When USM President Selma Botman heard that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down last Thursday despite widespread protests against his rule, she predicted he wouldn’t stay in power until September as he had pledged. Mubarak proved Botman correct less than 24 hours later when when he resigned, handed power to the military and immediately fled Cairo.
“This has been a battle between the forces of autocracy and authoritarianism versus the voices of the people calling for democracy,” said Botman, who is a scholar of modern Egypt, having lived there for over a year and written several books on the country. “The voices of the people have won.”
Botman said though she is euphoric at Mubarak’s resignation, she also said she remains concerned about the next steps in the transition of power.
Hundreds of thousands of people in various Egyptian cities have demonstrated for close to three weeks in an unprecedented challenge to President Mubarak’s 30-year rule. The protests have been periodically beset by violence, leaving several hundred dead, although the official toll has yet to be confirmed.
Botman had condemned Mubarak’s last refusal to step down in a meeting Thursday with two TV stations, a radio station and The Free Press. Mubarak was expected to relinquish power in a nationally televised speech Thursday but instead hewed to his earlier pledge of stepping down at the end of his term in September. Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the focal point of the demonstrations, was described by Al Jazeera English as a carnival atmosphere prior to Mubarak’s address. However the mood in Cairo turned from celebration to anger midway through the speech with protesters chanting loudly for Mubarak’s departure.
Following the speech, Botman showed surprise and anger at Mubarak’s stubborn hold to power. She criticized the paternalistic tone Mubarak used, after he repeatedly referred to the demonstrators as “my children.”
“When Mubarak speaks like a father to his children, the protesters are interpreting that as the president infantilizing them,” Botman said.
Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman announced Mubarak’s resignation Friday to the cheers and exultation of the tens of thousands of protesters still occupying Tahrir Square.
Botman said the challenge Egypt now faces is the transition from military rule to civilian democracy. The Egyptian military is the most powerful and widely-respected institution in the country, and Mubarak’s 30-year rule rested on military support.
Botman said there are two models transition might follow: One similar to the 1952 coup which dislodged the Egyptian monarchy and eventually established the rule of Gamal Abdel Nasser, or the Turkish model, where the military seized control of the country but soon allowed a civilian government to take over.
According to the BBC, the transition of power to the military was a breach of the Egyptian constitution, which dictates that power be handed instead to the speaker of Parliament.
“We don’t know what posture the Egyptian military will now take,” said Botman. “But we do know clearly and definitively what the people are asking for. They’re calling for freedom and democracy.”
Since Mubarak’s resignation last Friday the army has dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution, saying it will remain in power for six months or until elections can be held.
Gee..sound familiar?