French Revolution/ Egyptian Revolution #4-8

  4. What concerns are there about the current situation in Egypt? How might they relate to the days following the fall of Louis XVI?

     Some people from Cairo were saying on twitter that now that Mubarak stepped down they wanted people to stop protesting. They said that Egypt now needs to focus on rebuilding their country and government. Other people on twitter were voicing their concerns that Vice President Omar Suleiman and the military might become like Mubarak once they hold all the power. The people are concerned about another dictatorship happening again. This relates to the days following the fall of Louis XVI because people were happy he was gone but they were also concerned that another absolute monarch might come to power. In the case of France, another absolute ruler came into power, Robespierre, during the period that is known as the Terror. After the Terror was over people were even more worried that another ruler would come in and get power crazy. They even considered bringing a monarchy back to avoid that. Hopefully, that does not happen in Egypt.

 
5. How did/are people express(ing) their views?

     In the time of the French Revolution, people expressed their views by marching on Versailles, printing pamphlets that discussed their points (such as women’s rights), attending the Estates General, creating their own Estates General known as the National Assembly, writing their own constitution, and eventually completely revolt with the use of guns and fire. For the Egyptian Revolution, people stormed Tahrir Square in Cairo, people burned down and bombed government buildings, people marched around the presidential palace, citizens refused to back down until Mubarak stepped down, and finally people continued to protest, even though Mubarak had banned any protesting and shut down means of communication. People in both revolutions just wanted their voices to be heard.

6. Are the current protests violent?

    Violent protests started on January 1, 2011. These protests were religious bombings against Christians in Egypt. On January 25, the ‘Day of Wrath’ begins. Thousands of people stormed one of Cairo’s major squares and demanded the resignation of President Mubarak. The protest was unusually large and got violent at times. The next day protesters set fire to a government building. The police begin to strike back and attack protesters. There was an official ban on protesting so the police and military were ordered to stop protesters. Up until Mubarak steps down, the protests continued and so did the violence. Most government buildings were being set on fire in Cairo and Mubarak had the military strike back against protestors with bombs, gunfire, and fire.

7. What do people on the ground in Cairo think is going to happen now? (Directly contact reporters and bloggers in Egypt via Twitter during this class period).

     There are many mixed feelings about what is going to happen in Cairo now. Some people were so happy that Mubarak stepped down that they were still celebrating and not even thinking about what was going to happen next. There were many twitter messages that said things like “نبتهج! وصعدت جمال مبارك,” which means “Rejoice! Mubarak has stepped down.” Some reporters from the NY Times reported via  twitter that Swiss banks froze any accounts they had with Mubarak and that banks around the world would soon be doing the same. Other reporters from NPR’s blog about the revolution suggested that Vice President Omar Suleiman and the military being in charge of Egypt is most likely just temporary. They were saying that election are still scheduled to happen in September and that a whole new government will probably be elected.

8. Based on your study of the French Revolution and your current observations of the situation in Egypt, what do you think are possible outcomes? How are the possible outcomes in Egypt alike or different with outcomes in France -- both in the short and long term.

     I think that Vice President Omar Suleiman will stay in office as stand in president until the September elections. Then I think Mohamed ElBaradei will be voted in as the new President if he runs. During this revolution, he was a major opponent to Mubarak and the people really seemed to stand behind him. I think if he runs for President, he is very likely to be elected. I also think that the Egyptian parliament is going to enforce laws so that elections are fair, and so that other candidates can legitimately run against the current president, unlike when Mubarak was in office. I also think parliament will set up more checks and balances for the president so that it is harder for future presidents to gain as much control as Mubarak had. These possible outcomes are similar to the outcomes of the French Revolution in that a new leader arose after the French Revolution, Napoleon, and that is similar to ElBaradei rising as a new possible leader. Also, new laws that parliament might set up in Egypt are similar to that of the French Revolution. The French made a new constitution that prohibited future leaders from gaining too much power. There is a good chance that is also going to happen in Egypt. However, the two revolutions are different in their outcomes because France still emerged with one leader who wasn’t directly elected by the people. In Egypt, the people will directly elect their leaders.