The protests that have engulfed Egypt came to McGill’s downtown campus on Monday in the form of a midday demonstration by Amnesty International. While this is the first physical manifestation of the turmoil at McGill, the issue has been worrying for many students since protests first began nearly two weeks ago.  

“The trigger has been some kind of dissatisfaction with the economy,” said Imad Mansour, a McGill political science professor, about the source of the unrest in Egypt. He was quick to add, however, that despite the claims of many news reports, the protests are about more than the price of bread.

“Part of the frustration is with the whole package of policies … the lack of representation, the lack of transparency, corruption, inefficiency, economic decline,” he said.

The policies are those of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power for over 30 years. Under Mubarak, Mansour said, Egypt has been wracked by corruption and inefficiency—”a case of bureaucracy gone wild.”

While these issues may have pushed protesters to take to the streets in Egypt, many blame Mubarak directly and see his immediate expulsion from the country as the only way to solve its problems.

“We’re standing here every day until Mubarak leaves; we’ve been standing here every day since [January 25],” said Mohamed Zoeid, a protester outside the Egyptian Consulate on de la Gauchetiere Street in Montreal. “We don’t trust this guy—he’s been fooling us for 30 years. Enough is enough.”

Many government officials in the U.S. and Canada have issued statements condemning the violence and calling for Mubarak’s resignation, political change, or both.   

Inside the consulate, the Consul General of Egypt, Amin Meleika, said the protestors were a strong political force who had had a clear effect on the government.   

“Now that the state has accepted all demands [of the protesters], it wants to use the next six to seven months to organize the transition, so as not to leave a power vacuum,” he said.

Meleika said he was “optimistic” about the safety of Egyptian McGill students and their families, and that “things are getting better and quieter.”

“The demonstrations, except for a few incidents … have been rather peaceful,” he said. “I’m optimistic because I see there is a movement in the right direction.”

In defence of Mubarak, Meleika said the president had deployed the Army only for the safety of his citizens, not to inhibit demonstrations.  

On whether Mubarak will attempt to play a strong role in Egypt after he steps down next September, Meleika speculated that “the President has made a very clear commitment that he is not running again … and that he himself would just like to end his term and set the transition.”  

Meleika further defended Mubarak’s domestic policy, foreign policy, and sensitivity to his constituency.  

“I think definitely he will be remembered in a positive sense,” Meleika said.

Justin Trudeau, MP for Montreal’s Papineau riding, synthesized the views and concerns of both protesters and the government.  

“We’re beginning to see movements throughout the Middle East … that are saying, ‘Enough is enough, enough of these hierarchical regimes,'” he said. “[But] at the same time, I want to caution against being naive.”  

The installation of an extremist or authoritarian regime after Mubarak wouldn’t be much of an improvement, Trudeau continued.

“It’s going to take a while, and Canada should be playing ball in promoting that type of openness and stability that would lead to [a democracy],” he said.  

“We hope to draw attention to the fact that the freedom to assembly and expression is an inalienable right,” said Amir Nijhawan, the organizer of yesterday’s Amnesty International protest and a McGill political science student. “The protests [in Egypt] originated out of dissatisfaction with the political system, rooted in corruption and abuse. In the interests of protecting and promoting rights, the voice of the Egyptian people must be represented.”