In a way the last days of Hosni Mubarak reminded me of the last days of Emperor Haile Sellassie in 1974. He had also tried to identify with, no, even to be the leader of the revolution, addressing grown men as his children, before it was hijacked by the military under Megistu Haile Mariam. Still today there are many Amhara intellectuals who talk of him in the plural for respect ( issaachew), perpetuating his memory as one of the demigods of Abyssinia, in fact one of the most brutal figures in the history of the empire. But this is not the time for reminiscences and regrets. There are many similarities between Cairo and Tunis. In both countries the dictators were at first replaced by their yes men. In Tunis the popular upsurge and pressure continued till the remnants of the old regime capitulated. The epoch making victory of the will of the great Egyptian people can be marred by those generals forming the military council who had been promoted by Mubarak himself and may hijack the revolution if allowed, with cosmetic changes. The odds are they will get their way somehow especially if backed by powerful international players. I know it is a bit chilly there but it is essential the demonstrators and pressure groups do not evacuate the revolutionary square amid the euphoria till the major cronies of the old regime are removed from power.
The lower ranks in the armed forces did actually protect the demonstrators. This reminded me of the Free Officers lead by Gamal Abdul Nassir. If the lower ranks now are made to keep in touch with the masses in the square and elsewhere they can apply pressure on the higher echelon not to look back to the good old days of Hosni Mubarak and betray the people before the election takes place.
I must say that what stands out in my mind is the real danger that the military establishment represents in Africa. Ethiopia is the worst case. Other African countries have seen periodically some forms of civilian administrations even if mostly corrupt. Last time I had a discussion in the campus here with some students from Africa about this. One of them interrupted me saying ” OK, so you are a Marxist; you don’t need to ram it down everybody’s throat”. I am having second thoughts about discussing politics with anyone who seems interested. Africa is cursed with intellectuals whose sole aim in life is mostly self-advancement and careerism. We need to learn a lot from the youth of Latin America in this regard. Ideological dogmatism apart there must be an open-ended commitment to the issues of social justice and clear respect for human rights. Otherwise democracy is meaningless.