33 lives lost at protests in Cairo
Source: Agencies |
November 22, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SECURITY forces firing tear gas clashed with several thousand protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square yesterday in the third straight day of violence that has left at least 33 people dead and has turned into the most sustained challenge yet to the rule of Egypt's military.
Throughout the day, young activists demanding the military hand over power to a civilian government skirmished with black-clad police, hurling stones and firebombs and throwing back the tear gas canisters being fired by police into the square, which was the epicenter of the protest movement that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February.
The night before saw an escalation of the fighting as police launched a heavy assault that tried and failed to clear protesters from the square.
A constant stream of injured protester, bloodied from rubber bullets or overcome by gas, were brought into makeshift clinics set out on sidewalks around the square where volunteer doctors scrambled from patient to patient.
The eruption of violence reflects the frustration and confusion that has mired Egypt's revolution since Mubarak fell and the military stepped in to take power.
It comes only a week before Egypt is to begin the first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections, which many have hoped would be a significant landmark in a transition to democracy.
Instead, the vote has been overshadowed by mounting anger at the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which will continue to hold power even after the vote.
The military says it will hand over power only after presidential elections, which it has vaguely said will be held in late 2012 or early 2013. The protesters are demanding an immediate move to civilian rule.
"What does it mean, transfer power in 2013? It means simply that he wants to hold on to his seat," said a young protester, Mohammed Sayyed, referring to the head of the Supreme Council, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi.
"I will keep coming back until they kill me. The people are frustrated. Nothing changed for the better."
An Egyptian morgue official said the toll had climbed to 33 dead since the violence began. More than 1,250 have been injured, according to doctors in the square.
Mohammed Mustafa, a doctor at a clinic set up inside a nearby mosque, said his site alone was treating an average of 80 cases an hour. Many of the wounded did not want to be taken to hospital because they feared arrest. Most of the injured had breathing and eye problems and wounds to the face from rubber bullets.
Protesters were also on the march in other cities, including thousands of students in the coastal city of Alexandria, calling for those responsible for the violence in Cairo to be punished.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle yesterday called on Egypt's rulers to listen to the protesters. "Those in charge in Egypt would be well advised to take people's political demands and justified concerns seriously and act fast to create the right environment for the upcoming elections," Westerwelle said.
Throughout the day, young activists demanding the military hand over power to a civilian government skirmished with black-clad police, hurling stones and firebombs and throwing back the tear gas canisters being fired by police into the square, which was the epicenter of the protest movement that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February.
The night before saw an escalation of the fighting as police launched a heavy assault that tried and failed to clear protesters from the square.
A constant stream of injured protester, bloodied from rubber bullets or overcome by gas, were brought into makeshift clinics set out on sidewalks around the square where volunteer doctors scrambled from patient to patient.
The eruption of violence reflects the frustration and confusion that has mired Egypt's revolution since Mubarak fell and the military stepped in to take power.
It comes only a week before Egypt is to begin the first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections, which many have hoped would be a significant landmark in a transition to democracy.
Instead, the vote has been overshadowed by mounting anger at the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which will continue to hold power even after the vote.
The military says it will hand over power only after presidential elections, which it has vaguely said will be held in late 2012 or early 2013. The protesters are demanding an immediate move to civilian rule.
"What does it mean, transfer power in 2013? It means simply that he wants to hold on to his seat," said a young protester, Mohammed Sayyed, referring to the head of the Supreme Council, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi.
"I will keep coming back until they kill me. The people are frustrated. Nothing changed for the better."
An Egyptian morgue official said the toll had climbed to 33 dead since the violence began. More than 1,250 have been injured, according to doctors in the square.
Mohammed Mustafa, a doctor at a clinic set up inside a nearby mosque, said his site alone was treating an average of 80 cases an hour. Many of the wounded did not want to be taken to hospital because they feared arrest. Most of the injured had breathing and eye problems and wounds to the face from rubber bullets.
Protesters were also on the march in other cities, including thousands of students in the coastal city of Alexandria, calling for those responsible for the violence in Cairo to be punished.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle yesterday called on Egypt's rulers to listen to the protesters. "Those in charge in Egypt would be well advised to take people's political demands and justified concerns seriously and act fast to create the right environment for the upcoming elections," Westerwelle said.
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