SCAF, as well as other political forces, see a repeated pattern in ongoing clashes between protesters and security forces but sharply differ over who the culprits are, reports Khaled Dawoud The scene in front of the Press Syndicate in downtown Cairo on Tuesday clearly reflected the deep divisions among Egyptians over the party, or parties, they blame for the continued state of chaos they have been living in since the removal of former president Hosni Mubarak nearly a year ago. On the stairs of the syndicate, which for many years under Mubarak were one of the few spaces allowed for opponents to demonstrate against his rule, nearly 100 people gathered in a symbolic sit-in to protest against the excessive force used by army soldiers against protesters in Tahrir on Friday and Saturday, and to demand an immediate transfer of power from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to a democratically elected presented. Opposing them was another group of people chanting slogans in support of SCAF Commander Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, charging the protesters wanted "to destroy Egypt". Both sides tend to agree that whenever partial calm has been restored, incidents pop up that lead to a new round of violence and clashes. But each blames the other for the deterioration. The protesters on the syndicate's stairs, including a number of politicians who recently won seats in the upcoming parliament such as liberal Amr Hamzawy and leader of the Justice Party Mustafa El-Naggar, said that SCAF has lost a big part of its legitimacy after the brutal crackdown on protesters who had organised a sit-in in front of the Cabinet' Office at Qasr Al-Aini Street over the past month. The protesters opposed the appointment of 78- year-old Kamal El-Ganzouri as prime minister, saying he was a member of Mubarak's regime and did not represent the demands of the 25 January Revolution. Sally Toma, an activist and one of the familiar faces in support of the revolution, said that SCAF clearly wanted to distort the image of the same young people who until recently were held as heroes for overthrowing Mubarak. She believes, like many of her counterparts, that SCAF wanted to limit the change in Egypt to the removal of Mubarak and his son Gamal, who was being groomed to take over the presidency, without carrying out any genuine democratic changes. Thus, the army has repeatedly tried to quash protests in Tahrir using excessive force. Worse, however, says Toma, is that in all previous incidents -- such as the clashes in front of the Israeli Embassy in September, the television building (Maspero) in October in which 27 people were killed, the recent Mohamed Mahmoud clashes in which 44 people died, and finally the ongoing confrontation in front of the Cabinet office in which 13 people have been killed -- it was never discovered who was responsible for the casualties. For anti- SCAF protesters, the army's leadership and that of the Interior Ministry cannot be but the only parties to blame. Horrific pictures of a young Egyptian woman being dragged nearly half naked and severely beaten by army soldiers, as well as many other images of young people killed or wounded in this week's clashes, have only served to confirm the point. However, SCAF commanders including Major General Adel Emara who delivered a news conference on Monday, continued to blame unnamed "third parties" for the ongoing chaos. Emara also sharply attacked the media, particularly certain television channels and newspapers he did not name, for spreading mistrust concerning the army's intentions and turning public opinion against SCAF's leadership. He renewed the military's commitment to hand over power to an elected civilian leadership by 30 June, but asked for calm for a period of time to allow SCAF to implement the timetable it promised. But the army's repeated references to "third parties", "hidden hands", and external regional powers as parties to blame for the ongoing chaos only led to increasing criticism of its leadership. "Isn't it time to know or name one finger among the hidden hands," asked sarcastically presidential candidate and former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed El-Baradei. And while the argument of "hidden hands" seemed to have persuaded some in Egypt for a while, especially among average citizens who have been largely apolitical for years, it obviously lost credibility nearly a year after Mubarak's removal. "Who are these hidden hands? Why don't they arrest them and put them on trial," said Fatheya Ahmed, a housewife. "We are tired of the hidden hands while our sons are dying and losing their lives." Parliament members Hamzawy and other political activists have been trying to deal with what they believe to be "taboo issues" that have been dominant in Egypt for decades. Hamzawy said that the SCAF had clear concerns over handing over power to a civilian leadership, and was seeking guarantees on two main issues: that SCAF leaders would be granted immunity and would not be questioned on any matters related to Mubarak's era, and that they maintain their special status in determining their annual budget and the ways they spend it. Gamal Sultan, deputy president of the Wasat Party which has a moderate Islamic background, agreed, saying that political forces in Egypt should not shy away from negotiating a deal with SCAF that would allay its fears and respond to its concerns. "We would not be the first country to do this," said Hamzawy. He referred to many similar experiences in Latin American nations, Indonesia and Turkey in which assurances were given to the military that they would continue to enjoy a special status in return for agreeing to a peaceful transfer to civilian rule. Yet, for Ali Abdel-Fattah, a civil servant who was among the people who chanted pro-SCAF slogans in front of the Press Syndicate, these kinds of proposals amounted to "treason" and he wholeheartedly trusted the army and its leadership. "It's people like you who are causing our misery," he said addressing Hamzawy. "We have elections now, and many people have taken part. Why don't you wait for a few months until we get a president? Why do you continue holding demonstrations and making our lives more miserable?" Abdel-Fattah asked angrily. Abdel-Fattah's views were similar to that of many Egyptians, especially those with limited income, who believe that the 25 January Revolution had only increased their misery and offered nothing positive. Attempts by Hamzawy to persuade an angry man that he wanted a better future for Egypt, and assurances from the army that it would respect civilian rule, all failed to change Abdel-Fattah's views. Like Prime Minister El-Ganzouri, he said anarchists, thugs and young, homeless children were the only ones who continue to protest in Tahrir and near the Cabinet Office.
