NS-Military+Betrayal

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= Military Betrayal = Egypt was ecstatic with joy; the 30-year dictator Mubarak was ousted by a populist uprising. Watching the people of Tahrir Square on the day he left it could have been New York City on New Year's Eve. Both are celebrating a new beginning, but for the Egyptians, it was their hard work and outrage at injustice that brought the jubilant atmosphere. Weeks of street fighting with police were finally brought to an end and peace would finally find its place in the land of the Nile. Or so everyone thought. *End paragraph* When the military first arrived on the streets of Cairo, Egypt's capital, they were greeted with open arms by many of the protestors, who in large part at that time admired and respected the military. When the military refused to fire on civilians during the climax of the clash between the Mubarak regime and protestors this admiration was reinforced. When the Mubarak regime stepped down the military was put in charge of the transitional government and was expected to ease the transition into democracy. *End paragraph* Elections were held in Egypt and a new Parliament is still in the process of being elected, but the military continues to practice the austere policies of the former regime. Egyptians are now finding themselves back on the streets, fighting the same fight they fought almost a year before. Women are also taking a prominent role in recent protests; several thousand of them marching in Cairo against the beating and stripping of women by soldiers and police. It was the largest women's protest organized in Egypt in recent history. According to the New York Times "…at least 14 people are dead and many more [were] injured" in the latest fighting. At least 80 protestors have died over the last 3 months from assaults by the government. According to General Adel Amera of the ruling military council, protestors are provoking soldiers into clashes in a plot to "destroy the state." The General states that excessive freedom "leads to chaos and the fall of the [government] instead of the…regime”