Scapegoat on the Nile

The trial against Hosni Mubarak could lay the foundation for democracy in the country provided the Egyptian revolution is not instrumentalised by the wrong forces, writes the liberal-conservative daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung: "It would be premature to talk of a betrayed revolution at this point. The testimonies of Egyptians delighting in their new freedom to finally express their opinions are too moving for that. The sense of euphoria, however, is wearing off and the political reality is catching up with it. Last Friday Tahrir Square in Cairo provided a picture of the social forces that intend to call the tune in Egypt after Mubarak. In addition to the comparatively small crowd of secular democracy activists there were many Islamists. ... The country still lacks a settlement that stipulates the civic freedoms. It won't be the army that initiates such a process. If Mubarak's fall is to be more than just the sacrifice of a scapegoat, Egypt now needs its revolutionaries more than ever."

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Social movements, » Justice, » Egypt
All available articles from » Martin Woker

» To the complete press review of Thursday, August 4, 2011