The Unmet Demands of the January 25 Revolution

The Prime Minister Isam Sharaf addressed the nation (7/20/2011) after his new cabinet was confirmed. Nearly half of the new cabinet members are new. He said that he could have resigned but decided to respond to the demands of the honest protestors in Tahrir Square, who want the January 25^th Revolution to succeed. He promised that the trial of the accused criminals and corrupt ex-high government officials will be expedited and their courts will be open to the public. He also said that there are no political prisoners in Egyptian jails and he is going to check on it further.

Nevertheless, some judicial experts stated openly that the prime minister’s address to the nation is nothing but his personal interjection and the government is unable to present a general plan that will produce real needed changes.

The speech presents only promises that don’t meet the expectations of the public. The speech was aimed at those who are still holding protests in Tahrir Square. The January 25^th Revolution, which ousted Hosni Mubarak and his regime, is only the first stage of the revolution. There are other stages that are required to be implemented in order for the revolution to be successful. Reforms are needed to cleanse two institutions in particular: the justice system, where many who cooperated with the previous regime are still occupying important positions, such as the Minister of Justice and the general prosecutor. The other institution is the Minister of Interior. It is not enough to dismiss the more than 700 high-ranking officers. Those who are accused of crimes should be tried as soon as possible.

There are members of the previous ruling party who have played major roles in corruption. Many of them are prominent business leaders who are not being investigated and pose a threat to the revolution.

In the meantime, violent conflicts have taken place in several places, especially in Medan Alabassiah, between the supporters of the military council and those who are demanding that the council surrender their authority to a civilian council during the transitional period until the election.

The military council has accused the 6^th of April group of being behind the instability taking place that is harmful to the security of Egypt. The Military Higher Council’s accusation against the 6^th of April is without any evidence supportive of the claim. Some western press accused Mossad agents of traveling with Egyptian passports collecting money using the 6^th of April name. This is not the first time that Mossad agents have traveled using false passports and were caught doing so. Ahmed Maher, the spokesman for the group, rejected the accusation against The 6th of April. He said they were not part of the group who used their name in Europe and neither were they part of the protestors who moved to the headquarters of the Military Council. The Military Council’s accusation is an act done to avoid the implementation of the protestors’ demands. Meanwhile, 28 political parties and protestors’’ organizations refuted the Military Council’s accusation against the 6^th of April. They said it is an attempt to create a split between the army and the united revolutionary forces. Furthermore, they pointed out that there are differences in how to implement the real strategy of the 25^th of January revolution that will guarantee its success.