Back to Tahrir

Tahrir has come full circle. One year down the line, the mood is one of celebration and caution. Today, Egypt is free from the dictates of Hosni Mubarak, as he stands trial, and the parliamentary elections have bestowed power into the hands of the Islamists. Yet, the Tahrir mass is not relaxed. It wants to ensure that the uprising that ended in a successful revolution is supplemented with a complete evolutionary process.

Thus, the demands are: curtailing the powers and influence of the military in decision-making and bringing to justice all those who looted the wealth during the four decades of dictatorship. Similarly, the new constituent assembly, which will be carved out of the elected representatives, would be tasked to rewrite a new social contract. It is here that Egypt’s pluralism has to assert itself and give birth to a vibrant and responsive democracy. The pro-Islamic Muslim Brotherhood and the like, including the Salafist, along with the liberals would be scrutinised by history, as a mix of orthodox and liberalism hasn’t been tested in the region, which has usually seen swings between the two extremes.

The elected representatives have to take stock of the situation and try to figure out as what keeps the mob returning on the Tahrir Square. The desires and aspirations of the people are in a state of limbo, as there has hardly been any change of substance from the previous regime’s way of doing things. The scrapping of emergency law, release of political prisoners and bringing to book those who indulged in massacre on the Tahrir are indispensable issues. The centrifugal forces at work on Tahrir won’t wither away with the passage of time — until the objectives of the revolution are attained.
Khaleej Times