Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Sunday, June 03, 2012

Anti-Mubarak protesters blocked from Tahrir Square

Parts of Cairo's Tahrir Square have been blocked off, after big protests overnight. The demonstrators were unhappy about some of the rulings handed down Saturday following a trial for deposed president Hosni Mubarak.

Mubarak and his interior minister were sentenced to life in prison, for failing to stop the killing of hundreds of protesters during last year's uprising, but six senior police and interior ministry officials were acquitted.

Mubarak and his two sons were found not guilty of corruption, although the ex-leader was convicted on charges of complicity in the killing of some 900 protesters during the revolt that forced him from power.

Many of the 10,000 protesters expressed anger that Judge Ahmed Rifaat did not give the 84-year-old former leader and his interior minister Habib al-Adly the death sentence.

By morning, only a few demonstrators were milling around the square in central Cairo, having camped out there through the night. Railings had been dragged across main entry points, and the roundabout remained at least parly closed to traffic.

Large crowds remained in the square throughout the night and on the streets of other major Egyptian cities.

In the city of Fayoum, south of Cairo, dozens of young men gathered overnight and ransacked the campaign office of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, who was a close ally of Mubarak.

Shafiq, a former air force commander, will face the Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi in a runoff vote on June 16-17.

Original Article
Source: CBC
Author: cbc

No comments:

Post a Comment