International

Thousands of people rallied in cities across the world to demand respect for human rights in the Middle East and North Africa as part of a global day of action organized by Amnesty International.
Activists, trade unionists and students created a sea of red, black and white – the colours of the Egyptian flag – in countries from Switzerland to South Korea.

Mubarak’s resignation marks an extraordinary victory of people: in 18 days of nonviolent mobilization , resisting attacks of all kinds, the Egyptians were able to get rid of a dictator who oppressed them for thirty years!
The courage and perseverance shown by the demonstrators are an example that we hope other peoples will follow.
And not just in the Arab world.

“Getting rid of dictators is not enough. Building a civic participatory society is not easy – Europe’s enlightenment did not come just from removing a few dictators,” a Palestinian friend said to me recently. “People’s expectation raised for change will dash against the reality that it will take decades to create systems of governance, accountability, economic justice…”

Rebellion is in the air. The people of Egypt have given us a shining example of the power of nonviolent protest combined with absolute determination. But theirs is not the only example.
The Egyptian revolt was sparked by one in Tunisia that echoed in Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Yemen. Something is stirring in the Arab world. But that’s not all.

On January 14 the Tunisian dictator Ben Ali was deposed after 20 years in power. Even if the detonator for the popular rebellion was the self-immolation of a humble street vendor mistreated by the police, over many years the Tunisian people had to bear injustice of all kinds, alarming levels of unemployment and poverty and even the persecution of certain Islamic practices.

To the joy of almost 20 million people who had mobilized to demand the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president chose to step down after 30 years in power.
Mubarak’s resignation takes place after 18 days of massive protests. The recently-appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement, saying that a Military Council will take over the administration.

The majority of journalists, media people, commentators and intellectuals from the main broadcasting channels do not seem to be able to perceive in depth what is happening in Egypt. And we must bear in mind that the massive demonstrations or social unrest are only an indication of the “new world which is already arriving”.

After 18 days of the popular uprising, Mubarak resigned and fled the country. Egypt displayed the greatest expression of the strength of non-violence. Some nay-sayers, who were more interested in silencing the mass movement with gunfire rather than avoiding bloodshed, were announcing “civil war” . No bloodshed occurred.

“In memoriam, Christoph Probst, Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl” reads the banner at the top of Kareem Amer’s popular Egyptian dissident blog. “Beheaded on Feb. 22, 1943, for daring to say no to Hitler, and yes to freedom and justice for all.” The young blogger’s banner recalls the courageous group of anti-Nazi pamphleteers who called themselves the White Rose Collective.

-What is Amnesty International doing about the protests in Egypt and elsewhere in the region?
We’ve sent a delegation to Egypt to help witness, record and expose human rights abuses being committed during the uprising, as we did during the unrest in Tunisia earlier in the year. We’re doing this in close cooperation with local human rights activists.