Anonymous has joined the fray in #Egypt protests declaring that it will not stand idly as people are denied their basic rights and human dignity thus raising the possibility of Egyptian government sites becoming their new target. The online hacktivist group had earlier come out in support of Tunisian protesters and taken down Tunisian government websites. However, what interest me more are the parallels in the structure of both the organizations (for lack of a better word). Both are leaderless movements by like-minded individuals participating voluntarily to achieve a simple objective. Further, as radically decentralized networks with no hierarchy nor structure,they expose no identifiable target that the government could coerce/corrupt into submission.
{Update 24/02/11: Came across an Al-Jazeera Op-Ed : Anonymous and the global correction)
It is also interesting to see the role that the Internet has played, social networking tools have had catalyzing effect in Egyptian as well as Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution. Activists were able to share information with others, easily through Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and similar services. Mubarak regime reacted by attempting to shut down access to the Internet services but it was not able to block information completely. Despite his attempts, the protesters and journalists were able to circumvent the blocking mechanism and present updated news to the people off Egypt as well as the world. The crackdown on activists/bloggers, journalists etc by the regime turned out counter-productive as more and more people around the globe began to see the real face of the Egyptian dictatorship and overwhelmingly supported the protesters.
. Once that part was done, the action was going to take place in physical world and in Tahrir Square. It very much resembles the Open Source Software development methodology,defense analyst John Robb calls it Open Source Protest
The Egypt protesters currently are a loose coalition of groups with diverse ideological leanings, varying motivating factors and different agendas united by a single thread which is the demand for the removal of Hosni Mubarak from power and bringing in a democratic setup. After 30 years of Mubarak's despotic rule the people of Egypt appear too weary to tolerate this ruthless dictatorship any more. Hence the word Kefaya which translates to "enough" (those familiar with Urdu/Hindi should find similarity with the word "Kaafi" ) has evolved into a political doctrine implying grass-root level coalition and activism with basic aim of transforming the state and the polity. It sounds similar to the concept of passive resistance or civil disobedience as propounded by Mahatma Gandhi but there are differences, most important of which is the fact that the movement in Egypt is leaderless.
And unlike the British, the incumbent regime of Egypt tried every trick in book (and invented a couple) to break the will of the people. When the movement began the notorious police force first clashed with public and then disappeared only to return in plain clothes to commit looting and arson,mimicking chaos which Mubarak could then use as an excuse to stay in power. The police then abandoned posts and jails leaving hardened criminals on the streets, with none to protect, the citizens themselves created vigilante groups to protect their homes from robbers as others participated in rallies in Tahrir Square and other places.The bluff was called after a number of looters were caught by vigilante groups were found with police identity card on their bodies.
The latest tactics wars to hire modern day mercenaries, disguised as pro-Mubarak protesters who came armed on horses and camels attacking unarmed demonstrates. Even this did not wok out well, there were clashes and the pro-Mubarak protesters were outnumbered and injured. It is ironic that people working for the government should attempt to vandalize the Egyptian Museum and a human chain by the local Muslims and Christians guarded the Museum from vandals.
This indeed explains the courage and steadfastness people of Egypt have shown recently, it is also a precedence and and a doctrine that might soon get currency,even outside the region.
{Update 24/02/11: Came across an Al-Jazeera Op-Ed : Anonymous and the global correction)
It is also interesting to see the role that the Internet has played, social networking tools have had catalyzing effect in Egyptian as well as Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution. Activists were able to share information with others, easily through Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and similar services. Mubarak regime reacted by attempting to shut down access to the Internet services but it was not able to block information completely. Despite his attempts, the protesters and journalists were able to circumvent the blocking mechanism and present updated news to the people off Egypt as well as the world. The crackdown on activists/bloggers, journalists etc by the regime turned out counter-productive as more and more people around the globe began to see the real face of the Egyptian dictatorship and overwhelmingly supported the protesters.
. Once that part was done, the action was going to take place in physical world and in Tahrir Square. It very much resembles the Open Source Software development methodology,defense analyst John Robb calls it Open Source Protest
The Egypt protesters currently are a loose coalition of groups with diverse ideological leanings, varying motivating factors and different agendas united by a single thread which is the demand for the removal of Hosni Mubarak from power and bringing in a democratic setup. After 30 years of Mubarak's despotic rule the people of Egypt appear too weary to tolerate this ruthless dictatorship any more. Hence the word Kefaya which translates to "enough" (those familiar with Urdu/Hindi should find similarity with the word "Kaafi" ) has evolved into a political doctrine implying grass-root level coalition and activism with basic aim of transforming the state and the polity. It sounds similar to the concept of passive resistance or civil disobedience as propounded by Mahatma Gandhi but there are differences, most important of which is the fact that the movement in Egypt is leaderless.
And unlike the British, the incumbent regime of Egypt tried every trick in book (and invented a couple) to break the will of the people. When the movement began the notorious police force first clashed with public and then disappeared only to return in plain clothes to commit looting and arson,mimicking chaos which Mubarak could then use as an excuse to stay in power. The police then abandoned posts and jails leaving hardened criminals on the streets, with none to protect, the citizens themselves created vigilante groups to protect their homes from robbers as others participated in rallies in Tahrir Square and other places.The bluff was called after a number of looters were caught by vigilante groups were found with police identity card on their bodies.
The latest tactics wars to hire modern day mercenaries, disguised as pro-Mubarak protesters who came armed on horses and camels attacking unarmed demonstrates. Even this did not wok out well, there were clashes and the pro-Mubarak protesters were outnumbered and injured. It is ironic that people working for the government should attempt to vandalize the Egyptian Museum and a human chain by the local Muslims and Christians guarded the Museum from vandals.
This indeed explains the courage and steadfastness people of Egypt have shown recently, it is also a precedence and and a doctrine that might soon get currency,even outside the region.
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