Increasing numbers of protestors are still heading to Tahrir Square hours after Friday prayers. The protest which began with several thousand increased, reaching at least a hundred thousand by midday despite the extremely hot and sandy weather.
Street vendors could be seen on every corner selling water and head caps to demonstrators who were struggling at first with the hot sun until the weather began to ease up after a cloud drifted over Tahrir Square, sprinkling drops of rain.
Four stages were erected around the square, each with a different focus. The stage constructed by the Youth Coalition, near Talaat Harb Street, became the square's focal point after Friday prayer when the Imam sermonised from the stage, stressing that “the demonstration is not planned to challenge a certain body but to put forward demands.”
The socialist Popular Alliance Party stage closer to Abdel-Moneim Riad Square, however, was more expressive of its anti-military council sentiment. It also focused mainly on social demands including the application of a minimum and maximum wage.
The stage closer to Kasr El-Nil Bridge, raised by the liberal Democratic Front Party, focused on demands to establish a presidential council and postpone elections. These two demands were held by many others in the square and although refused by many of the participants, such opposition was not expressed.
All the stages pointedly focused on ending military trials of civilians and speeding up the trial of ex-regime figures, including the ousted president, while also opening up the proceedings to the public.
An obvious anti-Muslim Brotherhood sentiment prevailed in the square coupled with heated criticism of the Brotherhood’s decision to boycott the demonstration as well as its alleged role in recent media attacks. The demonstrators chanted “Where are the Brotherhood, here is Tahrir”.
