Egypt anti-government protests grow

[butchersapron]

 

[elbows]

Judging by the way many press articles have treated the news of his victory, Sisi managed to set himself up as a bit of a failure despite his overwhelming victory. Not looking clever to have publicly called for such a high turnout to give his mandate clout. Guilty of believing his own hype after managing to pull that stunt off quite well previously, with large mandate-beefing rallies around the time of the coup?

Just one example:

Egyptians cast their votes in a presidential election on Wednesday that is certain to install former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as president, but his call for an overwhelming mandate did not appear to have been heeded by voters.

State and privately owned media loyal to Sisi put the turnout at between 37 and 46 percent of the electorate of 54 million, less than the 40 million votes, or 80 percent of the electorate, that Sisi had called for in a speech last week.

The lower turnout than Sisi had sought will sound a warning that he had failed to rally the level of popular support he hoped for after toppling Egypt's first freely elected president, Islamist Mohamed Mursi, following street protests last year.

http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/lower-egypt-voter-turnout-raises-questions-sisi

 

[elbows]

Some snippets of note from a story about SIsi's election.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, a close ally, declared in a letter published by the Saudi state news agency that it was a "historic day" after a "period of chaos". He also said he would organise a donor conference to help Egypt "get out of the tunnel" and "overcome its economic crisis".

The Saudis, along with the UAE and Kuwait, have already promised the military-backed interim government almost $12bn (£7bn) in financial assistance since Mr Morsi was ousted.

The official turnout was 47.45%, far lower than Mr Sisi had hoped for as an endorsement and only achieved after an additional third day of voting.

Before the election, he declared that he wanted 40 million, or 74%, to cast their ballots to show that there was "consensus on a national level".

On Monday, the interior ministry announced plans to increase surveillance of the internet for a variety of "dangers", ranging from extremism to "humiliating mockery" of officials.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27687021

 

[goldenecitrone]

The farce of Egyptian 'justice' continues.

Al-Jazeera journalists' trial: Three reporters convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison by Egyptian court

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...ears-in-prison-by-egyptian-court-9555715.html

 

[elbows]

Yeah, just a day or so after Kerry visited, unlocked most frozen US military funds and spouted some shit about the rights of people and the imminent gunship order fulfilment

Which itself was just a few days after many of the second round of death sentences were quashed, but getting on for 200 death sentences upheld from that batch

 

[teqniq]

Yup it's been all over the news. Yuk. What a bunch of scumbags.

 

[elbows]

Even by the usual shit, 'barely trying to appear credible', Egyptian regime standards, the evidence used in the journalists trial was apparently quite special.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/23/al-jazeera-jail-gotye-she_n_5521245.html

Prosecutors in Egypt used bizarre clips from pop videos, a journalist's holiday photos and documentaries about Somalia and Kenya (not Egypt) to prove that the three Al Jazeera journalists had disseminated false information and consorted with the Muslim Brotherhood - now a banned terror organisation.

 

[teqniq]

RT @MsEntropy: #Egypt's respect for the profession of journalism, in one image. RT until they're ALL freed. #JournalismIsNotACrime

E2A here on the one hand we have John Kerry saying

"serious displeasure" at the "chilling, draconian sentences".

from this Reuters article

and then another article saying that

John Kerry nevertheless recently released $575 million in military aid frozen since former president Morsi was ousted last year.

 

[elbows]

 

[elbows]

Fucking blatant, shameless Blair again!

Tony Blair has agreed to advise the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who came to power in a military coup last year, as part of a programme funded by the United Arab Emirates that has promised to deliver huge "business opportunities" to those involved, the Guardian has learned.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics...r-advise-egypt-president-sisi-economic-reform

Campbell too:

Alastair Campbell, Blair's former press secretary who resigned in 2003 over the Iraq war "dodgy dossier" scandal, is also advising the Sisi government on its public image and being paid for it

 

[elbows]

A year since the coup. Some protests and crap bombs today, and this:

In a report marking the anniversary, Amnesty International said the year since Morsi’s ouster has seen a “sharp deterioration” in human rights in Egypt, with a surge in arbitrary arrests, detentions and what it called “harrowing incidents of torture and deaths in police custody.”

“On every level Egypt is failing in terms of human rights,” the London-based group said. It added that it was up to el-Sissi as the newly elected president to “turn the tide by launching independent, impartial investigations into all allegations of human rights violations and send a strong message that flouting human rights will not be tolerated and will no longer go unpunished.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...d109a4-028e-11e4-866e-94226a02bc8d_story.html

 

[teqniq]

It added that it was up to el-Sissi as the newly elected president to “turn the tide by launching independent, impartial investigations into all allegations of human rights violations and send a strong message that flouting human rights will not be tolerated and will no longer go unpunished.”

there's some wishful thinking for you

 

[elbows]

The fuel and energy subsidy removal agenda is alive and well:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/05/egypt-fuel-price-rise-subsidies-cut

 

[butchersapron]

The Massacre One Year Later

In Cairo this summer, there is scant appetite for anniversaries. The passage of one year since the critical events of the 2013 coup d’état scarcely attracts the public’s attention. There are few official ceremonies or rallies to mark the huge demonstrations on June 30 against Muhammad Mursi, the July 3 military takeover or the July 26 marches summoned by ‘Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi to give himself popular cover in his self-styled fight against terrorism.

The near absence may seem conspicuous, but it should come as no surprise. It is understandable that a regime fixated on restoration would show little eagerness to celebrate its foundational moments. Sisi oversees an alliance of entrenched interests that is defined more by its efforts to recreate an allegedly stable past -- by wiping out the contentious political order brought into being after Husni Mubarak’s 2011 ouster -- than its attempts to articulate a novel vision for the future. From such a backward-looking standpoint, inaugural events carry hardly any meaning.

 

[teqniq]

Student demo against military rule in Cairo today

 

[teqniq]

Message from President Morsi smuggled out of prison

Great People of Egypt,

I congratulate you on the occasion of the New Hijrah year while the country is still at the zenith of its revolution and the youth are at the peak of their determination to implement their will. I congratulate you and express delight at the continuation of your revolution against the paralysed coup and its leaders who seek to subjugate the country to their whims. Yet, they will never succeed. They live in fear of a black fate awaiting them as a punishment for what they have perpetrated of crimes against this great nation.

I seize this opportunity to announce that I have turned down, and continue to reject, all the attempts to negotiate a compromise at the expense of the revolution and the blood of the martyrs. These are attempts that are aimed at enabling the criminals to continue enjoying the enslavement of a people they never deserved to be part of. I would also like to reiterate my instructions to all active revolutionaries in the field, including their leaderships, their councils, their coalitions, their symbols, their thinkers and their students: "there should be no recognition of the coup, there should be no retreat from the revolution and there should be no negotiation at the expense of the blood of the martyrs."

Happy new year, and may the next year arrive while you are still revolutionaries and are free.

As for me, I am absolutely confident, by the Grace of God, that God will provide our revolution with victory. My trust in your glowing willpower and enormous strength is unwavering. By the will of God I shall not depart my prison before all my detained sons are freed and before all my detained daughters are back in their homes. My life is not dearer than the lives of the noble martyrs of the revolution. I derive my willpower from that of the innovative youth in all revolution squares and universities.

So, bear the glad tidings and continue your revolution. God will support the truth and will not let you down. God willing, we shall meet soon to celebrate the success of the revolution.

Muhammad Morsi

President of the Arab Republic of Egypt

 

[teqniq]

Also...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt is considering expanding the jurisdiction of military courts and displacing thousands of residents to enlarge a military buffer zone near the border with the Gaza Strip following an attack on security forces in the area.

Two attacks on Friday in the Sinai Peninsula bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip killed at least 33 security personnel in some of the worst anti-state violence since former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood last year.

Sisi, who became president in June, said the military would respond by taking "many measures" in the border area where a buffer zone is likely to be expanded in order to pursue militants and destroy tunnels used to smuggle weapons and fighters.

Security sources told Reuters the army was considering relocating residents to clear a larger buffer zone.

On Saturday, Egypt's council of ministers proposed a measure, now awaiting Sisi's approval, which would see military courts used to try civilians accused of offences such as blocking roads or attacking public property.

Sisi's critics are likely to see such a step as the latest move to clamp down on dissent by a government that has jailed thousands of political opponents and banned the Muslim Brotherhood, which denies involvement in militant violence.

Sisi said in a televised address that Egypt was facing "an existential battle" from the Islamist insurgency, based mostly in the Sinai, that has raged since Mursi's ouster. Cairo does not differentiate between radical Islamist groups and the Brotherhood, which maintains it is a peaceful organization.

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack but similar operations have been claimed by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, Egypt's most active Sinai-based jihadist group.

Sisi said the attacks had benefited from "foreign support" without specifying a particular country or group.

Officials say militants operating in Sinai are inspired by Islamic State, the al Qaeda offshoot now targeted by U.S.-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. A senior commander from Ansar has told Reuters that Islamic State has advised it on operating more effectively.

A three-month state of emergency went into effect on Saturday in parts of North Sinai where the attacks happened.

Ending martial law throughout the country, which gives the authorities wide-ranging policing powers, was one of the demands of the popular uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and paved the way for Mursi's election a year later.

The proposed measure on military courts threatens to revive some of its most repressive aspects and could be used alongside a strict new law curbing protests. Liberal and secular activists have been targeted by that statute alongside thousands of Brotherhood supporters rounded up in Sisi's crackdown.

 

[butchersapron]

Stuff happening.

 

[teqniq]

What a fucking surprise

Hosni Mubarak cleared of conspiring to kill protesters in Egypt’s 2011 uprising

 

[goldenecitrone]

What a fucking surprise

Hosni Mubarak cleared of conspiring to kill protesters in Egypt’s 2011 uprising

Mubarak free, but journalists still locked up. What a joke country.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...suggests-he-may-pardon-al-jazeera-journalists

 

[teqniq]

Two anti-Mubarak protesters killed near Tahrir Square

Two protesters have been killed, and nine others were injured Saturday evening in clashes with police forces in Abdel Moniem Riad square in downtown Cairo, Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, media consultant for the minister of health said.

Those injured have been transported to nearby hospitals while the bodies of those killed have been transported to morgues for an autopsy to be performed.

Nearly a thousand people rallied near Tahrir square in protest over a court ruling dropping charges against the toppled President Hosny Mubarak over complicity in the killing of protesters during the January 2011 uprising.

Police forces arrested 85 protesters in the vicinity of Abdel Moniem Riad square, Cairo Security Chief Ali al-Demerdash said, adding that one female protester was among those arrested....

 

[TomUS]

What a fucking surprise

Hosni Mubarak cleared of conspiring to kill protesters in Egypt’s 2011 uprising

Well, since el Sisi is pretty much a carbon copy of Mubarak, it wouldn't do to convict Mubarak.

 

[teqniq]

No it wouldn't. I think anyone who has been following things there could have seen this coming. Still depressing though.

 

[AnIdiot]

Another 188 death sentences handed down in another farcical mass trial. Sigh

 

[elbows]

Various kinds of activists continue to be harassed with misdemeanour charges such as 'insulting public figures', at the same time Sisi announces plans to criminalise insulting the revolution.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsCon...tivist-arrested-for-insulting-public-fig.aspx

Demonstration against Mubarak verdict due on Friday:

Several revolutionary groups have announced they will hold demonstrations on Friday against the verdict in the trial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

The groups include April 6 Youth Movement, Revolutionary Socialists, Youth for Justice and Freedom, Constitution Party and Strong Egypt Party.

They dubbed the demonstration: 'The Martyr's Right... A popular trial for the ousted president and his regime'.

"The corrupt and tyrannical regime that Egyptians revolted against is back, but the martyrs are not," they said on a Facebook event launched to call for the demonstration.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, the April 6 Youth Movement called for unity among political factions, saying it was the strength of such unity the originally toppled Mubarak in 2011.

The final venue for the protest is still unclear. However, the Facebook event created says it will take place at the Cairo Opera, west of Tahrir Square.

 

[elbows]

The protest sounded way too small to do anything, especially in the face of violence.

Men brandishing broken glass bottles attacked demonstrators during a small protest next to Tahrir Square on Friday evening, according to a BBC reporter who was on location.

The BBC’s Orla Guerlin, who is currently based in Cairo, reported via Twitter that her colleagues filmed men in plainclothes attack with glass bottles the few protesters that had gathered.

Later in the evening an unverified photograph circulated on Twitter that seemed to corroborate the BBC staff’s reports.

The protests were called by the 6 April Youth Movement, Constitution Party, Revolutionary Socialists, Youth for Justice and Freedom, and Strong Egypt Party. The protests were in response to the Cairo Criminal Court’s decision to dismiss all charges against former president Hosni Mubarak on 29 November.

Despite much online discussion and sharing prior to the planned protest, turnout was low, amid a heavy security presence.

http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/12/06/demonstrators-attacked-glass-bottles-cairo-protest/

 

[elbows]

Given that front remains mostly broken, I suppose I should try to find out more about union, strike etc activity these days.

Here is something from late August:

http://www.equaltimes.org/egyptian-labour-movement-faces-new?lang=en#.VIRf4BsX6QI

 

[Knotted]

Shaima al-Sabbah - shot dead during a symbolic protest to mark anniversary of the revolt.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=756216

 

[teqniq]

So, one of the AJ reporters, Peter Greste have been released and apparently Mohamed Fahmy will also be released but only if he renounces his Egyptian citizenship -according to Twitter (I believe he has dual nationality) whereas Baher Mohamed is not to be released. Quelle surprise.

@Beltrew: #Egypt Ex-Mp & editor @BakryMP is repeating his claims that Peter Greste will be released from jail-says Mohamed Fahmy will also follow

People may already be aware that a female activist was killed last week, almost definitely by a member of the interior ministries forces. But guess what? They are trying to pin it on a colleague of hers.

 

[teqniq]

Video Shows Police Shot Shaimaa al-Sabbagh

Photographs, videos, and witness statements strongly indicate that a member of Egypt’s security forces was responsible for fatally shooting a female protester in a downtown Cairo square on January 24, 2015