Regardless of the details of the massive protest in Tahrir Square yesterday, the most important of what it has proven is that the agreement of political elites and forces on general principles close to people's ambitions and to the wishes of the Egyptian people ensure that the revolution which began on January 25 will continue to move forward, and that the scuffles of politicians and the struggles over gaining the bounty of the Revolution most certainly lead to eroding the positive effects achieved by the Revolution so far, and threaten to send the goals it sought to achieve flying in the wind. The protest was entitled “the Revolution First”, after a lengthy debate over choosing a name for the protest, with options ranging from “the Friday of Anger” to “the Constitution First” and “the Friday of Punishment”, at the end of which everyone agreed that the Revolution should come first. It is true that some quarrels and clashes had taken place on the eve of Friday due to competition over reserving spots from the podiums representing the forces taking part in the protest. It is also true that some banners were taken down after it was agreed that all the slogans that would be raised and chanted would only include terms and expressions consistent with the general goals all forces have agreed on. Nevertheless, matters such as these seem only natural, especially after relations between Egyptian political forces had of late reached a point of sharp division over how the country should be run and the direction it should take in the future, after they had all agreed on overthrowing the regime. The Egyptian people carried out their Revolution in order to overthrow an oppressive and corrupt dictatorial regime, and while seeking freedom, justice and a decent life, but politicians have disagreed over the means of achieving these goals. And between Islamists on the one hand, and Liberals, Nasserists, Leftists and other political forces on the other, the Egyptian Revolution has been under the threat of moving backwards, especially as attempts to frighten people, to keep them down and to spread chaos continued on the part of those who had benefited from the former regime and considered the success of the Revolution to signify their following in the footsteps of their colleagues who have preceded them to prison. Increasing the threat was the fact that the battle between the Islamists and the other forces revolved around which would come first: the constitution or the parliamentary elections – on the background of each side promoting the arguments that assert the soundness of their own stance on the issue. It is important for all political forces to realize that differences of opinion over building Egypt in the future are only natural, and that every political faction has the right to promote its ideas in society and to seek to convince the people of its stances and views without inciting against other parties – after the months that followed the fall of the Mubarak regime showed that political forces resort first to smearing the competing parties, after which they begin presenting their ideas and their principles to people! The competing parties also made use of private media outlets, which most often strayed away from objectivity and turned into instruments to be used by this or that side, on the background of the near absence of the state media, which is still suffering from the ills of the former regime. Yet the question remains: what will be the reaction of the Military Council and of Doctor Essam Sharaf's government to yesterday's protest? There are demands over which Egyptian political forces do not disagree, among them hastening the prosecution of Mubarak and the most prominent figures of his rule, as well as of officers and members of the police force implicated in killing protesters, doing away with the major figures of corruption, excluding those connected to the formerly ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) from positions of power, and putting an end to court-martials of political activists. Will those demands be achieved then? But more importantly, will the agreement between Egyptian politicians remain as it is, or will they return yet again to fighting over whether the constitution or the elections should come first? The Military Council shows no objection to most of these demands, and neither does Sharaf's government, but the difference lies in the rhythm of implementation, knowing that slowness increases the anger of the revolutionaries and the families of martyrs, and reinforces the belief that such slowness is in fact intentional, and that the army is playing on the element of time and wagering on exhausting revolutionary forces. Finally, searching for meeting points and common grounds between the army and revolutionary forces has become a necessity in order to save the country from chaos. Similarly, political forces must realize that by agreeing over specific goals, they would strengthen themselves and strengthen the Revolution, achieve its goals and make engaging in the next phase of building the country by all those competing over it a much easier task, without pain or suffering the price of which would be paid by the people… by those who carried out the Revolution.
