The army and the people

The shotgun marriage between the Egyptian people and the ruling military council has not been an easy ride. After many decades on the sidelines of traditional politics, the army has had trouble adapting to the demands of an open, modern government. It has acted slowly, mysteriously and at times in ways reminiscent of Mubarak’s brutal police force. Its public discourse has been aloof, cryptic and often illiberal. Flying in the face of the political realities of the new Egypt it has issued decrees asserting a right to control all information published about the armed forces, and on April 10 a military court jailed a blogger for the first time, on charges of insulting the military establishment and spreading false information. Maikel Nabil Sanad, 25, whose gripe with the military predates the uprising against Mubarak, now faces a three-year prison sentence. Human rights organizations are also unhappy, citing the use of