The Long Haul

They're camped out in Tahrir again.

A tent city has sprung up to house those displeased with the feet dragging of the military men running Egypt. The scene is at once festive and urgent. Acoustic performances precede chants of "The people want the fall of the Field Marshall" (Tantawi, the head of the military council). And when the government allegedly cut the electricity in Tahrir last week, memories of the Revolution's martyrs kept the square aglow until dawn.

Over the past few days, I've read many an Egyptian youth quoted in the paper saying something to the effect of: "Mubarak is gone, but his regime remains. We will not leave the square until we're satisfied."

And so a sort of rough, interactive check on power has taken place where the people occupy the square as a simple "no" vote on issues such as the pace of transition to a civilian government and Prime Minister Sharaf's new cabinet picks. It is democracy in its chaotic, physical form, the only recourse of a people without democracy in writing.

The revolution must go on. For the sake of Egyptian dignity. For the sake of casting a compass for the Arab world. For the sake of shattering all of the hypocrisy and condescension that has gone into supporting Arab strongmen at the expense of the Arabs themselves. For the sake of seeing the odious old man of Sharm el Sheikh behind bars.

The Egyptian military still carries great respect among Egyptians of all backgrounds. But for this covenant to stay in tact, the council needs to reciprocate with greater respect for civil society. Rather than censoring the press, lecturing youth leaders of the Revolution, and maneuvering to write their power into the new Constitution, the generals should remember that this was a Revolution, and not a coup.

A few analysts have connected Egypt today with Turkey 20 years ago, when the Turks were stifled by a poor economy and a meddling army. Turkey's military retains great power today, but is also a relatively healthy democracy with an average income of $13,000. The other path drawn from present-day Egypt is to Pakistan, where a civilian leadership cowers before the military and the economy runs on foreign aid.

Cultivating a strong civilian leadership starts in Tahrir, where this week the people's chanting drowned out a military spokesman who came to appeal for patience. The people still want the fall of the regime, and in its place one of their own.