Cairo
(CNN) -- Thousands of Egyptians filled Cairo's Tahrir Square on
Wednesday, exactly one year after the start of the revolution that
ousted longtime Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak but, many say, accomplished
little else.
At times the mood in the square was somber and
tense amid fears that violence could break out between protesters and
the military.
Many people held banners as they chanted slogans against the country's military leaders.
But some celebrated the anniversary and said Egypt has progressed since Mubarak's ouster.
"This
time last year, every person in Egypt was enslaved to Mubarak's regime,
and those who dared speak or write about his tyranny paid a high
price," said Yasmeen Khalil, a teacher. "Yes, the revolution may not be
complete, but I think we have come a long way, and no one can deny it."
Are you there? Share your perspective from Egypt.
Egypt's
revolution last year came on the heels of Tunisia's revolt that led to
the ouster of that country's leader in January 2011. Since then,
protests against longtime rulers swept across North Africa and the
Middle East, including uprisings in Libya, Yemen and Syria.
Signs
of progress toward a more democratic system in Egypt after the
revolution contrasted with the feeling that the real changes protesters
had hoped for have not been realized.
Egypt's democratically
elected parliament met Monday for the first time since Mubarak was
ousted after decades of authoritarian rule. But the country's
influential military, which stepped into the vacuum as Mubarak teetered
last year, retains much of the decision-making power.
Pro-democracy
activists, frustrated by what they say is the slow pace of change, have
clashed with the military in Cairo's streets in recent months.
"It
is ironic that the most times I've ever been beaten, the most times
I've ever felt the threat of danger, was after Mubarak stepped down,"
Nour Nour, an activist who was 20 at the time of Mubarak's fall, said in
a recent interview. "And all of these are very basic indications that
the regime that is ruling us at the moment is merely a continuation of
the Mubarak regime."
Photos: Looking back at Egypt's uprising
In
the recent parliamentary elections, established Islamist parties like
the Muslim Brotherhood performed much more strongly than the liberal
parties that represented some of the protesters. And a new constitution
has yet to be drawn up.
Some Egyptians have said the hopes forged
by protesters in the heady days of January and February last year were
doomed to fall short.
"There were too many expectations," said
Hisham Qasim, a newspaper publisher and human rights activist. "Raising
the expectations was probably the biggest mistake, and media probably
have a great part to do with that."
Khalil said she was planning
to spend the night in Tahrir Square with her friends, hoping to put
pressure on military junta to reaffirm their transfer of power on time,
end military tribunals of civilians, increase wages and reimburse
families of the of those killed during Egypt's upheaval.
But most
of all, Khalil said, she wanted a guilty verdict for Mubarak, whom she
said robbed the nation for decades and "watched his people die in the
hundreds without ordering his soldiers to stop."
The ailing
Mubarak is on trial on charges of corruption and ordering the deaths of
hundreds of protesters during the clashes last year that led to his
downfall. He has denied the charges
