Former PM stresses Jan. 25 protected Egypt

Egyptian people celebrate the sixth memory of January 25 Revolution which overthrew Egypt's regime of former President Hosni Mubarak. Since the uprising, a state of polarization dominated the Egyptians, as many of them viewed it as a revolution, while others described it as a conspiracy.

Egypt's former Prime Minister Essam Sharaf described what happened on January 25, 2011 as popular revolution and a turning point in Egypr's history. He added, "Despite the attempts to smear the revolution and its youth, it will remain a part of Egypt's national movement, as it had been launched by the people and protected by the army."

He stressed that January 25 Revolution reflects the people movement against corruption and dictatorship. He added, "If we did not move against the former regime, Mubarak's son would have replaced his father."

He added, in an interview with "Arabs Today", that it is not fair to blame January 25 Revolution for the current problems witnessed in the Egyptian community, saying that these problems came as a result of the policies adopted for decades by the former regimes.

He blamed the former regimes for abandoning the Egyptian citizen and his dignity, saying it also undermined Egypt's position in the international community.

He underlined Mubarak's intention to inherit the power to his son, stressing that this intention strongly appeared when the former regime conducted constitutional amendments in 2007. He added that they also allowed the members of National Democratic Party dominate the People's Assembly to achieve the same objective.

 The third step, according to Sharaf, was scheduled to be in May 2011, as Mubarak was intending to give up the power to his son. He said, "What I say is not new, President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi said the same thing before when he was serving as director of Egypt'a military intelligence.

He attributed the current economic situation to the deficit that the current regime inherited from Mubarak's era.

Regarding what was raised over his failure to meet the revolutionary demands, Sharaf said, "I took the position during critical conditions. I accepted to bear the responsibility during such conditions while others refused because of the state of insecurity that hit the country and economic challenges.

The former official praised the role performed by Egypt's Armed Forces, saying that the military institution led by former Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Fantasy kept the unity of Egypt despite the challenges that they faced.

He added that the military managed to protect the country from the destiny of other countries in the region, including Syria and Iraq, stressing that January 25 achieved many of its objective, while it failed to achieve the others.