Three days ago, when the Army announced taking the power in the country after ousting the Dictator, the Tahrir Square exploded with the sudden JOY of the demonstrators. The celebrations were unprecedented, the same way as unprecedented was the outcome of the uprising, the same way as unprecedented the uprising itself was.
It have been very difficult three weeks. The demonstrations, the police and thugs attacks, released criminals, injuries, deaths, damage to the properties, peaceful voicing of the demands, ousting of the President... While the nation smooths the roughed up feathers of Egypt, the crowd in the Tahrir Square literally smooths the square, removing the barricades, sweeping and cleaning the pavement from the damage and the debris of the revolution. The people in their despair stood up to the regime, demanding the changes in the country where so many felt completely disenfranchised, where the corruption on all levels of the society disallowed the people to be proud of their country. These people suddenly felt the joy of ownership of Egypt.
There are many young and educated people with the profound knowledge of the history, social relationships and the economical mechanisms.
These people right now roll up their sleeves and clean the country from the debris, but also promise to clean the country form "all the trash" accumulated by the system in so many decades of the authoritarian regime.
Egypt faces the long and difficult process of normalization. The army is in control right now. Both, the Cabinet and the Parliament have been dissolved. The army set a time frame of their control - 6 months, or the democratic election (whatever comes first). It is satisfactory to the protesters as well as approved by all the observers. But we have to bear in mind that however popular, likable, and willing the Army is - it is the same Army which ruled "de facto" Egypt for already 60 years. As much as we all would like to believe that the Army's and the people's goal are the same, the army has been responsible for a lot of 'unpopular' facts which have happened in Egypt throughout the years. The Army has been the armed arm of the regime.
It requires the leap of faith to trust the Army to lead the country to Democracy. Many protesters in Tahrir Square have came to this realization while the whole country was celebrating.
In order for the real democracy being able to succeed in Egypt, the whole system must be restructured. Since we live in the NOT IDEAL world the reality will call for a numerous compromises. The compromises which will be acceptable by some , and completely unacceptable by others.
Let's see for a moment what are the features of the system which have to be restructured, or completely replaced:
1. Police force - has to be reviewed, issued the new rules of conduct - some commanders have to be replaced (what do you do with the demoted commanders who have the blood on their hands?) - police force has to be paid more, so 'shake up' is not the only way to survive for a policeman.
2. The new Constitution has to be formed - probably some paragraphs have to be determined in a national referendum. The Supreme court and a specially formed Commission has to oversee the process.
3. New (and old) parties have to be revived and their representatives have to form the Parliament and a new Government afterwords (in the general elections).
4. There are plenty of Big Businesses who were extremely supportive to the previous Government (and they were awarded all the lucrative contracts by the previous Government) - this relationship has to be reviewed and probably many CEOs removed from the equation. Many of these companies do not deserve to get the public contracts. The old system was built on bribes and favoritism.
5. Egypt is not a poor country, but it's people are poor. The recent years saw Egypt growing just below 10% annually - the population hasn't seen a "piaster" of it (an Egyptian "penny"). The distribution of the profits from the industry and the tourism has to be changed (I am not suggesting any socialist approach, they are plenty of ways to do it in the free market economy).
6. The last is probably the most controversial issue - President Mubarak's family wealth is estimated at $40-70 BILLION. I do not see how it was feasible in the country like Egypt - anywhere for that matter. These founds have to return to be used in rebuilding the country. The Swiss banks already issued a decree freezing all the 'known' account of the Mubarak's family. The key word here is "known". I am sure that the gross of this fortune is in the proxy accounts which are simply inaccessible.
The democratic process is 'per se' vulnerable, to any corrupting forces. The whole revolution while unfolding on the TV screens didn't show any, even a single Anti-American, or Anti-Israeli outburst. No flag burning, no extreme religious calls. We witnessed the unexpected by many conservative pundits - completely secular, educated, peaceful call for Democracy.
The process which started now, the process much more difficult than the revolution itself, will be watched very carefully by all, both the West, as well as other Arab countries in the region. I am sure that Iran, or even the extreme forces in Saudi Arabia will try to steal the momentum and change the direction of the evolution to their side.
But Egyptian people, to the surprise of many observers, have proved already that what some feared, and the VP Suleiman dared to say openly ("The Egyptians are not ready for democracy") IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE AT ALL.
The American Government was in a very difficult position, considering all the pressures of the allied Regimes in the region. Many criticized it for complacency, or dragging their feet (I am myself one of the people who criticized). Either it was accidental (considering the Ambassador Weisner issue), or well planned and executed - the USA backed the People of Egypt in the right moment, strongly enough to make a difference, but at the same time not to be accused of trying to reshape the Middle East to our liking. Good job, Mr. President.
What is more important for me personally is that the USA has gained a friend in a form of the Egyptian People as expressed by Wael Ghonim in a TV interview and confirmed by many tweets I received.
The long road ahead - it will be (for sure) a bumpy ride, but the future looks bright (so far).
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