Tunisia's recent revolution which led to the country's President, Ben Ali, to flee on January 14th may serve as inspiration to Egyptian youth who want to revolt against Hosni Mubarak, the almost 30 year-long dictator of the nation. This may be partly due to his background. In fact, Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak was sworn in on the 14th of October 1981, after Anwar Sadat's (the former President) unexpected assassination eight days prior. He has since then reigned with emergency rule and an iron fist. BBC News reports the following about Mubarak's ascension to rule : "Despite having little popular appeal or international profile at the time, the burly military man used his sponsorship of the issue behind Sadat's killing - peace with Israel - to build up his reputation as an international statesman." Since he first took office he still has his country under emergency law which means his government ultimately controls everything and has uncompromising powers of arrest and the power to halt basic freedoms. BBC News reports: "The government argued the draconian regime was necessary to combat Islamist terrorism, which came in waves during the decades of Mr Mubarak's rule - often targeting Egypt's lucrative tourism sector." Today, however this may not ring true anymore. Even though Mubarak has promised to reform Egypt into a more democratic state, he has continued to lead in a absolutist style. Mubarak has won three elections unopposed since 1981, and only in his fourth contest, as recent as 2005, did he allow a system where rival candidates could participate (this was heavily demanded by the US at the time). Yet, "critics said the election was heavily weighted in favour of Mr Mubarak and the National Democratic Party (NDP). They accused the Egyptian leader of presiding over a sustained campaign of suppressing opposition groups, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood", a BBC News source indicates. When one regards this information it is clear why a member of the Egyptian youth would want to oust Mubarak and finally achieve reform, Tunisian style. Mohamed ElBaradei, an Egyptian dissident, has already warned of a "Tunisian style explosion" in Egypt. ElBaradei believes that "what has transpired in Tunisia is no surprise and should be very instructive both for the political elite in Egypt and those in the west that back dictatorships. Suppression does not equal stability, and anybody who thinks that the existence of authoritarian regimes is the best way to maintain calm is deluding themselves." Egypt has experienced self-immolation protests similar to the one that happened in Tunisia early in December where "Mohamed Bouazizi, set fire to himself in protest after police confiscated the fruit and vegetables he was selling from a street stall". Moreover, anti-government activists have already announced plans for a nationwide "day of anger" next week. Protest organizers want to make the world aware of their demand for a fair presidency even with the threat of the Egyptian Police looming, an institution known to have been brutal to anti-regime activists in the past. Yet, even with the poor living conditions for many youth in Egypt, where 61% of the population is under 30 and 37% of people aged 15-29 are not working and not going to school, there is still mystery whether the flames of an Egyptian man who set himself on fire near parliament on the 17th of January can ignite a Tunisian style revolution for youth in Egypt.
