Ten protesters or less

The new Egyptian government is putting human rights groups in an uproar with its recent law requiring protests of 10 or more people to ask for permission from the State.

For a nation that recently threw off the shackles of a repressive regime with widespread protests, this is an extremely unfortunate turn of events.

During the Arab Spring Revolutions of 2011, Egypt relied heavily on new media such as Twitter and Facebook in order to organize protests to depose the almost 30-year oppressive rule of Hosni Mubarak.

Public protests also prompted the ousting of Mohammed Morsi, the elected Islamist president who served directly after Mubarak.

However, with a new government trying not to be kicked out by a country expecting serious change, the easy move here seemed to be to repress any opinion the state didn’t agree with.

In a surprise to no one, this law was pushed through governmental channels nearly a year before parliamentary and presidential elections were due to take place in Egypt.  

It’s abundantly clear the military-backed interim government is trying to silence any political opposition before it has a chance to grow.

This new regime just wants the same power as Mubarak’s but with a new name attached to it.

So why is this such a big deal?

Well, for starters, it allows the government to pick and choose who really gets to protest and voice their opinions.

Obviously, the government wouldn’t like large groups congregating if the people are just going to oppose it. The government would rather just deny their protest in favor of a group it agrees with, and this law easily allows the Egyptian government to make such a judgment call.

At the same time, the people who initially wanted to protest have now handed their names and political affiliations right to a government they want gone.

By having to file paperwork in order to organize protests, Egyptian activists now must leave a paper trail detailing their political opinions.

Though it’s a stretch to think the Egyptian government will conjure up death squads to snuff out people who disagree with it, it would be ridiculous to think government officials would simply throw a list like that away.

So, when a politician gets assassinated or a bomb goes off during a parliamentary session, it’s obvious who’s getting questioned first.

And it’s clear that the government views its citizens with extreme prejudice.

In a statement about how the Egyptian government will react to protesters ignoring this new law, Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi stated, “Like a man who kills or another who deals in drugs. All those commit violations, and as soon as they commit such violations, if arrested, they will be put to trial and punished.”

In saying this, Beblawi is telling the world that people who disagree with this law and simply want their rights to free speech and public protest are on the same level as drug dealers and murderers.

The state doesn’t view the public as people with important and valid political opinions. The state simply sees its citizens as an unruly mob that needs to be whipped into shape.  

The people of Egypt have been kept down for too long, and they’ve finally decided they’re sick and tired of bowing to a government that doesn’t listen to them.

Laws such as this only push the idea that peaceful protests are a waste of time and that violent radicalism is the only way to change governments.

If the people of Egypt are not allowed to be heard, they will resort to any means necessary to get the respect and power they feel they deserve. This law is a powder-keg, waiting for yet another spark to blow the lid off what could have been a peaceful republic for the Egyptian people.

— kevsjack@indiana.edu