Egypt Celebrates First Anniversary of January 25 Revolution

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and in cities across Egypt today to commemorate the first anniversary of the uprising which overthrew former President Hosni Mubarak. Activists began to fill Tahrir as early as 3 o’clock in the morning, and thousands more marched on the square after the noon prayers. Many people carried signs, pictures, or coffins honoring those killed during the revolution. Military and police forces were largely absent from the streets. The demonstrations were peaceful and protesters demanded, among other things, a swift transfer of power from the military to a civilian government. But there was no consensus around Egypt’s post-revolution transition – David Kirkpatrick notes in the New York Times that “the spirit that unified last year’s uprising had been replaced by new tensions between Egyptian political factions.” The Muslim Brotherhood endorsed the plan proposed by Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), who promised to leave power in June. However, Egypt’s liberal and secular politicians and activists rejected that schedule and demanded a much faster timetable.

In a statement today, the U.S. White House congratulated Egypt for its recent steps toward democracy and reaffirmed that America “will continue to stand with the Egyptian people.” Other commentators noted the many challenges that remain one year after Egypt’s revolution. Steven Cook wrote in Foreign Policy that “the people vying for leadership are all too familiar, and many of the restrictive laws constraining NGOs and the press remain firmly in place.” Indeed, Reporters Without Borders announced today that Egypt dropped dramatically on its “World Press Freedom Index”. Similarly,  Eric Trager claimed in New Republic that “Washington has no heroes in Cairo, only headaches,” and “Egypt is now headed for radical theocratic, rather than liberal democratic, rule.” Regarding the status of nongovernmental organizations in Egypt, U.S. Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman reacted to news that some U.S. lobbyists had defended the raids on NGOs by Egyptian police last year on behalf of the Egyptian government. These lobbying efforts “conflict with U.S. national interests” and “[undermine] American values,” the senators said.