Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - “Tahrir Square is full. The crowd is swarming and you can sense a certain tension, also because if anything happens that forces people to flee, many people risk dying of being crushed,” the missionary from Cairo states, where, today, 1 February, the opposition movement has invoked a huge demonstration to demand the resignation of President Mubarak. “From what I can understand the intention of the demonstrators is to head from the square to the presidential palace,” continued the missionary, who for security reasons requested to remain anonymous.
“The demonstrators are marching in an orderly fashion, shouting the usual slogans which call for democracy,” said the missionary, stressing “the civic sense shown by most of the demonstrators. It is true that there have been deaths and looting, but Cairo has been abandoned by the authorities for at least a week, and people have organized themselves to operate the services and ensure a minimum of order. Sometimes you see crowds of people who stop those suspected of theft or other crimes. The police have returned to watch some of the main Government offices. Several police officers operate in plain clothes, for fear of being recognized.”
The missionary stated that “the police are hated by the people for the corruption and the abuses they have committed. What we are seeing is an explosion of anger, long suppressed by an entire Country. The people mostly complain about official corruption: to obtain a document for which you are eligible, you must pay the officer on duty. The police also have powers to arrest anyone on the basis of the Emergency Law.”
On future scenarios, the missionary states: “I do not believe that Mubarak can stay in power. He and his entourage are completely divorced from the true Country. The army, composed largely of conscripts and respected by the people because they do not get mixed up in the repression – like the police – could also make the transition, which will be a long way ahead anyway, because the problem of democracy is cultural, even before politics. Everyone should be taught about democracy and how it works.” (LM) (Agenzia Fides 1/2/2011)
