Cairo, Jan 25 (IANS) As Jan 25 marked the first anniversary of Egypt’s civilian uprising that led to president Hosni Mubarak stepping down after nearly 30 years in power, many people questioned if it had actually proved successful.
Following 18 days of protests at Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Mubarak was replaced by a Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) which ordered severe clampdowns on street demonstrations and political dissent.
Under SCAF’s governance and martial law, there have been 11,879 cases of civilians being tried in military courts, six times more than during Mubarak’s rule, Al-Jazeera reported Wednesday.
On Oct 9, protesters called for the SCAF’s dissolution and this resulted in a military standoff and clashes leading to dozens of deaths through December 2011.
After a year since public protests commenced in the country, Egypt is now in the process of instituting a civilian rule.
The recent parliamentary elections witnessed a high voter turnout, few reports of corruption, and Islamist parties winning a majority of the vote.
The de facto head of state, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Tuesday announced that the Mubarak-era’s state of emergency would be lifted Jan 25, 2012.
SCAF is describing Wednesday as “a day of national celebration” while many opposition groups have deemed it a day of protest.
These groups want the military to transfer power to civilian authorities.
