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The Egyptian Revolution

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The Egyptian Revolution

The Egyptian Revolution

The 2011 Egyptian revolution (Arabic: thawret 25 yanayir, Revolution of 25 January) took place following a popular uprising that began on 25 January 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violence civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience, and labour strikes. Millions of protesters from a variety of socio-economic and religious backgrounds demanded the overthrow of the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Despite being predominantly peaceful in nature, the revolution was not without violent clashes between security forces and protesters. The uprising took place in Cairo, Alexandria, and in other cities in Egypt, following the Tunisian Revolution that saw the overthrow of the long-time Tunisian president. On 11 February, following weeks of determined popular protest and pressure, Mubarak resigned from office.
Grievances of Egyptian protesters were focused on legal and political issues including police brutality, state of emergency laws, lack of free elections and freedom of speech, uncontrollable corruption, and economic issues including high unemployment, food price inflation, and low minimum wages. The primary demands from protest organizers were the end of the Hosni Mubarak regime and the end of emergency law; freedom, justice, a responsive non-military government, and a say in the management of Egypt's resources. Strikes by labour unions added to the pressure on government officials.
There were up to 840 deaths reported, and over 6,000 were injured. The capital city of Cairo was described as "a war zone," and the port city of Suez was the scene of frequent violent clashes. The government imposed a curfew that protesters defied and that the police and military did not enforce. The presence of Egypt's Central Security Forces police, loyal to Mubarak, was gradually replaced by largely restrained military troops. In the absence of police, there was looting by gangs that opposition sources said were instigated by plainclothes police officers. In response, watch groups were organised by civilians to protect neighbourhoods.
International response to the protests was initially mixed, though most called for some sort of peaceful protests on both sides and moves toward reform. Most Western governments expressed concern about the situation. Many governments issued travel advisories and made attempts to evacuate their citizens from the country.The Egyptian Revolution, along with Tunisian events, has influenced demonstrations in other Arab countries including Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, and Libya.
Mubarak dissolved his government and appointed military figure and former head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate Omar Suleiman as Vice-President in an attempt to quell dissent. Mubarak asked aviation minister and former chief of Egypt's Air Force, Ahmed Shafik, to form a new government. Mohamed ElBaradei became a major figure of the opposition, with all major opposition groups supporting his role as a negotiator for some form of transitional unity government.In response to mounting pressure, Mubarak announced he would not seek re-election in September.
On 11 February Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak would be stepping down as president and turning power over to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. The junta, headed by effective head of state Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, announced on 13 February that the constitution would be suspended, both houses of parliament dissolved, and that the military would rule for six months until elections could be held. The prior cabinet, including Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik, would continue to serve as a caretaker government until a new one is formed. Shafik resigned on 3 March, a day before major protests to get him to step down were planned; he was replaced by Essam Sharaf, the former transport minister.

Memorial

Memorial

A memorial in Tahrir Square made by the demonstrators in honour of those who died during the protests, regarded as shuhada' – "martyrs" – in Egyptian parlance. The captions in the pictures attribute most of the deaths to police violence.

Naming

Naming

In Egypt and the wider Arab world, the protests and subsequent changes in the government have generally been
referred to as the 25 January Revolution ( Thawrat 25 Yanayir), Freedom Revolution (Thawrat Horeya), or Rage Revolution , and less frequently, the Revolution of the Youth ( Thawrat al-Shabab), Lotus Revolution, or White Revolutional-Thawrah al-bay.

Revolution Timeline

Timeline

25 January 2011: The "Day of Revolt": Protests erupted throughout Egypt, with tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo and thousands more in cities throughout Egypt. The protests targeted President Hosni Mubarak's government, and mostly adhered to non-violence. There were some reports of civilian and police casualties.
26 January 2011: "Shutting down The Internet and Mobile Services": After several Facebook groups were created and tweets (from Twitter) called for mass demonstrations, the Egyptian government shut down internet access for most of the country. This was done to cripple one of the protesters' main organizational tools and to impede the flow of news and people.
28 January 2011: The "Friday of Anger" protests began. Hundreds of thousands demonstrated in Cairo and other Egyptian cities after Friday prayers. Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei arrived in Cairo. There were reports of looting. Prisons were opened and burned down, allegedly on orders from then-Minister of the Interior Habib El Adly. Prison inmates to escaped en masse, in what was believed to be an attempt to terrorise protesters. Police forces were withdrawn from the streets, and the military was deployed. International fears of violence grew, but no major casualties were reported. President Hosni Mubarak made his first address to the nation and pledged to form a new government. Later that night clashes broke out in Tahrir Square between revolutionaries and pro-Mubarak demonstrators, leading to the injury of several and the death of some.
29 January 2011: The military presence in Cairo increased. A curfew was declared, but was widely ignored as the flow of defiant protesters to Tahrir Square continued throughout the night. The military reportedly refused to follow orders to fire live ammunition, and exercised restraint overall. There were no reports of major casualties.
1 February 2011: Mubarak made another televised address and offered several concessions. He pledged to not run for another term in the elections planned for September, and pledged political reforms. He stated he would stay in office to oversee a peaceful transition. Small but violent clashes began that night between pro-Mubarak and anti-Mubarak groups.
2 February 2011: "Battle of the Camel". Violence escalated as waves of Mubarak supporters met anti-government protesters. Some Mubarak supporters on camels and horseback entered Tahrir Square, and tens of casualties were reported. The military tried to limit the violence, repeatedly separating anti-Mubarak and pro-Mubarak groups. President Mubarak reiterated his refusal to step down in interviews with several news agencies. Incidents of violence toward journalists and reporters escalated amid speculation that the violence was being encouraged by Mubarak as a way to bring the protests to an end.
6 February 2011: A multifaith Sunday Mass is held with Egyptian Christians and Egyptian Muslims Tahrir Square. Negotiations involving Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman and representatives of the opposition commenced amid continuing protests throughout the nation. The Egyptian army assumed greater security responsibilities, maintaining order and guarding The Egyptian Museum of Antiquity. Suleiman offered reforms, while others of Mubarak's regime accused foreign nations, including the US, of interfering in Egypt’s affairs.
10 February 2011: Mubarak formally addressed Egypt amid speculation of a military coup, but rather than resigning (as was widely expected), he simply stated he would delegate some of his powers to Vice President Suleiman, while continuing as Egypt's head of state. Reactions to Mubarak's statement were marked by anger, frustration and disappointment, and throughout various cities there was an escalation of the number and intensity of demonstrations.
11 February 2011: The "Friday of Departure": Massive protests continued in many cities as Egyptians refused the concessions announced by Mubarak. Finally, at 6:00 pm local time, Suleiman announced Mubarak's resignation, entrusting the Supreme Council of Egyptian Armed Forces with the leadership of the country. Nationwide celebrations immediately followed.
13 February 2011: The Supreme Council dissolved Egypt’s parliament and suspended the Constitution in response to demands by demonstrators. The council declared that it would hold power for six months, or until elections could be held. Calls were made for the council to provide more details and specific timetables and deadlines. Major protests subsided but did not end. In a gesture to a new beginning, protesters cleaned up and renovated Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the demonstrations, although many pledged they would continue protests until all the demands had been met.
17 February 2011: The army stated it would not field a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections. Four important figures of the former regime were detained on that day: former interior minister Habib el-Adly, former minister of housing Ahmed Maghrabi former tourism minister Zuheir Garana, and steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz.
2 March 2011: The constitutional referendum was tentatively scheduled for 19 March 2011.
3 March 2011: A day before large protests against him were planned, Ahmed Shafik stepped down as Prime Minister and was replaced by Essam Sharaf.
5 March 2011: Several State Security Intelligence (SSI) buildings were raided across Egypt by protesters, including the headquarters for Alexandria Governorate and the main national headquarters in Nasr City, Cairo. Protesters stated they raided the buildings to secure documents they believed to show various crimes committed by the SSI against the people of Egypt during Mubarak's rule.
6 March 2011: From the Nasr City headquarters, protesters acquired evidence of mass surveillance and vote rigging, and noted rooms full of videotapes, piles of shredded and burned documents, and cells where activists recounted their experiences of detention and torture.
19 March 2011: The constitutional referendum was held and passed by 77.27%.
22 March 2011: Parts of the Interior Ministry building catch fire during police demonstrations outside.
23 March 2011: The Egyptian Cabinet orders a law criminalising protests and strikes that hampers work at private or public establishments. Under the new law, anyone organising or calling for such protests will be sentenced to jail and/or a fine of LE500,000 (~100,000 USD).
1 April 2011: The "Save the Revolution" day: Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators filled Tahrir Square for the largest protest in weeks, demanding that the ruling military council move faster to dismantle lingering aspects of the old regime.
8 April 2011: The "Friday of Cleansing": Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators again filled Tahrir Square, criticizing the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces for not following through on revolutionary demands. They demanded the resignation of remaining regime figures and the removal of Egypt’s public prosecutor due to the slow pace of investigations of corrupt former officials.[116]

Deaths

Deaths

Leading up to the protests, at least six cases of self-immolation were reported, including a man arrested while trying to set himself on fire in downtown Cairo.These cases were inspired by, and began exactly one month after, the acts of self-immolation in Tunisia triggering the 2010–2011 Tunisian uprising. Six instances have been reported, including acts by Abdou Abdel-Moneim Jaafar, Mohammed Farouk Hassan,Mohammed Ashour Sorour,and Ahmed Hashim al-Sayyed who later died from his injuries.
As of 30 January, Al Jazeera reported as many as 150 deaths in the protests.The Sun reported that the dead could include at least 10 policemen, 3 of whom were killed in Rafah by "an enraged mob".
By 29 January, 2,000 people were known to be injured.The same day, an employee of the Azerbaijani embassy in Egypt was killed while returning home from work in Cairo; the next day Azerbaijan sent a plane to evacuate citizens and opened a criminal investigation into the death.
Funerals for the dead on the "Friday of Anger" were held on 30 January. Hundreds of mourners gathered for the funerals calling for Mubarak's removal. By 1 February, the protests had left at least 125 people dead, although Human Rights Watch said that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay claimed that as many as 300 people may have died in the unrest. This unconfirmed tally included 80 Human Rights Watch-verified deaths at two Cairo hospitals, 36 in Alexandria, and 13 in the port city of Suez, amongst others; over 3,000 people were also reported as injured.

The Martyrs

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