CAIRO - The Facebook blogger who is widely regarded as the trail blazer of the Youth Revolution, that was launched on January 25, caused more controversy when he appealed to his online community to 'temporarily' forgive the former regime and work together to draw up a roadmap for the future of Egypt in the absence of the Mubarak regime. Wael Ghonim has been declared a national hero by more than half a million Facebook bloggers for his leading role in mobilising millions of young Egyptians in different governorates to denounce the Mubarak's regime and its political, social and economic policies. Ghonim became an online celebrity when he launched a website commemorating his Facebook friend Khaled Saeed, the young man who was brutally murdered by undercover police in Alexandria last year. Saeed's website was said to be the first nail driven into the coffin of the former regime, which ruled Egypt for 30 years. But Ghonim triggered much controversy about his loyalty when he was abducted by security officials on January 25, the day when young people took to the street to call for justice, social equality and liberty. He was released after 12 days of interrogation, only to appeal to his 'revolutionary comrades' to dampen their enthusiasm and stop calling for Mubarak's resignation. He had to apologise online to defend his reputation and highlight his sincerity for the revolution. He also pledged that he never meant to betray scores of his online colleagues, who were killed by riot police in Al-Tahrir Square and elsewhere across the country. The beleaguered Ghonim also apologised that his 12 days in detention had prevented him from camping with the protesters entrenched in Tahrir. Having been released from detention, Ghonim appeared on TV to tell members of his virtual community that he was accused of receiving financial support from foreign agencies to foment unrest in Egypt and conspire to overthrow Mubarak. “I was set free after powerful officials intervened and my interrogators realised how loyal and devoted I was to my country,” he said. Although his online apology persuaded many of his friends to relinquish their suspicions, others decided to stick to their guns. His adversaries suggested that Ghonim's American wife must have had an impact on his call for launching an uprising. However, his adversaries failed to say whether Ghonim had adopted a 'foreign agenda'. This would be an outrageous accusation of disloyalty, the kind of thing fabricated by the former regime to sully its opponents. Under Mubarak, a long list of political activists hostile to the regime were accused of being paid by foreign agencies and governments. They included Saad Eddin Ibrahim, the former chairman of the Ibn Khaldoun Centre for Development Studies; Ayman Nour, the former chairman of the opposition Al-Ghad Party; members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood; and many others. Unlike his predecessors, whom the former regime attempted to disgrace, Ghonim has emerged victorious. There is now a growing campaign online to nominate him for President. His website colleagues have also been putting pressure on him not to abandon the reins of the revolution to others, especially opposition parties, which are trying to hijack their achievements. The online trailblazer of the January 25 Revolution refuses to divulge what he thinks about the presidential elections. Rather, he denies that the revolution was a unilateral initiative. “The revolution was a collective initiative and I was one of many with a deep sense of belonging to their country and its people,” he stressed.
