‘Leave’

[مستر محمد سلام]

‘Leave’






Millions of protesters all over the country’s governorates have been protesting against President Mohamed Morsi and his ruling regime. Protesters have been calling for the toppling of Morsi, and the holding of early presidential elections. Demonstrators whose numbers on Sunday, the first anniversary of Morsi’s presidency, were estimated at 30 million, say they are fed up with Islamists ruling.
“Leave,” protesters shouted after last week’s Friday prayers referring to Morsi.
Protesters gathered in several governorates including Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Daqahliya, Qalioubiya, Kafr Al-Sheikh, Gharbiya, Damietta, Beni Sweif, Aswan and Luxor to voice their dissent against the ruling Muslim Brotherhood and demand the ouster of Morsi’s government.
Most governorates which voted for Morsi in the presidential elections and for Islamists in the previous parliamentary elections were the same governorates which are now venting their anger at Morsi’s regime.
In the Nile Delta governorate of Kafr Al-Sheikh, thousands of protesters closed the gates of the governorate’s headquarters with chains and banned the governor along with employees from entering the building. This is in addition to the closure of other governmental entities. They were also calling for the stepping down of Morsi along with early presidential elections. The protesters were repeating the slogan “leave”, while other groups were chanting “you leave, we won’t leave”.
In Desouq city of Kafr Al-Sheikh governorate, demonstrators closed the city council building and the government complex which has several government institutions such as the Desouq Media Centre, Tax Authority and cotton ginning companies. Kafr Al-Sheikh governorate was one of the governorates where Morsi won more than 55 per cent of its votes during presidential elections last year.
Protesters said they will continue sealing these buildings until Morsi and his Islamist followers step down. In Sidi Salem, city of the same governorate, a car toured the city while its drivers urged citizens to go down to the streets and participate in the protests. “Everyone should participate. You are writing your country’s history with your own hands,” said the drivers via microphones. “Stage a sit-in, protest, demonstrate but don’t sabotage. It’s your country; protect it and don’t ruin it,” said a driver while cruising through the city’s streets.
In Damietta governorate, there have been about 10,000 people protesting in Al-Bosta Square since 30 June. There were several marches coming from different directions. Thousands of demonstrators flowed at Al-Saa Square to demand early presidential elections , chanting “leave”.
A member of the activist group 6 April Fadi Abu Samra said, “we were surprised by the large number of people protesting. People joined the protest due to Morsi’s poor performance during the past year, as he was unable to meet the people’s expectations.”
“Everyone participated. This is a people’s revolution and it will continue to be a people’s revolution,” Abu Samra added.
Dostour Party member Ahmed Al-Naggar in Qalioubiya said there were approximately 6,000 people in Benha Square, along with several tents. Al-Naggar also said that in Shubra Al-Kheima many political parties, including the Al-Tayar Al-Shaabi and the Dostour Party, formed human chains extending over one kilometre which included around 3,000 participants. “The aim of all these marches is not just to protest, but to tell people to participate in formulating the country’s destiny, their destiny.”
Al-Naggar said a majority of the protesters were women, and that most people present weren’t part of any political party or organisation.
In Gharbiya governorate there were more than five marches comprising 8,000 to 10,000 people. The marches led to the governorate building where there has been a sit-in for five days.
Thousands of protesters at Rahabin village, Gharbiya, besieged the residence of Mustafa Al-Ghoneimi, a member of the Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau, and chanted for early elections and the ousting of Morsi. Protesters went on a march across the village. In Menoufiya, protesters closed municipal councils in Quwesna, Shohahaa, Tela, Monuf, Shebin Al-Kom and Berket Al-Saba.
In Suez, a city known for being somewhat volatile, the army distributed flyers among demonstrators urging them to stay away from state institutions and prisons. Hundreds of protesters gathered at Al-Arbaeen Square chanting against President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, where media witnessed retired military and police personnel joining in.
In Beheira, Al-Dostour Party member Ahmed Amr said marches in the city of Damanhour attracted around 30,000 people, in Kafr Al-Dawar about 10,000, and in Kom Hamada about 5,000 protesters.
Al-Dostour Party member in Daqahliya Hamdi Qennawi said that more than 7,000 people protested in Mansoura against the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi, noting that “since this is the first time protests erupted in the villages this is a large number,” adding that the protesters were all from Mansoura. “Certain sectors of society don’t know anything about politics, yet they developed hatred towards the Islamists.”
In Beni Sweif, where 36 people were injured according to the Ministry of Health, Dostour Party member Walid Mohamed said that as a march was passing in front of the Brotherhood’s office, people inside shot birdshot at it, forcing people to disperse. “Most of the protesters were women, and they were peaceful,” Mohamed added.
In Sohag, Upper Egypt, tens of thousands closed the governorate office with chains, setting up protest tents and blocking state employees from entering the building. Some workers claimed Governor Yehia Abdel-Azim did not come to work on either Sunday or Monday. Police intervened to separate protesters from pro-Muslim Brotherhood employees dismayed by the closure.
Upper Egypt’s Aswan also suffered disturbances. Unknown assailants threw Molotov cocktails at tents erected in the city centre by anti-regime protesters. No injuries were reported. In a statement issued by protesters, they demanded the president to be prosecuted for the death of demonstrators and the governor removed due to his failure to provide citizens with necessary services.
Demonstrators in Assiut also prevented the governor, Yehia Keshk, and employees from entering the governorate building. They said they would stage a sit-in until Morsi stood down as president.
Tamarod campaign supporters staged a sit-in in front of President Mohamed Morsi’s home in the Nile Delta city of Zagazig in Egypt’s Sharqiya governorate starting on 29 June until the paper went to press. Tamarod is a petition drive that aims at withdrawing confidence from Morsi by gathering endorsements. It also announced on Saturday that it had gathered millions of signatures.
The campaigners started the sit-in in the early hours of Saturday, setting up tents in front of Morsi’s house. Protesters said they will leave only upon the fall of Morsi’s regime.
However, protesters stressed that they will remain peaceful while seeking to fulfil what they described as the 2011 Revolution demands — bread, freedom and social justice — that have not been met by the “Brotherhood’s rule”.
The Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in the Nile Delta’s Fayoum was one of the biggest governorates that supported Morsi during his presidential elections. Morsi at that time won more than 77 per cent of its votes. It was stormed and burnt at dawn on Tuesday with looters making off with furniture and computers amid a reported absence of security. Dozens were wounded as clashes ensued in the vicinity of the building with some reportedly using firearms.