*Egypt activists call for Friday demo against military rule * Ahram Online, Monday 19 Dec 2011
** ** *Following latest round of violence and state repression of protesters, 19 political groups issue calls for million-man Tahrir Square demo on Friday to protest ongoing SCAF rule* *Nineteen different political and cultural movements released a statement on Monday calling for a million-man march in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday, 23 December, to protest military rule. The various groups are urging all factions to set aside their political differences and rally under the single slogan, “Down with military rule.” * The statement stressed that the aim of the proposed Friday demonstration was to “regain the nation’s honour,” which had been tarnished by the military following the February departure of longstanding president Hosni Mubarak. Thirteen civilians have been killed so far and more than 500 injured following four days of clashes outside Egypt’s Cabinet building in downtown Cairo between security forces and protesters who demand an end to military rule. The statement condemned what it described as “lies” by Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), adding that – despite video footage clearly depicting crimes perpetrated by military personnel – the SCAF had continued to deny responsibility for its actions and blame ongoing violence on a “third party.” Activists, for their part, hold the SCAF responsible for the mounting death toll outside the Cabinet building, accusing military personnel of starting a fire that partially destroyed a nearby scientific institute housing tens of thousands of rare manuscripts. *The call for the Friday demonstrations was jointly issued by the Democratic Front for Peaceful Change; the Arab Revolutionary Youth movement; the Revolutionary Artists Coalition; the Maspero Youth Coalition; the National Council for Popular Committees; the Egyptian Front for Culture and Change; the Coalition of Revolutionary Forces; the Free Revolutionary Movement; the National Salvation Front; the Youth for the Independence of Al-Azhar movement; the Maspero Media Revolutionaries; the National Agreement; the Suez Youth Bloc; the Alexandria Revolution Board of Trustees; the Youth of the Square movement; the Matrouh Youth Movement for Change; the Revolutionary Popular Front; and the January 25 Coalition. * http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/29740.aspx ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.juancole.com/2011/12/egyptian-protesters-demand-military-step-down-in-wake-of-blue-bra-beating.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29 Egyptian Protesters Demand Military Step Down in Wake of Blue Bra Beating<http://www.juancole.com/2011/12/egyptian-protesters-demand-military-step-down-in-wake-of-blue-bra-beating.html> Posted on 12/19/2011 by Juan Demonstrations and clashes continued in downtown Cairo for the third day<http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/18/world/africa/egypt-unrest/>on Sunday, as protesters rallied against the police crackdown on Saturday, which entailed use of live ammunition and left 10 dead of 500 wounded. They demanded that the Egyptian military immediately step down, and continued to reject the appointment of a Mubarak-era prime minister, economist Kamal al-Ganzouri, as caretaker PM. Emotions ran high in the wake of attack of police on women, including beatings and tearing off their clothes in public. The Cairo protests appear to be dominated by leftist youth groups. The demonstrators are also demanding presidential elections be moved up from June to January. In downtown Cairo, the Brotherhood is alleged to have declined to attend the rallies. (It has been focusing on winning parliamentary elections). RT has published the disturbing video footage of extreme police brutality against the protesters, including their assault on a women in black modest clothing, who was exposed and stomped on. *Shocking Video: 'Blue bra' girl brutally beaten by Egypt military * * http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mnFVYewkWEY&skipcontrinter=1 *<http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mnFVYewkWEY&skipcontrinter=1> A phalanx of women volunteers sought on Sunday to form a buffer<http://bikyamasr.com/51088/egypt-women-to-form-frontline-of-cairo-battle/>between police and demonstrators. Demonstrations were also held elsewhere in provincial cities<http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/557066>, and these were sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood or the Salafis, the religious forces that have done best in the elections for the ower house of parliament, now being held in three rounds. al-Masry al-Yawm writes,<http://www.juancole.com/2011/12/>“In Sharqiya, thousands of protesters accused the military council and the government of conniving with the former regime against the interest of the people.” In Alexandria, both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Coptic Church demanded that compensation be paid the victims of police brutality. The Egyptian military is probably attempting to split the general population from the revolutionary, left-leaning youth. They likely deliberately put al-Ganzouri in, knowing that he is generally popular in Egypt but would be completely unacceptable to the revolutionaries. Then they probably tried to provoke the peaceful protesters in front of the cabinet building to violence with their use of extreme brutality, so as to depict them as the trouble-makers. They may also have hoped to hang the Egyptian bad economy on the disruptions of the protesters (who are blamed for keeping tourists away and interfering the return of a normal economy. If the military can keep the youth lefists from allying with the Muslim Brotherhood, and can depict them as wild men to the Egyptian middle classes, then the officers think they might be able to remain in power, with a fig leaf of an elected parliament. Meanwhile, the early results coming in from the second round of elections show that religious forces continue to dominate, with the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party pulling in about 40% of the vote and the hard line Salafi fundamentalists gaining as much as 30%. -------------------------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:la...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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