Egyptian rights groups and activists are growing increasingly worried that the country’s military rulers are enacting a counter-revolution that risks derailing their dreams of greater democracy.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) took over – to mixed reactions – following the February 11 ousting of president Hosny Mubarak.
Many initially greeted the army’s presence on the streets of Egypt with thunderous chants, such as ‘The army and the people are one hand.’
However, rights groups have since accused the army of torture, including forcing women protesters to undergo virginity tests, and most recently, of shooting dead three protesters in Tahrir Square over the weekend.
The SCAF said one protester – not three – was killed when the army moved in to clear the square of demonstrators.
The protest on Friday, one of the largest since Mubarak was toppled, was aimed at pressuring the country’s military rulers to speed up judicial proceedings against the former president and his associates amid allegations of corruption and the deaths of over 800 protesters.
Activists told the German Press Agency dpa that – in a rare move – 15 of the army’s own officers had joined the protesters in criticising Defence Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, a long-time Mubarak confidant and the head of the SCAF, of carrying out the same oppressive tactics that spurred the revolt against the president.
‘What is clear is that Mubarak’s generals, who are running the SCAF, are in my view, part of the counter-revolution. They served Mubarak loyally,’ Hossam el-Hamalawy, one of Egypt’s leading bloggers and activists, told dpa.
Egypt’s landscape has long been marked with propaganda-like symbols of the military’s prowess and stature.
Larger-than life statues of army officers overlook metro stations, roundabouts and academies named after the country’s military presidents and its military heroes.
Under Mubarak, the military continued to gain privileges. Its members have free access to elite army clubs, receive a wide range of financial and medical benefits, and control lucrative businesses that help supply low-cost commodities and subsidized goods to millions of Egyptians.
But much of the military’s budget was outside of parliamentary scrutiny and remains off-limits.
‘The army has been a red line, even before the revolution. You could have spoken about Mubarak in the last couple of years, despite the state of repression,’ said el-Hamalawy. ‘However, the army remains a much bigger taboo than Mubarak.’
While the military says it is investigating allegations that its military police tortured detainees, it has urged young Egyptians to avoid spreading rumours that ‘tarnish’ the country’s image.
‘We ask youth to not drift behind malicious rumours and slander that try to tarnish the image of honourable figures. These rumours only serve the goals of the revolution’s enemies, whose goal is to create strife and chaos,’ said a statement by the military last month.
Most recently, Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil received a three-year jail sentence for ‘insulting the military establishment’ and ‘spreading false information’ on his blog and Facebook page when he wrote in Arabic about allegations of torture against the military. He also campaigned against conscription.
‘It’s a clear message to all bloggers and internet activists to watch out when writing about the military. They are making it clear to think twice about anything,’ said Rasha Abdullah, chair of the Mass Communications Department at the American University in Cairo.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), since the military assumed power it has imprisoned over 150 protesters who were convicted by military tribunals with sentences that cannot be overturned.
‘This trial sets a dangerous precedent at a time when Egypt is trying to transition away from the abuses of the Mubarak era,’ said HRW’s Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson of Nabil’s case.
For nearly 60 years, after a group of elite army officers ousted the British-backed King Farouk, the military has passed down the baton from one president to the next, through to Mubarak, who was an air force general before becoming president.
‘This institution has ruled the country since 1952. They have been calling the shots and this has to be changed,’ said el-Hamalawy, who argued the army’s privileges will never be questioned so long as they are in charge.
Omar Kamel, who was in Tahrir Square when the army moved in to disperse protesters over the weekend, expressed a similar sentiment.
‘They have laughed away our losses, and they have obviously chosen to look with ridicule at the Egyptian populations’ desire for real freedom, justice and democracy,’ wrote Kamel, about the SCAF in an internet post. ‘So now the question is: Are you ready for a real revolution?’
Meanwhile, the military has also resorted to the internet to defend itself.
‘The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will always remain a firm, coherent shield that protects the country’s safety and stability as well as the Egyptian people’s aspirations,’ said a statement on its Facebook page.