Egypt anti-government protests grow

[Mr.Bishie]

Just seen a video of gunners on tanks firing at & killing unarmed protesters. It's a fucking massacre.

 

[goldenecitrone]

Just seen a video of gunners on tanks firing at & killing unarmed protesters. It's a fucking massacre.

It's apparently now legal to massacre unarmed protestors in Egypt. Barbaric cunts.

 

[Mr.Bishie]

@RawyaRageh
#Egypt state TV reporter in Tanta now says two Al Jazeera journalists filming on rooftop arrested

How long before the internet goes down.

 

[J Ed]

How long before the internet goes down.

The tweets cheering on the arrest of journalists and calling Al Jazeera Arabic terrorist supporters are really depressing.

 

[elbows]

Just the latest of the terrorist-themed shit:

Rawya Rageh @RawyaRageh
Saudi King statement on #Egypt not so covert swipe at #US & #EU - says those intervening are fueling terrorism 'they claim to be fighting'

Mahmoud Khattab in Cairo

tweets: Can't believe state TV is having "EGYPT FIGHTING TERRORISM" on their screens. State is fighting us, the Egyptian people. #Egypt

Other stuff:

Jeremy Bowen BBC Middle East editor

tweets: A few secular men among the beards saying they're marching against the coup, not for Islam #Cairo

Sniper(s) hiding on rooftops the other day:

 

[elbows]

Death toll for today may have reached 80, and even the official count for Wednesday had surpassed 600 last time I checked.

 

[teqniq]

 

[teqniq]

no, really...

The Taliban also condemned the violence and called for Morsi's reinstatement. In a statement signed by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, they also called on international organizations to take practical steps to stop the violence and "not be satisfied with only condemning this barbaric incident."

http://www.madamasr.com/content/criticism-intensifies-turkey-and-taliban

 

[Mr.Bishie]

I can't help but wonder what this elderly woman is thinking.

 

[yield]

Egypt's Salafist Al-Nour Party and Al-Da'wa al-Salafiya Party have urged the people on August 16 to support the army, saying it serves the interest of the Egyptian people, official news agency MENA reported.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/804453.shtml

 

[Mr.Bishie]

Unknown gunmen shelled various security buildings in El Arish in the northern part of Sinai Peninsula. Two police stations and the Civil Defense Authority headquarters in the city were among the buildings attacked. The attackers used rocket-propelled grenades, an Al Jazeera correspondents says, adding that no injuries have been reported yet.

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/egyot/gunmen-attack-security-buildings-el-arish

 

[FNG]

Hamas have called for a Friday Demonstration in the West Bank which could spark a further round of clashes with Fatah/PA who used live firing and tear gas to put down pro arab spring demonstrators back in 2011.
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/hamas-calls-demonstration-west-bank-supporting-“oppressed”-egypt

E2a Rhetoric on both sides not looking good

http://www.timesofisrael.com/fatah-promises-painful-decisions-against-hamas/

Azzam Al-Ahmad, head of the Fatah delegation to reconciliation talks with Hamas, told Palestinian radio station Mawtini on Thursday that his movement “will not remain captive to Hamas” and has begun discussing “clear and painful moves” against the Islamist group, which he would not specify.

​

“We must take decisive action to end the current divide which Hamas is trying to impose over everyone in the Gaza Strip,” Ahmad said.
Egypt under Mohammed Morsi served as the main broker of reconciliation talks, usually held in Cairo. A meeting between the sides was meant to take place on June 30 but was canceled by the new Egyptian regime.

 

[bolshiebhoy]

Sabahi's statements are getting worse. Now he's arguing that SCAF's counter revolutionary violence is an indication of post revolution Egypt's independence from imperialism because it's being done against Obama's wishes. Sort of confused stuff you'd expect from a Nasser fan but still depressing given his previous general ok ness. As RevSoc's Gigi Ibrahim tweeted overnight this whole thing is a nightmare.

John Rees' latest piece on Counterfire brought me up short. Seeemed to be arguing for solidarity with the MB.

 

[TomUS]

The idiot generals appear to have set off a civil war. If so, it will make Syria look like a minor scrap.

The sight of residents firing at one another marked a dark turn in the conflict, as civilians armed with pistols and assault rifles fought protesters taking part in what the Muslim Brotherhood called a "Day of Rage"

Military helicopters circled overhead as residents furious with the Brotherhood protests pelted marchers with rocks and glass bottles. The two sides also fired on one another, sparking running street battles throughout the capital's residential neighborhoods.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/egypt-protests_n_3766589.html

 

[teqniq]

This has been going on since yesterday:

IHHen: Some 400 protesters trapped inside Fatah Mosque in #Cairo A Turkish journalist among them. Mosque has been surrounded by police v @euronews

Beltrew: Rt @Bambuser_Alert: Livestream from inside sieged mosque #AlFath in #Ramses sq, #Cairo, #Egypt continues: http://t.co/eRfEMnuAr1"

 

[teqniq]

 

[elbows]

Sabahi's statements are getting worse. Now he's arguing that SCAF's counter revolutionary violence is an indication of post revolution Egypt's independence from imperialism because it's being done against Obama's wishes. Sort of confused stuff you'd expect from a Nasser fan but still depressing given his previous general ok ness.

Yes. I paid some attention to him in the past because he got quite a lot of votes and out of the crap collection of mainstream political leaders, he was the only one who fairly consistently remembered to give the economic needs of the people a good spot in his rhetoric. But I suppose I should not be surprised that in this situation he has aligned himself with the state and its bloody actions, and will offer a twist to make foreign condemnation of the killing fit with the worldview that his party espouses.

Meanwhile on the very short list of people who resigned their posts in the wake of the crackdown, National Salvation Front spokesman Khaled Dawoud can be added.

 

[elbows]

Mubarak & co not in court today due to the security situation.

As for Sabahi, this is what he was coming out with a few weeks ago, tough action wearing the mask of restraint, and some reconciliatory noises that again went beyond what many were calling for but are just meaningless words unless you have the power and genuine will to act upon them.

Founder of Al-Tayar Al-Shaaby and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahy recommended a “security blockade” around the sit-ins at Rabaa Al-Adaweya and Nahda Square before dispersing it “with the highest degree of restraint” according to Al-Tayar Al-Shaaby.

Sabahy also called on a commitment to the roadmap announced by the government and the release of political detainees as part of transitional justice and an “economic package to meet the urgent needs of citizens.”

From http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/08/04/el-beblawi-meets-party-heads/

 

[elbows]

Reports of some women coming out and being lead away from the besieged mosque, with some in the crowd outside (who seem fond of chanting SIsi, Sisi, Sisi) having to be restrained from attacking them.

 

[elbows]

From the AlJazeera blog:

Hamdeen Sabbahi, the former presidential candidate who placed third in last year's elections, thanked the Saudi and Emirati governments for their suppport. Sabbahi was a military critic during SCAF's 16-month rule in 2011 and 2012, but has recently reinvented himself as an army supporter; many political analysts think he's positioning himself for another presidential run.

In English, the tweet says: "Praise for the Saudi king's position and the Emirati position in support of Egypt, and we call on the Arab League to call an emergency summit to support Egypt and its people in the face of terrorism."

 

[Pingu]

had a conversation with a friend who is currently living in Cairo that was roughly along the same lines as this.

situation is as murky as fuck with multiple factions involved all of whom have good and bad points. I am not going to even begin to pretend I understand what is going on outside of what I see on the news. underneath the news stories so much is going on that I have no concept of and I am sure that a lot of those taking part on all sides don't really understand the full picture either.

 

[elbows]

Egypt prime minister has proposed legally dissolving the Muslim Brotherhood, idea being studied - spokesman. Reuters News Agency.

 

[elbows]

@Beltrew

2m​

This extraordinary a full on gun battle is happening right now between security forces and someone in the el-fath mosque minaret

 

[elbows]

Unpleasant looking remote controlled gun from 30 seconds onwards of this footage.

 

[teqniq]

So the 'government' held a press conference or presser as they call it which The Incredible Bullshiting Man would have been embarrassed by. Depressing highlights include complaints against foreign press for under-reporting attacks against Christian churches - no mention of the fact that the security services mostly failed to turn up to protect them. Claims that foreign press failed to report that there were armed elements in the pro-Morsi protestors. Overall what with the nearly lynching of some journalists at the mosque now does not look to be a good time to be a foreign journalist in Egypt.

also

javierespinosa2: New: No foreign journalist will be accredited in #Egypt without approval of General Intelligence Service & Military Intelligence

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Almost comical given how generous the BBC have been.

 

[J Ed]

So the 'government' held a press conference or presser as they call it which The Incredible Bullshiting Man would have been embarrassed by. Depressing highlights include complaints against foreign press for under-reporting attacks against Christian churches - no mention of the fact that the security services mostly failed to turn up to protect them. Claims that foreign press failed to report that there were armed elements in the pro-Morsi protestors. Overall what with the nearly lynching of some journalists at the mosque now does not look to be a good time to be a foreign journalist in Egypt.

also

No mention of the fact that Al-Sisi also has Islamist pretensions (he wrote a 2006 thesis proposing a mix of militarism and Islamism in Egypt) and supported virginity tests of female protesters etc either.

 

[teqniq]

Worth a read:

Everything was possible

Omar Robert Hamilton

 

[elbows]

A new york times piece looks at the recent US 'diplomatic efforts' and the entire tone of the piece aims to convey the idea that the Egyptian authorities were treating US politicians to the same bullshit about terrorists etc, peppered with the occasional and quickly reneged on agreement to compromise. You'll have to read the full article to get the full gist of that though since there are too many relevant bits for me to quote them all.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/w...nted=1&tntemail0=y&_r=1&emc=edit_tnt_20130817

Two senators visiting Cairo, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, met with Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the officer who ousted Mr. Morsi and appointed the new government, and the interim prime minister, Hazem el-Beblawi, and pushed for the release of the two prisoners. But the Egyptians brushed them off.
“You could tell people were itching for a fight,” Mr. Graham recalled in an interview. “The prime minister was a disaster. He kept preaching to me, ‘You can’t negotiate with these people, they’ve got to get out of the streets and respect the rule of law.’ I said: ‘Mr. Prime Minister, it’s pretty hard for you to lecture anyone on the rule of law. How many votes did you get? Oh yeah, you didn’t have an election.’ ”
General Sisi, Mr. Graham said, seemed “a little bit intoxicated by power.”

American and European diplomats hoped to reinforce the very few officials in Egypt’s interim cabinet who favored an inclusive approach, led by Mohamed ElBaradei, the vice president and Nobel Peace Prize-winning former diplomat. After the second massacre, on July 26, Mr. ElBaradei wanted to resign, but Mr. Kerry talked him out of it, arguing that he was the most potent voice for restraint, if not the only one, inside the government.

Last Sunday, Interior Ministry officials told journalists that the police would move in at dawn to choke off the sit-ins, cutting off food and water and gradually escalating nonlethal force. But overnight, diplomats said, Mr. Ibrahim reconsidered, worried that a gradual approach would expose the police to Brotherhood retaliation, for which he could be blamed.
Two days later, Mr. Ibrahim and the government told Mr. ElBaradei they had a new plan to minimize casualties: maximum force to get it over with quickly, the Western diplomats said. And the military had agreed to support the police.

 

[teqniq]

Egypt: Islamists hit Christian churches

CAIRO (AP) - After torching a Franciscan school, Islamists paraded three nuns on the streets like "prisoners of war" before a Muslim woman offered them refuge. Two other women working at the school were sexually harassed and abused as they fought their way through a mob.

In the four days since security forces cleared two sit-in camps by supporters of Egypt's ousted president, Islamists have attacked dozens of Coptic churches along with homes and businesses owned by the Christian minority. The campaign of intimidation appears to be a warning to Christians outside Cairo to stand down from political activism.....