Islamist movement and political forces to demand justice against police and officials linked to Hosni Mubarak
Jack Shenker in Cairo
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 July 2011
"Egypt's military-backed transitional government is bracing itself for the largest protest yet against its rule on Friday with plans for a "million-strong" rally to defend the revolution at Tahrir Square.
In a rare show of unity, Egypt's largest political Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, will join a vast array of liberal, leftist and secular political forces, including youth representatives from this year's anti-Mubarak uprising. They will demand that police officers and former regime officials are finally held accountable and that the army's grip over the justice system comes to an end.
"Take to the streets on July 8: the revolution is still on," reads graffiti scrawled across the Egyptian capital.
The demonstration comes at a perilous time for the authorities, following 10 days of street violence in Cairo and Suez as public frustration at the slow pace of reform begins to grow.
On Wednesday, armed security forces fought running battles with civilians, after several police officers accused of murdering protesters during the toppling of former president Hosni Mubarak earlier this year were released on bail.....
"The problem is that the revolution has ousted President Mubarak but not his regime," said prominent author Alaa al-Aswany in a newspaper column this week – one of many decrying the continuing presence of Mubarak-affiliated ministers, judges, security officials and journalists among the country's political elite.
"The Egyptian revolution is now going through a critical moment, a real fork in the road. It can either win and accomplish its goals or (heaven forbid), it can also lose, leaving the old regime to return in a slightly different form," said al-Aswany. "This is why the demonstrations are important... to correct what went wrong with the revolution … We will go to the square ready to pay the price of freedom. We will be like we were during the revolution, ready to die at any moment."
Activists believe the rally could help challenge the military's legitimacy through innovative new forms of grassroots political participation, including a "civil referendum" which will see questionnaires about Egypt's future distributed among demonstrators and dropped in manned ballot boxes throughout the square...."
Jack Shenker in Cairo
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 7 July 2011
"Egypt's military-backed transitional government is bracing itself for the largest protest yet against its rule on Friday with plans for a "million-strong" rally to defend the revolution at Tahrir Square.
In a rare show of unity, Egypt's largest political Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, will join a vast array of liberal, leftist and secular political forces, including youth representatives from this year's anti-Mubarak uprising. They will demand that police officers and former regime officials are finally held accountable and that the army's grip over the justice system comes to an end.
"Take to the streets on July 8: the revolution is still on," reads graffiti scrawled across the Egyptian capital.
The demonstration comes at a perilous time for the authorities, following 10 days of street violence in Cairo and Suez as public frustration at the slow pace of reform begins to grow.
On Wednesday, armed security forces fought running battles with civilians, after several police officers accused of murdering protesters during the toppling of former president Hosni Mubarak earlier this year were released on bail.....
"The problem is that the revolution has ousted President Mubarak but not his regime," said prominent author Alaa al-Aswany in a newspaper column this week – one of many decrying the continuing presence of Mubarak-affiliated ministers, judges, security officials and journalists among the country's political elite.
"The Egyptian revolution is now going through a critical moment, a real fork in the road. It can either win and accomplish its goals or (heaven forbid), it can also lose, leaving the old regime to return in a slightly different form," said al-Aswany. "This is why the demonstrations are important... to correct what went wrong with the revolution … We will go to the square ready to pay the price of freedom. We will be like we were during the revolution, ready to die at any moment."
Activists believe the rally could help challenge the military's legitimacy through innovative new forms of grassroots political participation, including a "civil referendum" which will see questionnaires about Egypt's future distributed among demonstrators and dropped in manned ballot boxes throughout the square...."
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