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Who are the April 8th Free Officers, the Pride of Egypt and the Egyptian Military?
They are the true Free Officers, the officers of Friday April 8th (the Friday of Judgment and Purification). They are definitely not the officers of 1952, the ones that led a military coup and arrived at the seat of power through the force of arms, then clung to the reins of power since that day, and have been dividing the rule of Egypt among themselves up until now. They ruled until these heroes, youth from the Free Officers, came to join their people in their peaceful revolution with the utmost courage. They aimed to free Egypt from military rule, calling for the rights of the martyrs and for the judgment of the corrupt Mubarak, his aides, and all those who let themselves be seduced by stealing public wealth and the rights and freedom of the Egyptians.
They are truly our heroic officers. I have seen them myself, and I have spoken with them and have confirmed their courage and their esteem for the significance of their actions. Hence they themselves are announcing, through the internet, their descent onto the streets in military attire to pressure the military council to clear the martyrs of wrong-doing and to judge the tyrant and his entourage.
They are going out into the streets on Friday, like in the past, and have sworn to their people to go out into Tahrir Square without weapons. They are joining the different factions of the people with their military attire and their low ranks adorning their shoulders, lighting up the entire square and gracing it with their presence. The masses will rally around them, incredulous at the thought of them sacrificing their guaranteed future, and more events like this! Are they not the ones who during the revolution were guarding and securing Tahrir Square and the lively and important goals in every quarter of Egypt with their equipment and weapons?
All of this is for Egypt’s freedom and its security and its dignity. They have sacrificed themselves and their future. They were saying to us: “We are not more virtuous than our martyred brethren who surrendered their souls for the sake of the freedom and the dignity of the nation. There had been a prevailing notion in the Egyptian street that said that the military council took power from Mubarak in exchange for a promise to him that they would protect him and his family from any issue or trial. This notion became ensconced in the minds of the people, for since the 11th of February up until the 8th of April, there has not been any sign of Mubarak’s trial – nor even that he or any the other heads of corruption in the country had been questioned.
With the announcement of the huge million man march on April 8th, and the joining of the young officers to the people, the attorney general immediately began moving to build information, and the apprehension of the starkest eras of corruption began. The interrogation of Mubarak began, in preparation for his trial. The Agency for Illegal Gains has moved after being asleep for very long decades.
I know that a lot of people are mistaken about the right of these young officers, and consider their coming down into the square and joining the protesters with their military attire to be incompatible with the military protocol mandatory for them. However, they remind me of the youth of the January 25th revolution who attacked armored police cars with their bodies, and jumped on them with the utmost courage and fearlessness. Can you understand this amazing behavior by reason alone?
A few days ago the military courts issued jail sentences to 25 Free Officers varying between two to three years. That was after the court altered the charges from overthrowing the ruling regime and inciting discord to inciting riots. Does their standing peacefully with the people of Egypt to prevent the occurrence of discord between the army and the people – which is what the remnants of the past regime desire – count as inciting riots?!
Field Marshal Husayn Tantawi must intervene by refusing to authorize these harsh sentences on the finest of Egypt’s youth, and grant them complete amnesty, for they are of you, and all of you are of us, the people of Egypt.
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Acquired7 October 2011
Translated by Brian Torro
Translation reviewed by Elias Saba
