Egypt army officer says 15 others join protesters

[Turborama]

Source: Reuters

Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:45am GMT

By Marwa Awad

CAIRO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - An Egyptian army officer who joined protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square said on Friday 15 other middle-ranking officers had also gone over to the demonstrators.

"The armed forces' solidarity movement with the people has begun," Major Ahmed Ali Shouman told Reuters by telephone just after dawn prayers.

On Thursday evening Shouman told crowds in Tahrir that he had handed in his weapon and joined their protests demanding an immediate end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. "Some 15 officers ... have joined the people's revolution," he said, listing their ranks ranging from captain to lieutenant colonel. "Our goals and the people's are one."

Shouman said the other officers would address the crowd after Friday midday prayers.

Another army major walked up to Shouman while he was talking with a Reuters reporter in Tahrir on Thursday and introduced himself, saying: "I have also joined the cause."

Read more: http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFLDE71A01720110211?sp=true

[Demeter]

1. There may be hope for Egypt yet.

I wish I could believe the US army would be similarly supportive of the American people...

[Tunkamerica]

2. some would some wouldn't

Egyptians aren't some other species, neither are soldiers. We're all people.

[Demeter]

4. The Egyptians Seem to Be Free of Religious Fundamental Indoctrination

which is something we know not to be true in our forces.

[Tripod]

3. K&R

[Joanne98]

5. Oh that's a GREAT sign!

[pampango]

6. That's a great sign. Hope the whole army follows their lead. A rift

could result in a lot of bloodshed.

Egyptian army backs Hosni Mubarak and calls for protesters to go home

Military says it will guarantee democratic elections but experts say younger officers could split from Mubarak supporters

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/11/egyptian-army-backs-hosni-mubarak

The army's role is seen as critical in shaping how the crisis will now develop in the coming days. Speaking before Communique No 2 was issued, Rosemary Hollis of City University, London, said there was "a distinct possibility" the armed forces would now split.

Hollis said there were a couple of ways this split could go. One would be a division between older, senior officers, and younger ones from the middle ranks. "The most senior ranks are the same age as Mubarak and Suleiman," she said. "The younger men are their generation. They will identify less with Mubarak and more with the future of the country they want to be part of."

Hollis said the other way the armed forces could split would be ideologically, between those who wanted to concentrate on "law and order" and a "managed transition under Mubarak and co" and felt this would be "preferable to the dangers of a transition to democracy", and on the other side those "embracing change with all its uncertainty". She had been told that this ideological split could run along the lines of the air force – Mubarak's former service – and republican guard on one side, and "everyone else", including the regular army, on the side of change.

Hollis said: "Militaries aren't good at transitions to democracy. They're more comfortable with continuity." But, on the other hand, "the army has not been clearly on the side of Mubarak" during this crisis. Whatever happens, she said, "the army will have the final say".