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The behaviour of the thugs is not that of revolutionaries

January 28, 2014 at 1:47 am

Since its beginning, “Peaceful” was the slogan of the Egyptian revolution and every time someone tried to complicate the issue it was the revolutionaries themselves who stepped in to keep it on its peaceful track. This led to the success of the January 25th Revolution and it became a model for the whole world, famed for its peaceful nature and achieving its primary goal of overthrowing the tyrant Hosni Mubarak.

However, since the revolution’s second anniversary we have witnessed something entirely different. Even though some of those back on the streets claim to be revolutionaries, they must know that the true revolutionaries never covered their faces with black masks. Nor did they burn down newspaper offices or political party buildings; media headquarters or schools. Nor did they block roads, disrupt businesses, storm the TV stations or attack the home of the president. All of this has been witnessed recently, revealing that there are people around who do not wish any good for the people of Egypt, or the country itself; they could be Egyptians or foreigners.


The strangest position is that of the so-called opposition, who do not condemn these thugs or their behaviour, possibly because they appear to be following the instructions of opposition groups. The coordinator of the “Black Bloc” website posted a picture of himself online wearing a t-shirt with the picture of one of the former presidential candidates on it. What is even stranger is the position of some media outlets, which glorify thuggish action and consider the perpetrators to be an arm of the revolution; newspapers even called them “the shield and sword of the revolution”. This suggests that they are complicit in the acts of the thugs.

There are major differences between the actions of the revolutionaries and the actions we are witnessing today. Was the armed attack against Port Said Prison, using machine guns, and the attempt to free prisoners after the stadium massacre verdict a revolutionary act? Are those behind this act really revolutionaries? Was the attempt to attack the detention centres in Suez also a revolutionary act? What about the attacks by Black Bloc and Black Mask groups on a television station and the blocking of the 6th October Bridge; the burning of the “Ikhwan Online” headquarters and the railway administrative offices and some schools; and setting fire to part of the Science Museum, along with other arson attacks? Were they all the acts of revolutionaries or the acts of criminals?

The Egyptian opposition, across its spectrum, who were quiet in the face of these crimes, are surely all accomplices of the criminals, as are the media outlets which incite them. Setting fire to private and state-owned property is an attack against the fabric of the state itself. Do the people calling for such criminal acts thinly-disguised as legitimate protests really have stability for Egypt in mind? Or are there personal agendas at work here?

Every day brings forth new “opposition” figures, but what kind of opposition are they? The parliamentary elections will be held in less than four months and if they are serious about finding out their political clout with the public they have to campaign for votes.

I have no doubts that the current “protest” chaos is part of a larger conspiracy which goes beyond targeting President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Despite the weakness of the government and the strength of the opposition, I am confident, however, that the Almighty will disappoint those sowing discord on the streets of our country.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.