Cairo, Special Envoy - It was raining in Cairo, Monday 17 January morning, when Abu Abdel Monem, who owns a sandwich shop, was doused with petrol before Parliament, transforming into a human torch. To journalists, relatives have said he could no longer feed them. In his village of Qantara, in the Nile Delta, there is no bread.Muni coupon subsidy, he went to the distribution center nearby. But it refused to give him, accusing him of using the bread for its sandwiches and not for his four children. A strike by lorry drivers also had his private business, located on the highway, its only customers. He had gone to the capital to find a solution.
He promised to return soon. Shortly after admission to hospital, an official said Abdel Monem was an "imbalance that has been treated in a lunatic asylum." To the Egyptians, who passionately followed the fall of the Tunisian regime and the flight of President Zine El-Ali AbidineBen, this explanation has not convinced.
And the question everyone asks is whether the fortress, built by President Hosni Mubarak during three decades of unchallenged rule, is likely to collapse, following the example of Tunisia. Side analysts, this scenario is viewed with caution. "The Egyptian revolution, maybe tomorrow, maybe never," explains Diaa Rachwan, researcher at the strategic center of Al-Ahram.
The similarities between the two countries abound. "These are two dictatorships, in which power is monopolized by a clique that was isolated from the rest of the population. The freedoms are restricted, opponents arrested and often tortured. The rampant corruption is another common point, and the economic developments.
In both cases, structural adjustment led to trade liberalization, encouragement of foreign investment and privatization, causing unemployment and widening the gap between the rich minority of the poor majority ", says Galal Amin, professor of economics at the American University in Cairo.
However, "no," he said, I do not think that Egypt will follow the example of Tunisia. " Because the radius of the differences, he noted the state of emergency in force since the assassination of President Anwar el-Sadat in 1981, and the ability "to manage public opinion." "It's a subtle dictatorship, combining a powerful security apparatus to controlled areas of freedom that allow to evacuate popular anger," he says.
The press may well adopt a tone very critical of the regime. Until the legislative elections in late November 2010, during which the opposition has been rolled, the Parliament was a place where there was still a certain freedom of speech. Egypt was rocked in 2008 by violent riots prompted by rising prices or by strikes giant, like that of April 6, initiated by the workers of the city of Mahalla.
Each time, the anger, despite its share of victims, was absorbed as a soft belly, able to withstand the hardest blows without ever body collapsed. Failure of a divided opposition as low as? Amin Iskandar, a founder of the protest movement Kefaya! (Enough!) In late 2004, prefers to speak of "first fruits" and "dress rehearsal for the movements to come." "Tunisia is an inspiring experience," says he, while moderating: "Egypt is at the heart of U.S.
and Israeli geopolitical interests in the region. Here, we struggle against forces both internal and external." Without restraint, bloggers and other fans of Facebook or Twitter never tire of commenting on events in Tunis. The Internet revolution has it, is actually a good start. Encouragement and praise enthusiastically exchanged via social networks among young Tunisians and Egyptians.
"We are all unbalanced, launched an activist on Facebook after the immolation of Abu Abdel Monem. Join the mentally ill Egyptian revolution for change!" Behind the caustic irony, typically Egyptian, the appointment is serious. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, January 25, at the call of the opposition.
Organizers said 50,000 Egyptian users have already indicated that they "could participate." Cécile Hennion Article published in the edition of 19.01.11
- Lebanon: Bloggers Support Tunisian Protests against "Arab Pinochet" (11/01/2011)
- "Egypt Is Not Tunisia, But…" and related posts (16/01/2011)
- Tunisia: No Domino Effect, but A U.S. Dilemma Over Arab Democracy (18/01/2011)
- Self-immolations across North Africa follow Tunisian incident (18/01/2011)
- Tunisian uprising fires a warning to region's hardliners (17/01/2011)
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