Egypt on the third week of the uprising… Those who have gathered in the one-million-people demonstrations in Tahrir Square among other places are besieged by the highest ceiling of demands, i.e. the insistence on President Hosni Mubarak's resignation or departure from the country, while the remainder of the regime – or simply the head of the authority – is unable to leave “constitutional legitimacy” in the hands of the street. What is meant by constitutional legitimacy was revealed by Vice President Omar Suleiman when he warned the young participants in the uprising against the elimination or liquidation of the regime, considering that this would likely cause a military coup and lead Egypt toward anarchy. Whoever knows the most populous country in the Arab world, knows that the predicament of the Egyptians soared during the last twenty years between a rule whose apparatuses lost their credibility due to the iron security fist and poverty which crushed the remaining middle class, and an opposition whose popularity has eroded on the street due to containment, threats and its shift away from the demands of the people. The ceiling that was built over the heads of tens of millions of Egyptians, was one of submission to a reality protecting the corruption of thousands of people who belong to the ruling party or are protected by it, and to the greed of the millionaires among those whose wealth was amplified and who neglected the poor, thus planting the seeds of anger and deepening the ditch of the regime… However, the predicament on the squares of anger is to prove the ability of the youth taking part in the uprising to manage their own affairs and lead Egypt to the shores of safety - regardless of whether or not it is confirmed that the “committee for the support of the revolution” truly represents them. In reality, no one can put in one hand the so-called “roadmap” of the reforms whose implementation will be monitored by a follow-up committee based on a schedule guaranteeing the dissipation of the doubts of the protesters, and in the other the departure of Mubarak from the presidential palace, unless the retaliation tendencies are prevailing over reason. Only reason can set the rhythm of what is happening on Tahrir Square, in order to salvage Egypt from the ghost of anarchy and destruction. Some might say that the remnants of the regime are the ones terrorizing the Egyptians from the unknown and its volcano whose lava cannot be controlled if the president were to step down. However, what is also undoubtedly true is that it is necessary to protect the fate of a country that managed to fight all the foreign pressures throughout many years, and in which the regime was defeated by the dreams of the youth and the poor. It is one of the greatest goals to see the uprising protecting its Egyptian identity, since this would mark the beginning of the path toward the protection of the country from the exploiters, both the domestic and foreign ones, as well as from the out-bidders and the deliverers of orders. This gives the impression that Barack Obama is managing the “January 25 revolution” from Washington and that Egypt's youth are carrying on with the toppling process of the Shah from Tehran! The lethal ditch of the Egyptian regime was the scandal of the falsification of the elections. There are no doubts in this regard. However, the claims of American Secretary of Defense Robert Gates who suddenly became a “pioneer” of reform in the Arab world regarding the fact that he advised his government but that it did not listen, is a shameless and appalling claim, especially when one recalls the dozens of agreements he signed to enhance the Israeli security and military grip. It is the epitome of insolence for Washington to appoint itself the guardian of the region while raising the flags of human rights, considering that many were the victims of torture in Egypt and numerous other Arab countries. But why were the Americans not ashamed about the torturing of the Palestinians, their killing, displacement and the confiscation of their future at the hands of the Israeli partners? Moreover, the alternative model that is wanted by the United States for the regimes in the region – if it is similar to the Iraqi model – will revive the conspiracy theory despite its frailness, considering that it will reduce the distance toward chaos and devastation, leaving no legitimacy except for the “jihadists” of killing and destruction of the states, until the instatement of the new police. The region and its people are hijacked by stalemate and the erosion of citizenship, seeing how the youth are besieged between the jaws of security and the accusations of betrayal. And although the Tunisian revolution and the Egyptian uprising increased the chances of seeing change, the hope is to witness a peaceful hauling of reform – which is the most likely – far from the language of outbidding and regional and international altercations. It would be enough to recall the American efforts to catch up with the events of January 25 and Israel's attempts to blow the state of panic vis-à-vis the post-Mubarak phase out of proportion, going as far as praising the Egyptian president as though it was encouraging the hastening of his departure. As for Tony Blair who was testifying in favor of the Egyptian regime, he found nothing but its prevention of the delivery of weapons to Hamas to warn against the consequences of its collapse at the level of the peace process! The West's injudicious handling of the crises and predicaments of the region is only matched by the intelligence of the Iranian regime which cheered the collapse of the pillars of Mubarak's rule, and tried to downplay the uprising of the Egyptians by making it seem as though it was an “extension” of the revolution against the Shah. And after having mocked the Egyptian regime, the authorities in Iran prevented the opposition from staging marches of solidarity with Egypt and Tunisia, since only in Tehran is the equation reversed with the revolution being the one in power and the oppositionists being the traitors and agents. The Egyptian people do not need lessons in allegiance, but the revolution of its youth and its poor is facing the test of choosing between retaliation for the past, or securing reform and regaining the map of the country from the constitutional “roadmap.”
