Over the past five years, Egyptians have continued to use the expression “political movement” very often. Every time a demonstration takes place or a few protesters gather somewhere, this expression leaps onto newspaper headlines, gains prominence on satellite television shows and is endlessly repeated by speakers in conferences and protest forums. In fact, the expression “political movement” has not even been spared from use by the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and its prominent figures. Every time someone asks about the NDP's stance towards an issue that has aroused the anger of certain segments of the population and the disapproval of the political opposition, or towards a decision or measure taken that did not meet with the public's approval, they repeat that the “political movement” witnessed by the country is a positive matter, one that counts in favor of the NDP and not against it, as that it is the ruling party which has allowed such movement, does not object to it and does not fend off “movement-rousers”. Angry reactions to the death of a young man, Khaled Said, after being chased in Alexandria, were considered to be one of the repercussions of such movement in the country, after the matter had reached such a point that the expression “political movement” had become corrupted, and had come to be used in situations where it should not be, and to describe facts that have nothing to do with it or with politics. It is true that some groups of protesters who would stay overnight on the sidewalks of the two houses of parliament (the Shura Council and the People's Assembly) were demanding their rights and were going through tragic circumstances which no one would accept. Yet the government's reaction was limited to allowing the protesters to stay, protest, raise banners and chant slogans, without radical solutions being provided to the problems that besiege them, all of which are unrelated to politics. But the protesters are demanding the bare minimum for a decent life, and have not raised demands connected to freedoms, democracy or change. Of course, the protesters have fallen prey to satellite television shows, which have found in them a precious resource to fill free time or to stimulate people's feelings and play on emotions. As for the government, it has, as the Egyptian saying goes, “one ear made of clay and another made of dough”, with the exception of providing a few solutions for some workers whose factories were shut down due to their non-Egyptian owners fleeing the country. And with the protests dispersed by way of water hoses, the “non-political” movement has ended and the protesters have disappeared from the sidewalks, yet their problems have remained. The media had to look for another movement to preoccupy itself and preoccupy people with, and it found what it sought in the courts – from the dispute between the Coptic Church and the Judiciary over the issue of the remarriage of Copts, to the conflict between lawyers and judges over an issue connected to a quarrel between two lawyers and the public prosecutor's representative which some tried to portray as political movement. In the background, the issue of the murder of Lebanese artist Suzanne Tamim aroused “political” interest, in view of the accused being a businessman and a prominent member of the ruling party. Then the issue of young Khaled Said came to bring the expression “political movement” back to its natural place, followed by the decision of Egyptian Public Prosecutor Justice Abdul Majid Mahmoud to transfer two policemen to an urgent tribunal, which proved that political protests achieve their objective when they take the correct path without being demeaned or made light of. This decision will not bring Khaled Said back to life, but certainly his soul must be happy that others took action and sought to obtain justice for him after his death. Certainly as well, the saying “no right backed by demands goes unanswered” can be applied in reality as long as the goal is noble and the reasons objective, and without the issue being exploited by those who like to ride the wave or those who hold narrow interests. It is true that the issue of Khaled Said held human aspects that moved the hearts and minds of Egyptians, yet its political aspect remained present and prominent. Indeed, politics only came into existence in the first place to achieve people's interests, not to harm them. The way in which any government treats its citizens still reflects the extent to which such a government values its people. According to the decision issued by the Egyptian public prosecutor, Khaled Said met with inhumane treatment that led to his death. The matter is now in the hands of the judiciary, to which it has also come back as a political issue, to determine what is right, since politicians no longer have the ability or perhaps the desire to practice politics or to face any political movement.
