Egyptian President is out

Introduction

At last, after 29 years in power, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down in the wake of ongoing protests, which have marred the socioeconomic life of the society. It is a historical fact that history repeats itself. Egypt has always remained under the strong influence of the aristocratic government, led by Hosni Mubarak. In this paper, a discussion regarding the causes of Egyptian Revolution, its consequences, the prevailing situation, and the reactions from the Western media is presented.

Discussion of the Problem

Following the example set by the Tunisian people, Egyptians decided to liberate themselves from the authoritarian clutches of President Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled there for over twenty years, without facing any substantial opposition. Mubarak's intentions to hold on the position were clear when he won the presidential referendum for the sixth time running (Andrew, 52). Recently, he had decided to run for the presidency again in September this year, but had to change his decision in the wake of ongoing hostile protests. On February, 11th 2011, it was revealed by the Egyptian vice president Omer Suleiman that Hosni Mubarak had resigned and the powers were transferred to the Supreme Council of Armed forces. Media reports have revealed that Mubarak's health has deteriorated since he left the post and is still in coma (Andrew, 53).

Analysis of Causes of the Unrest

There are various causes to the prevailing situation in the Middle East and North Africa. Political instability, lack of flexible policies to address social issues, increasing unemployment, lack of access to basic necessities of life; have contributed significantly to augment this unrest. Unprecedented and unconditional support for the American strategic policies has let the country down. A revolution occurs only when the social order of a country is disturbed to an extent that it becomes intolerable for the common people.

Emergency Law

Major political analysts have declared the Emergency Law, which was promulgated in the 1980s, as one of the main causes of Egyptian Revolution of 2011. The law expanded the authority of the police and suspended constitutional rights and imposed censorship and under the law down hard on any non-governmental political activity such as: the organization of demonstrations, and political organizations, non-licensed, and the prohibition of any formal financial contributions are not registered. Under this law, approximately 17,000 civilians and 30,000 political activists were detained. Under the "emergency law", the government reserved the right to detain any person for an indefinite period for whatever reason deemed appropriate without trial (Kirkpatrick, 9).

Internal Political Turmoil

The increasing political turmoil contributed significantly to Mubarak's ouster from the power. Ruthless policies against the political opponents, hatred against the Islamic factions working in the country are two other important factors, according to the analysts, that have plunged the country into a disastrous situation. Lack of accountability, centralization of authority, misuse of power, and other evil practices proved to be a fatal blow to Mubarak's government (Korotayev, 39).

Corruption

Due to his increased political corruption, and undue influence in the functions of the Interior ministry, ...