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Special Issue on Egypt Protest Full Picture

Contents
Special Issue on Egypt Protest Full Picture ......................................................... 1

What happened in Egypt .....................................................................1 Five Background Developments: .......................................................2 Know about Mohamed ElBaradei ......................................................3 About Muslim Brotherhood: ...............................................................4 How the Internet was shutdown in Egypt ........................................4 Role of Facebook and Twitter: ............................................................5 The Impact of Jasmine Revolution on Egypt protests:...................5 What are these "growing demands"? .................................................6 Brief about Egypt: .................................................................................6 Why Egypt Matters:..............................................................................7 US Egypt Aid:.....................................................................................8 Join E-Learning Course .......................................................................9 Why Current Affairs is the Winning edge. ........................................9 How we will help you: ..........................................................................9
These notes are prepared by experts who are very strong in Current Affairs preparation. ........................................................................................... 10 We also have Toppers guiding us in the preparation................................... 10

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What happened in Egypt

Protests started on January 25, inspired by the successful revolution in Tunisia thousands of people in Egypt began taking to the streets to protest poverty, rampant unemployment, government corruption and autocratic governance of President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled the country for thirty years. These were the first protests on such a large scale to be seen in Egypt since the 1970s. The government responded by blocking Twitter, which was being used by organizers to coordinate protests. Blocking Twitter not only enraged Egyptian citizens; it also brought increased national attention to the uprising. Page | 1

www.GsCurrentAffairs.com Over the course of the next two days, Egypt proceeded to block Facebook while the much-hated riot police took to the streets, arresting and injuring hundreds with batons, tear gas water cannons. Protests occurred not only in Cairo, the capital, but also in Alexandria and Suez, two other major cities. As the protests continued to rage throughout the country, Nobel Laureate and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei (ehl-BEHR'-uh-day), returned to Egypt from Vienna, declaring that he was ready to lead the protests. Often thought of as a potential Egyptian leader should Mubarak lose power, ElBaradei is a strong opposition force. Additionally, the Muslim Brotherhood, long a fierce opponent of the Mubarak regime and officially banned in Egypt, threw their weight behind the protestors, many of whom are young, tech-savvy Egyptians. Two-thirds of Egypt's population has never known a leader other than Mubarak. The largest protests were planned on January 28, 2011 , at which point the government took the unprecedented step of blocking all Internet services in the country. With Twitter and Facebook already down, email other social networking outlets fell as well. Text messaging was also blocked. Protestors and journalists began finding alternate means of getting online and pushing out information. During the day, the military was called in to take over security, a move that was welcomed by the protestors. Most Egyptians are reported to hold the armed services in higher regard than the police. The U.S announced that due to the ongoing protests, the Obama administration would be reviewing the substantial aid, both military and nonmilitary, provided to Egypt. (Egypt is the second-largest recipient of U.S. aid -most of it military -- right behind Israel.) After a long silence, President Hosni Mubarak appeared on state television to announce that while he would be dismissing the government, he would not resign. Protestors continued to chant "Down, down with Mubarak" after his announcement. Shortly afterwards President Obama made a televised appearance to say that he had spoken with the Egyptian president on the phone, and had urged him to take "concrete steps" towards reform.

Five Background Developments:

The first one started on the street, especially in Tahrir Square in central Cairo, though similar scenes occurred in other cities -- making this a truly national revolt.

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www.GsCurrentAffairs.com The second significant development was Mubarak naming General Omar Suleiman as his vice president, providing a trusted figure who is respected by the armed forces. The third key development was the announcement by the speaker of parliament that the existing make-up of that body would be reviewed on the basis of hundreds of challenges that citizens presented to some of the incumbent MPs who were elected in the elections last November and December in which the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) took 81 percent of all seats. The fourth important event was the announcement by members of the Egyptian judges association that they support the demands of the demonstrators. The fifth was the sign of imminent democratization in Egypt was the announcement that the major opposition movements had formed The National Coalition for Change, and appointed Mohammed ElBaradei to negotiate a transition to more representative and democratic rule with Mubarak's government. The Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition movement, will now work with secular parties and non-governmental organizations that have challenged Mubarak without success over the past several decades.

Know about Mohamed ElBaradei

Mohamed ElBaradei's return to Egypt amidst protests seems to have become a rallying cry for democracy in Egypt. The reasons for his widespread support are many, and the Nobel Peace Prize winner's credentials are impressive. The Egyptian expatriate was under selfimposed exile from Egypt until he returned to Cairo on Jan. 27. He is currently being detained by Egyptian authorities. As head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), ElBaradei dedicated his career to the peaceful use of nuclear technology. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in 2005, but chose not to run for a fourth term at the post in 2008. Page | 3

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During his career as diplomat, international civil servant and scholar, Dr. ElBaradei has become closely familiar with the work and processes of international organizations, particularly in the fields of international peace and security and international development. He has lectured widely in the fields of international law, international organizations, arms control and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and is the author of various articles and books on these subjects. He belongs to a number of professional associations, including the International Law Association and the American Society of International Law. ElBaradei's educational credentials combine Western and Middle Eastern schooling. He received a Bachelor's degree in Law in 1962 at the University of Cairo, and a Doctorate in International Law at the New York University School of Law in 1974. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of International Law at the NYU School of Law from 1981 to 1987,

About Muslim Brotherhood:

The Muslim Brotherhood, also known as Ikhwan, is an officially illegal Islamist opposition party that has been suppressed in Egypt since Gamal Abdel Nasser's government took control in 1952. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has "alternatively repressed and demonized the Brotherhood or tolerated it as an anti-communist and right-wing opposition. Founded in 1928 in Egypt, the world's oldest, largest, and most influential Islamist organization. The group has earned itself enemies on both ends of the political spectrum: from jihadists due to their belief in democracy and from Western nations due to their critical stance on American foreign policy. The group was founded in order to achieve "the independence of the Muslim land from foreign domination, and the establishment of an Islamic sociopolitical system (unitiy of ummah).

How the Internet was shutdown in Egypt

First at the DNS level, so any attempt to resolve any address in .eg will fail -but also, in case you're trying to get directly to an address, they are also using the Border Gateway Protocol, the system through which ISPs advertise their internet protocol addresses to the network. Many ISPs have basically stopped advertising any internet addresses at all. The shut down involved the withdrawal of more than 3,500 Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routes by Egyptian ISPs. Only one ISP out of 10, Noor Data Networks, appeared largely unaffected. It connects to the outside world via an undersea cable operated by Telecom Italia. Page | 4

www.GsCurrentAffairs.com According to BGPMon, another networking firm, 88 per cent of Egyptian internet access was successfully shut down, however.

Role of Facebook and Twitter:

There has been a lot of talk about the effect of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media on the revolutions, but one of the largest effects seems to be the anger incurred when these services are denied. In Tunisia, some commentators called it a "WikiLeaks Revolution" because of the unrest stirred by the government blocking the critical leaked cables. In Egypt, anger has flared over the government's early decisions to block Twitter and Facebook, and to later take the unprecedented step of shutting off the Internet entirely. While social media certainly helped the protestors to organize and communicate, it seems one of their most powerful roles was to serve as a catalyst when they disappeared.

The Impact of Jasmine Revolution on Egypt protests:

The successful ouster of autocratic president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali struck a chord with many young, angry Arab populations ready to protest. The unhappy youth in Tunisia are not alone in the Arab world. On Jan. 25, tens of thousands of young Egyptians took to the pavement in Cairo and other major Egyptian cities in the largest challenge to President Hosni Mubarak's regime in a generation. It is young people, angry at the lack of economic opportunity available to them, who are risking their lives going up against police forces." The unemployment rate for young people in North Africa and the Middle East, who make up sixty percent of the area's population, is four times higher than the average rate in the region. So why these countries, and not poor nations in general? One view is that, It's not just the joblessness that sparks unrest in these populations; it's the "frustrated expectations" of a group that feels it should be receiving more from society than it has. The Tunisian economy had been growing at five percent a year, and the Egyptian economy "much faster than that." The dictators ruling these countries were unable to accomodate the increasing demands of the nation's youth. It is this revolution of rising expectations that often undoes a dictatorship because it is usually unable to handle the growing demands of its citizens. Page | 5

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What are these "growing demands"?

We are witnessing a second wave of the Arab liberation movement ... In the first wave, the Arabs liberated themselves from colonial powers and foreign domination. The Arab world, is leading the move towards freedom and democracy and human rights. Due to the phenomenal growth of secondary and university-level education, literacy rates among the region's youths have skyrocketed in the past 40 years. The percentage of people living in Arab cities has risen by 50% in the same period.Literate, cosmopolitan people want to communicate. Propelled by the young and the digital revolution, citizens will demand nothing less than the right to choose and change their representatives in the future. The Tunisia riots were set off by a the self-immolation of a 26-year-old man named Mohamed Bouazizi, who killed himself after police seized vegetables he was trying to sell. In authoritarian societies, "... people bear an internal cost -- to their sense of autonomy and personal integrity -- of pretending that the status quo is acceptable. The Tunisian example has offered the possibility of success, and models for sustained action by a decentralized network, after a long and dispiriting period of authoritarian retrenchment. Al-Jazeera and the new media have played their role in reshaping political opportunities and narratives, but it is people who have seized those opportunities.

Brief about Egypt:

Egypt officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean region, the Middle East and the Islamic world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza

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www.GsCurrentAffairs.com Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its estimated 79 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization, with famous monuments such as the Giza pyramid complex and its Great Sphinx. Its ancient ruins, such as those of Memphis, Thebes, and Karnak and the Valley of the Kings outside Luxor, are a significant focus of archaeological study. The tourism and the Red Sea Riviera employ about 12% of Egypt's workforce. The economy of Egypt is one of the most developed and diversified in the Middle East, with sectors such as tourism, agriculture, industry and service at almost equal production levels

Why Egypt Matters:

Egypt has been a key ally for the U.S. in the region since the 1970's, and is currently the second highest recipient of U.S. foreign aid (after Israel). The Obama administration -- from Joe Biden, who refused to call Mubarak a dictator, to Obama himself, who emphasized Egypt's role as an ally -- has been loathe to fully distance itself from Mubarak, and finds itself in a difficult position. Egypt has served as a key arbitrator in the Israel-Palestine peace process. As one of the few Arab interlocutors in the region, the Mubarak regime has been a powerful go between. Israel is extremely concerned about the situation in Egypt because President Hosni Mubarak has preserved the peace treaty between the two countries for 30 years. Israel considers the treaty a strategic asset, and it fears that a regime change in Egypt could put the peace agreement in danger. The current protests are not being organized or dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's powerful Islamist opposition group. However, the BBC reports that there are fears that given a power vacuum created by the removal of Mubarak, these forces could try to step in and exert control. Page | 7

www.GsCurrentAffairs.com The protestors have said that they were inspired by the successful revolution in Tunisia, which ousted authoritarian President Ben Ali. Since the protests began, there have been similar protests in Yemen, and Jordan has been mentioned as another possible target for popular protests. If Egypt were to fall, it could give momentum to popular uprisings throughout the region. Since the protests began, Egypt's stock market has plummeted, and nearby Saudi Arabia's stock index dropped 6 percent. Additionally, oil prices have already jumped due to fears over access to the Suez Canal, With the strong financial and political backing of the U.S., as well as its own powerful influence, Egypt is a major power broker in te Middle East. With its strategic situation, its cultural influence and a population double that of any other Arab country, Egypt has for three decades now been the linchpin of a precarious but enduring regional Pax Americana. If Egypt were to fall into chaos, not only the nation, but also the region, would be deeply affected.

US Egypt Aid:
Since the Israel-Egypt peace accord in 1979, these two countries have been the number one and two recipients of US foreign aid. (Excluding money spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.) This amounts to around one-third of total US foreign aid.

(All figure in Million Dollars)

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