322 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
322 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
news
|
||
worldnews
|
||
africaandindianocean
|
||
egypt
|
||
8335955
|
||
-----
|
||
# Egypt protests: fears that the army will install a 'new Mubarak' to keep its
|
||
power and privilege
|
||
|
||
## Democracy protesters in Cairo fear the army will thwart their revolution by
|
||
putting up a candidate as a "new Mubarak" in a presidential election later
|
||
this year.
|
||
|
||
![][1]
|
||
|
||
Pro democracy protesters in Tahrir Square are requesting the release of all
|
||
politcal prisoners still in jail. Photo: Myriam Abdelaziz
|
||
|
||
[![Nick Meo][2]][3]
|
||
|
||
By [Nick Meo][4], Cairo 8:25PM GMT 19 Feb 2011
|
||
|
||
The generals who now run [Egypt][5] are strongly anti-reformist and determined
|
||
to hang on to the lucrative privileges they have amassed during decades of
|
||
authoritarian rule, raising the suspicions of protesters even though the army
|
||
insists it will hand power to civilians as soon as possible.
|
||
|
||
Last week there were signs of growing friction between protesters and
|
||
soldiers, after a brief honeymoon period in the days after Hosni Mubarak was
|
||
forced out of the presidential palace. At a victory rally on Wednesday leaders
|
||
of the revolution broke a long-standing taboo by openly criticising men in
|
||
uniform.
|
||
|
||
"The revolution is not finished yet, and we don't want the army to take over
|
||
here," said Mohammed Foud Gadalla, a professor of international law, to loud
|
||
cheers from protesters who spent weeks risking their lives in Tahrir Square.
|
||
|
||
Mr Gadalla called for the cabinet of Mubarak appointees to be dismissed
|
||
immediately and for the scrapping of an emergency law which allows for
|
||
arbitrary arrest - although neither step is likely while Field Marshal Mohamad
|
||
Tantawi, 76, the deeply conservative head of the Higher Military Council, is
|
||
in charge of the country.
|
||
|
||
The protesters are suspicious about the army's commitment to reforming a
|
||
corrupt system they have propped up and personally benefited from for decades.
|
||
But their greatest fear is that with power up for grabs, the army will now
|
||
encourage a retired soldier or a figure from the old regime to run as
|
||
president.
|
||
|
||
## Related Articles
|
||
|
||
* [Libya:'mercenaries using heavy weapons against protesters'][6]
|
||
|
||
20 Feb 2011
|
||
|
||
* [Libya: 200 dead as Gaddafi's forces fire on protesters again][7]
|
||
|
||
20 Feb 2011
|
||
|
||
* [David Cameron arrives in Egypt to push for democracy][8]
|
||
|
||
21 Feb 2011
|
||
|
||
* [Libya: 140 'massacred' as Gaddafi sends in snipers to crush dissent][9]
|
||
|
||
20 Feb 2011
|
||
|
||
* [Egypt: thousands gather in Tahrir Square for 'Victory March'][10]
|
||
|
||
18 Feb 2011
|
||
|
||
* [Egypt's new day has not dawned: the military's rule means democracy is a
|
||
dream][11]
|
||
|
||
14 Feb 2011
|
||
|
||
The right choice of candidate could easily become the favourite to win Egypt's
|
||
first truly free election in decades and thus maintain the army's massive say
|
||
over how Egypt is run.
|
||
|
||
The financial interests of serving and retired officers are particularly high
|
||
in sectors such as food - especially olive oil, bread, milk and water - cement
|
||
and petrol, construction and hotels. The army benefits from putting conscripts
|
||
to work on building sites as cheap labour, especially on gated communities for
|
||
the rich and resorts for the booming tourism sector. The military owns massive
|
||
amounts of land, especially in strategic areas such as the Red Sea Coast which
|
||
have become fantastically valuable as tourism has boomed.
|
||
|
||
The army has several advantages over entrepreneurs, including not having to
|
||
pay taxes and circumventing red tape that strangles much Egyptian enterprise.
|
||
|
||
Their business empires ensure that officers live luxurious lives with homes in
|
||
the most expensive parts of Cairo, including the suburb of Heliopolis, and
|
||
comfortable retirements. Military personnel are also able to draw on private
|
||
subsidised supermarkets, clubs, hospitals and schools for themselves and their
|
||
families.
|
||
|
||
They know that their privileges could be at risk from the revolution.
|
||
|
||
Backed by the formidable financial muscle and prestige of the army, a former
|
||
general could expect to attract votes from the millions of Egyptians who
|
||
supported Hosni Mubarak right to the end, and if the disorganisation and chaos
|
||
in the ranks of the revolutionaries last week was anything to judge by, an
|
||
army candidate could have a relatively clear run at power.
|
||
|
||
The revolutionaries were showing clear signs of losing momentum last week amid
|
||
arguments in their ranks about how to proceed now they have forced out the
|
||
hated president. There was little sign of them forming political parties even
|
||
though elections are expected within six months.
|
||
|
||
The strongest military candidate for president would be General Sami Anan, 63,
|
||
the powerful and respected armed forces chief of staff who commands an army of
|
||
468,000 men. He played a leading role in the crisis, winning popular approval,
|
||
but was always seen as close to Hosni Mubarak and he would have to resign to
|
||
run as a civilian in elections expected by July.
|
||
|
||
Another credible candidate could be Kamal Elganzoury, 78, an economist who was
|
||
prime minister for several years in the late 1990s.
|
||
|
||
His star waned after the moment when he arrived at a presidential reception to
|
||
be warmly applauded by the audience. The then-President Mubarak noted his
|
||
popularity, treated him as a possible rival, and sidelined him until he could
|
||
be eased out of his position.
|
||
|
||
The generals' first week in power has been marked by a wave of strikes and
|
||
protests breaking out across Egypt, which they attempted to calm the situation
|
||
by calling on Egyptians to get back to work, without much success.
|
||
|
||
Most protesters accept that the army has a crucial role in preserving order
|
||
until a transition to civilian rule can be arranged, but they called a massive
|
||
victory parade in Cairo on Friday in part to demonstrate their strength to the
|
||
generals.
|
||
|
||
Safwat Hegazy, an Islamic scholar, threatened to restart the street protests
|
||
if reform is not forthcoming.
|
||
|
||
"I don't care who the next president is, because if he is dishonest, we all
|
||
know the way to Tahrir Square," he told Wednesday's conference.
|
||
|
||
Ahmed Naguid, 33, one of those who started the Facebook page which launched
|
||
the revolution, told _The Sunday Telegraph_: "We went onto the streets on
|
||
Friday in part to keep the military in check. We are going out to show who is
|
||
behind this victory, and to show what we can do."
|
||
|
||
Protesters have demanded that regime cronies hand their money and property to
|
||
the Egyptian people, but they have so far refrained from challenging the
|
||
wealth of the military.
|
||
|
||
Paul Sullivan, a professor at Washington's National Defense University who has
|
||
spent years studying Egypt, has estimated that the military owns up to 15 per
|
||
cent of an economy worth about £130 billion. Other estimates put the figure as
|
||
high as 40 per cent.
|
||
|
||
[X][12] Share & bookmark
|
||
|
||
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
||
|
||
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
||
|
||
[What are these?][13]
|
||
|
||
* Share: [Share][12] [ ][14] [ ][15]
|
||
|
||
[Tweet][16]
|
||
|
||
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8335955
|
||
/Egypt-protests-fears-that-the-army-will-install-a-new-Mubarak-to-keep-its-
|
||
power-and-privilege.html
|
||
|
||
Telegraph
|
||
|
||
## [Egypt][17]
|
||
|
||
* ### [News »][18]
|
||
|
||
* ### [World News »][19]
|
||
|
||
* ### [Africa and Indian Ocean »][20]
|
||
|
||
* ### [Middle East »][21]
|
||
|
||
* ### [Nick Meo »][3]
|
||
|
||
In news
|
||
|
||
[![Yemeni soldiers who joined sides with anti-regime protesters wave their
|
||
rifles and chant slogans during a demonstration calling for the ouster of
|
||
President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa ][22] ][23]
|
||
|
||
### [Arab Spring: protests and fighting][23]
|
||
|
||
[![US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Hillary Clinton vows to stay into
|
||
second Obama term ][24] ][25]
|
||
|
||
### [Clinton urges Arab states to embrace reform][25]
|
||
|
||
[![A rebel fighter fires his rifle at a military aircraft loyal to Libyan
|
||
leader Muammar Gaddafi at a checkpoint in Ras Lanuf][26] ][27]
|
||
|
||
### [The battle for Libya][27]
|
||
|
||
[![Unrest in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria and Morocco in pictures][28]
|
||
][29]
|
||
|
||
### [Middle East protests][29]
|
||
|
||
[![Tens of thousands of Egyptians gather to pray and celebrate the fall of the
|
||
regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, and to maintain pressure on the
|
||
current military rulers, in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt ][30]
|
||
][31]
|
||
|
||
### [Prayer and festivities in Tahrir Square][31]
|
||
|
||
[X][12] Share & bookmark
|
||
|
||
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
||
|
||
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
||
|
||
[What are these?][13]
|
||
|
||
Share:
|
||
|
||
* [ ][12]
|
||
|
||
* [ ][14]
|
||
|
||
* [ ][15]
|
||
|
||
* [Tweet][16]
|
||
|
||
* Advertisement
|
||
|
||
![][32]
|
||
|
||
Advertisement
|
||
|
||
[Follow The Telegraph on Social Media »][33]
|
||
|
||
Like Telegraph.co.uk on Facebook
|
||
|
||
Advertisement
|
||
|
||
sponsored features
|
||
|
||
Loading
|
||
|
||
News Most Viewed
|
||
|
||
* TODAY
|
||
|
||
* PAST WEEK
|
||
|
||
* PAST MONTH
|
||
|
||
1. [3.5 minutes of terror: Air France crash dropped at 10,000 feet a
|
||
minute][34]
|
||
|
||
2. [Royal wedding: a peek into royal couple's honeymoon paradise][35]
|
||
|
||
3. [Councils spend 100m on taxpayer-funded credit cards][36]
|
||
|
||
4. [Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge wreck reveals secrets of the real
|
||
Pirate of the Caribbean][37]
|
||
|
||
5. [President Obamaâ™s top ten insults against Britain â 2011
|
||
edition][38]
|
||
|
||
1. [O'Bama? Oh puh-lease!][39]
|
||
|
||
2. [Rapture: the end was not nigh, after all][40]
|
||
|
||
3. [Cannes 2011: Peter Fonda encourages his grandchildren to take up arms
|
||
against President Barack Obama][41]
|
||
|
||
4. [Apocalypse not right now: 'Rapture' end of world fails to
|
||
materialise][42]
|
||
|
||
5. [Michelle Obama fights to control summer dress in windy London][43]
|
||
|
||
1. [Joe Biden opens his mouth about US Navy SEALs][44]
|
||
|
||
2. [Royal wedding live][45]
|
||
|
||
3. [Italians evacuate Rome over 'big one' fears][46]
|
||
|
||
4. [Osama bin Laden dead: Blackout during raid on bin Laden compound][47]
|
||
|
||
5. [Kate Middleton's family take action over nude pictures 'betrayal'][48]
|
||
|
||
[EDITOR'S CHOICE »][49]
|
||
|
||
### [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][50]
|
||
|
||
[![Gil Scott-Heron][51]][50]
|
||
|
||
Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
|
||
on the black American experience.
|
||
|
||
### [Beekeeping diary: the new colonies arrive][52]
|
||
|
||
### [Spectacular light show dazzles Sydney][53]
|
||
|
||
### [WS Gilbert: a knight for our times][54]
|
||
|
||
### [The Telegraph's Matt is Hay Festival star][55]
|
||
|
||
Advertisement
|
||
|
||
Classified Advertising
|
||
|
||
* [World Travel][56]
|
||
|
||
* [Property][57]
|
||
|
||
* [Shopping][58]
|
||
|
||
Loading
|
||
|
||
var puffs_8120657 = new Array();
|
||
|