We were greeted with heartening pictures of people rejoicing on Tahrir Square in Egypt last evening. The protests, which were continuing since past 18 days had caused a loss of lives yet the people persisted. Day and night, people thronged the Square and kept up their relentless demand that President Hosni Mubarak step down immediately. Mubarak who has been at the helm of affairs in the country since the last 3 decades, is among the 5 richest men in the world with a fortune of about $70bn. No prizes for guessing how he amassed that wealth. And, to think that he rose from poverty and was an upright and respected Army General at one time. How and why these people go wrong and become greedy beyond comprehension is something we wonder when we see scams break out in India on regular intervals. With high levels of unemployment, corruption, and a perpetual state of Emergency ensuring that freedom of speech was curtailed, the Egyptian people had decided that enough was enough. And, thus began one of the strongest campaigns for the ouster of the President who tried twice to hang on till September to transfer power, but that was not acceptable to the people who wanted him gone now. So, finally people’s will triumphed. It is heartening to see that what could not be achieved in Tiananmen Square could be achieved in Tahrir Square. China and Iran brutally crushed people’s wills and continue to do so, but Tunisia began the revolution and Egypt fought a hard battle. The Arab world is demanding change!
Now the power is in the hands of the Military in Egypt, and we hope that they transition power to a democratically elected government in a fair manner by September. For the sake of Egyptian people, I hope that there is a fairytale ending in store for them. The US played its role by pressuring Mubarak, but it must be remembered that it was US that created this situation by assisting Mubarak all these years and sending huge military aid to him. There is something so totally wrong with the US policy of upholding justice and democracy, yet propping dictators for selfish gains. They ruined Afghanistan and Iraq in the bargain.
Well done Egyptian people. You showed great mettle and upheld the credo that when united people can bring down mountains. I hope this serves as a lesson and inspiration to the entire world.
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