Egyptians lose patience with military

Writing on the wall: graffiti in Tahrir Square depicts Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi behind bars

Under the ramp leading from the upmarket island of Zamalek to the Sixth of October bridge, a multi-lane flyover that bisects Cairo, is a piece of post-revolutionary graffiti showing a life-size tank with its barrel pointed towards one of the city’s common sights: a cyclist balancing an oversize tray of bread on his head, weaving his way through the dense traffic.

The message is one of whimsical defiance towards the might of the military that has ruled the country since 1952 and imposed itself as Egypt’s key decision-maker since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, the former president. It has received the backing of the Muslim Brotherhood, the most organised opposition group, and many political parties. But the activists behind the Egyptian revolution are much more sceptical.

The mural and others like it echo a sentiment often heard in Tahrir Square, where protesters have held a sit-in since July 8: that Egypt’s post-Mubarak transition is not going well, and that the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) bears much responsibility for this.

Last weekend violence erupted between supporters of the military council and democracy activists who had tried to march on the defence ministry to protest against what they see as the military’s reluctance to implement “the demands of the revolution”.

The painter of the mural, a graphic artist who goes by the moniker of Ganzeer, remembers that when he began doing work critical of the military, many would rebuke him. No longer.

“Public sentiment has become negative for the SCAF on a wider scale. Before if you criticised the military, people would tell you: you can’t do that. The whole idea of ‘the army, the people, one hand!’ is over,” he said, referring to a popular slogan during the popular uprising that overthrew the Mubarak regime. The artist is now preparing new “make-your-own” stencils for online distribution, including one showing a crossed-out general’s cap.

Although some of the public has become impatient with the sit-in that has blocked Tahrir Square, a major thoroughfare, frustration with the SCAF is growing. For the past several weeks, a new hashtag has begun to spread among Egypt’s Twitter users, expressing their exasperation with the military council: #noSCAF. “The SCAF is even worse than Mubarak at procrastination and prevarication,” went one typical complaint.

These judgements also feature heavily in the opinion columns of Egypt’s media, and even in the public statements of leading politicians. Criticism is mostly aimed at the generals who form the SCAF, most notably its head, Mr Mubarak’s former minister of defence, Field Marshall Mohammed Hussein Tantawi. A recurrent slogan of the protests has been “Down with the Field Marshall”. The military as an institution, however, continues to be largely respected.

“The military acted well in the first 18 days of the revolution,” said Mamdouh Hamza, a prominent civil engineer and a leader of the Egyptian National Council, a political advocacy group. “But since then the SCAF has done nothing — they have not done damage, but they have not done good. They always react but never offer anything positive.”

Bahaa Eddin Hassan, a veteran human rights activist who recently turned down the government’s offer to become deputy minister of the interior for human rights, says the SCAF has lacked vision during Egypt’s transition.

“The whole political context is not conducive for me to do this job properly,” said Mr Hassan. “There is no political will from the military council to make the necessary reforms. The agenda of the military is limited to getting rid of Mubarak and a few others, but not to change the system.”

But not all agree. Hisham Kassem, a veteran democracy activist and publisher, argues the military is too hesitant in dealing with what he says are only a few hundred activists and a media echo chamber.

“They made a decision to return to the barracks without the use of force, but what is happening is terrible for the economy,” Mr Kassem said. “It’s time for the military to put its foot down and take back the square. There is no disenchantment with the military across the country, we are only talking about the blogosphere and 500 activists camping in Tahrir.”

Perceptions of the military’s performance thus far have influenced the debate over what its role should be after a return to civilian rule. Some, including leading politicians and a member of the SCAF, have suggested that the military should be protected from parliamentary oversight and given a wide margin of independence in a new constitution to be drafted next year.

This could become part of the “supra-constitutional principles” the SCAF said it would soon unveil. Such a declaration is rejected by Islamists, but desired by secularists who are afraid the next parliament may select a conservative-dominated constituent assembly after elections later this year.