Walker's World: The Egyptian shock by Martin Walker

Walker's World: The Egyptian shock

An Egyptian female demonstrator holds up a sign calling for the end of the current regime as she and others gather in Tahrir Square, in central Cairo, on January 31, 2011, on the seventh day of protests against long term President Hosni Mubarak's regime. Photo courtesy AFP. Military calls Egyptian people's demands 'legitimate'Cairo (AFP) Jan 31, 2011 - The Egyptian people's demands are "legitimate," its all-powerful military said on Monday, vowing not to crush mass anti-government protests called for Tuesday. "To the great people of Egypt, your armed forces, acknowledging the legitimate rights of the people ... have not used and will not use force against the Egyptian people," it said in a statement. A military spokesman, quoted by Egyptian state television and the official MENA news agency, added that peaceful freedom of expression was guaranteed for all. "Freedom of expression by peaceful means is everyone's right. The armed forces are aware of and recognise the legitimate demands of the honourable people," it said, in several references to the "legitimacy" of the people's demands. "The presence of the armed forces on the street is for your good and for your safety and security and it will not use force against this great people." Political analyst Diaa Rashwan told AFP: "This means the army has now taken control." For a seventh day, protesters flooded downtown Cairo on Monday, rejecting a new government under President Hosni Mubarak in the biggest challenge ever to his three decades in power. Organisers announced an indefinite general strike and promised a "march of a million" in the capital on Tuesday, and in the second city Alexandria, after a week of revolt in which at least 125 people have been killed and thousands hurt. Egypt viewed US military aid as 'untouchable': cableWashington (AFP) Jan 31, 2011 - Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and his generals have viewed generous US military aid as an "untouchable" reward for keeping peace with Israel, according to leaked US documents posted by WikiLeaks. The secret diplomatic cable from 2009 underscored the deep ties between the two countries and Washington's difficult position as a week of massive street protests threatened to bring down Mubarak's regime.

by Martin Walker Paris (UPI) Jan 31, 2011 Only a fool would seek to predict the course of the Tunisian and now the Egyptian revolutions. But only an idiot would deny that something dramatic and profound is under way in the wider Arab and Islamic worlds and it is far more than just a political phenomenon. First, note the distinction between the Arabic and the Islamic worlds; between the nationalist and the religious forces at work. There is a distinctly nationalist tradition and aspect to the Egyptian drama. Egypt was long the crucial Arab state, the country that led the wars against Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973 and also led the peace process at Camp David.
Egypt is special, with its population of 84 million, its tradition of great newspapers like Al-Ahram under Mohamed Heikal, its singers and popular artists who were famed across the Arab world like Umm Kulthum. It has long been the cultural heart of Arabism in a way that Tunisia or Algeria or even Syria have never been. Only Iraq has a cultural tradition of similar depth and influence.
So Tunisia may have started this political phase of the process but Egypt will define its momentum and determine how much further it spreads. The events in Cairo this week are likely to indicate whether the people of Morocco and Syria and the Arabian Peninsula take to the streets in their turn.