I was present in the massive Ras-el-Teen Palace demonstration in Alexandria last Friday. It was remarkably disciplined. Good spirit prevailed among the protesters, interrupted only by the anger directed at Mubarak through slogans calling on him to go. I was still there when Mubarak's resignation was announced. At that time there was true jubilation in the streets; never have I seen so much genuine joy in Egypt.
On our way home along the Alexandria sea front, I saw that groups of hooligans had joined the festivities whose conduct was markedly different from that of the original protestors. However, if the culprits for Logan's tragic incident were just hooligans, she would have been subjected to sexual harassment but not beaten; a heinous act in itself, of course.
During the last two weeks, it was Mubarak's own NDP party thugs who repeatedly intimidated and attacked foreigners, especially journalists, provoked by rumors propagated by the regime and constantly repeated by its media that the protests were instigated by foreign agents working to destabilize the country. While Mubarak and part of his regime have been ousted, these thugs have not gone anywhere. They are still around, and they will have definitely been messing around in the streets during the celebrations. Sadly, it seems that Logan was the victim of a gang of Mubarak's thugs.
Sadly also for the Egyptian people, the sinister chapter of NDP party thugs has not been closed with Mubarak’s fall.
