Pathetic fallacy, 18/11/11

The demonstrations that took place in Cairo and Alexandria yesterday were among the biggest most potent since the January uprisings. Along with five days of rain has come a torrent of voices, unstoppable and impossible to ignore, and in the same manner capable of bringing the two largest cities in Egypt to an standstill for as long as it takes to make their presence truly felt - again. Many hope the 'Friday of One Demand' will be the last time such massive-scale protest is necessary, and that following the election, the initial purpose of the revolution will gradually be fulfilled without the need for further intervention. Many more, however, fear that the people of Egypt still face an uphill struggle in creating a system that runs in accordance with their wishes - that this is merely the drizzle preceding a storm.

For the majority of those protesting, yesterday's events have been a long time coming - for months there has existed a deep and slow-burning unease regarding the ever-tightening grip of the military on the country's affairs, and the possibility that it is moving by means of a series of carefully-worded constitutional changes towards a position of political permanence. Regent suggestions put forward by the military council appear to entrench the right of the military to give the final word on major policies even after the election, while effectively shielding the military from civilian oversight. These latest outrages come on top of the existing demand for an end to the controversial military trials for civilians, and even now, no date for the presidential polls has been set.

Unlike January's protests, much of this new activity has taken place due to calls from the Muslim Brotherhood (expected to perform well in the first set of elections, just nine days from now), as opposed to young people using social media to spread the word; however protestors in Cairo denied 'artificial' claims that it had become an 'Islamist/Salafi friday', evident in the large numbers of attendees from across the political spectrum, and indeed the country.

Despite the intentions and majority of the protest being overwhelmingly peaceful, not surprisingly clashes with police occurred throughout the day, alongside a number of arrests. According to Al Jazeera throughout this year's uprisings avid Egyptian football fans have been responsible for some of the most cutting chants and yesterday was no exception, with chants described by Wall Street Journal employee Tamer el-Ghobashy as 'obscene and hilarious'. Later in the afternoon a riot police van was attacked with rocks and sticks and then taken over entirely by protestors. Conflicts went on into the early hours of Saturday morning when, although a sit-in had never been intended, several hundred civilians refused to leave Tahrir.

In Alexandria violence had not been anticipated due to the highly organised nature of the protest; a march had been planned, as usual culminating in front of the military base. However chief concerns were actually founded not on the rage surrounding constitutional changes but on a small minority believed to be hijacking the protests to spread their political beliefs; at the Institute on Thursday we were told to carry a passport photocopy at all times over the next ten days as she had received reports that some individuals have been hiring some of Egypt's million street children as mercenaries, to question passersby on their voting intentions - and kill those whose answer was not deemed favourable. Whether this has any basis in truth is uncertain. However, despite events in Alexandria being overshadowed by those of Cairo on mainstream news, what is certain is that violence did occur and whole sections of the city (including al-Raml square) were pronounced 'no-go' zones by a friend of ours, who arrived at around 7pm having just driven through a crowd of opportunists attacking his car with bricks.

While those staying at ACL now face something of a challenge in getting out into the city for any reason over the next week, here, like it or not, we now find ourselves in the thick of election fever. Yesterday there was a palpable tension in the air, despite its being cooler and clearer than it had been in weeks due to the impossibility of driving, and the first beams of sunlight a few hours ago did little to disguise the overwhelming sense of sobriety, nervousness and grim determination that has for the most part now settled across the city. Whether or not the new 'supra-constitutional principles' are implemented remains to be seen, but this is merely another knot in an already tangled and incomprehensible thicket of concerns that the people of Egypt must fight their way through over the coming months (or even years), be it with the flick of pens on ballot papers, the blade of a machete or the sweep of a flag across the clouded sky. All remains to be seen.

For the most up-to-date information I recommend  http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/Egypt