On Friday morning, the common word on the street and on various Egyptian news channels was that the Tahrir Square pro-democracy demonstrations had been hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood, militant Islamists and foreign infiltrators. Demonstrators at the square on Friday, however, were diverse. They included Muslim Brotherhood members as well as others--often people with no political affiliations. Al-Masry Al-Youm interviewed a random sample of pro-democracy demonstrators present in the square on Friday afternoon, asking them about their background and their demands. Mamdouh al-Sowairy is a program director at Al Jazeera Documentary in his forties. He joined the demonstrations last Saturday as an Egyptian citizen, rather than as a staff member of Al Jazeera, and has been returning to the square every morning. Al-Sowairy believes there needs to be a complete change of political regime. Reform promises made by Egyptian vice president Omar Suleiman and members of the newly appointed government are met with skepticism by the public, explains al-Sowairy. The argument that the Egyptian Constitution will allow limited changes during the time frame requested by demonstrators is not valid, says al-Sowairy. “Popular uprisings create a new legitimacy,” he says. “We need a completely new constitution. A constituent assembly needs to be formed to draft the new constitution." Meanwhile a transitional government in which all political and social groups are represented should oversee the reforms and provide services to the public, he added. Once the new constitution is drafted, Egypt will be ready for fair elections, adds al-Sowairy. Aisha is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Arts at Cairo University. She only joined the Tahrir demonstrations on Friday. Aisha believes that the Mubarak regime has lost all legitimacy in Egypt and abroad and should leave immediately. “This tyrant has been starving and killing our people for years,” she exclaims. “If Mubarak wanted to make reforms, he would have worked on that over the past 30 years. We don't believe him.” She feels that the constitutional changes proposed by the Mubarak regime are not enough. Article 88, for instance, is key as it concerns judicial supervision over elections. The head of the Constitutional Court should rule during the transitional period, says Aisha. Omar Suleiman cannot become president as people do not trust him because of his strong ties with the Mubarak regime, she adds. “People have died and Mubarak and his regime must be put on trial for this. He should be tried in Egypt and not abroad,” adds Aisha, who remains critical of the Egyptian military. She believes that the army should make its position more clear. Tarek--a mass communication graduate in his twenties--has been walking around Tahrir Square hanging sheets of paper all over his body. On each piece of paper, he comments on a particular political figure or institution, from Suleiman and state TV, to reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei and Ghad Party leader Ayman Nour. For Tarek, Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa would be a perfect presidential candidate. “[Former Interior Minister Habib] al-Adly should be executed in Tahrir Square in homage to the martyrs,” read one of his slogans. “Egyptian TV lies” and “Ahmed Ezz, I hope you get humiliated,” read others. A business tycoon, Ezz was a member of the ruling National Democratic Party and his name has been associated with corruption and parliamentary electoral fraud. Tarek, who joined the demonstrations last Sunday, believes Suleiman cannot rule until the upcoming presidential elections. New and fair parliamentary elections should be held and meanwhile a committee of judges should oversee the constitutional amendments. Yasser Abdel Rahman is a professor of Islamic Law at Cairo University. He first joined the pro-democracy demonstrations last Tuesday. “Earlier in the week, I believed that youth in the square were able to represent the masses and were holding up well,” explains Abdel Rahman. Now, however, he believes that joining the protests is an obligation for every capable person. For those who are unable to come to the square, they should raise people's awareness about the required reforms, he explains. “Mubarak's regime cannot stay. We need a new government that is elected by the people to rule until we have fair elections under a reformed constitution,” adds Abdel Rahman.
