Egypt not to regain stability overnight

CAIRO July 02 Xinhua More than 1,100 people were injured late Tuesday in the most violent conflict between protesters and Egyptian security forces since the ouster of former President President Hosni Mubarak.

Tuesday’s violence woke up the world in a dream of the country’s speedy return to normality.

The clash revealed that Egypt is still crowded with intense political and social conflicts despite the military’s pledge to pave the way for a swift return to civilian rule, including electing a parliament and a president and drafting a new constitution.

Ever since protesters forced Mubarak to step down in February, there have always been various political groups gathering at central Cairo’s Tahrir Square, yet without any track of violence.

Though investigations are still underway, most Egyptians believe that some loyalists to the former government were responsible for Tuesday’s clash.

Their intentions to stir up the conflicts between the police and the protesters are vindictive.

A Cairo court ordered on Tuesday the dissolution of municipal councils across the country, all of which were dominated by members of the former ruling National Democratic Party.

The court’s decision would totally erase the final remains of the party’s political influence.

“The regrettable incidents in Tahrir Square... are designed to destabilize the country and pit the revolutionaries against the police,” the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) said in a statement.

The clashes “have no reason behind them except to destabilize Egypt’s security and stability in accordance with a carefully thought out and organized scheme,” the SCAF said.

However, political revenge does not explain everything that triggered Tuesday’s conflict, which was connected to some deep-seated disputes between ordinary Egyptians and the ruling power.

After the military came to power, many of its measures have not satisfied either the public or other political forces, which demand trials of former government officials, reshuffling of the police forces used to repress the protests, restoring security, and forming democratic rule.

Four ministers of the disbanded former government have been sentenced to prison.

Nevertheless, the Egyptians still criticize the military for its slow-paced trial of Mubarak and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli.

The public was also enraged about the unstable domestic seurity situation and the growing number of criminal cases, denouncing the military for not taking measures to calm the situation.The discontentment was fully displayed in Tuesday’s protests when demonstrators attempted to charge the Interior Ministry.

They also demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Mansour al-Essawi and SCAF chief Hussein Tantawi.

Presently, Egypt’s armed forces have reigned in control of the situation while al-Essawi said police forces are exercising wisdom and self-restraint in dealing with current events.

However, the protesters flocking to Tahrir Square are not expected to drift away entirely. Some political and youth groups have started to encourage protesters to stay on, especially those who would participate a grand gathering on July 8.

The coming demonstration is organized to urge the ruling military to revise its original political arrangements and to implement more thorough democratic reforms.

According to the original schedule, parliamentary elections would be held in September and then the new constitution will be drafted.

The secular and liberal political forces believe that arrangement leaves too short a period of time for them to prepare for the election.

That, they say, would benefit the Muslim Brotherhood and the National Democratic Party, making them possible leading political forces in the new parliament.

Analysts say that if the protests continue, they would impose serious challenges to the military’s ability to control the situation. Thus the North African nation’s path toward regaining stability will be full of twists and turns.