Egyptian democracy activists used SMS messages and social networking to mobilize a strike and “day of anger” today, as the authorities countered with a heavy police presence in an attempt to stifle protests.
Police arrested 28 activists of the April 6 Movement which organized the protest against government restrictions on political activity. The Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest opposition force, also supported the strike. The April 6 Movement takes its name from the date of last year’s strike by textile workers that was brutally put down by police.
It is premature to judge the action’s impact, said Ayman Nour, leader of the opposition Ghad (Tomorrow) Party who was recently released from jail, but the status quo is not sustainable. “[Change] is desperately needed in Egypt after more than 30 years of one-person rule,” he said. “Egypt deserves much better than that.”
But early indicators suggest that the protest organizers were disappointed by a low turnout, a result some observers suggest is as attributable to deep-seated cultural factors as the large police presence Despite the lack of public confidence in the Arab world’s ruling authoritarian regimes, the majority of public opinion is doubtful about change, argues Galal Nassar:
It is uncertain whether the public has a clear idea of what change means apart, perhaps, from different faces at the top or, at best, different sectarian, ethnic or social affiliations on the part of the groups holding the reins of power. This would largely account for the isolation and the narrow grassroots bases of Arab opposition movements. It would also help explain the closed horizon in Arab societies despite the clear comprehension that change in government and in society is not only necessary but inevitable.
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