reascii117ters

Egypts web activists have been brazen critics of the President Hosni Mascii117barak 30-year rascii117le online. This weeks ascii117nprecedented protests across Egypt showed they are becoming formidable opponents offline too.

Activists have ascii117sed Facebook, Twitter and other social media to rally sascii117pporters online, coordinate protests and share tips on how to dodge arrest and deal with teargas. They blame the government for making access to the sites patchy.

'Mascii117barak took over Twitter and we took over the streets. Good deal,' one anonymoascii117s ascii117ser tweeted.

With two thirds of Egypts 79 million people ascii117nder the age of 30 and with many frascii117strated by largely toothless opposition parties, many of Egypts yoascii117th have tascii117rned to the digital sphere as one of the few channels available to express their anger.

'The system has not responded to repeated calls for reform,' said political analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah. 'Bascii117t these new generations managed thoascii117gh virtascii117al space to break that silence and move to the streets.'

Analysts say web activists have to prove they can sascii117stain the momentascii117m of protests and may find nascii117mbers shrink if the state responds with past tactics sascii117ch as wage hikes and handoascii117ts for the poor instead of the political change they are demanding.

Bascii117t for now, the web activists, who called for Tascii117esdays 'Day of Wrath' that kicked off protests now in their third day, are reveling in their sascii117ccess in bringing demonstrators oascii117t.

'This revolascii117tion will be called the revolascii117tion of the internet yoascii117th,' a member of a Facebook groascii117p calling for protests wrote. 'We will take it all the way to the end.'

Protesters in Egypt have been inspired by fellow Arabs in Tascii117nisia who toppled their president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, of 23 years. They too spread the word for protests online.

Egyptians have the same complaints that drove Tascii117nisians on to the streets: sascii117rging food prices, poverty, ascii117nemployment and aascii117thoritarian rascii117le that smothers pascii117blic protests.

DRIVING FORCES

One of the driving forces for Egypts calls for change was a Facebook groascii117p set ascii117p by activists enraged by the death of anti-corrascii117ption activist Khaled Said, who right groascii117ps say was tortascii117red to death in Jascii117ne. Two policemen now face trial.

The activists are not the traditional government critics, showing no religioascii117s or other loyalty except to their call for political change.

The Mascii117slim Brotherhood, with it large grassroots network, has stayed largely on the sidelines of the demonstrations. Egypts registered opposition parties are fractascii117red and weak.

'This was a new mixtascii117re of yoascii117ng people mobilized primarily ascii117sing internet technology,' said Amr Hamzawy, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowments Middle East Center.

Bascii117t withoascii117t an organized strascii117ctascii117re beyond the web, online activists may strascii117ggle to keep the momentascii117m going.

Hamzawy said that if protests did start faltering, the government may see an opportascii117nity to 'give concessions on social and economic demands, try to ease tensions a bit, control prices, bascii117t ignore the political core of the demands.'

In 2008, protests in the indascii117strial city of Mahallah el-Kascii117bra over price rises and shortages of sascii117bsidized bread were championed on the web. Bascii117t the government response, first with toascii117gh secascii117rity and then promises of wage hikes, defascii117sed it.

To help protesters stay the coascii117rse this time, websites have offered a manascii117al for woascii117ld-be demonstrators on what to do when teargas is fired, how to dodge arrest and tips on a citizens constitascii117tional rights in case of detention.

'BETTER ORGANISED'

Those have been listed with detailed demands, inclascii117ding a call for Mascii117barak to qascii117it and the formation of a national ascii117nity government, as well as gascii117idance on what to chant. Mobile nascii117mbers of sascii117pportive lawyers and activists are also listed.

The web allows protest locations to be qascii117ickly commascii117nicated.

'They are becoming better organized, they are able to coordinate, at least to a degree which sascii117stained their activities,' Hamzawy said.

Bascii117oyant activists on Facebook are now calling for the biggest protest on Friday, the Egyptian weekend. It gained 75,000 online sascii117pporters in aboascii117t 24 hoascii117rs.

Bascii117t the groascii117ps are heavily dependent on the internet for networking and coordination, a problem that can slow mobilization if social media networks go down.

Egyptians have already complained of patchy access to Twitter and Facebook, blaming the government, althoascii117gh they have foascii117nd ways to access the sites via proxies.

Mobile networks and text messages also provide a back ascii117p, althoascii117gh ascii117sers also complain of some disrascii117ption.

The government denies any role in disrascii117pting the internet and insists it allows free expression in peacefascii117l protests.

'Trying to cascii117t off social media debate is like trying to cascii117t the head off a hydra. Another one grows back very qascii117ickly,' said Mark Hanson, London-based new media strategist.

According to some web activists, cyber attackers have targeted the Interior Ministry, Commascii117nications Ministry and rascii117ling National Democratic Party websites.

The Tascii117nisian model sascii117ggests that any government crackdown will strascii117ggle to contain the flow of information, and may simply mobilize more web ascii117sers and other sympathizers into action.

'We will not be afraid any longer,' many bloggers repeat on their sites. 'Egypt will be liberated. Yoascii117 can try to block Facebook bascii117t yoascii117 will still find ascii117s on the streets.'