In this article our subject will be how to deal with “Violence” that may be generated in the “Path of Change”. The point here is not the repressive forces violence, but the violence that has crept into the change practices, to label the project of change with a violent image.

Although the generated violence usually starts as a reaction to the one practiced by the repressive forces or due to the provocation of the other parties of the dictatorial regime to the masses of resistants, in this article we will not address the phenomenon of the resistants’ violence as a reaction, however we will talk about taking the initiative to use violence, even in the absence of manifestations of provocation by the security forces, which are usually located in the arena of confrontation.

Before starting to review the methods of besieging mass’s violence, we consider it necessary to remind the resistant people that maintaining the objectives of change is linked heavily to maintaining its course, for both can be subjected to theft and intrusion attempts. The resistants should therefore be aware that the emphasis on and preservation of the goals must be accompanied by the emphasis on and preservation of the track.

Violence that crept into activities advocated by the forces of change can be classified to:

• The violence of protesters as a result of enthusiasm.

• The violence of other organized forces.

First: The violence of protesters as a result of enthusiasm:

This takes many forms including:

Verbal Violence: that is the use of insults and obscene signs by some enthusiastic demonstrators, they are for the most part expressing their standpoint in the way they are accustomed to, and according to their culture. These should not be punished; but it is upon the work groups located in the field of the resistant action to help them change their attitude. These enthusiastic and bold groups can – with the spirit of challenge they hold- be transformed to become an important component in the change project, and we will mention some general strategies for dealing with this type of violence, for example:

1.Dialogue Management: a dialogue is administered with groups that practice this behavior, clarifying to them the downside of this practice, which is reflected on the demonstration’s form and the extent of interaction of the general public with it. This dialogue will be performed on the ground or proactively before the demonstration’s time, in the case where the groups practicing this type of work are known.

2. Ignorance with Taking Caution: if persuasion did not work there is nothing wrong with leaving them and ignore what they are doing so as not to develop the issue and increase intransigence. Though, caution should be taken – from these groups in particular – so that verbal violence will not develop into physical violence or sabotage.

3. Jamming: also, verbal violence can be overcome by jamming it through an enthusiastic group song, organized cheers, or a drawing attention action, without showing that this is a reaction on their practice in order not to worsen things.

4. Absorption: in the case where these groups have leaders; they can be absorbed in the main arena of demonstrations. Whenever these groups feel alienated they exercise their work the way they are used to, and whenever it is possible to incorporate them in the established events the more it is possible to make them feel harmony with the demonstration’s overall atmosphere. To be surrounded by demonstrators is better than leaving them on the sides.

5. The Human Wall: in all cases when some of the participating groups are expected to give rise to riots, the specialized teams in securing the demonstration should proceed these groups as a human insulator (with a thickness of at least five rows according to the intensity of these groups), to prevent clashes. It should be taken into consideration that these teams are sufficiently conscious, can develop means of dialogue with such groups, and try their means on the ground. Also, good training for those teams should prevent them from clashing with demonstrators who are engaged in violent practices.

Physical Violence: It occurs mostly when those who want to clash with the security forces stand at the forefront of demonstrations. To prevent the outbreak of violence, the front line must be controlled by groups trained on self-control and non-engagement, their role is not to encounter the security forces and negotiate with them on one hand, and to prevent a clash by any of the demonstrators with them on the other hand.

Vandalism Violence: Like setting fire and damaging properties, and this is dealt with by making sure not to enter any participant with incendiary materials or tools which can be used in acts of sabotage, or by providing popular committees to protect facilities without getting directly involved in demonstrations. The popular committees played a prominent role in the Egyptian Revolution in this field, by holding back anyone carrying any tool or material that can be used to harm facilities or demonstrators.

Second: Violence carried out by other organized powers:

There are other cases where the cause of the outbreak of violence is not the enthusiasm of groups of demonstrators, however it is systematic violence carried out by organized groups. These groups may really believe in the violent track as the feasible path, or they may be groups that are designed to thwart the project of change, such as belonging to foreign parties, to the remnants of the former regime, or to ones who do not want stability. In the end we will call them "Vandals".

In the case of groups that embrace violence as a genuine path, they will lose any real public support, especially if society achieves its goals peacefully – even if slowly, particularly when society realizes that there is an important goal being achieved by its non-violent practices, which is the formation of a new cohesive society interacts with its reality by using new tools that entrench in it sophisticated means for political dialogue and stepping pressure up. By developing the non-violence means and increasing its effectiveness this path will recede.

As for the groups holding targets that are irrelevant to the project of change (Vandals), and do not want it to succeed; its fundamental objectives are:

• Raise public discontent.

• Fail the existing government, and involve it in files that will encumber it.

Here violence in itself is not the goal, i.e. the destruction or sabotage of any property is not done as a strategic objective. However, the goal is to influence the masses, and negatively affect the forces carrying on the project of change.

To prevent such acts or to deal with it is not related to a force that is capable of regulating the street, but to the actual capacity to secure facilities and respond to the sabotage attempts. This is the security personnel’s duty in the first place. Then the identities of violence and vandalism provokers should be revealed and exposed to the public, and this is the forces of change task.

The primary role of the demonstrators is to address the objectives of the of violence provokers not violence itself, thus seek to win the public opinion, while the vandals try to provoke resentment, and support the government if the goal was to disrupt it, this off course depends on the overall position of society from the government and its satisfaction with their performance.

In the case of organized violence from forces that want to thwart the project of change; the forces of change can do the following:

· Maintain the non-violence track since the beginning of the conflict – as a proactive act – so that change movements will be labeled with this character, and then will not have to make an effort to defend itself in times of crisis, not only in front of the officials, but also in front of the people which is more important.

· Continue awareness of the non-violence path as the effective idea to build a society mastering dialogue. Non-violence awareness projects are an opportunity to popular communication and a confirmation of the approach. This could prepare the crowd for self-control and having faith in the path, in addition to the in advance acquittal from any suspicion pointing to the contamination of movements with violence.

· Besieging violence after it began and take the initiative to reduce its cost, non-violence may not succeed in killing violence completely; however it is capable of besieging it.

· Withdrawal directly from the places where violence breaks out, with documentation of what is going on in the media, and try to capture some of those who practice that work to find out their motives, allegiances and expose them in front of the public opinion. So as they slip suddenly to change the scene to a violent one, sudden withdrawal can leave them alone in the area without being sheltered by the masses.

· The groups that were prepared to play as security forces should work on protecting facilities and communicate directly with the media to clarify the picture, for there are no demonstrators in the place, there is only a group of vandals. The withdrawal of the masses along with the development of this method prevents rumors repeated by the participants, where everyone tells a different story. It also protects the public from the consequences of violence or fear of participation later on. (This requires public awareness on how to behave in demonstrations).

· Help the police to play their role in the protection of facilities, especially when they do not show any hostility towards the protesters, by considering them the last line of defense, not the first, to avoid clashes with the protesters. Thus, it is important to work on the relationship between the police and the demonstrators to make it a complementary one.

· Invest violence and turn it into a positive event by conducting a dialogue with society through a variety of activities and events that assure commitment to the goals and the peaceful track, and clarify the need to address the perpetrators of these events by the people, by confirming their loyalty to the project of change and understanding their attempts to thwart it.

· Diversity and development of means, because any new method confuses the opponent for a while, but after some time he adapts to it, discover its gaps and weaknesses, and then begin to target it and vanquish it. The large crowds is an effective and confusing tool, but after a period violence can infiltrate through it, if there is no interest in making awareness of the path.

The basic rules for dealing with violence can be summed up in the following points:

· Securing the activity is as important as the activity itself, both of which must be planned for.

· The absolute non-violence is sometimes impossible, but it is characterized by seeking to curb violence, not provoke it.

·   The higher the numbers were the higher the need for adding a cheerful character that reduces tension and limits cramping, it also reflects the nature of the activity carried out by demonstrators, which is far from being an act of vandalism. In such activities it is possible to wear distinctive clothes to attract attention and have symbolic indication, write on the ground, sing, etc., taking into account filming this and broadcasting it in media.

· Contact the people of the region before the demonstration’s time, and inform them of the program and the aim to win their support. It is also possible to communicate with the security forces in the region to reassure them and coordinate the protection of facilities with them.

· Thank the people of the region which hosted the demonstration after it is finished through all the available means, in order to deepen their relationship with the project of change, and as a sign of loyalty for their embracement of the demonstration. These people may be the securing element and the primary witness on what is going on, whether the demonstration was completed without violence, or some vandals infiltrated to it.

·  Public awareness of the non-violence method is a safety valve for society, and thus it is transformed from being a political elite culture to a popular culture.

·     In the case of fear of the outbreak of violence, activities requiring small numbers and are capable of making a qualitative effect can be adopted. (Not all the non-violence war effective means are based on large numbers).

·   The diversity and development of means can prevent the outbreak of violence by parties aiming to thwart the project of change because for them these are new tools they did not have the chance to study their gaps yet.

·   Some degrees of violence may require police intervention, when the matter is greater than the capacity the organizers of the demonstrations. Then, they should coordinate with the police concerning the level of intervention. This is certainly in the case when the organizers of demonstrations are convinced they need the police to address the violence of vandalism, and that their abilities alone are not enough to shatter any violence. Especially with regard to the protection of the facilities.

·   The outbreak of violence is an opportunity to develop society’s strategies and tools of dealing with violence.

These were some initial ideas on dealing with violence when it sneaks to the project of change, whether by the forces of change or outside forces. It can be developed by implementing workshops and establishing civil society institutions to do some partial tasks that require specialization and professionalism, such as media and securing actions.

A society that adopt demonstrations as a primary mean for political pressure should evolve this mean so that it becomes a professional not amateurs one, since organized violence rings the bell of the need for renewal. Regardless of who is behind it, the political opponents will never end, and the infiltration of violence into the change scene rings the bells of the necessity to move to advanced and studied work.

The important message attention should be paid to when violence sneaks into the path of change – without real justification like excessive suppression – that the whole society is responsible for the development of strategies and mechanisms to protect its peaceful path, which is not a path that is associated with a revolutionary event as much as it is linked to the establishment of a new culture in society, which will determine how the political dialogue is going to be conducted between the components of this society.

The outbreak of violence can be seen as an opportunity to put a new brick in the strong society, for it does not reflect the challenge of today, but the challenge of tomorrow, how society will be able to build its capacities to manage political conflict in a civilized way to present the model to the world? And because necessity is the mother of invention, the outbreak of violence events promises a coming invention, when certain groups specialize academically and on the ground in the area of (Security of the Strong Society), where it develop strategies and means specialized in popular security for any activity, and will have a prominent role in all society activities where friction between the people is expected, and the people do not intend to involve the police in it.

By Ahmad Adel Abd Al-Hakeem and Wael Adel

Translated by Rana Mohammed

September 11, 2011