Oppression in Egypt 'worse than before' but 

few have appetite to fight 

Killings and arrests take toll on protest movements with little sign of revolutionary zeal on eve of fifth anniversary of popular uprising

Cairo's Tahrir Square was the scene of revolutionary protests five years ago (AFP)

Sunday 24 January 2016

Five years ago, some two million Egyptians took to the streets of the capital to demand an end to the government of Hosni Mubarak, but no such spectacle is expected this time around.

Instead of celebrating the fifth anniversary of the 25 January uprising, many young Egyptians say they will stay home and lament the death of their revolution, which they say has been marred by human rights abuses and growing state repression.

“We are not protesting now because there is no use in doing so … more people will die and get put in jail,” said Amal Sharaf, a spokeswoman for the April 6 movement that was a key force behind the 2011 protests that brought down the long-time strongman.

While no one expected the transition to democracy to be smooth, many activists say things are more dangerous now than they were under Mubarak.

During the revolution, activists and protesters took risks. For weeks they endured intimidation and violence from the authorities. According to Health Ministry officials, more than 840 were killed and almost 6,500 injured, but day after day they turned out to protest.

Many 25 January veterans say they have lost their revolutionary zeal and been worn down by years of crackdowns and increased police brutality.

“During Mubarak’s era, the worst that could happen is [you would get arrested and] tortured for a few days while [they carried out their investigation] over national security,” Sharaf said. “Now [the government] kidnaps, hands out crazy sentences and fabricates charges.

“Now is not the time for more confrontations. The oppression we see now is worse than anything we saw before,” she said.

About half of the April 6 movement and other revolutionary figures have been imprisoned, while the rest are being threatened with detention, Sharaf said. Ahead of the anniversary, three leaders were rounded up and imprisoned for calling through social media for people to return to Tahrir Square.

The Anti-Coup Alliance, made up primarily of the Muslim Brotherhood and a string of Islamist parties, had tried to reignite the movement, calling for a wave of protests dubbed “Together We Stand” ahead of the anniversary, but so far few have heeded their call, with the Students Against the Coup (SAC) group reporting small demonstrations “against police violations”  in various governorates, including Sharqeya, Qalubiya, Beheira, and Gharbia.

After Mubarak’s demise, Egypt’s powerful military took control until elections were called. When voting took place in 2012, Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi was elected president by a small margin in an election widely accepted as free and fair. His short rule was turbulent, marred by economic problems and a deep-seated fear of Islamist rule.

A year in, hundreds of thousands of people once again erupted onto the streets to demand Morsi’s removal. The army swept in, claiming to represent the will of the people, and removed and imprisoned him.

Few of those who demonstrated against Morsi were prepared for what came next. Human rights groups estimate that 40,000 people, largely Muslim Brotherhood supporters, were thrown into prison. Hundreds were sentenced to death in controversial mass trials, although some of those sentences were overturned. More than 1,250 people died in police crackdowns on mostly peaceful protests, which Human Rights Watch has called possible crimes against humanity.

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