The battle for Tahrir Square
3/2/11 13:43![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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talkpoliticsIt was late on Wednesday as I slipped off to the Corniche road along the Nile to try to make my way inside Tahrir Square.
I have never seen a revolt up close and in real time, so it was with some trepidation that I had left the confines of our building after a full 10 hours of witnessing rock and Molotov barrages out of the window.
The street was empty but for a small army presence – a couple of armoured personnel carriers and some soldiers, most stationed near the Egyptian Museum. To my left, 300m away, a pro-Mubarak crowd rained Molotov cocktails down on the anti-government protesters from an flyover leading from the 6th of October bridge...
...I held my hands up, palms out. They asked me for ID, so I showed them my US driver's license. I also told them that I came from Al Jazeera.
Unlike the pro-Mubarak people, the Tahrir protesters have a passion for our network. You tell the truth, they told me. One of the group patted me down and apologised for the inconvenience.
"It's for security," he said.
source:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201123175837480777.html
---
Very interesting - and graphic - account of yesterday's events. I've found Al Jazeera to be pretty even-handed in their coverage; no heavy political discussion in this report.
Edit: Sorry - had to deal with a minor emergency before finishing...
I know Al Jazeera is widely regarded in America as a mouthpiece for Islamic radicals, but after observing them since the Iraq invasion, I don't agree with that. They frequently get thrown out of Middle Eastern countries for rubbing governmental (and religious) fur the wrong way - at least as often as Western journalists.
The article doesn't speculate on the outcome of the uprising, but one observation that struck me was the anti-government people were turning wounded pro-Mubarak demonstrators over to the army, rather than abusing them. If these guys are all paid trouble makers, then I doubt it will work in Mubarak's favor, but if there is any significant number of Egyptians who actually like Mubarak, it could lead to a civil war.
I have never seen a revolt up close and in real time, so it was with some trepidation that I had left the confines of our building after a full 10 hours of witnessing rock and Molotov barrages out of the window.
The street was empty but for a small army presence – a couple of armoured personnel carriers and some soldiers, most stationed near the Egyptian Museum. To my left, 300m away, a pro-Mubarak crowd rained Molotov cocktails down on the anti-government protesters from an flyover leading from the 6th of October bridge...
...I held my hands up, palms out. They asked me for ID, so I showed them my US driver's license. I also told them that I came from Al Jazeera.
Unlike the pro-Mubarak people, the Tahrir protesters have a passion for our network. You tell the truth, they told me. One of the group patted me down and apologised for the inconvenience.
"It's for security," he said.
source:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201123175837480777.html
---
Very interesting - and graphic - account of yesterday's events. I've found Al Jazeera to be pretty even-handed in their coverage; no heavy political discussion in this report.
Edit: Sorry - had to deal with a minor emergency before finishing...
I know Al Jazeera is widely regarded in America as a mouthpiece for Islamic radicals, but after observing them since the Iraq invasion, I don't agree with that. They frequently get thrown out of Middle Eastern countries for rubbing governmental (and religious) fur the wrong way - at least as often as Western journalists.
The article doesn't speculate on the outcome of the uprising, but one observation that struck me was the anti-government people were turning wounded pro-Mubarak demonstrators over to the army, rather than abusing them. If these guys are all paid trouble makers, then I doubt it will work in Mubarak's favor, but if there is any significant number of Egyptians who actually like Mubarak, it could lead to a civil war.
(no subject)
Date: 4/2/11 05:57 (UTC)