A blogger was jailed recently for “insulting the military.” Human rights advocates say that thousands of people have been arrested and tried before military courts in the last two months. Protesters have been tortured and female activists subjected to so-called virginity tests.

Fed up and angry with Egypt’s military rulers, tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out on Friday in Tahrir Square here for one of the largest demonstrations since the former president, Hosni Mubarak, stepped down on Feb. 11. The protest was being called the “Friday of Warning.”

Since the military assumed direct control after Mr. Mubarak was forced from power, it has seen its standing as defender of the revolution called into question by actions that reflect the authoritarian tactics of the past rather than a blueprint for a democratic future, many here said.

“We don’t want a confrontation with the army but they have to understand that the people will not go quiet,” said Nevine Bakir, 42, as she entered the square. “This is a revolution.”

The military’s critics say that it is either unwilling or incapable of ushering in an era of true democratic reform, an end to corruption and the abolition of abusive police practices.

“The army and the people are not one hand,” the blogger, Michael Nabil, who is now facing a secret trial and a three-year prison sentence wrote in a posting. “The revolution has so far managed to get rid of the dictator, but the dictatorship still exists.”

But for all the shock, even despair, expressed by many Egyptians over the military’s actions, those who have served in and studied the military said they had not been surprised, given the military’s leadership and the responsibilities it has been asked to accept, which far exceed its traditional duties and current capabilities.

Fed up and angry with Egypt’s military rulers, tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out on Friday in Tahrir Square here for one of the largest demonstrations since the former president, Hosni Mubarak, stepped down on Feb. 11. The protest was being called the “Friday of Warning.”

Since the military assumed direct control after Mr. Mubarak was forced from power, it has seen its standing as defender of the revolution called into question by actions that reflect the authoritarian tactics of the past rather
than a blueprint for a democratic future, many here said.

“We don’t want a confrontation with the army but they have to understand that the people will not go quiet,” said Nevine Bakir, 42, as she entered the square. “This is a revolution.”

The military’s critics say that it is either unwilling or incapable of ushering in an era of true democratic reform, an end to corruption and the abolition of abusive police practices.

“The army and the people are not one hand,” the blogger, Michael Nabil, who is now facing a secret trial and a three-year prison sentence wrote in a posting. “The revolution has so far managed to get rid of the dictator, but the dictatorship still exists.”

But for all the shock, even despair, expressed by many Egyptians over the military’s actions, those who have served in and studied the military said they had not been surprised, given the military’s leadership and the responsibilities it has been asked to accept, which far exceed its traditional duties and current capabilities.

Source: egyptdailynews.com