Across Country, Egyptians Call for End to Mubarak Rule
January 29, 2011

Cairo. Riot police in Egypt fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse tens of thousands of protesters who flooded out of Friday prayers demanding an end to decades of corruption and oppression and the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

But in a hint that authorities might heed public anger, a senior lawmaker and member of the ruling party called for “unprecedented reforms” in order to stave off a revolution.

Police were deployed in strength around the most populous Arab nation that has been rocked by protests since Tuesday, with seven people killed, hundreds injured and some 1,000 arrested.

They fired warning shots and used water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets in a bid to quash the rising tide of popular anger.

As the violence raged, Mustafa al-Fekki, National Democratic Party member and chairman of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said security forces alone could not prevent revolution in Egypt, that reform was necessary. “Nowhere in the world can the security forces put an end to revolution,” he said in remarks to Al-Jazeera television.

“The security option alone is not sufficient, and the president is the only one to put an end to these events,” he added, calling for “unprecedented reform.”

Demonstrations spread around the capital of Cairo, where police appeared overwhelmed as protesters broke through several police barriers. Leading dissident Mohamed ElBaradei was among a crowd of around 2,000 targeted by police in a central square after Friday prayers.

ElBaradei, who said he would be prepared to lead a transitional authority if he were asked, was forced to take refuge inside the mosque in Giza Square.

Protesters in Cairo were seen being dragged away and pushed into police vans, as others defied a heavy police presence and made their way to the central Tahrir Square, where tens of thousands had gathered on Tuesday.

In second city Alexandria, protesters threw stones at police after prayers ended with cries of “God is greatest” followed by “We don’t want him,” referring to Mubarak. Police responded with tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets. The crowd attacked police vans, torching one, after a civilian had most of his hand blown away, allegedly by police.

A protester was killed on Friday in the Egyptian canal city of Suez during clashes with police in which trucks were torched and a police station overrun. His body was carried through the city.

In the Delta city of Mansura, hundreds chanted “Down with Mubarak” as they emerged from prayers, heavily outnumbered by security forces. Some imams had encouraged worshippers to “go out and seek change,” a correspondent reported.

In another Delta city, Damietta, tens of thousands protested and set fire to the NDP headquarters there, witnesses said.

Authorities cut most mobile phone and Internet services in a bid to thwart the protests. Test messaging was cut late Thursday while Internet services, which had been patchy during the night, were completely severed early Friday. That cut off access to networking sites Facebook and Twitter — key communications’ tools used by organizers of the protests.

Activists had circulated SMS messages and posted appeals on Facebook for demonstrations “to demand the right to live with freedom and dignity.”

“We’ve already announced the meeting places,” Israa Abd el-Fatah said after connections were cut. “So we’ve done it; we no longer need means of communication.”

Egypt’s largest opposition group, the banned Muslim Brotherhood, has also joined the biggest uprising in decades.


AFP, Reuters

Post a comment
Please login to post comment

Comments

Be the first to write your opinion!