CAIRO: At this point, anyone can probably tell that the political situation in Egypt has never looked so grim. One can easily say that Egyptians are heading towards yet another dark era of tyranny. It all started with President Mohamed Morsi's constitutional decree, which unsettled many Egyptians, the constitutional decree which resulted in a sit-in in Tahrir square that is still going strong, marches to the presidential palace on weekly basis for the past month, clashes that left nine martyrs and hundreds of injured and a division between the people of Egypt that will take years to be amended. The protests and the sit-ins around Tahrir and the presidential palace are reminiscent of some of Egypt's darkest times, when many Egyptian lives were lost as they tried to voice their opinions against the SCAF and Mubarak before them. And although many of us really believed that the power of the people will prevail and that the vote on the constitutional referendum will not take place unless the constitutional draft is rewritten and put together by a committee which truly represents all Egyptians, we were all proven wrong and the vote started, many called to boycott it but at the end of the day Egypt was being held hostage and the only thing that many could do was go and vote no to the constitutional referendum. The results were finally published and as expected, the draft for the constitution was approved as the Muslim Brotherhood had hoped – even going as far as to encourage voting yes publicly. Not much can be said about the vote except the fact that the process was incredibly messy and many have pointed out signs of foul play, making the yes result questionable. Indeed, it might seem that no matter how long the sit-ins will last, how strong the million man marches will be or how often politicians and judges will point out the illegal aspects of the constitutional referendum and the voting process on it, not much will change as Morsi, again, goes through yet another long phase of silence. Ironically, last year around this time, the Ministerial Cabinet events took place, Egyptian protesters were brutally attacked and many were killed, a month before that there were the Mohamed Mahmoud events which also resulted in lost lives and left many injured. The reason as to why these events are being brought up now is that they are fundamentally connected to what is happening now. All aforementioned martyrs and injured were not avenged. Not only is that the case, but President Morsi used that very fact when he tried to put himself above the law, claiming he is only doing that to start retrials for everyone responsible for martyrs' lives being lost. Using martyrs who have lost their lives defending their freedom as an excuse to self-righteously put himself above the law and then try to pass a constitutional draft that will limit the very freedom they once demanded. Have Egyptians given up? Can they not see through what is happening? Will they allow a constitutional draft to be passed if it clearly is illegitimate and unjust, not only to them but to their fellow revolutionaries who have died because of the same unjust policies? Have the many signs of manipulation that were witnessed by everyone throughout the voting process been overlooked? I, personally, do not believe that is the case and here is why; over the past two years Egyptians have gone through times so dark that the whole world did not believe they will ever see the light. Ever since the first 18 days of the revolution it was quite obvious that the fight was not over, after Mubarak came the SCAF who left martyrs behind just like its predecessor, and after the SCAF came Morsi who has done just the same thing. It has been made clear before that Egyptians do not intend to stop fighting for their rights, and the fact that the protests and sit-ins have continued for so long is only a strong indication. The only difference here is that more people are aware at this point. More people now know that they are obligated to demand their rights because it will never be served to them on a silver platter. It is true that Egyptians have been going through this for so long and nothing has changed. So far, the justice that they not only deserve, but have earned, has not been given to them neither by the courts nor the government, and the protests which demanded the rights of previous martyrs only left new ones, spilling fresh blood every few months, only each time it is on someone else's hands, on the hands of a new dictator disguised as a savior. This injustice has accumulated for so long; Egyptians' rage and ever growing awareness has never been more justified and I think if there was any time for justice to prevail, it is now. If at any given moment now Egyptians demanded their rights and the rights of those who were killed, injured or tortured, they will have them. It is basic physics, Egyptians have been pushed to their limit and they will no longer stand for injustice, not only because they do not want to but because they cannot stand it any longer. I am not the only person who thinks that, I hear it everywhere now. We know that Egypt has only reached its darkest times because light is just around the corner and that Egyptians' demands will be met and justice will be brought. Then, and only then, will we be able to start rebuilding our country. Bikyanews.com
