A huge number of people flooded Cairo’s Tahrir Square to mark the third anniversary of the popular uprising that toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak. If you didn’t know the date, it could have been from January 25th 2013, 2012, or the original.
This is not a protest though- it is a massive show of support for the military rule, led by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who is expected to win an early presidential election that was just called. In the end, it seems Egypt’s political power has remained in one place through all this chaos- the military. The three years have seen elections, new constitutions, and a period of government by the Muslim Brotherhood, for decades the enemy of the military-backed Egyptian state.
Supporters of Morsi also protested but again met heavy causalities. They weren’t given access to Tahrir. Many of the liberals and leftists who played an important role in 2011 are exiled, jailed, or dead.
Tahrir is now a monument with special rules. It is a place to celebrate the military that ousted Mubarak, the military that allowed for free elections, the military that ousted that government, and the military that calls new elections they will win.
So it is, three years hence.
Unspoken Politics 