Since the military coup in the summer of 2013, the Egyptian army has controlled political and economic life and the media, as well as human rights violations continue
The image of the army leaders has witnessed a severe deterioration among Egyptians, especially social media activists.
This negative image, activists say, is the opposite of the high esteem the Egyptians hold for the army chiefs, especially those who participated in the October 1973 war.
The media outlets supporting the regime of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi are keen to feed the feeling that activists and the opposition are targeting the Egyptian army in general, and mocking its leaders along the line, and the subsequent accusations of treason and terrorism, in order to paint a negative stereotype about the opposition and activists.
However, several incidents broke that stereotype, and pointed to the activists' distinction between the army commanders in general and the leaders of the military coup, the last of those facts was the death of the former Major General Abdul Hamid Omran, which had a wide interaction and great praise for the late Major General.
Last October, the death of Major General Adel Suleiman, one of the prominent officers in the October 1973 War, sparked widespread sympathy among opponents of the Sisi regime.
Because of his positions opposing the military coup in support of the independence of Egypt, and his support for the Palestinian cause.
Imran died yesterday, Saturday, in London, at the age of 80, and he is a military and strategic expert who opposed the military coup in Egypt since its inception, and was forced to leave the country for fear of security pursuit.
Major General Omran participated in all modern Egyptian wars, beginning with the tripartite British-French-Israeli aggression in 1956, then the 1967 and 1973 wars, against the Israeli occupation of Sinai.
After graduating from the War College, he worked in the Air Defense Corps, and worked in the National Security Agency in countering espionage.
He is one of the classmates of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the former head of the military council, who ruled Egypt after the January 25 revolution, 2011, and taught at the Military Academy, and one of his students there is Lieutenant General Sami Anan, the former chief of staff of the army.
The Egyptians knew Imran for his biased stances of the January revolution, as he sent several messages to the army leaders, most notably his message on February 4, 2011, before Mubarak stepped down, when he called on them to save the country from “the foolishness of the current rule, which has lost its senses.” He also called on them to protect the people and the sit-in protesters. Tahrir Square then, and save them from the National Party thugs.
During the flare up of the conflict between the revolutionaries and the military council, Imran wrote to the military council saying, "Please, in the name of the company of the October War, do not try to conquer and defeat the people, so let the Egyptian army remain the protector of the Egyptian revolution, and not the enemy of it, do not slip into the Syrian model, as events drag some of them Some, please, live as heroes, and leave with dignity, for you are the dearest of our hearts. "
Egypt today lost one of its knights in London who did not lose the compass of patriotism and was not deceived by gains and positions, and he did not betray the covenant.
Major General Abd al-Hamid Omran, the supporter of the revolution, died to the mercy of God, who preferred political asylum to participation in employment for the Zionists, betrayal of honor and alienation of the land
and we belong to God and to Him we shall return pic.twitter.com/6t5VEasXpK
- The Egyptian Revolutionary Council (@ERC_egy) December 26, 2020
The late Major General opposed the military coup against the elected President Mohamed Morsi, and also strongly condemned the massacre of dispersal of the Rab'a sit-in, in which hundreds of supporters of the late president were killed, and said that the dispersal in this way is mainly due to Sisi's intention to get rid of the only political faction competing with him in the coming days and to remove it From the scene.
Imran held al-Sisi responsible for the international condemnations of the army leadership, saying that Sisi “insulted the institution of the armed forces and its leadership at the global level, as no Egyptian military leadership had ever condemned it by an international organization,” referring to the reports of international organizations about the massacre.
Stay with God and sincere condolences to the family of Al-Siddiq,
Major General Dr. Engineer / Abdul Hamid Omran
- Dr.
Tharwat Nafeh (@snafei) December 26, 2020
Social media activists mourned Major General Omran, stressing that he was the model for the army commander, whom Egyptians love and respect.
And some of them numbered the late General’s intellectual and political virtues, especially that he was carried away by estrangement for the sake of the word of truth, which he believed in.
Others called on the army leaders to follow the path of the late in respecting the will of the Egyptians and distancing the army from politics and economics, stressing that this is the approach that makes the Egyptian army a strong, professional army defending Egypt and its people and supporting the Arab and Islamic nations.
May God have mercy on the respected general (Major General Dr. Abdel Hamid Omran) who preserved and his ilk in honor of the Egyptian military, one of the leaders of the October War of 73, and when the January Revolution broke out, he sided with it sincerely, and sided with the civilian leader who brought him, and when the coup occurred from his disciples, he cursed them and disowned them. And he left Egypt emigrating, to die in his exile pic.twitter.com/rC3GbtvNKv
- kotb elaraby (@kotbelaraby) December 26, 2020
Goodbye, my friend, the warrior general, Major General Abdul Hamid Imran.
This time, I was not on time, I
let you down,
forgive me.
I will stay here temporarily with millions of people praying to God to build you a home in Heaven, and we are sure of the answer pic.twitter.com/rfWRHknQlk
- wael kandil (@ waiel65) December 26, 2020
The human being is a position. This is how Mahmoud, the Secretary of the world taught me .. Major General Abdel Hamid Omran chose his position .. to be against Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his regime .. and he traveled at the end of his life to London, where he lived .. I met him a lot, and he and General Adel Suleiman were the wall of answers to my confused questions. Special to what is happening from the leaders of the army .. pic.twitter.com/8MMQcQkpQZ
- Sami Kamal El-Din (@samykamaleldeen) December 26, 2020
Do 2020 not leave us without grieving us in our most sincere national figures, the best leaders of the armed forces, the most noble, magnanimous, patriotic, and love for Egypt and its people ... May God Almighty have mercy on us, Major General Abdel Hamid Omran ,, pic.twitter.com/F3T2wltr01
- Dr.
Tariq Al-Zomor (@drtarekelzomor) December 26, 2020
2020 refuses to leave before it stripped us of all the honorable men of the true generation of Egyptian soldiers that were not tainted with corruption, chauvinism or intolerance. 'A generation knew its enemy and fought it and did not deviate from it or pacify it.' A generation of leaders from whom we learned a lot and a lot 'has the right of Major General Abdel Hamid Omran to Major General Adel Soliman God willing 😢😢 pic.twitter.com/Hq0cl2GZrU
- Alaa Irfan (@erfanalaa) December 26, 2020
If the January Revolution had a military commander who represented the people as Minister of Defense, there is no doubt that he was Major General Staff of War, Dr.
Abdul Hamid Omran .. It is true that he is not the only soldier who represents the revolution, but he is the oldest soldier, the most experienced and in history.
The year 2020 AD refuses to go without leaving a last painful bruise at ... https://t.co/Za8dkfCYsb
- Arabic 21 (@ Arabi21News) December 27, 2020