Cairo: Massive protests broke out in Egypt a decade ago following a wave of uprisings in Tunisia and Yemen in what would become the Arab Spring. Egypt was a central country in terms of demonstrations with thousands of Egyptians from different sides of the political and economic spectrum gathering at the now-famous Tahrir Square in Cairo to challenge President Hosni Mubarak’s 30 years rule. Ten years later, the struggle continues.
Days after Tunisians toppled dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, demonstrators in Egypt took to the streets to demand the departure of their president. Two weeks of vast protests centered in Tahrir Square culminated in Mubarak’s resignation and the military assuming power. During 18 days of countrywide demonstrations, at least 850 people died in Cairo as it became the hub for Arab Spring protests.
One year after Mubarak stepped down, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi won 51.7% of the vote in an election, becoming the country’s first and only democratically elected president. Morsi’s rule proved divisive and after new protests, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi led the military in an overthrow of the government that resulted in the president’s arrest in July 2013. Morsi denounced the coup and his supporters set up protest camps in Cairo. Then on Aug. 14, police attacked them, killing at least 800 people in clashes and drawing widespread condemnation.
The Arab Spring a decade ago gave Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood a brief shot at power, but today many of its followers are dead, in jail or in exile. Hounded by Egypt’s el-Sissi, the Muslim Brotherhood sees a new revolution sweeping aside the current regime.
“No injustice can last forever,” Talaat Fahmy, the movement’s official spokesperson, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Istanbul. “People’s patience and ability to tolerate what is happening is not eternal. A street uprising is inevitable, although I cannot predict a precise date.”
Jailed eight times during the three-decade rule of Mubarak, Fahmy left and settled in Istanbul in 2015 after spending two years in prison under el-Sissi. – Agencies
