Mubarak laid to rest with full honours
AL SISSI LEADS FUNERAL PRAYERS ATTENDED BY EX-PRESIDENT’S SONS, ARMYMEN AND OFFICIALS
Egypt yesterday held a military funeral in Cairo for its former president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for 30 years until he was ousted in a 2011 popular uprising against corruption.
Horses drew Mubarak’s coffin draped in the Egyptian flag at a mosque complex, followed by a procession led by President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi, Egypt’s top military brass, Mubarak’s sons Ala’a and Jamal, a grandson, and other Egyptian and Arab dignitaries.
The funeral was broadcast live on an Egyptian state TV. Mubarak’s body was put on a carriage with guards mounted on horses leading it. An army officer walked behind the carriage, carrying the medals that Mubarak received during his life. Several of Mubarak’s loyalists, holding his portraits, gathered outside the Musheer Mosque where the funeral took place. They paid homage to him as some burst into tears amid tight security.
Mubarak’s body was to be transported inside a helicopter for burial in his family’s cemetery in the east Cairo quarter of Heliopolis where he lived.
Mubarak died on Tuesday in a military hospital aged 91.
The Egyptian presidency praised him as “one of heroes and commanders” of the 1973 war against Israel when he was the head of Egypt’s air force.
The presidency also announced three days of national mourning over his death. Egypt’s state and private TV stations devoted a lot of their airtime lauding his military and presidential record. The broadcasters also displayed a black ribbon on their screens in a sign of mourning.
Mubarak took office in 1981, but was forced to resign following a 2011 uprising.
Strong support
Dozens of Mubarak supporters, some from his home village Kafr Al Meselha in the Nile Delta, gathered outside the mosque for the funeral.
“I am happy that his pride was restored” after his removal, “and for the state’s appreciation for him after his death,” said Zeenat Touhami, a 35-year old woman from Cairo. “This is the history of 30 years, the farewell of 30 years”.
Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to murder 239 demonstrators during the 18-day revolt in 2011, but was freed in 2017 after being cleared of those charges.
He was also convicted in 2015 along with his two sons of diverting public funds to upgrade family properties. They were sentenced to three years in jail.
Egyptian state and private newspapers ran front page pictures of Mubarak, while state TV showed excerpts of previous speeches. This was a stark contrast to the treatment of his successor, Mohammad Mursi, who lasted only a year in office before the army toppled him. Mursi died last year after collapsing in court while on trial.
He might have been out of power for almost a decade, but Hosni Mubarak continued to gain the respect of his fellow citizens and outside Egypt until his death on Tuesday. Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for 30 years until he stepped down following popular protests in 2011, stayed out of the limelight ever since he left the presidency. He spent most of those between trials and hospitals. Aside from the few times he spoke to the judges during his trials, he kept to himself as a private citizen. Egyptians respected him for that.
People may have different opinions of Mubarak and what he represented. Nevertheless, most agree that he, as a military officer, vice-president and president (since 1981), embodied an important era in the modern history of the largest Arab country, which began with a military victory in 1973 that led to the return of Israel-occupied Egyptian lands, including Sinai. Then came the Camp David accord with Israel in 1979. That era also saw Egypt’s transformation from a socialist-led regime to a free market society and the establishment of political parties.
The outpouring of condolences from Egyptians shows that despite his obvious shortfalls as president, Mubarak will always be remembered as a patriotic leader, unlike many others in the Arab world who unleashed the full military power against their people during the so-called Arab Spring. He chose to withdraw peacefully from public life to preserve his country’s unity and stability and avoid internal conflicts that erupted in Syria and Libya.
Mubarak endured numerous trials despite his obvious illness. He was eventually exonerated of most charges against him, including the serious charge of responsibility of the death of protesters during the Tahrir Square demonstrations. He maintained his innocence and was ultimately acquitted in 2017.
His trials were controversial because they were deemed as an act of revenge during the short-lived rule of the Muslim Brotherhood and their leader, former president Mohamed Mursi, ousted in July 2013 following another mass protest. During the last phases of the Mubarak trials, under the current President Abdul Fattah Al Sisi, the court was seen as too lenient towards the former president. However, all agree that Mubarak, despite his oftenautocratic governing style, will be remembered as the man who kept his country united during a critical junction of its modern history.