Egypt Army Warns Against Unrest As Protesters Fill Tahrir

[Purveyor]

Source: Agence France-Presse

CAIRO: Egypt's ruling military warned on Friday that it would deal "firmly" with any attempt to harm the public interest as thousands of people packed Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square accusing it of a power grab.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which took over when veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising in February last year, also delivered veiled criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood, charging that efforts were afoot to preempt the outcome of a hard-fought presidential election.

But it insisted that it remained neutral in the deeply polarizing election run-off between the Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Mursi and Mubarak's last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq.

"Protecting the status of state institutions is a national responsibility for all. Any attack on them threatens the stability and national security of Egypt," said a SCAF statement read on state television.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Jun-22/177754-more-protests-planned-against-egypt-military-coup.ashx

[clang1]

1. From everything I have seen

the Egyptian military has been doing a good job caretaking Egypt during the transition period. I hope the brotherhood doesn't steal the show. We don't need anymore theocratic governments in the world.

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. You've got to be kidding.

The military has been doing a huge power grab. Better an authoritarian military regime than a democratically elected one?

[may3rd]

4. Same as it ever was

When the order to cede power to the "lesser of two evils" happens,
only time will tell if they can rule with a fair hand. Otherwise, if it becomes obvious
to tourists along denial

the army will carpe diem

&feature=related

[clang1]

5. No I'm not kidding

You need to inform yourself. I know people there. Have a nice day.

[happyslug]

11. How many NON-English Speakers do you know???

That is the key to the election and Egypt, the NON-English speakers who trust the Moslem Brotherhood much more then the Egyptian Army. I have read a lot from Egyptians who are English Speakers, who dislike rule by the Moslem Brotherhood, but people who have had to deal with and speak with the Non-English speakers (including the large number of Egyptians who can NOT read and Write) keep speaking of the high level of support among the lower classes of Egypt, who tend NOT to speak English AND can NOT read or write.

Unlike Libya (Which literacy rates meet European standards), the Egyptian Government has FAILED to substantial reduce the number of people who can NOT read and write in Egypt. The Moslem Brotherhood, before they were banned from doing so, along with being banned for giving help to victims of disasters in Egypt, was banned from teaching people to read and write. If such a ban would have had a clause that forced the Government to teach people to read and write, it would NOT be biting the Government today. The problem is the Military leaders since the 1950s have preferred to enrich themselves over educating their own people.

Thus the Moslem Brotherhood, through its now illegal policy of providing aid in disasters AND education, has a very loyal following among the lower classes. Until that hold to broken, and that means spending money of education of such poor people, the Moslem Brotherhood will be the force to deal with in Egypt outside of the Military itself (And the Military only real power is that it controls the guns, and even among the enlisted ranks the Moslem Brotherhood's support is strong, thus last year the Generals wanted to send it the troops to suppress the revolution, then found out they had NO loyal units. Now Units were sent in, but other then provide a show of force, were NOT a factor in the revolt, in fact the generals seems to have to empty out its jails to get people who, for pay, attack the protesters, for the simple reason the troops refused to).

Thus the issue is what support does the Moslem Brotherhood has among the poor, the non-English speakers and the people who can NOT read and write? Thus my question to you, how many of such Egyptians do you know?

[clang1]

13. Interesting what you say

as I have heard it before and spot on. What you say is true as well. I am not willing to risk another Theocratic government in the world no matter what. I'm sorry. There has to be another way. I also don't want to see another American backed dictator there either. How many non-English speakers there do I know? None. The educated do not want the MB in power.

[clang1]

14. I answered a question for you now if you don't mind answer a question for me

Why were so many children pulled from school in Egypt around secondary school age (juniorhigh age here in America)?

You know this is true like I do. I've talked to people about it in fact.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Egypt
The government is responsible for offering free education at all levels. The current overall expenditure on education is about 12.6 percent as of 2007.[2] Investment in education as a percentage of GDP rose to 4.8 in 2005 but then fell to 3.7 in 2007. The Ministry of education is also tackling with a number of issues: trying to move from a highly centralized system to offering more autonomy to individual institutions, thereby increasing accountability. The personnel management in the education also needs to be overhauled and teachers should be hired on merit with salaries attached to the performance.

So please let me know your thoughts.

--crickets.

[happyslug]

15. Probally for the same reason my father dropped out of school at that age, he had to work

Now, my father dropped out of school in 1933, due to the Great Depression, he had to work, his family had dissolved, due to the economic crisis, and he had to support himself someway.

For similar reasons a lot of people in Egypt can NOT afford to keep their children out of the work force past what in the US used to be called "Elementary School" (First through 8th Grade). Egypt is AN extremely poor country, with a HUGE difference between the Wealthy 10% and the bottom 90%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Egypt

20% of all Egyptians live on less then $2 a day ($60 a month, $730 a year).

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Egypt-poverty-unemployment-unrest/2011/01/31/id/384555

Another 30 % live just above that $2 a day figure.

Thus you have to solve the economic problems before you can address any educational deficient. The problem is no one in the Egyptian Military really wants to reform the economy, for that means they lose money.

[clang1]

12. Do you not know what the Arab Spring has been about?

Do you not read? What you call a 'huge power grab' has been stewardship no matter how you try to paint it.

[David__77]

3. "Steal the show?" They won every election.

And the army doesn't want to announce the widely known result that the people of Egypt chose the MB candidate for president.

[clang1]

6. re: Tahir square Pffft

It is polarized just like this country is and more corrupt. Wake up to how the real world works eh?

Do you really think the majority of the Egyptian people and the military want the MB in charge? Pfft if you do.

Thing is if we are not careful, this sort of show will be playing out here in 50 years time.

[David__77]

7. I'm not saying that I think majority rule is sacred.

I'm just saying that more Egyptians support MB than any other party - it is not as if they must fabricate support. On the contrary, it has deep organic support among the people, and the most staunch opponents of it represent more narrow strata of the population.

[David__77]

9. Yes, I do. What's with the snarkiness?

I don't think it's called for. If you have a criticism, spell it out.

It's a truism that politics in Egypt is polarized. So what? You are claiming that MB could "steal": how so?

[clang1]

10. Who don't you go do some reading and come back to me,

Last edited Sat Jun 23, 2012, 02:55 AM - Edit history (13)

maybe then I'll feel like responding to you further.

PS Why the snarkiness? That was not snarky (I also deleted the post though not because you thought it was snarky). I like democracy, that's why and the flavor of your statement is just a patently false one as regards MB and the majority of the Egyptian people.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/military-asserts-power-in-egypt-as-preliminary-election-results-arrive/

The race has been deeply polarizing. Critics of Shafiq, an admirer and longtime friend of Mubarak, see him as an extension of the old regime that millions sought to uproot when they staged a stunning uprising that toppled the man who ruled Egypt for three decades.

Morsi’s opponents, in turn, fear that if he wins, the Brotherhood will take over the nation and turn it into an Islamic state, curbing freedoms and consigning minority Christians and women to second-class citizens.

As final ballot results trickled in and unofficial tallies suggested that Mohamed Morsi had secured approximately 52% of the popular vote, the Brotherhood deployed its harshest language yet against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf), promising to bring millions of Egyptians back on to the streets if attempts to rebuild the old regime continued.
---
Can Muslim Brotherhood unite Egypt?

By Mohammed Ayoob, Special to CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/30/opinion/ayoob-egypt-elections/index.html

Buying into this simplistic formula, however, would be a total misreading of the far more complex picture. To understand the political reality of Egypt and the strengths and weaknesses of the major political forces operating in the country, one needs to look more closely at all of the electoral results.

First, it is very clear that the Muslim Brotherhood, despite Morsi's emergence as the presidential front-runner, lost almost half its support base between the parliamentary and presidential elections -- from 47% to 25%.

It is true that the well-organized Muslim Brotherhood was able to mobilize its political base in the presidential elections more effectively than its competitors. But the support of a mere quarter of the electorate is nowhere near sufficient for the Brotherhood to govern the country by itself.

The election results also demonstrate that the total Islamist vote is somewhere around 40% of the electorate. That might be overstating its strength. Islamist Abul Fotoh garnered many votes from secular liberals who mistakenly considered him to be the anti-establishment front-runner. Many voted for him to prevent Mubarak-era candidates Amr Mousa and Shafik from winning.

-----------

Offical results will be in on Thursday (though perhaps a day or two later). We need to see what happens with all of the fraud allegations and everything else. Now I am beginning feeling 'snarky'.... Pfft.

Half of you people don't support democracy anyway.