fbpx

News

Heightened protests expected in Egypt

[ssba]

Egyptian opposition movements have declared a ‘Day of Rage’ to take place today following afternoon prayers in the country’s mosques. The Muslim Brotherhood are also expected to join the antigovernment protests today, bringing thousands more people into the streets. The events of the day may constitute a key test for the government of Egypt, and it is not clear if the Mubarak regime will attempt a major crackdown at this point, or if it will continue to allow demonstrations to take place while trying to control them. At around midnight Friday morning, the Egyptian authorities did what many technologists thought was unthinkable for any country with a major Internet economy: It unplugged itself entirely from the Internet in an attempt to silence dissent.

Yesterday evening, Mohammed El-Baradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the only senior Egyptian politician to have openly backed the protests, landed back in the country from Vienna. Journalists were not permitted to cover his arrival at the airport. The protests and violence have now spread beyond Cairo, and demonstrators have clashed with police in Suez City, and also in the towns of Ismailiyeh and Sheikh Zuwaid in the Suez area.

Israeli analyst Guy Bechor said yesterday that at this stage the Mubarak regime still has many ‘cards to play.’ Bechor noted that the Egyptian army has not yet been deployed. The protests are still being dealt with by the police. The army remains the key institution behind the regime, and it undoubtedly has the physical strength to crush the protests. However, using the army would most likely result in a large number of fatalities and would hit hard at Mubarak’s desire to show the world that the regime of the National Democratic Party is a legitimate one, that rules with the consent of the Egyptian people. Israeli analysts are watching in particular for the participation of Islamist forces, such as the Muslim Brotherhood movement, in the protests.