From Tahrir Square. Follow 3arabawy on Twitter for pics and updates from Cairo by 3arabawy
Check OpEdNews throughout the day for updates.
3:22 PM ET Sandmonkey on Twitter: " According to police sources, about 10,000 people got rounded up in the past 2 days & then released for lack of space in jails."
3:05 PM ET No real new developments to report. There are no reports of any real violence from Mubarak thugs or no reports of further moves by the military to move protesters out of Tahrir Square. There is no chatter on Twitter indicating a need to be afraid. This is all good news.
The New York Times has this article up on two reporters who were detained and "saw secret police methods firsthand."
Here, then, is the moment of truth: one cannot claim, as in the case of Algeria a decade ago, that allowing truly free elections equals delivering power to Muslim fundamentalists. Another liberal worry is that there is no organised political power to take over if Mubarak goes. Of course there is not; Mubarak took care of that by reducing all opposition to marginal ornaments, so that the result is like the title of the famous Agatha Christie novel, And Then There Were None. The argument for Mubarak -" it's either him or chaos -" is an argument against him.For more Zizek, view this video from Riz Khan which aired on Al Jazeera.The hypocrisy of western liberals is breathtaking: they publicly supported democracy, and now, when the people revolt against the tyrants on behalf of secular freedom and justice, not on behalf of religion, they are all deeply concerned. Why concern, why not joy that freedom is given a chance? Today, more than ever, Mao Zedong's old motto is pertinent: "There is great chaos under heaven -" the situation is excellent."
This flash video was removed for security reasons
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