Clashes have broken out in Cairo’s Tahrir Square between Pro-democracy and Pro-Mubarak demonstrators. The pro-Mubarak supporters that have taken to the streets are “incredibly aggressive” says New York Times columnist, Nicholas Kristof. There are questions as to whether they were organized and sent into the streets to incite violence.
Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said professor of Modern Arab studies at Columbia University says “this is a game of chicken.” The government is trying to incite chaos in order to maintain control as the transition happens. This includes, says Khalidi, the release of prisoners. He says it’s not going to be easy to have a transition. “I don’t see that this man is going to change, I don’t see that this regime is going to change,” says Rashid Khalidi, explaining that Mubarak has longseen himself as standing between chaos and stability, even if that means violating human rights.