In a demonstration that metamorphosed into a sit-in in front of the presidential palace in Cairo this afternoon, the protestors whose numbers swelled into the thousands have been demanding a civic State in Egypt and an end to the forced Islamisation of the country
In a demonstration that metamorphosed into a sit-in in front of the presidential palace in Cairo this afternoon, the protestors whose numbers swelled into the thousands have been demanding a civic State in Egypt and an end to the forced Islamisation of the country. They have been chanting slogans which alleged that the ruling Islamist regime is abandoning Egyptian interests for the benefit of Islamic movements such as Hamas in Gaza. They also demanded that the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), the group from whose Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) President Mohamed Mursi comes, should be disbanded on grounds that it is a religious group that should by law have no political activity.
The main particpants in the protest are the secular political movements in Egypt, including various secular alliances, leftists, Sufi Muslim movements, and a number of Coptic youth groups. The protests started mainly with Cairo residents, but is being joined by the hour with busloads of protestors from various places in Egypt.
The security forces and the presidential guard tried to deter the protestors from reaching the presidential palace, to the point of blocking several roads, but were not successful.
In a scene reminiscent of the first days of the revolution of 25 January 2011 in central Cairo##s Tahrir Square, the Muslim protestors held their sunset prayers in front of the presidential palace this evening while the Coptic protestors surrounded them in protection.
The official media, however, has dowplayed the protests, in some cases describing the protestors and the politician and activist Mohamed Abu-Hamed who rallied for the protest as “traitors”. Abu-Hamed had termed the rally a “second revolution” for the Egyian people to regain their first revolution of January 2011 which was, according to him, usurped by the Islamists.
WATANI International
24 August 2012