Readers' corner

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Not from abroad

Sir-- It's a shame that Egypt and other countries are now following and using the comments of a brutal Syrian dictator, that all the unrest and violence is due to foreigners. It's not foreigners who moved the Egyptians into protesting for a better country. It was the examples in the Middle East, the Arab Spring, not "Western and European" foreigners as the Armed Forces are attempting to suggest.

Aimee Youssef
Cairo
Egypt

What you shouldn't see

Sir-- The administration and Congress don't want you to see what is in those NGO files. Wonder why? Something tells me these Americans were over there meddling in another country's business. Probably Obama sent them there to start or help with overthrowing Mubarak's government.

Frank Honess
Washington
USA

Dictators all

Sir-- I hope our government does not send any money to a Muslim-run government. I do not care if they voted it in or not. This is not a democracy and there is no freedom. This is a religious government; let them take care of themselves. When they become a true democracy then it will be a different story. The Egyptian, mostly the young and educated is misled. It is clear that Egypt is going towards a radical Muslim country, not a democracy. A religious dictator is as bad as a secular dictator.

Robert Stockwell
Florida
USA

Maintain pressure

Sir-- The Egyptian people are going to have to keep up the pressure on the ruling military. Not necessarily by costly strikes that hit family incomes but by subtle pressure that is there and won't go away. The generals, being generals, will not easily give up power. So there is going to have to be further confrontations in the future to push Egypt into democracy. Right now, everybody is exhausted from last year's victory. But Mubarak was really on his last legs anyway. And after a 30-year run, it's somewhat of a hollow victory.

Jack Mackay
Sydney
Australia

Keep the military

Sir-- I know how chaotic it has been in the last 12 months but with the non-existence of Egyptian security, I believe that it will be a total disaster if the army is withdrawn from managing the country.

James Fenton
Washington
USA

For change's sake

Sir-- This is a typical scenario of chaos after the "Spring". People want change but have no idea how to go about it. Changes are painful and take time to see results. How long did it take the US for slavery to be eradicated? It took years of civil war and numerous lives to make it happen; and up to today there is still some opposition.

Bernard Emhart
Paris
France

Violence the answer

Sir-- So the people are fighting the police because they are "outraged" that the police did not stop the people from killing 74 people over a soccer game. When there are numerous influential organisations spewing hate and violence from every direction, violence becomes the tool to which every problem gets solved.

Philip Frye
Washington
USA

Strange behaviour

Sir-- The police can tear gas the protesters but couldn't tear gas those on a murderous rampage in the sports stadium? Protesters angry at police because they couldn't handle a riot... riot again?

Ron Schmidt
New York
USA

Anything but centrist

Sir-- Re 'Fooling some of the people' (Al-Ahram Weekly, 16-22 February) I find the concept of extreme centre quite absurd. There is nothing centrist about today's politics. I consider today's politics a blend of two extremes. But, by no means, is it centrist. Neo-liberal ideologies have gone so far to the left that they have become right-wing. And, neo-conservative ideologies have gone so far to the right that they have become left-wing. It is like the analogy of someone with one foot in a fire and the other in a bucket of ice water. On average everything feels normal. True centrism as a blend of left and right ideologies is "competition to satisfy society's wants and cooperation to satisfy society's needs". Anything else is irrational.

Richard White
Georgia
USA