Protesters started gathering in Tahrir Square Friday afternoon to participate in the so-called “Martyrs’ Dream” mass demonstration, which many political parties, movements and revolutionary groups had called for against the most recent constitutional declaration.
President Mohamed Morsy’s announcement of his declaration last Thursday sparked controversy and mobilized opposition groups. Dozens of protesters Friday joined the hundreds of demonstrators who had been staging a sit-in in Tahrir since Morsy issued the declaration, which they say grants unprecedented powers to Morsy and makes him a new dictator.
Protest participants demand canceling the new constitutional declaration, canceling the referendum on the current draft constitution, restructuring the Constituent Assembly to write a constitution that reflects all Egyptians, and retribution for the martyrs of the revolution who have died since 25 January 2011.
Those victims would include those who died throughout the transition period and afterward, as recently as April 6 Youth Movement member Gaber Salah, also called Jika, who was killed during recent clashes with security forces around Mohamed Mahmoud Street.
Protesters also demanded legislation that would allow for the retrial of symbols of the former regime and those who killed the martyrs, without protection or immunity. They also called for the dismissals of Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin and Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, the formation of a revolutionary cabinet, and the announcement of a clear plan for restructuring the Interior Ministry.
Sheikh Mohamed Abdallah delivered the Friday sermon in Tahrir, saying the revolution would continue until all demands raised by protesters on 25 January last year are achieved, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm. He warned that Morsy would have the same fate of former President Hosni Mubarak and join him in prison.
He said the deputy supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Khairat al-Shater, resembles Mubarak-era steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz, but the only difference is the beard.
Abdallah criticized the application of a capitalized economic system like that of the former regime, saying it would increase poverty, and said there were rumors that Salafis led by Assem Abdel Maged, a member of the Jama’a al-Islamiya Shura Council, and Tarek al-Zomor, a Jama’a al-Islamiya member who had been convicted in President Anwar Sadat’s assassination, would storm the square.
“We are the lions of the revolution who protected it and will protect it in the future,” Abdallah said, according to the independent daily.
Thousands of protesters meanwhile marched after prayers from Mostafa Mahmoud Mosque in Mohandiseen to Tahrir, to protest the Constituent Assembly and the constitutional declaration. Protesters chanted several anti-regime slogans.
Popular Current Party founder Hamdeen Sabbahi said, “The protest is staged against the constitutional declaration and the draft constitution written by the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis.”
Sabbahi added that Morsy’s statements in a televised speech Thursday reveal the stubbornness used to deal with demands of the 25 January revolutionaries.
“Morsy’s statements confirm that he doesn’t listen to the square [protesters], but only to his supporters,” Sabbahi said. “People will not accept that their president only represent one political category without the others.”
“Protesters will not accept a constitution written throughout the night,” he added.
Opposition unites
Among the most prominent participants are the Free Egyptians, Strong Egypt, Egyptian Social Democratic, and Constitution parties, as well as the April 6 Youth Movement Democratic and Ahmed Maher fronts, the Coalition of Egypt’s Copts, the Popular Democratic Movement, the Maspero Youth Union, the Voice of Freedom Movement, the Free Front for Peaceful Change, the Coalition of the Lotus Revolution and the Revolutionary Youth Union.
Marches were set to start after the Friday prayer from main mosques to squares in each city to protest the declaration, which exempts Morsy’s decisions from judicial supervision and prohibits the disbandment of the Constituent Assembly and the Shura Council.
The Popular Current Party, founded by former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi, called on all citizens to rally in Tahrir Square in protest against “attempts to abort the revolution and empower tyranny.”
The movement also said in a statement that peaceful sit-ins would continue until the martyrs’ dreams of freedom, social justice and human dignity are realized, retribution is achieved for them, and a constitution that reflects the revolution and its objectives is drafted.
It added that it would discuss with all political parties and movements methods of peaceful escalation if the legitimate demands of the Egyptian people are not met.
Khaled Talima, a member of the Popular Current’s executive office, said the “million-man” demonstration could march to the Shura Council and the presidential palace if the demands are not met. He also called for forming another constituent assembly that would represent all spectrums of Egyptian society.