(ANSAmed) - UDINE, MAY 4 - ''I am very optimistic about the
democratic future of my country because the most important
outcome of the revolution against Mubarak's regime has been that
the people now have no more fear''. Egyptian doctor and writer
Alaa el Aswany, who was among the demonstrators in Cairo's
Tahrir Square and who has become one of the symbols of the Arab
Spring, has been speaking in Udine where festival
'Vicino/Lontano' (Near/Far) will see him win the international
Tiziano Terzani literary prize.
''Sure, the situation is still difficult because the Supreme
Command of the armed forces has been opposing the revolution for
fifteen months now. But the anti-revolutionary alliance between
Scaf, the Salafis and more fundamentalist Islamic forces has now
been broken. So I am confident that, if the rule of law is
ensured by the forthcoming elections, democracy will soon
triumph in Egypt''.
Awarded the prize for the book 'The Egyptian Revolution'
(2011), El Aswany also comments on the wearing of the veil: ''I
consider it a personal matter. It is time for the West to get
over its stereotypes: half of the people in Tahrir Square were
women and many of these wore a veil. This does not make them any
less authentic or courageous''. (ANSAmed).
