You will not hijack the revolution, Egyptian masses tell junta

TEHRAN, Nov. 28 (MNA) -- The recent clashes in Egypt are expected to have serious repercussions on the country’s long-awaited parliamentary elections. The ruling military council, headed by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, was regarded as one of the constructive elements for the realization of the objectives of the revolution in the days that led up to the fall of former dictator Hosni Mubarak. However, over the past few months, the real intentions of the junta have gradually become clear, and the people have identified elements of the former regime in the new administration. It is acknowledged that the military facilitated Mubarak’s departure from power in February 2011, but most people also believe that the generals have done almost nothing else for the Egyptian revolution since then. Mubarak’s trial, which was one of the most important demands of the revolutionaries, has not been completed, and Tantawi himself even testified in defense of the former dictator during the proceedings. The generals of the junta also helped ignite the sectarian clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians so they could use the situation of apparent instability and turmoil as a pretext to justify the continuation of military rule. In addition, the military has tried to maintain Egypt’s relations with Israel, which became more evident when the army rescued the Israeli ambassador after students stormed the Israeli Embassy in Cairo in September. The junta has also drafted new mechanisms that would allow the generals to continue to have a hand in the future government, which was one of the main reasons for the recent demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The military has made efforts to attach some preconditions to the electoral process in order to retain its prominent role in Egypt’s political system. The main preconditions are that the military should have the right to veto the results of the election, the military budget should be classified, as in the previous system, and the future parliament should not be allowed to supervise the military. These preconditions, if accepted, would actually increase the military’s power in the future and prevent the establishment of a truly democratic civilian government, which is one of the main goals of the Egyptian revolution. The revolutionaries have demanded that Egypt’s new parliament should set aside a reasonable number of seats for the lower classes of society, such as peasants, laborers, and farmers. However, the military and political forces loyal to the old dictatorial regime are using every trick in the book to ensure that they have a strong voice in the new parliament. If they can pull it off, there could be more violence in the run-up to the elections, but the revolutionaries will surely overpower the reactionaries on sheer strength of numbers, and the military’s machinations will not be successful. During the recent clashes, the people demanded that the transitional military government immediately step down so that a national salvation government can be established. Over the past few days, the junta has been going through the motions to give the people the impression that they are attempting to meet their demands, but there are still doubts about whether the election will be clean, and the people are seeking more guarantees that the electoral process will be fair. Egypt is at a critical juncture. The military must immediately stop killing and intimidating the people because the masses will not allow the junta to hijack the revolution and the people will certainly gain the upper hand in the battle to establish democracy and stability in the country.