The streets of the Egyptian capital were mostly quiet Monday after authorities warned against any antigovernment protests marking the fifth anniversary of the uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.
In the days leading up to Monday’s anniversary, police were on alert countrywide for any signs of organized protests and authorities made it clear no demonstrations against the government of President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi would be tolerated.
It was five years ago Monday that protests erupted against Mr. Mubarak, culminating 18 days later in his resignation after nearly three decades in office. The display of popular will in the Arab world’s most populous country sent tremors across the region and galvanized what soon became known as the Arab Spring.
The scene Monday in Tahrir Square was a far cry from those heady days. Unlike five years ago, when hundreds of thousands of protesters had thronged in the square to demand the country’s long-running dictator leave office, only small clusters of bystanders gathered to wave Egyptian flags and hand out flowers to the hundreds of police standing guard.
In Alexandria, Egypt’s second-largest city, police quickly dispersed dozens of anti-Sisi protesters, state media reported.
Political observers said the lack of any open defiance on Monday wasn’t unexpected.
“In the eyes of many Egyptians, they have undertaken two uprisings that led to the overthrow of their president and, in the end, neither has produced improvements in their quality of life,” said Timothy Kaldas, a Cairo-based fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. “It’s unsurprising that many would lose faith in mass protests as a tool for positive political change.”
The ouster of Mr. Mubarak in 2011 ushered in a brief period of political freedom in Egypt, including its first democratic presidential election, which was won by Muslim Brotherhood official Mohammed Morsi.
But under Mr. Sisi, Egypt has reverted to authoritarian-style rule. Since he came to power in 2013, his government has cracked down on secular liberal critics, as well as members and alleged supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement. Hundreds of Brotherhood officials and supporters, including Mr. Morsi, have been given death sentences, which are currently under appeal.
This is the first year the Sisi government hasn’t used the occasion of January 25th commemorations to celebrate Mr. Morsi’s ouster. Economic stagnation, together with a growing insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula and simmering public anger over what many see as out-of-control police forces, have made the government wary of permitting any large public gatherings.
About 40,000 people have been arrested on charges ranging from carrying out illegal protests to supporting banned political groups since Mr. Sisi entered office, according to the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights and human-rights groups.
The Committee to Protect Journalists also said that only China jailed more journalists in 2015. Twenty-three journalists were arrested last year, up from 12 the year before, it said.
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By Tamer El-Ghobashy. http://www.wsj.com/articles/five-years-later-egypts-tahrir-square-stands-quiet-1453739442
Photo: Egyptian security forces stood guard at Tahrir Square in Cairo on Monday, the fifth anniversary of the uprising that forced longtime leader Hosni Mubarak from power. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY