The Egyptian Revolution

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A. Background and UN Involvement

Almost a year ago, Egypt broke into civil unrest when protesters flooded Tahrir Square, demanding the end of Hosnia Mubarak’s regime. Although Mubarak stepped down within two weeks, Egypt is worse off today than it was last January. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), which played a vital role in the January revolution, has now become a violent and oppressive force. On the twenty-ninth of December 2011, the SCAF raided seventeen Egyptian, German, and US run NGOs in search of proof of illegal foreign funding.1 In a statement (A/HRC/18/NGO/77) submitted by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), and the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance, it was reported that the ruling military council was illegally monitoring NGOs’ bank transactions and the NGOs claimed that they were being targeted by the SCAF.

In addition, the SCAF is reluctant to shift power to a civilian government. When the SCAF took power in mid-February, it declared that it would only hold power for six-months, or until elections could be held. Currently, the SCAF insists on holding power until the constitution is written and presidential elections are held, another six months from now.2 Some Egyptians believe that the SCAF is trying to delay the constitution writing process, so that it can hold power for a longer period of time. Another increasingly urgent issue is police brutality against protesters, especially women. During the “Maspero Demonstrations” on October ninth 2011, peaceful Egyptian protesters in Maspiro were attacked by military police, resulting in 25 deaths and 272 injuries.3 In response to images of soldiers beating up and stripping women...

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... protests and the SCAF. Hopefully, through these talks, Egyptian civilians will be able to give their input in a nonviolent and un-confrontational way. Germany also offers to Egypt its assistance in elections or other democratic processes to speed up the transfer of power to a civilian government. Through these solutions, peace and order will be restored to Egypt and the people of Egypt will be free and prosperous.

Works Cited

1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16357795

2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12443678

3http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/10/world/meast/egypt-protest-clashes/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

4 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/world/middleeast/violence-enters-5th-day-as-egyptian-general-blames-protesters.html?pagewanted=all

5 http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Aussenpolitik/Laender/Laenderinfos/01-Nodes/Aegypten_node.html

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