by Haitham El-Tabei
CAIRO, Jan 25, 2013 (AFP)
Protesters gathered in Egypt’s capital on Friday on the second anniversary of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak and brought in an Islamist government, as political tensions simmer and economic woes bite.
Thousands made their way to Cairo’s Tahrir Square and the surrounding streets chanting against the Muslim Brotherhood — the powerful Islamist group from which President Mohamed Morsi hails — with numbers expected to swell in the afternoon.
“The people want the downfall of the regime,” protesters chanted in a street off Tahrir, where some youths threw rocks over a cement wall erected by security forces the day before.
Police clashed Thursday with protesters who tried to dismantle the wall, with sporadic confrontations into the night.
Some demonstrators hurled rocks at riot police who responded with tear gas grenades. The interior ministry said five policemen were injured and appealed to demonstrators to avoid confrontation with the security forces.
The secular-leaning opposition has called for mass protests against Morsi and the Brotherhood, using the same slogan that brought Egypt to its feet in 2011: “Bread, freedom, social justice.”
“Go out into the squares to finally achieve the objectives of the revolution,” opposition leader and former head of the UN’s atomic agency Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on his Twitter account.
“May God keep the country safe” read the headline of the independent daily Al-Shorouk, as the state-owned Al-Gomhuria pleaded for calm by urging people to “side with the nation.”
Friday’s demonstrators were set to gather at Tahrir Square, iconic birthplace of the 2011 revolution, and in front of the presidential palace, where anti-Morsi rallies erupted last December into deadly clashes with Islamist supporters.
Rallies were also due to be staged in dozens of other cities and towns, organisers and officials said.
The Muslim Brotherhood has not officially called for its own rallies, instead marking the anniversary by launching a charitable and social initiative dubbed “Together we will build Egypt.”
Morsi urged Egyptians to spend the anniversary in a “peaceful and civilised way,” in a speech on Thursday to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed.
But the threat of violence remained, ahead of a court verdict due on Saturday in the trial of dozens of defendants over the worst football disaster in Egyptian history.
More than 70 people were killed in Port Said in February last year during clashes in the Suez Canal city between fans of home side Al-Masry and diehard supporters Cairo’s Al-Ahly, known as Ultras.
Al-Ahly supporters warned of violent protests and a “new revolution” if Saturday’s verdict goes against them.
After the seismic political changes of 2011, the Arab world’s most populous nation is struggling to find a balance between a leadership that boasts the legitimacy of the ballot box and opponents who accuse the Islamists of betraying the goals of the revolution that brought them to power.
Egypt is also in the throes of an economic crisis as foreign investment and tourism revenues dwindle, the Egyptian pound stands at its lowest level against the dollar and a budget deficit shows no sign of recovery.
