Who Can Represent the Revolution in Egypt?
One of the biggest advantages of the Egyptian revolution is that it has no centralized ideology – nor leadership. This what made millions of Egyptians from around the country join the revolution and support it with all its differences.
It has been a blessing but it is also a curse because without leadership and a central vision who can speak to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on behalf of the revolution and the thee million people that supported it. (Let’s not speak about politicians and parties because they have never represented the demands and needs of the people before.)
Since the ousting of Mubarak there has been a rapid increase in youth coalitions speaking to the media on behalf of the revolution and the Egyptian youth. It is like you mix the following words: “Coalition, Tahrir, Youth, January 25th, 25th January, Egypt” and you can form an instant coalition from those coalitions. In honesty however often we do not know where most coalitions came from, when they were formed and on whose behalf of whom they are speaking.
Many of the coalitions came to life after the revolution youth coalition began to gain prominence in the media. The revolution youth coalition is among the most important political coalitions and groups springing up from the revolution.
The coalition is made from the youth of the 6th April youth , Muslim brotherhood, El-Ghad Party, Democratic Front party, El Wafd party, ElBaradei campaign, El Karma Party, The progressive union, Justice and freedom movement, and independent activists and bloggers.
The revolution youth coalition has a shaky relation with the SCAF. The coalition cut its communications with SCAF after the incidents of April 9th. Other political activists think that they are too soft with the council and should stop speaking on behalf of the revolution completely. The Egyptian street as far as I can tell do not in general trust these young inexperienced men, considered unready to rule the country.
It is worth mentioning the coalition members speak on behalf of their coalitions and political groups – not on behalf of the revolution nor the country, but people consider them representatives of the revolution just as they consider Wael Ghonim and Asama Mahfouz to be so.
I believe the revolution coalition youth has been damaged in the media and this is their problem. Of course the coalition does not bother me on the contrary it is a good chance for young people to learn politics the hard way. What really bothers me are these endless youth coalitions in the media.
Last week SCAF invited youth coalitions to attend a meeting that was actually a lecture at Galaa theater , Cairo. The invitation was only for coalitions -not ordinary Egyptian people interested in the future of the country like me. The invitation was for all coalitions around the country and was only announced two days prior to the meeting. According to the invitation each coalition should send at most 10 because only 1000 could fit in the theater.
The meeting turned into a fiasco as expected. Some groups did not attend – such as the revolution youth coalition and the 6th April, but the NDP and MB did go. That the fiasco was expected is because logically if you want to make a real dialogue with the youth, you invite small representative numbers to have real discussion. If you truly want to make dialogue with youth from all over the country then you must travel to the governorates and meet them.
There are now more youth coalitions than I could ever have imagined in Egypt. The number is so big that the SCAF decided to have other “lectures” next week. SCAF Fax got the details of 156 youth coalitions in Egypt dear friends! 156 youth coalitions are now speaking on behalf of the revolution and millions of Egyptians!
Needless to say almost all these coalitions were made up just in the 48 hours before the meeting – you and 9 of your friends make up some fancy coalition name from the words I posted above and sent it to the SCAF Fax.
What I am worried is that the Egyptian revolution is too big to be represented by these coalitions – even coalitions like the Youth revolution. I am also worried about how the NDP youth will seize the opportunity. According to activists the NDP youth from Qena where the ones who represented the governorate in the meeting as youth coalition from Upper Egypt.
The Egyptians need their voices to be heard and we do not have a parliament yet.
I will not speak about the generals and about what is in their minds but as long as we are divided we will not pass this shady period in our revolution, in our history as we should. We should start to correct our mistakes
The generals need to negotiate with someone strong enough to represent the Egyptian people. It is like that unforgettable scene in “Wa Islamah” when Hulagu Khan’s envoy asked : When I would like to speak to someone in Egypt, to whom shall I speak?
We need to overcome our differences and return back to the true Tahrir spirit of those wonderful 18 days. May be we need a new coalition that does not only represent the youth or the revolutionaries but rather the Egyptian people at the current time.
I am not against dialogue with SCAF as some are. I think if we do not talk and make our voice reach the generals, the silence will be filled by hypocrites who do not give damn about the future of the country, just like those who went from fake NDP coalitions at the Galaa theater.
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