Revolution in the Arab World - Observation of a lost soul Blog
Revolution in the Arab World - Observation of a lost soul Blog
Revolution in the Arab World - Observation of a lost soul Blog
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foreign policy • revolution <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> arab world • 18 days<br />
February 8: The <strong>Revolution</strong><br />
Is Not Over<br />
By Blake Hounshell<br />
The revolution is not over.<br />
Wav<strong>in</strong>g flags and chant<strong>in</strong>g, “We’re not leav<strong>in</strong>g; he’s <strong>the</strong> one who’s leav<strong>in</strong>g,”<br />
huge crowds surged <strong>in</strong>to Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Tuesday, Feb. 8, call<strong>in</strong>g<br />
for <strong>the</strong> ouster <strong>of</strong> President Hosni Mubarak and demand<strong>in</strong>g fundamental<br />
political change. It was clear that new faces, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g a much larger proportion<br />
<strong>of</strong> women and children, had decided to venture <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> square for <strong>the</strong><br />
first time—perhaps <strong>in</strong>spired by <strong>the</strong> gripp<strong>in</strong>g television <strong>in</strong>terview with Wael<br />
Ghonim, <strong>the</strong> Google executive and activist who was released from prison<br />
on Monday after be<strong>in</strong>g deta<strong>in</strong>ed for 12 days.<br />
“Egyptians are very emotional people,” said Dalia Ziada, a local civil<br />
rights activist. “After see<strong>in</strong>g Wael, now <strong>the</strong>y believe it’s about young people<br />
lov<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir country.”<br />
By early even<strong>in</strong>g, a Facebook page set up to nom<strong>in</strong>ate Ghonim as <strong>the</strong><br />
spokesman <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> “Egyptian revolution” had garnered nearly 140,000 supporters.<br />
Meanwhile, a new “revolutionary committee” met to try to hash out<br />
a unified front and a set <strong>of</strong> consensus demands to rally around, accord<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
two people briefed on <strong>the</strong> discussions.<br />
Even several hundred pr<strong>of</strong>essors from Cairo University marched <strong>in</strong>to<br />
<strong>the</strong> square, chant<strong>in</strong>g, “Down with Mubarak.” Earlier <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> day, <strong>the</strong> university’s<br />
law faculty issued a statement announc<strong>in</strong>g its “complete support<br />
for <strong>the</strong> January 25 revolution” and call<strong>in</strong>g on Mubarak to “comply with<br />
<strong>the</strong> will <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> nation” and name qualified experts to devise a new, more<br />
democratic constitution.<br />
Meanwhile, Mubarak appo<strong>in</strong>ted a commission <strong>of</strong> legal scholars to rec-<br />
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