NOVANEWS
by Debbie Menon
EDITORS NOTE: Your attention is invited to “policing up” Tahrir Square, which is an operation in progress as we speak. Note that the white billowing clouds are tear gas, and all of the sticks in that formidable looking rank of soldiers are not broom handles. They have not come here to sweep the streets with brooms, but to crack heads.
“The will of the people is bound to prevail.”
By Debbie Menon / STAFF WRITER
Yes, a fine sentiment. But when has it ever and, when it has, how long did it last? Freedom, Liberty and the dignity of man, must be built on more than slogans!
Yes, hopefully. And there have been days when it looked like we might be making some headway but then, when we step back a few paces, let the smoke clear a bit, it is apparent that we still have a long, long and difficult task ahead of us.
Yes, the people have “Power,” at the moment, but it is apparent power, latent power.
Only kinetic power, properly applied and maintained will carry the day.
They will probably prevail in the end… I certainly hope and pray that they do…. but I think they should wait until they have caught the chicken before they start setting the table for a Victory Banquet and inviting the world to join them.
Premature celebration can quickly turn into a wake!
Where is the popular leadership who will muster and guide this power? Suleiman? The Army? ElBaradei? The US Embassy? The Israeli Embassy?
These seem to be the only power points in view, the only spearheads on the table.
Lets be realistic. Where is a leader? Freedom is more than just the absence of a despot or a tyrant. It must be built, nourished and defended. This requires strong leadership with a moral understanding and singular objective of bringing liberty and freedom to a people and their land.
They still have a long way to go, and many pitfalls and unseen traps between where they are now and their idealistic goals.
For starters, Omar Suleiman does not have a good track record when it comes to principles of freedom, liberty, human rights and the dignity of man. He will perhaps also be replaced by more of the same. There seems to be many more from where Mubarak hailed!
Prof. Richard Falk succinctly points out in his recent blog post, titled: Egypt’s Transformative Moment : Revolution, Counterrevolution, or Reform –
“It is rather obscure about what is meant and even more so, what will happen, in the course of an ‘orderly transition’ under the auspices of temporary leaders closely tied to the old regime, and likely enjoying enthusiastic backing in Washington. Will a cosmetic agenda of reform hide the actuality of a politics of counterrevolution? Or will revolutionary expectations come to the fore from an aroused populace to overwhelm the pacifying efforts of ‘the reformers’? Or might there be a genuine mandate of reform, supported by elites and bureaucrats, enacting sufficiently ambitious changes in the direction of democracy and social justice to satisfy the publics? Of course, there is no assurance, or likelihood, that the outcomes will be the same, or even similar, in the various countries undergoing these dynamics of change, and some will see ‘revolution’ where ‘reform’ has taken place, and few will acknowledge the extent to which ‘counterrevolution’ can lead to the breaking of even modest promises of reform.“