Why civil council and not parliament?!

While protesters were losing their eyes and gaining permanent disabilities, at the hands of SCAF, today’s parliamentarians and former lower house candidates chose to ignore the eyes and lives lost and focus on their task, or rather goal: to gain votes, to gain power. Not many took a stand against SCAF’s attack of Mohamed Mahmoud Street, Those who did have an opinion decided that the weeks of elections are not appropriate for protesting. Therefore, protesters should have exercised self-restraint and engaged in a peaceful form of self-expression.

SCAF has bestowed us with the terms of agreement for elections of a civilian representative parliament, even the presidential elections (coming soon to a theater near you). How can a parliament supposedly legitimized by people’s votes but more so by SCAF’s will (which decided the rules of the game in the first place) hold its main sponsor accountable for its responsibilities, let alone its crimes?

How can a parliamentarian commit to an oath that includes promising to abide by a constitution and a set of laws brought to us by SCAF and a non-elected cabinet?!

In the opening minutes of the first session of parliament, there was a salute to the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, of course before a salute to the martyrs could be made.

What we need is a civil council. It would hold the highest form of authority (derived from the people) that speaks for the revolution. It would be independent, “civil”, and representative of the revolution. Yes, I wrote it twice.

Isn’t the parliament civil and representative? Civil yes. Representative no. Why? Few to no candidates were genuine in addressing concerns of the revolution. Also, it cannot be representative if 10 of its members are appointed.

Any building with weak foundations will inevitably fall, with or without winds blowing through it. How can speaking of moving forward without mending our past and its foundations?!

How can we begin to discuss (possible long-term solutions to) poverty, unemployment, shortage of affordable housing, health care, outdated curricula in educational institutions, etc when those have have had blood on their hands from January 25, 2011 to this day have not been held accountable for the bodies of the revolution’s martyrs?