they asked. "Are you okay?"

This is self-serving, of course: the protesters depend on sympathetic coverage and they fear what might happen if the media spotlight currently trained on the square goes dark.

But their concern nonetheless felt authentic, and it stands in stark relief to the government's handling of reporters, dozens of whom have been arrested by military intelligence or assaulted by Mubarak supporters.

It is hard to say how the protesters' civic engagement is viewed outside the Tahrir Square.

In conversations in several residential neighbourhoods over the last week, Egyptians did sometimes comment on the communal atmosphere in the square.

"There is no strife in the square between Christians and Muslims," said an elderly man named Omar, sitting in a coffee shop in the capital's Agouza neighbourhood.

"This is how it used to be in all of Egypt."

Egyptians have also commented online - on Twitter, Facebook and blogs - at the absence of sexual harassment, a common problem elsewhere in the country.

Thousands of women visited the square each day, and there was none of the catcalling and grabbing that they are often forced to endure in public.

Many of the protesters inside Tahrir argue that the Mubarak government has tried to stifle civic engagement, that it promotes apathy and division in order to maintain its power.

The impromptu community in Tahrir offers, for some Egyptians, a compelling vision of what citizenship could be - a path towards a more egalitarian and engaged country.

"Mubarak always gave us two choices, me or the chaos," said Negla, the doctor from Sharm el-Sheikh.
"Maybe this is a third option."

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middl ... 61244.html

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vk: anarchy? more of it please.

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