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David against Goliath - a people’s rise against autocracy and censorship

On 25 January, thousands of people entered the streets, protesting against the 30-year regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

It was called ‘The Day of Rage’, as the Egyptian people lashed out against widespread unemployment, poverty, corruption, and most of all against the autocratic regime of President Mubarac. Riots soon broke out and after a second day of protesting, the Internet was shut down on 27 January. The head city of Cairo lost Internet connection only minutes after someone uploaded a video showing a protestor being shot.

Internet intelligence authority, Renesys, confirmed in a blog that, “…in an action unprecedented in Internet history, the Egyptian government appears to have ordered service providers to shut down all international connections to the Internet. Critical European-Asian fibre-optic routes through Egypt appear to be unaffected for now. But every Egyptian provider, every business, bank, Internet cafe, website, school, embassy, and government office that relied on the big four Egyptian ISPs for their Internet connectivity is now cut off from the rest of the world”

On 31 January, the Council urged the Egyptian authorities “to restore all communication networks without delay and to guarantee unhindered access to all media, including the Internet. “ The Council also called for the respect of the freedom of assembly and expression as well as for a temporary government to lead the country to democratic reforms.

Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the EU, criticised the Egyptian authorities harshly, stating that, “The imposed restrictions on media, including the Internet, are unacceptable and I urge the Egyptian authorities to restore all communication networks without delay. Through nationwide demonstrations, the Egyptian people are expressing their wish to see change. ... The time has come for an orderly transition and a peaceful and far-reaching transformation. Authorities must seek serious and open dialogue with all political forces. Civil society must play a crucial role in this dialogue.”

On 28 January Mubarak held a speech on state television, announcing that he would demand the resignation of his government. However, he did not mention his own resignation. A day later the protestors pushed Mubarak into naming a vice-president that would takeover for him in due time. He appointed his former air force chief Ahmed Shafiq, who has yet to form a cabinet.
On the same day, 17 people were killed in front of a police station as Mubarak received communications from Europe and the US putting him under pressure to restrain his police forces and initiate a democratic transition.

After more than five days, the Internet came back on in Egypt. However, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry website appears to have holes in their memory, since their Online news reports seemed to ignore the ongoing revolution while at the same time stating that they followed Tunisia’s transition to democracy with strong interest. At the time of publication, the news on the website corresponded to the state of the country on 15 January, several days before the revolution spread to Egypt.

When Mubarak announced that he would not continue his presidency for a sixth term, reactions on Facebook and Twitter mainly demonstrated rage against the autocrat. Foesje, a Twitter user, tweeted, “How many Egyptians does it take to change a president? Apparently millions are not enough.” Another Twitter user wrote “Mubarak is following ex-Tunisia president Ben Ali steps ... Same end for sure!”

The protestors sent out a recent cry via the Internet to all participants to assemble on the Tahrir Square, also known as “The Friday of Departure”. The people wished to march to the Presidential palace if Mubarak has not offered his immediate resignation by then.

On 2 February, supporters of Mubarak attacked journalists covering the demonstrations. The Committee to Protect Journalists correspondent, Mohamed Abdel Dayem stated, “The Egyptian government is employing a strategy of eliminating witnesses to their actions,” thus resorting to blanket censorship. Various foreign journalists are reporting being injured and assaulted by police forces.

After days of street riots and countless wounded victims, Mubarak stated in an interview with ABC that he was fed up and wishes to resign, but could not do so because he feared the country would fall into chaos. He said he was troubled by the violence seen on Tahrir square, however his government should not to be made responsible.

The events over the past few days have shown that a revolution cannot be muzzled by cutting it off from the rest of the world. Instead, it seems to have increased solidarity among the protestors and Mubarak has brought himself into a dead-end position. With the Internet running again, protestors can continue to communicate their opinions around the world, post videos on You Tube, and tweet about current events on Twitter.

As the protests proceed, tensions arise as people demand Mubarak’s immediate resignation. In the words of John F. Kennedy, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable”. Only time will tell what the final outcome of the protests will be, until then the world can only hope.

 

 

Tags: abc, ahmed shafiq, ben ali, cairo, catherine ashton, communication networks, correspondent, egypt, egyptian foreign ministry, egyptian government, europe, european union, facebook, hosni mubarak it, internet critical europeanasian fibreoptic routes, internet history, internet intelligence authority renesys, internet the council, mohamed abdel dayem, mubarac riots, mubarak it, online news reports, president, presidential palace, representative, tahrir square, twitter, us federal reserve, vicepresident,

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