Protesters Bring Egyptian Crisis To Mag Mile
CHICAGO (WBBM) - About 500 protesters brought the crisis in Egypt to the Magnificent Mile, staging an hour-long protest Friday in which they called for free and fair elections.
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Protesters chanted "Hey hey, ho ho, Hosni Mubarak has to go," in between speakers, some of whom invigorated the crowd in English, while others did so in Arabic.
The rally's final speaker was Sharif Bassiouni, a DePaul law professor and the president of the Egypt- American Association in Chicago.
He, as did others, claimed that Egyptian police have sent "provocateurs" into the ranks of the protesters, whipping them up into violence.
Despite the calls by President Obama for "a transition period that begins now," Bassiouni said he is not certain that the end of President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year regime is at hand.
"Mubarak may go," Bassiouni said. "At this present time there are four senior military officers in control of the country. The military regime will continue for a while."
Bassiouni said the question is whether, and at what pace, any caretaker regime would move toward democratic elections.
"The real transition will happen if we ever have free elections," he said.
Move too quickly, and the opposition will not be able to have the time to prepare an effective election campaign. But Bassiouni said he fears that pro-Israeli elements will try to "hijack the revolution," and undermine elections with statements voicing concern over the future of the Mideast peace process or the possible rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt.
He said the Obama administration must insist on an election process that is truly free and fair, despite a history of Egyptian strongmen, corruption and one-party rule dating back nearly 60 years.
