Egypt Flares Up Again
By Countercurrents.org
02 February 2013
Countercurrents.org
Flames of protests opposing Muslim Brotherhood’s authoritarian rule flared up again in Egypt. At least one protester is killed and scores injured in clashes outside Egypt's Presidential Palace while Molotov cocktails thrown by the demonstrators ignited fire in the Palace garden. Clashes continued at 11 pm near the Palace.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets on February 1, 2013 in Cairo and across the country to demand the dismissal of the government of prime minister Hisham Qandil, the amendment of Egypt's newly-approved constitution and the appointment of a new prosecutor-general [1].
Towards the evening, the protests – called for by 16 Egyptian opposition parties and movements – turned violent, especially near the Presidential Palace in Cairo's Heliopolis district. At one point, protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at the building, resulting in a limited fire in the Palace garden.
Security forces fired volleys of teargas at demonstrators and later torched several tents that had been part of a sit-in.
By 9pm, the health ministry announced that the total number of injured in the clashes had reached 30, at least 24 of whom had been wounded outside the palace.
At around 9:30pm, a video surfaced online showing security forces deployed near the Presidential Palace stripping and beating a protester before throwing him in the back of a security vehicle.
Interior ministry officials later said that the incident shown in the footage would be investigated.
The situation escalated further when the presidency issued a statement condemning the assault on the palace and holding opposition "political forces" responsible for instigating the violence.
Soon afterward, a second statement was issued by the Muslim Brotherhood – the group from which president Morsi hails – urging the same "political forces" to leave the palace's premises so as to avoid "the potential for violence."
Several of the opposition groups that had called for the protests released statements shortly afterward condemning the use of violence and urging their members to withdraw from areas around the palace.
"The National Salvation Front urges young activists at the palace to refrain from committing acts of violence and to employ exclusively peaceful methods,” NSF spokesman Khaled Daoud told Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news website.
The NSF, Daoud added, also urged Egyptian security forces to show self-restraint and use only “legitimate means” when dealing with protesters.
Additional protests were also seen in the cities of Port Said, Alexandria, Fayoum, Kafr Al-Sheikh, Qena, Suez and Arish.
In the Nile Delta city of Kafr El-Sheikh, 18 people were injured in clashes between protesters and security forces.
Clashes reportedly intensified after police fired teargas at demonstrators – who responded by hurling rocks – outside the local governor's office.
In Fayoum, protesters engaged in clashes with young Muslim Brotherhood members.
Mohamed Hussein Korani, the 23-year-old protester killed during clashes outside the palace, sustained gunshot wounds to the neck and chest.
As of 11pm, clashes near the Presidential Palace remained ongoing, with security forces firing teargas and birdshot towards demonstrators who responded with rocks and Molotov cocktails.
Hazel Haddon, Nada Hussein, Yasmine Wali, Yasmine Fathi, Salma Shukrallah reported [2]:
A few thousand marchers headed from Tahrir Square to the State TV and Radio building.
Essam El-Erian, vice-president of the Brotherhood’s FJP, described events at the Presidential Palace as “criminal.” “These are not protesters; these are criminals who should be chased down and brought to justice,” he said.
At one point, Central Security Forces retreated away from protesters, although teargas was fired.
In Alexandria, hundreds of anti-Morsi protesters converged arriving from separate marches. The march arrived at the State TV & Radio building.
In the city of Fayoum, limited clashes had erupted between anti-Morsi protesters and FJP members outside the party’s headquarters.
During the march on the local governor’s office, a group of protesters tore down a banner bearing the slogan of the Muslim Brotherhood and the FJP outside the party’s headquarters. Young FJP members who had been guarding the building responded by hurling rocks at the protesters, after which the latter responded in kind.
The FJP in Fayoum later released a statement saying that protesters had fired shotguns loaded with birdshot at party members and attempted to storm the building. The allegations were denied, however, by the revolutionary groups who had called for the march, along with a journalist who says he had been at the scene.
NSF spokesman Khaled Daoud condemned “all forms of violence and assaults on public entities.” In an interview with Al-Ahram’s Arabic-language news website, he asserted that the NSF-organized march had been a peaceful one and had remained so.
“The Front urges young activists present at the palace to refrain from committing acts of violence and employ exclusively peaceful methods,” Daoud said. He added that the NSF also urged security forces and presidential guards to show self-restraint and use only “legitimate means” when dealing with protesters.
The Muslim Brotherhood in a statement called for the protests to depart from the premises of the Presidential Palace so as to avoid the potential “for violence.” The group went on to deny rumors that it planned to mobilize members to come to the defense of the beleaguered palace.
At the Presidential Palace, there were chaotic scenes.
Chants of "The people demand the fall of the regime" filtered through the plumes of toxic gas.
Police took down tents belonging to an anti-Morsi sit-in by the palace gates and set fire to the remains of the camp. Protesters keep pushing forward, only to face more gas.
The presidency in a statement condemned the assault on the Palace.
The Evangelical Church in Cairo’s Heliopolis district - not far from the Presidential Palace – announced plan to set up a field hospital for injured protesters.
Protesters shoot fireworks at security personnel
Four bullet-proof armored vehicles were deployed by security forces near the presidential palace as clashes intensified.
The April 6 Youth Movement has announced on its official Twitter account that it withdrew from the presidential palace when the clashes started and has nothing to do with what is going on there.
The April 6 Democratic Front also withdrew in protest at the use of violence.
Hundreds of protesters headed to the Shura Council in a rally.
In Port Said, a few thousand gathered. It could have been far more but the heavy rain impacted the numbers.
It’s been a week since Port Said residents announced their independence from the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Revolutionary forces organized a march in Al-Arish city in North Sinai under the banner of “ousting the regime and the Supreme Guidance rule” (a reference to the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood).
A march started demanding the continuation of the revolution to achieve the revolution’s demands, formulating a legal committee to amend the constitution, resignation of the current prosecutor-general, resignation of prime minister Qandil's government, formulation of a national salvation government, legalizing the Muslim Brotherhood and subjecting the group to the laws and guidelines that govern legal organizations, and the investigation of the deaths of Egyptian soldiers defending Egypt’s borders.
In the Nile Delta city of Mahalla El-Kobra, hundreds of protesters demonstrated in front of the city council. Members of the Black Bloc group made human shields around the protesters to protect them from attacks from the supporters of the Brotherhood.
Actress Saffa Turkey told that she joined the protests to call for the fall of the regime.
“I am with the revolution and I want a civilian president. I am against a theocratic regime because I believe religion is something between a person and God,” Turkey said.
She also condemned the recent attacks on female protesters. “Women are the heroes of this revolution and are not scared,” she said. “They will continue to fight.
Marchers chanted: "Come on Morsi, leave the palace. We are the youth freeing Egypt, the revolution is the youth’s revolution not the salvation front’s or the Brotherhood guide's revolution; I swear that Morsi destroyed beautiful Egypt."
Another group of protesters arrived holding a Morsi doll, pictures of some Islamic sheikhs, and a large model dinosaur bearing a sign reading 'Al-Nahda’s bird - get lost.’ The reference is to the Brotherhood’s national development Nahda (Renaissance) project.
There was Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment team, patrolling the streets after at least 19 women were violently sexually assaulted last Friday.
“Last Friday, during one attack, we tried to get one girl out of a mob of 150 men. A vendor on Tahrir tried to help by setting butane gas on fire, which caused chaos.”
“Usually when we find the girls they are topless or their trousers have been removed. In a couple of cases volunteers have had to take off their own clothes to clothe the attacked woman”, said
Ahmed Aggour, 25, Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment volunteer.
In Suez, a march of hundreds began amid heavy rains.
Protests took place in Qena, upper Egypt, to call for the ouster of Morsi, dissolving the Muslim Brotherhood's guidance office, and not giving up Suez Canal to any entity. Protesters also declared solidarity with Port Said governorate.
The Popular Current, Mina Daniel movement and members of the Revolutionary Youth Coalition in Qena participated in the protests.
The Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party organized a celebration under the title "a day in love of the Prophet" on Friday evening in Luxor.
Tahrir imam Mohamed Abdallah Nassr condemned Islamist political groups “using religion for political gains” during his sermon before Friday prayers in the square.
Nassr described president Morsi as an “illegitimate” president.
The imam further defended the Black Bloc, saying that the “real terrorists” were the “regime and its militias.”
Nassr is part of the Azhar movement calling for a civil (i.e. non-theocratic) state. He is known to be an outspoken critic of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Professional syndicates including the doctors', teachers' and lawyers' syndicates, 12 in total, voiced sympathy with calls for Friday's anti-government protests.
Violence against women
In a separate development, human rights officials have expressed alarm over a rise in sexual violence against women in Cairo [3].
According to the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 25 women have been sexually assaulted, mainly in Tahrir Square, since the protests erupted.
Protesters accuse Morsi, a member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, of imposing a new form of authoritarianism and betraying the values of their uprising two years ago.
Yolande Knell of BBC News reported from Cairo [4]:
"Step down, step down, Muslim Brotherhood!" and "Freedom is for us and for you!" were among the chants.
Some carried placards showing a red cross through the face of Morsi.
Demonstrators carried pictures of young men killed in the fighting.
'New authoritarianism'
Morsi's critics accuse him of betraying the values of the 2011 revolt and imposing a new brand of authoritarianism that concentrates power in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood, the religious organization from which he stems.
Protesters say they want to purge the country's judiciary and interior ministry
The main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front (NSF), demands a national unity government and amendments to the new Islamist-tinged constitution. Revolutionary groups also call for reforms.
"We're not for or against Morsi. He just hasn't fulfilled his electoral promises," says Mohammed Adel, a leader of the 6 April Youth Movement which helped organize the latest protests.
"We want the constitution to be changed, we want the judiciary and interior ministry to be cleansed and we want violence by the state to stop."
Al-Azhar agreement
Afterwards, Egypt's Grand Imam summoned rival political factions, youth groups and church officials to the headquarters of al-Azhar, the 1,000-year-old institution that is the top seat of Sunni Islam.
They agreed to sign up to a charter condemning violence and committed to dialogue as a way to end the crisis.
It prompted the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Mohammed ElBaradei, a leader of the NSF, to speak of his "optimism" while the head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, Saad el-Katatni, declared it "a historic day".
The agreement appeared to help take away the impetus for further mass protests on what activists had called "The Friday of Salvation".
Handful of 'revolutionary' figures blast new Al-Azhar initiative to end political crisis saying it legitimizes security crackdowns on demonstrators
An Al-Azhar-proposed initiative to end Egypt's political crisis and ongoing violence, launched early Thursday, has triggered uproar among some revolutionaries who perceive it as an attempt to criminalize protesters and legitimize security crackdowns on demonstrators.
A statement released late Thursday entitled 'Stop state violence," signed by tens of protesters, read: "Violence is referred to [in the initiative] as though the responsible figures for this violence were unknown, despite the fact that the interior ministry is directly responsible for the killing of tens of martyrs."
The statement added that the initiative equated assaults on state institutions carried out by protesters and those on people, which they claim were carried out by police.
The statement clarified that it was normal for people to be concerned with the increase in violence. However, the statement pointed out that the reason for the increase in uprisings across Egypt could only be blamed on the fact that no one has yet been held accountable for the killing of protesters, that torture continues to be practiced and that corruption remains rampant.
The statement also attributed the current political deadlock to the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood had responded to peaceful opposition protests by using "violent militias that attacked and tortured protesters" and that this had also contributed to the current crisis and anger.
Egypt's Al-Azhar on January 31, 2013 declared its sponsorship of the initiative. It was signed by several political figures, including head of the Constitution Party Mohamed ElBaradei and former MP Amr Hamzawy.
The initiative included the following points:
. The right to life is guaranteed by all religions and laws; there is no good to any a nation or society that fails to recognize the sacred character of human life.
. Distinctions must be drawn between political action and violent criminal action, with an emphasis on the sanctity of public and private property and blood.
. Emphasis must be put on the duty of the state and its security apparatuses to protect the citizenry, their constitutional rights and freedoms, and public and private property without breaching human rights and laws.
. The denunciation – along with the legal and religious criminalisation – of violence in all of its forms.
. The protection of Egyptian society from sectarian and racist calls, illegal militant groups and illegal foreign intervention.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Popular Current founder and former presidential contender Hamdeen Sabbahi released a statement on January 31, 2013 clarifying his position vis-a-vis the initiative.
"I signed the [Al-Azhar] document to reject violence, which I believe is not the path to our revolution, which defeated Mubarak and [former interior minister Habib] El-Adly's Central Security Forces with their naked chests and bravery," he declared.
Sabbahi went on to say: "I assure you that I did not sign a deal that would equate the killing of the martyrs at the hands of the state and the angry reaction of protesters that it triggered."
He went on to stress that he would not engage in dialogue with the ruling government until those responsible for killing revolutionaries were put on trial, adding: "We [the opposition] will not be striking deals at the expense of the blood that has been shed or at the expense of the revolution."
Source:
[1] Ahram Online, Feb 1, 2013, “1 dead, scores injured on Egypt's 'Friday of Deliverance'”,
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/63838/Egypt/Politics-/-dead,-scores-injured-on-Egypts-Friday-of-Delivera.aspx
[2] Ahram Online, http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/63766/Egypt/Politics-/Live-Updates-Friday-of-Deliverance-yields-first-ca.aspx
[3] BBC, Feb 1, 2013, “Egypt protesters clash with police at presidential palace”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21289729
[4] BBC, Feb 1, 2013, “ Egypt: Betrayed but not broken”,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21298544
[5] Ahram Online, Feb 1, 2013, “Al-Azhar initiative equates state violence with protests, revolutionaries complain”,
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/63802/Egypt/Politics-/-AlAzhar-initiative-equates-state-violence-with-pr.aspx
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