CAIRO: Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of marchers descended on Tahrir Square January 25 to mark the one year start of the revolution that brought down Hosni Mubarak's despised regime. Last year the crowd marched to the words: “Down with, down with, Hosni Mubarak.” Today the crowd repeated the same rhythm but with a changed finale: “Down with, down with, military governance.” It was equal parts celebration and protest. But the power of the event was its size. The crowd was huge, awe-inspiring, overwhelming and unexpected. It dwarfed by far the numbers that had ever before occupied the square. In honor of the organization of last year's protest that had people gathering in squares all over the city to outwit riot police, and then descend all at once as an overwhelming force into Tahrir Square, today's march followed the same script. Only by the time the tens and tens of thousands of marchers arrived late afternoon streaming blocks and blocks and blocks from Maadi, from Giza, from Mohandiseen and other neighborhoods on all points of the star of roads into Midan Tahrir, the square was already full. Not just full but overflowing. Every surrounding artery, bridge and side street was jammed. As an expression of a people's desire for freedom from the tyranny of the old regime, now represented by Egypt's de facto ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the message was unmistakable. Last week, in an increasingly desperate effort to discredit the young activists planning the protest, he warned the public of “grave dangers” the country had not “seen before” and called on all Egyptians to join the army in protecting the country from the “schemes and conspiracies” threatening it. Some nearby shop owners responded by closing early and lines formed at food stores and ATMs around the city as people stocked up as a precaution. January 24 brought rain—always a good omen in a desert country. The 25th dawned blue and clear, with not a single uniform to be seen on the streets. The Muslim Brotherhood stepped up, managing crowds, frisking people entering the square for weapons, and lining pathways in the pressing mass for women to walk safely. They stood, heads bowed, hands held together in front, honoring the women who had been so savagely shamed and beaten just weeks before by Tantawi's army. ** The authors also blog at Egyptunplugged.com BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/ufIK3 Tags: Jan25, Protests, SCAF, Tahrir Section: Egypt, Latest News, Op-ed
