The organized opposition don't matter much to the protests in Egypt. Everything is being arranged online, and through informal networks
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Leaderless protest is sensible when there is a clear, single goal and you do not trust the people you are protesting against- the UK has a few recent examples with the Anon v Scientology thing (strip them of their status as a religion, basically), and the more recent student protests (don't raise the fees and cut EMA).
When it's just a massive general Being Angry At Things, though, there's no way to see what's needed to stop the protests. If it's just discontent at the state, the state would do well to look at blogs and see what gets complained about the most - maybe some reforms on the judicial system would cool things down enough to take the wind out of the protestors' sails, or possibly an agreement to subsidise food and provide better healthcare in built up and slum areas.
But again, that circles back to there being an identifiable goal. No identifiable goal or reasoning, no method of soothing the mob.
Just checked Twitter - it's all kicked off pretty badly. Suez locked down, attempts being made to cut off or stifle all outside communications, and the army's gone in full tilt. Looks like "government reacts with violence" was the correct answer.
In terms of history repeating itself, the current situation in Egypt most reminds me of the lead-up to the Tiananmen Square massacre. Egypt is, by my understanding, a heavily militarised nation, with an entire parallel infrastructure for service personnel: their own supermarkets, leisure facilities, etc. The entire military is strongly motivated to preserve their privileges under the status quo and insulated from the consequences of damage to the civilian infrastructure, so things could get quite ugly.
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When it's just a massive general Being Angry At Things, though, there's no way to see what's needed to stop the protests. If it's just discontent at the state, the state would do well to look at blogs and see what gets complained about the most - maybe some reforms on the judicial system would cool things down enough to take the wind out of the protestors' sails, or possibly an agreement to subsidise food and provide better healthcare in built up and slum areas.
But again, that circles back to there being an identifiable goal. No identifiable goal or reasoning, no method of soothing the mob.
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http://twitter.com/search?q=suez
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