Power sharing among all parties is needed in Egypt to prevent the military and Mubarak's former officials holding all the cards by dividing and conquering everyone else

Some claim the coup against elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was justified because he acted undemocratically. While Morsi did act undemocratically in some ways, this has been greatly exaggerated relating to the new constitution and his decree powers.

The new Interim President is Adly Mansour. Originally appointed a judge by Mubarak, in 2012 he over-turned a ban on former members of Mubarak’s dictatorship standing in elections (1).

He has re-appointed Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud as Chief Prosecutor.  Mahmoud was sacked by Morsi’s November 2012 decree for acquitting Mubarak and his security officials of ordering the killing of protesters. (2) – (5).

This may be the start of a counter-revolution following the military coup.

The fact that Morsi’s decree powers were primarily a response to Mubarak’s judiciary and prosecutors blocking  the conviction of those who ordered anti-Mubarak protesters killed,  along with constitutional reform, by trying to dissolve the elected parliament and assembly, has largely been ignored (6) – (9).

So have Morsi’s many concessions to, and repeated, mostly rejected, offers of negotiations with, the opposition National Salvation Front, which includes parties founded by former MPs from Mubarak’s NDP party and parties which have allied with them or granted them membership.(10) – (19).

The opposition mostly demanded Morsi accede to all its demands, including his resignation, before it would talk, even when, just before the coup, he offered a national coalition government (20) – (22).

His offer of parliamentary elections for April was rejected (23).

Morsi gave up most of his decree powers less than three weeks after assuming them,  maintaining only the referendum on the new constitution, the sacking of  the Chief Prosecutor ; and the retrial of Mubarak and his officials (24).

The new constitution was drawn up by a constituent assembly elected by the elected Egyptian parliament. The assembly was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and the Islamist Nour party because a majority of Egyptians voted for them (25) – (26). 

Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood are certainly not blameless. Brotherhood supporters, acting with their leaders’ approval, tortured confessions from people they suspected of being hired thugs sent to attack them. Though using plain clothes police or hired thugs to attack political opponents was a method used by Mubarak and by unknown forces (the military? Mubarak remnants?) since his overthrow, this doesn’t justify torture (27) – (29).

Islamic parties’ MPs drafted a law to reduce the minimum age of marriage for women to 13 and blamed women protesters for their own rape by mobs. The military are no protectors of women’s rights though, having beaten, stripped , tortured and killed female protesters and carried out “virginity tests” which amounted to sexual assault under military rule (though judges ruled these illegal) (30) – (35).

Protesters saw Morsi as betraying the “bread, freedom and social justice” demands of protesters by rationing publicly subsidised bread and cutting fuel price subsidies in order to secure an IMF loan, possibly in the belief that following Mubarak’s IMF approved economic and welfare policies would ensure US government support, preventing a military coup (36) – (39).

A lack of any attempt to reduce population growth has left Egypt with food and energy shortages which force it to import most of its food. The scandal over the meeting about the Ethiopian dam was similarly linked to impending water shortages (40) – (42).

While condemning Morsi’s economic mismanagement the opposition opposed and got him to reverse increased taxes on cigarettes and alcohol which were conditions for an IMF loan (43)

The secular opposition rightly condemned Morsi’s alliance with extreme Islamists. He appointed a member of the former terrorist group Gaama Islamiya, which carried out the Luxor massacre of western tourists in 1997, as governor of Luxor. The group’s leader threatened to “sever the heads” of anti-Morsi protesters. Morsi and the Brotherhood also spoke at rallies with extreme Sunni clerics who condemned Shia as infidels, and called Egyptians to armed Jihad in Syria (44) – (46).  

Some clerics said opposing Morsi was punishable by death under Islam, though he thanked others who denied this (47).

Murders of Shia and Christians followed. However Morsi condemned the killings and ordered the police to bring those responsible to justice. Sectarian murders also happened under Mubarak and military rule, including the notorious Maspero massacre of Christians by the military in October 2011. So the coup is not protecting minorities (48) – (50).

The military has its own extremist allies. In December 2011 Abdel Moneim Kato, a retired general then on the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, said protesters should be “burnt in Hitler’s ovens”, though he was later fined for this (51) – (52).

A Wall Street Journal editorial recently claimed that Egyptians would be “lucky” if their military rulers turned out to be like “Pinochet” and “hired free market reformers and midwifed a transition to democracy”. In fact Pinochet had thousands tortured and murdered and ruled as a dictator without any elections for 15 years till 1988 and planned to stay on till 1997 if he hadn’t lost a referendum (53).

While all Egyptians understandably try to avoid getting on the wrong side of the men with guns, tanks and jet fighters ; and both the Islamic parties and their secular opponents have tried to get the decisive support of the military as kingmakers, it shouldn’t be forgotten that since Mubarak fell, and even before Morsi was elected, the military has been responsible for much of the jailing, killing and torture of protesters ; even jailing some for years merely for criticising it (54).

The military may aim to prevent civil war, but maintaining their own power and influence is probably an additional motive. The coup hasn’t prevented pro and anti Morsi protesters killing one another ; and the military was already killing pro-Morsi protesters with live ammunition before the 50 deaths on July 9th, though not all protesters on either side are peaceful ; a minority being armed with clubs or knives (55) – (60).

While some pro-Morsi protesters armed with petrol bombs and at least one man firing a pistol seem to have been present when the military killed over 50 and wounded over 400 of the Muslim Brotherhood protesters camped outside the building where they’ve imprisoned the deposed President, and 3 soldiers and policemen were killed, this may have been an over-reaction, like armed police and the military using live ammunition on protesters, some of whom were violent, under both Mubarak and military rule (61) .

Being elected shouldn’t be a blank cheque used by governments to do whatever they want without listening to all their citizens, but military coups against elected governments are undemocratic.

Zogby polls found support for Morsi and the Brotherhood fell to 27% by May, and most Egyptians opposed the new constitution, but 56% of Egyptians were against the army taking power even temporarily (62) – (63).

However opinions can change quickly and polling results differ greatly depending on the question asked : in March Pew Polling found 52% having a positive view of Morsi and 53% viewing the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party positively (64).

The secular opposition condemned Morsi for military repression, for instance his decree which granted the military the power to arrest and try civilians until the constitutional referendum. Will it now repeat this and hand the military all the cards?

While there may be some former members of the NDP that the secular opposition to Mubarak can work with, a power sharing government of all parties might be a way to prevent the military and Mubarak’s old guard continuing to return real power to their own hands by playing their divided opponents off against each other.

(1) = BBC News 04 Jul 2013 ‘Profile: Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23176293

(2) = Al Ahram Online 04 Jul 2013 ‘Prosecutor-general sacked by Morsi reinstated’,
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/75698/Egypt/Politics-/Prosecutorgeneral-sacked-by-Morsi-reinstated.aspx

(3) = Amnesty International 02 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt: Mubarak verdict fails to deliver full justice’,  http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/egypt-mubarak-2012-06-02 ; ‘However, the acquittal of all the other defendants, including senior security officials, leaves many still waiting for full justice…Six senior security officials, including former head of the now-disbanded State Security Investigations service (SSI), were acquitted…Corruption charges against two of Mubarak’s sons, Gamal and Alaa, and his business associate Hussein Salem, who was tried in absentia, were dropped.’

(4) = VOA News 08 Jun 2013 ‘Anger Erupts in Egypt Over Mubarak Retrial’, http://www.voanews.com/content/anger-erupts-in-egypt-over-mubarak-trial/1677958.html ‘Anger erupted Saturday in the Egyptian court retrying ousted president Hosni Mubarak for complicity in the killings of hundreds of protesters, after a judge barred the participation of lawyers representing families of those killed.’

(5) = BBC News 22 Nov 2012 ‘Egypt's President Mursi assumes sweeping powers’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20451208 ; 3^rd para ‘President Mursi also sacked the chief prosecutor and ordered the retrial of people accused of attacking protesters when ex-President Mubarak held office.’

(6) = Egypt Independent 22 Nov 2012 ‘Morsy issues new constitutional declaration’,
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/morsy-issues-new-constitutional-declaration

(7) = BBC News 14 Jun 2012 ‘Egypt supreme court calls for parliament to be dissolved’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18439530

(8) = NYT 02 Dec 2012 ‘Egyptian Court Postpones Ruling on Constitutional Assembly’,
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/world/middleeast/egypt-morsi-constitution-vote.html

(9) = CNN 23 Nov 2012 ‘Egypt's Morsy says courts can't overturn him’,
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/22/world/meast/egypt-morsy-powers/index.html

(10) = BBC News 08 Jun 2012 ‘Egypt parties end deadlock over constitutional panel’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18360403   (reports on how Morsi added trade unionists, Coptic Christian church representatives and other appointees to the assembly drafting the constitution after the non-Islamist opposition boycotted it. However there were accusations that the new appointments included too many Islamists too)

(11) = BBC News 09 Dec 2012 ‘Egypt crisis: Morsi offers concession in decree annulment’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20655412

(12) = BBC News 23 Feb 2013 ‘Egypt's Morsi changes parliamentary elections date’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21559455

(13) = BBC News 07 Dec 2012 ‘Egypt opposition rejects President Morsi's call for talks’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20642080

(14) = AP / Time World 10 Dec 2012 ‘Gunmen Attack Egyptian Opposition Protesters’, http://world.time.com/2012/12/10/egypts-military-takes-over-security-ahead-of-vote/ ; 9^th to 10^th paragraphs ‘Cracks in the opposition’s unity first appeared last weekend when one of its leading figures, veteran opposition politician Ayman Nour, accepted an invitation by Morsi to attend a “national dialogue” meeting. On Monday, another key opposition figure, El-Sayed Badawi of the Wafd party, met Morsi at the presidential palace. The opposition has said it would not talk to Morsi until he shelves the draft constitution and postpones the referendum.’

(15) = BBC News 28 Jan 2013 ‘Egypt opposition rejects Mohammed Morsi dialogue call’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21234543

(16) = France 24 27 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt opposition rejects dialogue with Morsi’,
http://www.france24.com/en/20130627-egypt-opposition-rejects-dialogue-with-morsi

(17) = Wall Street Journal 05 Jul 2013 ‘Egyptians Open Door to Mubarak's Allies’,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324260204578587872719316196.html ; see 4^th, 17^th, 19^th , 20^th paragraphs ‘Mohammed Abul Ghar, the head of Egypt's secular-leaning Social Democratic Party and a leader in the National Salvation Front, the leading opposition group to Mr. Morsi…After Mr. Morsi claimed authority over Egypt's judiciary in November, many of the young secular activists behind the revolution against Mr. Mubarak made common cause with Mr. Shafiq's supporters and other NDP loyalists… The party decided to accept former NDP members who weren't close to Mr. Mubarak and whose records were clean of corruption allegations… Gamal al Zini, a former NDP parliamentarian from the Nile Delta city of Damiet, said he has had regular meetings with local youth activists, Tamarod leaders and members of Mr. ElBaradei's Constitution Party since May..’

(18) = Egypt Independent 20 Feb 2013 ‘Former NDP members to form new party’,
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/former-ndp-members-form-new-party

(19) = Ahram Online 11 Feb 2011 ‘NDP Offshoots’,
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/33/104/26897/Elections-/Political-Parties/NDP-Offshoots.aspx

(20) = Al Jazeera 03 Jul 2013 ‘Egypt's Morsi offers consensus government’,
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/07/20137394753443155.html

(21) = Israel National News 03 Jul 2013 ‘Morsi Offers to Form Interim Coalition Government’, http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/169573#.UdY3aW3K5bM

(22) = ABC 04 Jul 2013 ‘Morsi aide says coup underway in Egypt after president defies army deadline to quit’, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-04/tensions-high-in-egypt-as-army-deadline-expires/4798284 , 11^th – 14^th paras, ‘In a last-ditch statement before the deadline passed at 1.00am (AEST), the presidency said a coalition government should be part of a solution to the country's political standoff. Mr Morsi reiterated his call for a national dialogue and the formation of a panel to amend the country's controversial Islamist-drafted constitution….Opposition parties refused to negotiate with him and met instead with the commander of the armed forces.’

(23) = BBC News 23 Feb 2013 ‘Egypt's Morsi changes parliamentary elections date’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21559455

(24) = BBC News 09 Dec 2012 ‘Egypt crisis: Morsi offers concession in decree annulment’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20655412

(25) = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituent_Assembly_of_Egypt (includes mainstream sources)

(26) = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_parliamentary_election,_2011%23Combined_results

(27) = HRW 12 Dec 2012 ‘Egypt: Investigate Brotherhood’s Abuse of Protesters’, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/12/12/egypt-investigate-brotherhood-s-abuse-protesters

(28) = ‘From Plebiscite to Contest? Egypt’s Presidential Election’, http://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/mena/egypt0905/egypt0905.pdf (see page 5 ‘Government Harassment’)

(29) = BBC News 07 Mar 2011 ‘Egypt protesters attacked by 'armed civilians' in Cairo’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12661270

(30) = Observer 30 Mar 2013 ‘How Egypt's radical rulers crush the lives and hopes of women’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/31/egypt-cairo-women-rights-revolution

(31) = Al Ahram 11 Feb 2013 ‘Shura MPs fault protesters for Tahrir Square rapes, sexual harassment’,
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/64552/Egypt/Politics-/Shura-MPs-fault-protesters-for-Tahrir-Square-rapes.aspx

(32) = Amnesty International UK 23 Dec 2011 ‘Egypt: 'shocking' violence against women protesters must not be repeated’, http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=19876

(33) = Egypt women protesters forced to take 'virginity tests' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12854391 ; 2^rd to 4^th paragraphs read ‘Amnesty International …says at least 18 female protesters were arrested after army officers cleared Tahrir Square on 9 March. It says they were then beaten, given electric shocks and strip searched.’

(34) = Guardian 27 Dec 2011 ‘'Virginity tests' on Egypt protesters are illegal, says judge’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/27/virginity-tests-egypt-protesters-illegal

(35) = The National (UAE) 21 Dec 2011 ‘Egyptian military apologises for assaults on women protesters’, http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/egyptian-military-apologises-for-assaults-on-women-protesters#ixzz2YWH5VOmZ ; see 5^th, second last and last paragraphs  ‘military police chasing young men and women through Tahrir Square and nearby streets, beating them with clubs and sticks. The latest crackdown has killed at least 12 people, all protesters, according to the ministry of health…doctors working …in Tahrir Square, say …between 14 and 18…But some female activists here say Mrs Clinton's focus on violence against women does a disservice to some of the larger abuses against the protest movement. "Clinton is missing the bigger picture..said Menna Alaa, 18, an Egyptian female blogger …"… the army is killing protesters - man, woman, child. They are not making distinctions"’

(36) = Global Post 20 Mar 2013 ‘Egypt bread protests begin after rationing announced’, http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/130320/cairo-egypt-bread-protests-rationing-fuel-shortage

(37) = Al Ahram 20 Dec 2012 ‘It’s still bread, freedom and social justice’, http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/631/30/It%E2%80%99s-still-bread,-freedom-and-social-justice.aspx

(38) = guardian.co.uk 19 Mar 2013 ‘Bakers become latest victims of Egypt subsidy cuts’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/19/bakers-egyptian-subsidy-cuts

(39) = guardian.co.uk 01 Jul 2013 ‘Egypt's presidency defies threat of military coup’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/01/egypts-presidency-defies-threat-military-coup

(40) = guardian.co.uk 06 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt's gathering economic gloom leaves millions facing food shortages’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/jun/06/egypt-economic-gloom-food-shortages

(41) = ‘Egypt's new age of unrest is a taste of things to come’ by Dr Nafeez Ahmed, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/earth-insight/2013/jul/04/egypt-muslim-brotherhood-morsi-unrest-protests

(42) = Guardian Weekly 18 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt sees Ethiopian damn as risk to water supply’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/18/egypt-ethiopia-dam-blue-nile

(43) = guardian.co.uk 11 Dec 2012 ‘Egypt's IMF loan deal postponed after Mohamed Morsi scraps tax increases’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/11/egypt-imf-loan-delay-morsi

(44) = guardian.co.uk 17 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt's Mohamed Morsi appoints hardline Islamist to govern Luxor’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/17/morsi-appoints-islamist-governor-luxor

(45) = AP / ABC News 28 Jun 2013 ‘Violence Flares in Egypt Before Weekend Rallies’, http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/egypts-opposition-criticizes-presidents-speech-19513846?page=3

(46) = Wall Street Journal 24 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt's Morsi And His Party Criticized After Killings’, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323998604578565510237185012.html

(47) = AP / Seattle Times 19 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt top cleric: Protests against Morsi permitted’,
http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2021218905_apmlegypt.html

(48) = Human Rights Watch 27 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt: Lynching of Shia Follows Months of Hate Speech’, http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/27/egypt-lynching-shia-follows-months-hate-speech

(49) = Al Ahram 24 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt's Morsi, Qandil denounce Shia killings’,
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/74813.aspx

(50) = HRW 25 Oct 2011 ‘Egypt: Don’t Cover Up Military Killing of Copt Protesters’,
http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/25/egypt-don-t-cover-military-killing-copt-protesters

(51) = Egypt Independent 19 Dec 2011 ‘Politicians criticize 'Hitler' statements made by army official’,  http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/politicians-criticize-hitler-statements-made-army-official

(52) = Egypt Independent 28 Feb 2012 ‘Court imposes LE10,000 fine on SCAF member for 'Hitler's ovens' comment’, http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/court-imposes-le10000-fine-scaf-member-hitlers-ovens-comment

(53) = WSJ 04 Jul 2013 ‘After the Coup in Cairo’, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324399404578583932317286550.html#articleTabs=article (see last paragraph)

(54) = Amnesty International 22 Nov 2011 ‘Egypt: Military rulers have 'crushed' hopes of 25 January protesters’, http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/egypt-military-rulers-have-crushed-hopes-25-january-protesters-2011-11-22

(55) = Financial Times 06 Jul 2013 ‘Egypt counts its dead after day of violence’,
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3c61c72c-e54a-11e2-ad1a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2YOQLQWHZ , ‘Egypt was on Saturday recovering from a day of violence and mayhem after street battles between thousands of supporters and opponents of its ousted president raged across the country on Friday. At least least 35 people have been killed and 1,404 injured in the last 48 hours according to the health ministry....’

(56) = BBC News 05 Jul 2013 ‘Egypt unrest: Morsi marchers die as army fires’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23202096

(57) = Sky News 05 Jul 2013 ‘Egypt Coup: Morsi Protests Turn Deadly’,
http://news.sky.com/story/1111961/egypt-coup-morsi-protests-turn-deadly

(58) = Reuters 29 Jun 2013 ‘Fearing bloodshed, rival Cairo protests steel selves for Sunday’, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/29/us-egypt-protests-violence-idUSBRE95S0H820130629

(59) = Washington Post 02 Jul 2013 ‘Throngs rally in Egypt’,
http://articles.philly.com/2013-07-02/news/40309890_1_morsi-supporters-islamist-leader-muslim-brotherhood ; 2^nd paragraph ‘Thousands of Morsi supporters, many of them from his Muslim Brotherhood party, filled another Cairo thoroughfare with their own chants of support. Some brandished wooden clubs, canes, and metal pipes, ready to defend themselves’

(60) = Reuters 06 Jul 2013 ‘Protests rage across Egypt as Islamists vow further violence’, http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Pro-and-anti-Morsi-protests-rage-across-Egypt-leaving-at-least-24-dead-318904

(61) = The New Yorker 08 Jul 2013 ‘After the Shooting In Cairo’, http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/07/after-the-shooting-in-cairo.html

(62) = Zogby Research Services Jun 2013 ‘AFTER TAHRIR: Egyptians Assess Their Government, Their Institutions, and Their Future’ , http://www.aaiusa.org/page/-/Polls/EgyptianAttitudesTowardMB_%20June2013.pdf (see pages 10, 11,19 and 23 by numbers at foot of pages, or 12,13, 21 and 25 by PDF page counter)

(63) = Independent Media Review Analysis 18 Jun 2013 ‘Zogby poll of Egyptians: Morsi bad-do not want army take over’, http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=61307

(64) =  Wall Street Journal 17 May 2013 ‘Poll Shows Muslim Brotherhood Maintaining Support Despite Egypt’s Travails’, http://blogs.wsj.com/middleeast/2013/05/17/poll-shows-muslim-brotherhood-maintaining-support-despite-egypts-travails/

Alfie Meadows charges parallel Mark Kennedy tactic of charging victims of police violence

Alfie Meadows, the student who almost died after having his skull fractured by a policeman during the student protests – and who other police tried to prevent getting to hospital afterwards – is still facing a trumped up charge of violent disorder, presumably intended to make it look as if ‘he was asking for it’ to save face for the police and avoid charging the police officers responsible, despite his mother and his lecturer being among many witnesses who say he was not involved in any violence towards police (1).

Meadows has to appear in court next month.

This parallels other cases in which police who have made unprovoked attacks on protesters have charged the victim with violence or assaulting a police officer – including charges brought against undercover police officer Mark Kennedy. During protests against the Drax power station in 2006 Kennedy recalled intervening to stop police hitting a woman protester with batons. They knocked him to the ground and jumped up and down on his back, causing permanent injuries to his spine, then charged him with assaulting a police officer. The charges were only dropped once it was found out he was an undercover officer himself (2) – (3).

You can sign the petition calling for charges against Meadows to be dropped on this link and if you want to help the campaign in other ways you can find out more on this link.

EDIT 25th April 2012 : It seems the Meadows case may not be as straightforward as it first seemed as Meadows seems to have admitted to having taken part in lifting and pushing metal barriers towards police (4).

(1) = Barnett & Whetstone Press 05 May 2011 ‘Injured Alfie faces violence charge at demo’, http://www.barnet-today.co.uk/news.cfm?id=16190

(2) = Guardian 02 Feb 2012 ‘Beaten by colleagues, mishandled by bosses: how Mark Kennedy went rogue’ , http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/02/how-mark-kennedy-went-rogue

(3) = Channel 4 (UK) 14 Nov 2009, 9pm GMT ‘Confessions of an undercover cop’, http://www.channel4.com/programmes/confessions-of-an-undercover-cop

(4) = Channel 4 News 10 April 2012 'CRIME: Alfie Meadows on trial for violent disorder during student protests', http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/ITN/2012/04/10/T10041257/

Police are not confused about how much force they can use in what situation - given past abuses of their authority they can't get a blank cheque

Claims made by police spokesmen on BBC News 24 that police are “confused” about what level of force they can use and that this is making it difficult for them to deal with rioters need to be taken with a huge pile of salt. The line they’re pushing is that in the past police have ended up in court for simply trying to prevent crimes. They know that’s a lie. The only police who ended up in court or fired were those involved in the shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes after massive incompetence by senior officers given the power of life and death over others; and others like the officer who repeatedly assaulted bypasser Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests; the officer who attacked the loud but tiny environmentalist protester Nicola Fisher with a baton (and got off with it) ; and the officer who dragged a prisoner across a police station before throwing her face down into a cell.

Others who should be facing charges of grievous bodly harm and endangering lives have got off with it. They include the policeman who beat peaceful student protester Alfie Meadows so hard with a baton that he would have died if he hadn’t had emergency brain surgery – and the officers who tried to turn the ambulance carrying him away from the nearest hospital as protesters being treated in the same hospital as injured police offended their sensibilities (presumably on the usual theory held by the stupidest and worst police officers that all protesters are criminals).

 Some police spokesmen are trying to use the riots to reverse planned job and funding cuts. That’s fair enough. I support increasing the number of police and i'd guess most people do. However they’re also using them to try to demand a blank cheque to use any amount of force they feel like in any situation and to try to get the public to place them above the law. That won’t wash.

If they’re confused about how much force they can use when they’re not up to the job – they can use what the law allows – the amount required to defend themselves and others and to prevent serious crimes – and no more.

No blank cheques to beat up anyone they like.

The initial rioting in Tottenham seems to have been caused by police shooting Mark Duggan (who may or may not have been armed but we now know definitely did not fire first – or at all) and by fifteen riot police subsequently beating a single 16 year old girl who was one of a large group of family, friends and neighbours of Duggan demanding answers from them, after she threw a leaflet and possibly a stone. That underlines the fact that giving the police a blank cheque to do as they please and believing them without question (even though their spokespeople lied about De Menezes , Tomlinson and other cases) will not make the public safer or reduce crime, but is likely to cause it instead.

The police know that when they act in self-defence or the defence of others with the amount of force necessary in the situation they’ll have public support and be acting within the law. They have to be in no more doubt than the rioters that they can’t launch random attacks on people or break the law without facing consequences. If the police were allowed to be above the law, it would only breed contempt for it and them, which would be bad for everyone.

Being shot, tortured or jailed without trial doesn't become better or worse depending on the ideology used to justify it

The continuing protests for democracy and jobs across the Middle East and North Africa show that undemocratic governments of different ideologies and forms of government are all more similar than any of them would like to think.

They may vary the rhetoric they use to justify their rule and their actions, but they’ve all been jailing their own people without fair trial for decades, torturing and murdering them – and they all send their police or soldiers to shoot unarmed demonstrators in the street the moment it looks like their power might be threatened.

Which ideology you’re being jailed, tortured or shot for makes far less difference to those on the receiving end than those trying to justify it might think.

This holds whether it’s supposedly to defend the Revolution and the Republic in Libya and Egypt, to defend the Islamic revolution in the semi-theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran, or to defend the monarchy in the Kingdom of Bahrain (and held for Iraqis tortured in the name of democracy too – because democracy, as George Orwell said, is more often an undefined word used to justify unjustifiable actions than a reality).

Democracy does exist in a very real sense for the protesters who see it as fair elections, the right not to be jailed without trial, tortured or murdered by the government – and – though this gets less press – the right to a job and a living wage (most of the demonstrations having  included demands for jobs and better pay from the start).

The hypocrisy of democratically elected governments who back many of these dictatorships (the only exceptions being Syria and Iran) continues, with bans on sales of arms and “crowd control” devices, just a bit late and - on their past records - unlikely to last long.

The demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa have been as much about jobs and pay as democracy from the start

While most of the focus has been on demands for political democracy the protests across the Middle East and North Africa have been as much against unemployment, for jobs and for higher pay from the start. For instance in early January the BBC reported ‘The number of people killed in unrest over unemployment in Tunisia over the weekend has risen to 14, officials say…. The protests first broke out in December over a lack of freedom and jobs.’ (1)

The Tunisan man whose suicide by setting himself on fire set off the protests came from a family whose farm land had been taken by a bank after it foreclosed on the families debts. (2)

In Egypt at the end of January they reported ‘At least eight people have been killed and dozens injured since the protests against unemployment, corruption and rising prices began on Tuesday.’ (3)

This is not surprising as political and economic equality go hand in hand – and similarly for political and economic inequality. Having a job does you little good if you are jailed without fair trial, tortured or shot; while having the right to vote is not much good if you’re homeless or struggling to make enough money to be able to afford to eat.

In every case the global recession caused by the financial crisis and corrupt and brutally oppressive undemocratic governments have played a part. In most (e.g Egypt and Tunisia) neo-liberal economic policies promoted by the IMF and ‘developed world’ governments have also played a role. Even while these policies were creating economic growth poverty was increasing and unemployment wasn’t falling. With the recession, both rocketed.

In Egypt Amnesty international reported that as the clean up of Tahrir Square began “In hospitals, banks and insurance companies, employees gathered to demand better pay and working conditions.”  Protesters for higher pay include everyone from public sector employees such as ambulance drivers to tourism workers (4) – (5). Mubarak followed neo-liberal economic policies recommended by the IMF. While this resulted in economic growth,  the benefits went to a small minority. Mubarak’s family has an estimated fortune of $70 billion, another thousand families who are close to Mubarak benefited greatly and unemployment fell, more than half the population lives on less than £1 a day and there are a million homeless street children in Egyptian cities (6) – (10).

Trade unions have also been important in many cases. In Egypt it was the General Strike called by trade unions that seemed to tip the military into finally forcing Mubarak to resign (11).

(sorry for repeating some of one of my previous posts on Egypt here but i thought it justified a post of it's own on how from the start of the protests in Tunisia on, jobs, pay and unemployment have been core issues)

Last updated 1st March 2010

(1) = BBC 10 Jan 2011 ‘Fourteen killed in Tunisia unemployment protests’,http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12144906

(2) = Independent 21 Jan 2011 'Tunisia: 'I have lost my son, but I am proud of what he did'', http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/tunisia-i-have-lost-my-son-but-i-am-proud-of-what-he-did-2190331.html

(3) = BBC 28 Jan 2011 ‘Egypt protests escalate in Cairo, Suez and other cities’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12303564

(4) = Amnesty Livewire 14 Feb 2011 ‘The new face of Egypt’,http://livewire.amnesty.org/2011/02/14/the-new-face-of-egypt/

(5) = BBC News 14 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt crisis: Protests switch to demands on pay’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12448413

(6) = IMF Survey Magazine 13 Feb 2008 ‘Egypt: Reforms Trigger Economic Gr
owth’,http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2008/car021308a.htm

(7) = guardian.co.uk 04 Feb 2011 ‘Mubarak family fortune could reach $70bn, say experts’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/hosni-mubarak-family-fortune

(8) = guardian.co.uk 06 Feb 2011 ‘A private estate called Egypt’, by Professor Salwa Ismail, London School of Economics,  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/06/private-estate-egypt-mubarak-cronies

(9) = guardian.co.uk 14 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt's army calls for end to strikes as workers grow in confidence’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/14/egypt-army-strikes-workers

(10) = UNICEF ‘A new approach to Egypt’s street children’,http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/egypt_30616.html

(11) = Guardian.co.uk 09 Feb 2011 ‘Egyptian talks near collapse as unions back protests’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/09/egypt-protest-talks-union-mubarak

Will Egyptian soldiers blindly obey the orders of dictators? Or defend democracy and people they joined the army to protect?

The euphoria in Egypt over Mubarak’s resignation is justified as a first step, but so far, while the dictator is gone, the dictatorship remains, under either Mubarak’s appointee and secret police chief Omar Suleiman, or General Tantawi, or Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq (another Mubarak appointee). Any elections organised by them are not guaranteed to be any fairer than the rigged shams they helped organised for Mubarak, though it seems all opposition parties will be legalised and permitted to take part this time (1) – (2).

While it originally seemed the military had seized power under the ‘High Council of the Armed Forces’ and that they might soon hand over power to the pro-democracy parties in the government of National Unity the protesters have demanded, it’s become clear this will not happen unless there is another round of confrontation between the regime and the protesters. The general strike by Egyptian trade unions, which brought Egypt’s economy to a standstill, was what finally got the military to oust Mubarak (3).

The protests continue to be as much about inequality and poverty for the majority (made worse by the global recession) as they are about democracy and civil rights. Amnesty international reported that as the clean up of Tahrir Square began “In hospitals, banks and insurance companies, employees gathered to demand better pay and working conditions.”  Protesters for higher pay include everyone from public sector employees such as ambulance drivers to tourism workers (4) – (5). Mubarak followed neo-liberal economic policies recommended by the IMF. While this resulted in economic growth,  the benefits went to a small minority. Mubarak’s family has an estimated fortune of $70 billion, another thousand families who are close to Mubarak benefited greatly and unemployment fell, more than half the population lives on less than £1 a day and there are a million homeless street children in Egyptian cities (6) – (10).

Suleiman the torturer as Mubarak Mark II ?

Omar Suleiman - Mubarak's torturer in chief

The military have said that alongside the “High Council” the “existing cabinet” will remain in place until elections– that means Mubarak’s appointees, including Prime Minister Ahmed Sahfiq (11) – (12). Suleiman’s role remains unclear – possibly deliberately. Some media reports claim Suleiman (appointed Vice President by Mubarak) is part of the ruling military council ; others quote the Prime Minister as saying the council will decide on Suleiman’s role (13) – (14). Both suggest he is still very much part of the government.

Previous US government statements backing Suleiman, combined with US influence over the Egyptian military through military aid, suggest the Obama administration had a role to play in ensuring Suleiman remained part of the government, though this is uncertain (15) – (17). This suggests an aim similar to the Bush and Clinton administrations in Iraq in the 1990s – remove the dictator, but keep the dictatorship in place.

Suleiman has a long working relationship with the CIA and FBI, particularly in extra-ordinary rendition (or kidnapping for torture), with many people kidnapped by the CIA tortured in Egyptian prisons over the decades. As intelligence minister and head of the Mukhabarat secret police, he was responsible for some of the most horrific torture under Mubarak – sometimes torturing prisoners himself. He recently said he thinks Egyptians don't yet have the “culture” required to support democracy and speculated that it wouldn’t have it any time soon (17a). He is unlikely to have changed overnight. (18) – (21). So it’s no surprise that Egyptian protesters don’t want Suleiman as Mubarak Mark II (22) – (23).

The military have also said they  have suspended the constitution (as demanded by the protesters as it was written and amended by the military and dictatorships) and dissolved parliament (another of the demonstrators’ demands).

The upper ranks of the Military supporting the dictatorship

However while the military have posed as neutral, or even in favour of the demonstrators, in practice they have so far backed the dictatorship and are refusing the protesters’ main demand – re-iterated in their recent People’s communique No. 1-  a transition to an all party National Unity government, excluding Mubarak’s appointees, but including one military representative, before elections – to ensure elections are free and fair. The military have given no response to protesters demands for the right to form trade unions independent of government either  (24) – (28). (Most of the media have given far less detail on protesters’ statements than on those of the military – the full peoples’ communiqué is only available from websites and blogs that have published it)

The military have been involved in the jailing and torture of protesters (29). They allowed Mubarak’s thugs into Tahrir Square to attack the protesters. They have repeatedly demanded that the demonstrators go home both before and since Mubarak’s resignation; and demand the strikes be ended before all the protesters’ main demands are met (30) – (32). Their concessions so far seem to be more an attempt to concede what they have to in order to divide the opposition (by getting some to think they’ve won and go home) without relinquishing power or control over organising new elections (retaining the option of rigging them).

This does not mean that there are no divisions within the military. There may be divisions among the generals and between units personally loyal to Mubarak and those that aren’t. Mubarak remains in the country, ostensibly under military imposed restrictions on members of current or former members of government leaving the country. The motive for imposing those restrictions remains unclear – it may be to prevent officials leaving the country with large amounts of public money, or it might be being used to prevent a panic among those who have ruled for decades that leads to so many fleeing into exile that they and the Generals lose control.

Egypt’s military, like Pakistan’s, has acquired ownership of many of the farms, factories and businesses in the country and makes considerable profits from maintaining as much of the existing order as possible (33) – (34). This cuts two ways though – the military loses money as long as protests and strikes continue and if they spread again. So they are as likely to make more concessions as to crack down on protests and strikes.

Soldiers and Middle Ranking Officers – the hope for the protesters

The protesters, if they are wise (and so far they have been) will be looking to divide the different factions among the Generals, just as they copied Tunisians in focusing their anger on the police to ensure they didn’t side with the army (though Tunisia, like Egypt, has so far only managed to get rid of the dictator, not the dictatorship).

The greatest hope for the people of Egypt is to get the majority of the military – the lower and middle ranks – on their side against the Generals. If the protesters keep up the pressure and the trade unions call more general strikes then at some point the Generals must choose either to concede to their demands or else to risk being overthrown by their own soldiers by ordering them to attack their own people.

This could go either way. Holocaust survivor Primo Levi wrote that in his books on Auschwitz that even the SS Concentration camp guards were mostly not evil people, but people who obeyed orders too readily. They were “average human beings, averagely intelligent, averagely wicked; save for exceptions, they were not monsters…but they had been reared badly. They were, for the greater part, diligent followers and functionaries…some fanatically convinced…many indifferent, or fearful of punishment, or desirous of a good career, or too obedient.” (35)

Primo Levi - who survived the Holocaust

The point is that it does not take uniquely evil people to do evil things - whether the mass murder of the holocaust, or torturing and murdering people who are only peacefully demanding democracy and freedom from torture and murder. It only requires people to act without thinking, obey without questioning, to do what is easiest because it's easiest, or because it's expected of them, or because their career might suffer otherwise, or because they're afraid they'll be punished or ridiculed otherwise.

(One of the protesters in Tahrir Square who refused to go home when the army told him to again after Mubarak’s resignation is a chemist – just like Levi).

Protesters refuse to be moved from Tahrir Square by the army after Mubarak's resignation, until they have democracy instead of a new dictator or one-party state

Social experiments by scientists have shown how strong the urge to conform to the wishes of those in authority is even in democracies.

This is even more the case for soldiers than it is for other people, as soldiers are trained to obey orders without question.

The lower and middle ranks of the Egyptian military – the ordinary soldiers and low ranking officers – need to ask themselves whether they should obey orders to jail, torture or murder the same people they joined the military to protect in the first place. This is not a war. There is not a threat to Egypt from some foreign invasion. The threat comes from their own Generals and Mubarak’s appointees like Suleiman to the Egyptian people. Egypt’s soldiers should not obey that threat but oppose it – and if necessary overthrow it so their country can become a democracy and they and their people can enjoy the same simple freedoms that some of the rest of the world has enjoyed for a long time now – the freedom to say and write what they think, to vote for whatever party or candidate they want to, to stand themselves in elections, to change their government and it’s policies through elections, to not fear that the police may drag them or their family away to be jailed or tortured just for doing any of this.

There have already been many interviews with soldiers and junior officers who do sympathise with the protesters and many middle ranking officers who have even joined the protests (36) – (37).

The elected heads of government of many foreign governments may be allies of the dictatorship (Blair and his family going to Egypt on holiday at Egyptian taxpayers’ expense - and Sarkozy  and his family having spent a Christmas holiday with Mubarak. Blair  also recently called Mubarak “courageous and a force for good” – even after he had his police and thugs murder 300 democracy protesters, while Obama and Clinton back Suleiman), but most of the people of the existing democracies wish Egyptians well and hope they will unite to secure their freedom (38) – (40).

(1) = Wikipedia entry for Omar Suleiman,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Suleiman

(2) = Human Rights Watch 23 Nov 2010 ‘Elections in Egypt’,http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/11/23/elections-egypt

(3) = Guardian.co.uk 09 Feb 2011 ‘Egyptian talks near collapse as unions back protests’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/09/egypt-protest-talks-union-mubarak

(4) = Amnesty Livewire 14 Feb 2011 ‘The new face of Egypt’,http://livewire.amnesty.org/2011/02/14/the-new-face-of-egypt/

(5) = BBC News 14 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt crisis: Protests switch to demands on pay’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12448413

(6) = IMF Survey Magazine 13 Feb 2008 ‘Egypt: Reforms Trigger Economic Growth’,http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2008/car021308a.htm

(7) = guardian.co.uk 04 Feb 2011 ‘Mubarak family fortune could reach $70bn, say experts’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/hosni-mubarak-family-fortune

(8) = guardian.co.uk 06 Feb 2011 ‘A private estate called Egypt’, by Professor Salwa Ismail, London School of Economics,  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/06/private-estate-egypt-mubarak-cronies

(9) = guardian.co.uk 14 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt's army calls for end to strikes as workers grow in confidence’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/14/egypt-army-strikes-workers

(10) = UNICEF ‘A new approach to Egypt’s street children’,http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/egypt_30616.html

(11) = ABC News 13 Feb 2011 ‘Egyptian army vows transition to democracy’,http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/13/3137352.htm ; ‘"The current government and governors undertake to manage affairs until the formation of a new government," a senior army officer said in a statement delivered on state television.’

(12) = BBC News 14 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt crisis: Protests switch to demands on pay’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12448413 ; ‘During the transition the cabinet appointed by Mr Mubarak last month will go on governing, submitting legislation to the army chiefs for approval.’ ;        ‘Military statement - Constitution suspended ; Council to hold power for six months or until elections; Both houses of parliament dissolved; Council to issue laws during interim period; Committee set up to reform constitution and set rules for referendum ;Caretaker PM Ahmed Shafiq's cabinet to continue work until new cabinet formed ; Council to hold presidential and parliamentary elections ; All international treaties to be honoured’’

(13) = Al Jazeera 12 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt's military leadership - Brief profiles of members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces as it assumes power from Hosni Mubarak’,http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121185311711502.html ; ‘General Omar Suleiman, vice-president and former intelligence chief, is among the key retired or serving military officers on the council.

(14) = Press TV 13 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt army to decide on Suleiman fate’,http://www.presstv.ir/detail/165105.html ; ‘"The role of Omar Suleiman will be defined by the Higher Military Council," Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said on Sunday.’

(15) = guardian.co.uk 06 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt protests: Hosni Mubarak's power fades as US backs his deputy’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/06/egypt-protests-hosni-mubarak-sulieman

(16) = NYT 03 Feb 2011 ‘White House and Egypt Discuss Plan for Mubarak’s Exit’,http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/04/world/middleeast/04diplomacy.html?_r=2

(17) = guardian.co.uk 04 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt protests: US resists calls to cut military aid’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/egypt-protests-us-military-aid

(17a) = Reuters 10 Feb 2011 'Egypt VP democracy comment misunderstood-state agency', http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFLDE7192CG20110210

(18) =  Al Jazeera 07 Feb 2011 ‘Suleiman: The CIA's man in Cairo  - Suleiman, a friend to the US and reported torturer, has long been touted as a presidential successor’, by Professor Lisa Hajar of the University of California, http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/201127114827382865.html

(19) = ABC News 01 Feb 2011 ‘New Egyptian VP Ran Mubarak's Security Team, Oversaw Torture’,http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/egypt-crisis-omar-suleiman-cia-rendition/story?id=12812445&page=1

(20) = New Statesman 2004 ‘America’s Gulag’

(21) = Human Rights Watch 09 May 2005 ‘Black Hole – the fate of Islamists rendered to Egypt’,http://www.hrw.org/en/node/11757/section/1

(22) = Bloomberg Businessweek 01 Feb 2011 ‘Mubarak’s Top Spy Rejected by Cairo Streets as Masses March’,http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-01/mubarak-s-top-spy-rejected-by-cairo-streets-as-masses-march.html

(23) Haaretz (Israel) 11 Feb 2011 ‘ElBaradei: Egypt's Mubarak government is a 'sinking ship' ,http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/elbaradei-egypt-s-mubarak-government-is-a-sinking-ship-1.342694 ; ‘ElBaradei scoffed at Mubarak's statement that he would transfer powers to his new deputy, former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, in line with the constitution. He continued, "the people on the street feel the same way about Suleiman as they feel about Mubarak. He is to them only a mirror image of Mubarak."’

(24) = guardian.co.uk 13 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt's military rejects swift transfer of power and suspends constitution’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/13/egypt-military-rejects-swift-power-handover

(25) = guardian.co.uk 12 Feb 2011 ‘Army and protesters disagree over Egypt's path to democracy’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/12/egypt-military-leaders-fall-out-protesters

(26) = Reuters 30 Jan 2011 ‘ElBaradei urges U.S. to abandon Mubarak’,http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/30/us-egypt-usa-elbaradei-idUSTRE70T30920110130?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews ; ‘"I have been authorized -- mandated -- by the people who organized these demonstrations and many other parties to agree on a national unity government," ElBaradei told CNN.’

(27) = Scoop NZ 14 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt's Protesters Communique Number 1’,http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1102/S00466/egypts-protesters-communique-number-1.htm

(28) = ABC News 13 Feb 2011 ‘Egyptian army vows transition to democracy’,http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/13/3137352.htm ; People's Communique No. 1", issued by the protest organisers, demands the dissolution of the cabinet Mr Mubarak appointed on January 29 and the suspension of the parliament elected in a rigged vote late last year.The reformists want a transitional five-member presidential council made up of four civilians and one military person. The communique calls for the formation of a transitional government to prepare for an election to take place within nine months, and of a body to draft a new democratic constitution. It demands freedom for the media and syndicates, which represent groups such as lawyers, doctors and engineers, and for the formation of political parties. Military and emergency courts must be scrapped, the communique says.’ (From the full text linked to above - (27) – ‘syndicates’ here is almost certainly a mis-translation of ‘trade unions’.)

(29) = guardian.co.uk 09 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt's army 'involved in detentions and torture'’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/09/egypt-army-detentions-torture-accused

(30) = guardian.co.uk 11 Feb 2011 ‘Egyptian army backs Hosni Mubarak and calls for protesters to go home’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/11/egyptian-army-backs-hosni-mubarak

(31) = guardian.co.uk 13 Feb 2011 ‘Tahrir Square protesters defy army to keep Egypt's revolution alive’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/13/tahrir-square-protesters-egypt-revolution

(32) = guardian.co.uk 14 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt's army calls for end to strikes as workers grow in confidence’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/14/egypt-army-strikes-workers

(33) = NPR 14 Feb 2011 ‘Why Egypt's Military Cares About Home Appliances’, http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/02/10/133501837/why-egypts-military-cares-about-home-appliances

(34) = NPR 14 Feb 2011 ‘The Friday Podcast: Egypt's Military, Inc.’,http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/02/07/133503696/the-friday-podcast-egypts-military-inc

(35) = Primo Levi (1986) ‘The Drowned and the Saved’  - See last pages of ‘Conclusion’

(36) = Washington Post 30 Jan 2011 ‘Unrest tests Egyptian military and its crucial relationship with U.S.’,http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/29/AR2011012904418.html ; ‘On Saturday, soldiers seemed largely to sympathize with the throngs of protesters.’

(37) = Reuters 11 Feb 2011 ‘Egypt army officer says 15 others join protesters’,http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFLDE71A01720110211?sp=true ; ‘An Egyptian army officer who joined protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square said on Friday 15 other middle-ranking officers had also gone over to the demonstrators. "The armed forces' solidarity movement with the people has begun," Major Ahmed Ali Shouman told Reuters by telephone just after dawn prayers. On Thursday evening Shouman told crowds in Tahrir that he had handed in his weapon and joined their protests demanding an immediate end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. "Some 15 officers ... have joined the people's revolution," he said, listing their ranks ranging from captain to lieutenant colonel. "Our goals and the people's are one."’

(38) = guardian.co.uk 08 Feb 2011 ‘France's prime minister spent family Christmas break as guest of Mubarak’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/08/france-francois-fillon-christmas-egypt-mubarak

(39) = Independent 06 Apr 2002 ‘Blair faces tax bill over Egypt holiday charity donation’,http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/blair-faces-tax-bill-over-egypt-holiday-charity-donation-656562.html

(40) = guardian.co.uk 02 Feb 2011 ‘Tony Blair: Mubarak is 'immensely courageous and a force for good'’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/02/tony-blair-mubarak-courageous-force-for-good-egypt