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Egypt anti-government protests grow

A few days ago:

CAIRO — Ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s former prime minister was cleared of a final slew of corruption charges Thursday, paving the way for his return to Egypt now that the elected government that once sought to prosecute him is no longer in power.

Ahmed Shafiq ran for president last year and finished second to Mohamed Morsi in the country’s first democratic presidential election. He subsequently faced trial in five criminal cases. He was acquitted Thursday, along with Mubarak’s sons, of engaging in illegal land acquisitions.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...8ff052-68b1-11e3-997b-9213b17dac97_story.html
 
And Bassem Mohsen is dead.

IF EVER there was a child of Egypt’s revolution it was Bassem Mohsen. In February 2011 Mr Mohsen left his hometown, the port city of Suez, to join the huge street protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square that culminated in the fall of Hosni Mubarak after three decades in power. Later that year, during continued demonstrations against the country’s newly-installed interim military rulers, a police sniper shot the 20-year-old revolutionary in the face, blinding him in one eye. In early 2012 he was again protesting, this time against the arrest and trial, before a military court, of a group of friends from Suez. Caught himself, Mr Mohsen was handed a two-year sentence by the same court.

Amnestied during the presidency of Muhammad Morsi, Mr Mohsen was soon in trouble again. Supporters of the president’s party, the Muslim Brotherhood, beat him up at another protest. Mr Mohsen not surprisingly joined a youth movement, Tamarod, that spearheaded popular opposition to the Brotherhood’s rule. The one-eyed revolutionary became its local leader in Suez. Tamarod helped to galvanise the mass protests that paved the way for Mr Morsi’s ouster in the military coup of July 3rd.

But along with many of Tamarod’s members, Mr Mohsen grew increasingly disenchanted with Egypt’s new rulers following the brutal crushing of Brotherhood protests in August, which left at least 1,000 dead and saw thousands more Islamists imprisoned. Understandably, he was particularly incensed by the preservation, in the draft constitution recently unveiled by a panel appointed by the military, of the army’s right to try civilians before military courts.

On December 20th Mr Mohsen joined the front ranks of yet another protest in Suez, this time alongside his former enemies in the Muslim Brotherhood. Police charged the protest. In circumstances that remain unclear Mr Mohsen sustained multiple shotgun wounds to the chest and head. He died two days later. Police insist the shots came from the Brotherhood side. The Brothers’ story is different. Whatever the truth, Mr Mohsen’s sad fate certainly gives proof to the adage that revolutions devour their own.
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http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2013/12/clampdown-egypt
 
And so the delegitimisation of the MB reaches it's climax as far as the Egyptian state is concerned, for the MB have now been declared a terrorist organisation.

The military-backed interim Egyptian government has declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group after blaming it for a deadly attack on a police HQ earlier this week.
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Deputy Prime Minister Hossam Eissa announced the move, saying that those who belonged to the group, financed it or promoted its activities would face punishment.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25515932
 
Oh what a surprise, not.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25697004

Egypt's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will run for president if the people request it and the military supports the bid, state media quote him saying.

"If I nominate myself, there must be a popular demand, and a mandate from my army," state paper Al-Ahram quoted him as telling Egyptian officials.

The general feels he could not stand aside if there was palpable demand for him to run, an official told AFP.

Recent local reports have suggested the general is eyeing a presidential bid.
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Haven't seen any official results yet but its long been obvious what the result would be, with turnout being the main figure of interest.

An AlJazeera piece has some early numbers and some of the wild official hyperbole.

An unofficial tally from 25 of Egypt’s 27 governorates showed that 97 percent of voters said yes to the constitution, with less than one percent voting no. The remaining ballots were spoiled or otherwise invalid.

There are no results yet from Cairo, the country’s most populous governorate, or from North Sinai.

But turnout was about 38 percent, with 17.4 million people voting, putting it ahead of 2012, when 17 million people participated, roughly 33 percent of registered voters.
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Official media hailed the outcome as an “unprecedented majority”.

“Egyptians inaugurate a new history for the region,” proclaimed the state-runAl-Ahram newspaper.

Colonel Ahmed Ali, the army spokesman, said the result “confirms that Egyptians are the first free population in recorded history,” according to the official MENA news agency.
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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middl...yes-new-constitution-2014116111659311498.html
 
Colonel Ahmed Ali, the army spokesman, said the result “confirms that Egyptians are the first free population in recorded history,” according to the official MENA news agency.
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At least they've got a sense of humour.
 
Well they managed not to come up with a comedic number for turnout.

There appear to be some signs that the US & friends are going to go along with these thin attempts at presenting a 'transition to democracy' and will make the right noises and unfreeze money etc. I'm not 100% sure of this yet, but it would hardly be a shock if true.

In terms of complaints about the referendum from monitors, there is this:

http://www.egyptindependent.com//ne...al-expresses-serious-concerns-over-referendum

Democracy International, the largest international observation mission monitoring Egypt's constitutional referendum, has released its preliminary findings of the process, emphasizing it has “serious concerns” about the political environment surrounding the referendum.

The organization pointed to a climate of mass arrests of political opposition in the period leading up to and during the referendum, adding that the interim government never truly allowed those who opposed the democratic roadmap to express their dissent. Many activists were detained simply for holding campaign literature urging a “no” vote on the referendum.

“A democratic transition should be characterized by an expansion of freedoms, but Egyptians have seen substantial restrictions on the exercise of their democratic rights,” said Eric Bjornlund, DI’s president and head of the observation mission in Egypt. “But the post-referendum period offers an opportunity to promote broader political participation.”

Though they said the administration of the referendum in general appeared to allow voters to express their views, DI noted other issues with the process. The environment at the polling stations, they observed, showed many signs of bias, possibly influencing voters to cast a “yes” vote on the draft constitution.

Campaign materials, were not only placed directly outside many polling stations, they were also present inside. Observers also noted a heavy security presence inside the polling stations, as well as problems with the layout of the polls, making it difficult for voters to cast a secret ballot.

Though there is no direct evidence that these concerns swayed the public vote, DI said, they do risk the integrity of the voting process, especially in the future if an election is closely contested.

Di concluded that the Egyptian people must be the ones to judge the legitimacy of the process.

“Ultimately, a successful transition to democracy in Egypt will depend on meaningful opportunities for all political forces in the society to participate peacefully in a political process,” DI said in their statement. “The interim government and its opponents should seek opportunities to engage in inclusive dialogue that could help bring about broader participation in the political process, including in future elections.”
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Quelle surprise

El-Sisi run for Egypt's presidency 'a mandate and an obligation': SCAF

The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) said it would let Egypt's defence minister Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi decide whether or not to run for president in accordance with "his sense of patriotism" and the "popular demands of the Egyptian people."

The statement, broadcast on Egypt's state-run TV as a voice recording, said that based on El-Sisi's efforts during these "historic times," SCAF considers the army chief's run for the presidency "a mandate and an obligation.
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Ooh, after more of the same old news such as details of the charges Morsi faces, and putting him in a soundproof cage in court to stop him interrupting proceedings, we have something a bit different...

Strikes are suddenly newsworthy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-26323638

Egypt's interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi has unexpectedly announced the resignation of his government.

He gave no reason in his televised address, but it comes amid a series of strikes, including one by public sector workers and rubbish collectors.
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In his address, Mr Beblawi acknowledged that Egypt had witnessed a sharp rise in strikes, but said no government in the world could have fulfilled all the demands of its people in such a short period of time.
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Egyptian authorities detain thousands amid crackdown on dissent

CAIRO — At his office in downtown Cairo, defense lawyer Mahmoud Belal chain-smokes Marlboro Reds and gulps cups of bitter Turkish coffee — fuel to help him juggle constant phone calls and pleas for help amid a vast government crackdown on dissent.

“We try to be everywhere all of the time: courts, police stations, hospitals, prisons, morgues,” said Belal, who spent years defending political prisoners under former strongman Hosni Mubarak and later under Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. “But there was never this kind of momentum under Mubarak. They are just putting people in jail — and it’s happening all at once.”...
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Yea he's talked about this before saying that the new constitution dictates that he will have less control than perhaps he or his supporters want

On means and ends

...The new constitution states that the new president will not be the high commander of the police; it states that he can’t fire a single minister without parliament’s approval; he can’t appoint a new Minister of Defencee without the military’s consent; he can’t chose the Minister of interior, Justice, or Foreign Affairs without the approval of the prime minister (who gets appointed by the parliament); he can’t declare a state of emergency without the prime minister and parliament’s approval; he can’t send troops overseas without the approval of the National Defense Council and two-thirds of the parliament; and he can’t provide a presidential pardon without the consent of the cabinet. Those who believe that President Al-Sisi would have absolute unchecked power to strongly lead us through those turbulent times will be perplexed the first time they demand his removal of a minister from his position and discover the kind of process he must go through to do that. A strong president indeed....
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I am not sure if this is wishful thinking though, after all if they can blithely incarcerate people on the thinest of pretexts, whither the constitution?
 
Jailed Leaders of Egypt’s 2011 Revolt Describe Beatings

Three prominent Egyptian activists who were jailed late last year for violating a new anti-protest law said on Monday that guards had beaten them during their transfer from prison to court for an appeal hearing.

Lawyers for the three men — Ahmed Maher, Mohamed Adel and Ahmed Douma, whose Internet activism helped drive the Tahrir Square protests that forced Hosni Mubarak from office in 2011 — walked out of court to protest the abuse, the state-funded Ahram Online reported. They returned after the authorities agreed to document physical evidence of abuse, in the form of bruises and wounds on the bodies of the prisoners, and the court said it would decide on April 7 whether or not to overturn the three-year prison terms the men were sentenced to in December....
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Some good news yesterday, activists Alaa Abdel-Fattah and Ahmed Abdel-Rahman both released on bail. Both had been detained without charge since las November

then this morning:

A court in southern Egyptian has convicted 529 supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, sentencing them to death on charges of murdering a policeman and attacking police.

The court in Minya issued its ruling on Monday after only two sessions in which the defendants' lawyers complained they had no chance to present their case.

Those convicted are part of a group of 545 defendants on trial for the killing of a police officer, attempted killing of two others, attacking a police station and other acts of violence.

More than 150 suspects stood trial, the others were tried in absentia. Sixteen were acquitted.

The defendants were arrested after violent demonstrations that were a backlash for the police crackdown in August on pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo that killed hundreds of people.
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/11260102
 
ska invita said:
amazed by the lack of coverage of this story - surely the biggest story of teh day
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:D

that's cute.

yes, ofcourse it's a huge story, and should be the front page...but wait....some cunt who s in Ex Factor has had a tit job, or a kid, or is cheating on someone, and that's what English people want to read about, none of that pesky real life stuff. and that is what our media are there for, the shit in life. Not the real stuff.
 
xes said:
:D

that's cute.

yes, ofcourse it's a huge story, and should be the front page...but wait....some cunt who s in Ex Factor has had a tit job, or a kid, or is cheating on someone, and that's what English people want to read about, none of that pesky real life stuff. and that is what our media are there for, the shit in life. Not the real stuff.
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well yeah, there is the news competition, but you'd have thought there might be some kind of pressure on a response from No 10, some kind of change in diplomatic relations, some sense that it matters, even if isnt on the front page...
 
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