2012 Timeline
Egyptian Coptic Christians and Muslims ushered in the New Year with a candlelight vigil for the people who were killed during the revolution at Tahrir Square. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
January 1, Thursday
January 7, Friday
Pope Shenouda III celebrated Christmas Mass at St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral with secular, military and Islamic leaders in attendance. But when the pope greeted his guests, some in the crowd began chanting “Down with military rule.”
January 10, Tuesday
The court adjourned the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak to 17 January, after which the judge said the court will hold daily sessions until 16 February. This meant there would be no verdict in the trial until after the anniversaries of the beginning of the uprisings, and Mubarak’s resignation.
Al-Azhar issued its “basic freedoms” statement for Egypt, outlining the importance for the future state of freedom of faith, freedom of expression, and freedom to innovate and conduct scientific research.
In an interview on the private TV channel Al-Hayat author Lamees Gaber said that a wide segment of Egyptians have become “fed up” with the revolution, and that “burned books [of the the Institut d’Egypt] are more important than the woman’s honor [referring to the image of a woman during fighting near Tahrir Square being beaten by mililtary officers who tore off her abaya] .”
January 11, Wednesday
Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri, Pope Shenouda III, presidential hopefuls Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, and leaders of political groups such as the Freedom and Justice, Wafd, Social Democratic, Tagammu, Nour and Adl parties attended a national dialogue meeting was held at Al-Azhar to recapture the spirit of the 25 January uprising. Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb called on Egypt’s military rulers to accelerate their handover of power to civilians.
Major General Ismail Etman, the head of the military’s morale affairs department announced that 25 January has been declared a national day and the military will organize a huge celebration of the revolution. He described three official celebrations:
- A “popular, artistic” celebration in Tahrir Square organized by youth groups and the ministry of culture.
- An official parade and celebration organized by the military similar to thosecommemorating the 6th of October war and the 23 July revolution.
- A concert to encourage work and the prevention of sectarian strife, with satellite performances in Al-Arish, Alexandria, Marsa Matrouh, Nubia, and Suez.
Leaders of several revolutionary movements–including the National Assembly for Change, the 25 January Revolutionary Youth Coalition, the Union of Revolutionary Youths, and the Kefaya Movement–said that the decision of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces’ (SCAF) to declare 25 January a national holiday will not undermine calls to peaceful protest against military rule on that day, since the principle grievances–continuation of the emergency law, military trials of civilians, failure to hold trials of those who have killed rebels and detention of political prisoners without charges or trials–have not been addressed.
Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter told the New York Times “I don’t think the SCAF is going to turn over full responsibility to the civilian government. There are going to be some privileges of the military that would probably be protected.”
January 12, Thursday
In response to former U.S. president Jimmy Carter’s statement in the New York Times Wednesday, General Ismail Etman, the head of the military council’s Morale Affairs Directorate reiterated SCAF’s intention to “deliver power to an elected civilian president before 30 June 2012 and return to its barracks to perform its major responsibility of defending the Egyptian land.”
Supporters of former NDP member Mahmoud Nabih set the Daqahlia Governorate headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party on fire to protest their candidate’s losing the parliamentary elections run-off vote.
January 13, Friday
Dozens of protesters, including Mazhar Shahin, the imam of Omar Makram mosque, marched around Tahrir Square after Friday prayers, demanding retribution for protesters killed since the 25 January revolution began, social justice, halting natural gas exports to Israel, and a swift transition to civilian rule.
January 14, Saturday
January 24, Tuesday
In a televised address to the nation Field-Marshal Tantawi officially declared an end to Egypt’s longstanding state of emergency–except, he said, in cases of “thuggery.”
January 25, 2012
On the anniversary of the first uprising, tens of thousands of Egyptians marched along the routes of those first marches, culminating in a massive gathering in Tahrir Square.
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April
24 April, 2012
Hundreds of Egyptians protested in front of Saudi Embassy headquarters in Cairo, in objection to the arrest of Ahmed Gizawy in Saudi because of his criticisms of the king. Gizawy was sentenced to one year in prison and 20 lashes.
27 April, 2012
A group of supporters of the disqualified Salafi presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail marched on the Ministry of Defense in Abbassiya, and staged a sit-in, calling for the dissolution of the Presidential Electoral Committee, which had disqualified their candidate.
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May
9 May, 2012
Thousands marched on the Egyptian parliament, denouncing the army’s crackdown on revolutionaries in front of the Ministry of Defense in Abbassiya.
10 May, 2012
First televised presidential debate in Egypt’s history between liberal diplomat Amr Moussa (a former foreign minister and Arab League Secretary General) and moderate Islamist Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh aired simultaneously on privately owned channels ONTV and Dream, in collaboration with co-sponsors El Shorouk and AlMasry AlYoum, independent daily newspapers.
CONNECTED in CAIRO 
I’m not sure if this website may be the most suitable stage for declaring this although what I think of as soon as I read this particular subject is something a little distinctive from what I guess was planned. There are lots of scenarios that call for two sides to the story. If you don’t are accustomed to a dictatorship, you will have a difficult time just accepting what you read without offering your own viewpoint.