Weekend Protests

Ministry of Interior on high alert as demonstrators protest El-Sisi's anticipated landslide victory

 

By Ahmed Mansour

  A total of 59 people were arrested nationwide over the weekend, as some 7,000 supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi took to the streets to protest the tentative results of the latest presidential elections. Informal counts indicate a landslide win for former Minister of Defense Field Marshal Abdul Fattah El-Sisi; official results are yet to be announced. The Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of demonstrators in Cairo, Giza, Fayoum, Alexandria, Assiut, and Damietta but did not specify how many were arrested in each governorate. A Ministry spokesperson stated that the protestors, across 18 demonstrations, had intentionally cut off roads, and fired birdshot and Molotov cocktails at security forces. Two policemen and eight civilians were injured in the clashes. Security forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse most of the protests. “We are on high alert and we are taking precautions to avoid any disturbance to the national peace,” the Ministry added. But the Ministry's statement is contested by the protesters. “They promised us democracy, and what they are doing is the furthest thing from it. There were no Molotov cocktails or birdshot," alleged a member of Students Against the Coup movement calling herself Manara* to Egypt Today. "They were peaceful protests by normal civilians, not MB members, who are simply against the coup and military rule in Egypt. We also have the right to protest and we don’t want to make the same mistakes our fathers and grandfathers made after the 1919 and the 1952 revolutions.” Speaking exclusively to Egypt Today, activist and Dustour Party member Omar Mohamed Mostafa expressed that, “This is a very expected reaction from the supporters of the MB, and I would go as far as saying that it’s just the beginning. The military and the security forces should be prepared for attacks such as these and they should do their best to repress them as much as possible. Egypt is on the fast lane to a better [future]; the government should do its best [to prevent] anything slowing Egypt down.” et