Egypt's new government is taking shape as protests continue for a fifth straight day. As Mubarak delivers his address late in the night of January 28, Ministers are resigning and new ones are being appointed by Mubarak. Much to the chagrin of the Egyptian population, the new Ministers are acutely different than their predecessors. Instead of bringing opposition leaders into the government, Mubarak has replaced his Ministers with stalwarts of his own National Democratic Party. In reality, he has simply shaken his apparatus and given his minions new titles.
Mubarak being a military man himself, has looked within his loyal military ranks for new cabinet members instead of opening positions to civil society, let alone the opposition. The new Prime Minister, Ahmad Shafiq, is one of Mubarak's loyal military leaders. He has been serving his country as the Chief of Air Staff. The military is highly respected and revered by Egyptian civilians for two main reasons, the first being the army does not torture civilians like the police and national security forces do; and, secondly, due to conscription, the Egyptian military is a far greater cross section of the population. Nevertheless, his appointment has not been met with praise or a reduction in protests.
For the first time in his 30 year reign, Mubarak has named a Vice President. It is widely believed that Oman Suleiman, the new Vice President, will be groomed by Mubarak to be his successor. Suleiman is an interesting choice for Vice President. He, like other new government figures is being awarded for his loyalty to the NDP and is simply assuming a new title—prior to this he was the Chief of Intelligence. By promoting his Chief of Intelligence to Vice President, Mubarak is tightening his stranglehold on civic society and securing his police state apparatus.
Curfew hours have been extended throughout the country, but protesters continue to defy them and march on the streets demanding Mubarak’s resignation. His appointments have further infuriated protesters who perceive them as promotions for the brutal apparatus that has led to such widespread dissatisfaction. Protesters have made their goal clear, even military personnel and officers deployed in different cities reiterate the protesters demands—Mubarak must go.
As the protests continue, Mohamed El Baradei's status as an opposition leader has increased. El Baradei supports the protesters' calls for Mubarak's resignation and has expressed his disappointment in Mubarak's speech and cabinet shake up to several international reporters. El Baradei claims that protests will continue unless Mubarak at least announces an interim government focused on arranging and preparing for free and fair elections in September (as scheduled) or sooner.
Mubarak attempted to appease protesters in his Friday night speech, but his reforms have not gone far enough. He remains in an unknown secure location defiant to resolve the demonstrations by abstaining from power. As protests reached into the fourth day, global stock markets took a downward turn due to fear over protesters in Suez gaining control over the Suez Canal and halting shipping lanes—especially oil shipments. If Mubarak continues to defy protesters' demands over the weekend and global stock markets open with a downward spike on Monday, Mubarak may face increasing international pressure to truly democratize Egypt's electoral system. Although this scenario may be the most detrimental for the global community, it may be the best case scenario for the Egyptian people. Without international pressure, Mubarak will continue to clamp down on human rights and consolidate his security and intelligence apparatus, which in the end will further destabilize the country and lead to further and increasingly violent protests.
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Egypt on the Brink: Update
January 28, 2011
Egypt's new government is taking shape as protests continue for a fifth straight day. As Mubarak delivers his address late in the night of January 28, Ministers are resigning and new ones are being appointed by Mubarak. Much to the chagrin of the Egyptian population, the new Ministers are acutely different than their predecessors. Instead of bringing opposition leaders into the government, Mubarak has replaced his Ministers with stalwarts of his own National Democratic Party. In reality, he has simply shaken his apparatus and given his minions new titles.
Mubarak being a military man himself, has looked within his loyal military ranks for new cabinet members instead of opening positions to civil society, let alone the opposition. The new Prime Minister, Ahmad Shafiq, is one of Mubarak's loyal military leaders. He has been serving his country as the Chief of Air Staff. The military is highly respected and revered by Egyptian civilians for two main reasons, the first being the army does not torture civilians like the police and national security forces do; and, secondly, due to conscription, the Egyptian military is a far greater cross section of the population. Nevertheless, his appointment has not been met with praise or a reduction in protests.
For the first time in his 30 year reign, Mubarak has named a Vice President. It is widely believed that Oman Suleiman, the new Vice President, will be groomed by Mubarak to be his successor. Suleiman is an interesting choice for Vice President. He, like other new government figures is being awarded for his loyalty to the NDP and is simply assuming a new title—prior to this he was the Chief of Intelligence. By promoting his Chief of Intelligence to Vice President, Mubarak is tightening his stranglehold on civic society and securing his police state apparatus.
Curfew hours have been extended throughout the country, but protesters continue to defy them and march on the streets demanding Mubarak’s resignation. His appointments have further infuriated protesters who perceive them as promotions for the brutal apparatus that has led to such widespread dissatisfaction. Protesters have made their goal clear, even military personnel and officers deployed in different cities reiterate the protesters demands—Mubarak must go.
As the protests continue, Mohamed El Baradei's status as an opposition leader has increased. El Baradei supports the protesters' calls for Mubarak's resignation and has expressed his disappointment in Mubarak's speech and cabinet shake up to several international reporters. El Baradei claims that protests will continue unless Mubarak at least announces an interim government focused on arranging and preparing for free and fair elections in September (as scheduled) or sooner.
Mubarak attempted to appease protesters in his Friday night speech, but his reforms have not gone far enough. He remains in an unknown secure location defiant to resolve the demonstrations by abstaining from power. As protests reached into the fourth day, global stock markets took a downward turn due to fear over protesters in Suez gaining control over the Suez Canal and halting shipping lanes—especially oil shipments. If Mubarak continues to defy protesters' demands over the weekend and global stock markets open with a downward spike on Monday, Mubarak may face increasing international pressure to truly democratize Egypt's electoral system. Although this scenario may be the most detrimental for the global community, it may be the best case scenario for the Egyptian people. Without international pressure, Mubarak will continue to clamp down on human rights and consolidate his security and intelligence apparatus, which in the end will further destabilize the country and lead to further and increasingly violent protests.
