Mega protest planned in Egypt for Tuesday
Opposition movement calls for "a million people demonstration" on Tuesday in a bid to topple president Hosni Mubarak.
Last Modified: 31 Jan 2011
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/20111316148317175.html
Egyptian protesters have called for a massive demonstration on Tuesday in a bid to force out president Hosni Mubarak from power.
The so-called April 6 Movement said it plans to have more than a million people on the streets of the capital Cairo, as anti-government sentiment reaches a fever pitch.
Several hundred demonstrators remained camped out in Tahrir square in central Cairo early on Monday morning, defying a curfew that has been extended by the army.
"It seems as if they are saying: 'We are here to stay. We are re-invigorating our movement and we are not going anywhere'," one of Al Jazeera's correspondents in Cairo said.
Protesters seem unfazed by Mubarak's pledge to institute economic and political reforms. Our correspondent said that people feel that such pledges "are too little, too late".
Early on Monday morning, unconfirmed reports said the police had been ordered back on the streets.
"We are expecting a statement by the minister of interior about whether the police are going to return or not," our correspondent said.
"The absence of police has given looters a free rein, forcing ordinary citizens to set up neighbourhood patrols. Many people are wondering where the police disappeared to.
There are two schools of thought as far as the police are concerned: One is that many of them decided to join the protesters. The other is that the regime was saying to the people, 'You want to protest. We'll pull back the police and you feel what anarchy feels like'," our correspondent said.
A day earlier, Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading opposition figure, joined thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square.
The former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency told the crowd on Sunday night that "what we have begun cannot go back" referring to days of anti-government protests.
The National Coalition for Change, which groups several opposition movements including the Muslim Brotherhood, wants ElBaradei to negotiate with the Mubarak government.
"The people want the regime to fall," protesters chanted as ElBaradei walked to the centre of the square, holding hands with some demonstrators.
Jail breaks
The show of continued defiance by the people came on a day when air force fighter planes flew low over Cairo along with helicopters and extra troop lorries appeared in the central square.
As the protests continue, security is said to be deteriorating and reports have emerged of several prisons across the country being attacked and of fresh protests being staged in cities like Alexandria and Suez.
Thirty-four leaders from the Muslim Brotherhood were freed from the Wadi Natroun jail after guards abandoned their posts.
The protesters in Cairo, joined by hundreds of judges, had gathered earlier in Tahrir Square in the afternoon to demand the resignation of Mubarak.
Al Jazeera's correspondent, reporting from the scene, said that demonstrators confronted a fire truck, at which point army troops fired into the air in a bid to disperse them.
He said the protesters did not move back, and a tank commander then ordered the fire truck to leave. When the truck moved away from the square, the thousands of protesters erupted into applause and climbed onto the tank in celebration, hugging soldiers.
Main roads in Cairo have been blocked by military tanks and armoured personnel carriers, and large numbers of army personnel have been seen in other cities as well.
Our correspondent said that extra military roadblocks had been set up in an apparent attempt to divert traffic away from Tahrir Square, which has become a focal point for demonstrators.
"It's still a very tense scene to have so much military in the capital city of the country."
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http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/01/201112920129971160.html
Power To The People!• It doesn't have to be the "Animal Farm: scenario. It is true that just because one dictator is thrown out doesn't mean that another won't emerge. History has many examples of popular revolutions being hijacked,
Be positive. A revolution in Egypt is an earth shattering development and if other people in other countries are inspired to revolt this is a good thing. It is not ignorance to be excited for people in other parts of the world struggling for freedom. What is happening in the Middle East right now is something special and rare. A mass awakening of populations in multiple countries all at the same time is a once in a lifetime event. The implications of what this could spark is profound. It is foolish doom and gloom nonsense to ignore that.
Naive? Probably. It is probably naive to believe that a few weeks of protests and removal of a couple of dictators is going to bring peace and happiness to everyone. A Middle East that is actually democratic and truly representative of the wishes of its people poses a serious problem to Israeli and American interests. Therefore they will expend unlimited resources to ensure that nothing impedes Americas ability to plunder oil and impose our economic doctrines (because they seem to work so well!) on unwilling populations. And it is absolutely unacceptable in every form of the word from the perspective of the American establishment to allow anything that attempts to thwart Israel's brutal colonization of the Palestinians. Even a democratic conclusion in Egypt won't stop constant efforts from the west to undermine that success.
That is why as we speak I'm sure many phone calls and millions of dollars are being spent to try to manipulate the revolutions (primarily Egypt) to ensure that somebody suitable to the US is in transition. The Egyptian people must beware of the forces that are trying to manipulate them and their revolution and steering their triumphant moment into an opportunity to establish a new tyranny. It would be seriously disappointing, especially after they have come this far. If they can resist that then real democracy has potential to emerge.
The world is ran by bad people in just about every country and it is important to let them know that we can kick them out from time. If we just accepted this self defeating attitude that getting rid of this dictator or that dictator is pointless just because he will be replaced by someone just as bad then we would just allow every dictator to treat all their people like animals with no recourse. Humanity would progress much slower that way.
So even if you are right Progman 23 and we are all permanently screwed because the whole world is so entrenched in the global economic system that is controlled by a bunch of wealthy bankers that no one votes for so it really doesn't matter who runs what country because in the end they can only act generously in a way pleases global capital, don't be so disgruntled. While we are all excited at the implications of revolution, you should at least be happy that the hard working people in those countries are taking a well deserved break from their oppression.
FreedomLover4Ever .. reply to Power To The People!
• "A Middle East that is actually democratic and truly representative of the wishes of its people poses a serious problem to Israeli and American interests."
That is such BS. It is the hatred of the US/Israel these dictators & extremists/terrorists impose on the good people in these regions that has kept them enslaved. It's the oldest trick in the book throughout history. Unfortunately, people like you keep screaming it. There isn't an American that I know of that doesn't stand behind the Egyptians. We are all for their freedoms and individual rights. Yes, of course, the entire world is afraid they will end up with a Muslim extremists/terrorists as their leaders, going from bad to worse, but hopefully the Egyptians are smart enough not to fall for the propaganda of people like you.
All people of the free world are for everyone in the world having their freedoms. The people who are scared to death of these people getting their freedoms and rights are the extremists/terrorists, not the free world. I think these people are finally figuring this out with all of the communications of the world we have today. Too bad for extremists like yourself.
Hopefully, all can get along, including Israel, the US, the west, and all Muslim countries and we can all fight the extremists/terrorists together.
Power To The People! reply to FreedomLover4Ever
• It is not BS to suggest that the US and Israeli establishment is completely terrified of a democratic awakening in the Middle East. Egypt's military relationship with the US and commitment to perpetuating an unacceptable status quo with Israel would potentially be under threat if real democracy was to emerge in Egypt. The interests of ordinary people in the Middle East are in direct conflict with those of the US and Israeli national security apparatus. That is not BS it is a fact. The only distinction maybe being that it is the US government and military establishment that are fearful of democracy in Egypt, not the American people. Regular Americans like you and me all want a free democratic Egypt and are inspired by the courage of the protesters.
I agree with you that not only do most of us in the US strongly support democratic revolution in Egypt, but most of the world is rooting for the demonstrators. You are correct in asserting that no one wants to be enslaved and that everyone everywhere would prefer to live in a free and democratic society. We are in agreement. However I think it is also true that this Muslim extremist nonsense has been played up way too much by the western media as a way to scare all the national security "War on Terror" fascists in America into a frenzy. But where you are dead wrong is where you lay the blame on "extremists" for trying to propagate anti-American/anti-Israeli hatred to control their populations or whatever ridiculous point you were trying to make. The extremists are the American politicians who aim to control as much oil as possible in order feed their disgusting war machine that is creating "extremists". "Extremists" that control Israel right now use illegal phosphorus bombs on innocent civilians and, deny food, water, and medicine to an impoverished people who have been brutalized under over a half century of colonization. We don't have to get into all the political instability created by both the US and Israel with all their wars and political meddling because that would require writing a book longer than the Bible. It is a fact that all of the tear gas canisters used to brutalize the Egyptian people were made in the US. There is a reason for strong anti-American and anti-Israeli in the region and it is not just the creation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech writers. It is US/Israel that makes their jobs easy.
It is the US/Israel who whip up the Islamic extremism hysteria to pursue their own interests. The extremists are created by their policies. By alienating whole segments of society in the form of high unemployment, lack of opportunity, and lack of access to basic services then people will start to wonder why they are having such a hard time enjoying a respectable quality of life. When those same people see their corrupt leaders whose policies create misery being backed by American money which comes with the catch of forcing these countries to "liberalize" their economies and allowing the IMF and western multi nationals to hallow out Arab economies which has the effect of creating massive wealth alongside unimaginable poverty. That money also comes in because these same tyrants support the disgusting "War on Terror" which serves the purpose of allowing these dictators to repress the anger of these unemployed people with no opportunity. Now many of these citizens are educated and understand how all of this works, therefore they hold a lot of resentment towards the US. And rightfully so.
Thankfully what is happening in Egypt right now has nothing to do with the US or Israel and neither of them have any power to stop what is happening. The people are waking up and are beginning to shake off the old order of brutal puppets and US domination of their internal affairs. There is real genuine grassroots democracy emerging and it has to do with wanting a better life, not any particular ideology religious or political. So in that regard it is too simplistic to reduce the argument to the US or Israel policy because that gives both of them too much credit.
I just say what I say because when you say, "Hopefully,we all can get along, including Israel, the US, the west, and all Muslim countries and we can all fight the extremists/terrorists together." you sound idiotic and naive. Leaders of the US and Israel are going to have to accept some new realities that they won't like and that will cause them to try to undermine peace as they always do. That is all I was trying to say in the original post that seemed to offend you. If you support US foreign policy and Israeli colonization and don't understand their role in destabilizing the region that I guess there is little more I can say to you.
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SEE ALSO: The 'bin Laden' of marginalisation
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Whose terror?
The gurus of so-called 'radicalisation' who have turned Islam into a security issue have fixed the debate, making bin Laden a timeless, single and permanent pathology of all things Muslim….
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