Security forces fought Monday with several thousand protesters in Tahrir Square in the third straight day of violence over demands that the military set a date for turning power over to civilians.
Egypt’s military-backed Cabinet offered its resignation Monday in what the protesters took as a gesture toward addressing their complaints. “God is great!” they shouted upon hearing the news.
Protesters vowed to remain in the streets despite violence that has killed 26 people before parliamentary elections that will begin Nov. 28 and continue for months.
Its sad that the current situation has a very very low probability of resulting in a democracy in which one adult has one vote, in which there is religious tolerance, an Egypt that is at peace with its neighbor Israel, etc. if the ruling military junta quits or is overthrown.
I am a strong proponent of responsible democracies, especially democracies where the a majority vote does not mean a loss of freedom or personal rights for those in the minority, but in this case, I sense that Egypt and personal freedom and personal rights for all might be best served, though imperfectly, by a responsible military junta, that permits as much democracy as is workable, while running the country.
That wouldn’t work for us nor would Americans tolerate such a thing, but we are not Egytians, we are not of their culture, we are not of their history and we don’t have the shadow of a vision of the Grand Caliphate hanging over our national politics.