It was exactly two years ago in January 2011, that the people of Egypt finally garnered the courage to stand up against the injustice they had been enduring for 30 years, under the reigning government of President Hosni Mubarak. Within 18 days, the President succumbed to the wishes of his people by resigning and handing over interim power, to the country's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
On Friday, January 25th, 2013, in honor of the two-year anniversary of the uprising, thousands of locals gathered at the Cairo'sTahrir Square, the place where the previous uprising had begun - Not to celebrate, but protest against the policies of their newly elected leader, President Mohammed Morsi! The cities of Alexandria, Port Saidand Suez, also witnessed similar protests, albeit on a smaller scale. Ironically, they were chanting the same words as last time -“Erha! Erhal!” or “leave, leave” and “Escalation, escalation! A revolution all over again!”
So what are the people unhappy about this time around? The new constitution, which they claim has been drafted entirely by the Islamist President's allies, the extremist Muslim Brotherhood, with absolutely no input from the majority of the population. Their biggest fear is that the new laws will turn the country into an extreme Islamist nation and not the secular country that most people were hoping for. In addition to that there are fears that the Muslim Brotherhood will take control of all state institutions, military and even meddle with the country's judiciary system - Very similar to what the people of Egypt endured, under the previous regime.
Will the people succeed in toppling the government this time around? Nobody knows, but meanwhile the clashes between the police and the protesters has already resulted in over 180 injuries and 7 deaths. Hopefully, they will be able to reach a peaceful resolution soon.
Resources: rt.com,nydaiilnews.com