Egyptian protesters throwing stones clashed with security forces firing tear gas and water cannons at the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday as the country's political violence extended for an eighth day.
Protests were held in cities around the country on Friday after a call for rallies by opponents of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. But some cracks appeared in the ranks of the opposition. Some in the crowds sharply criticized opposition leaders for holding their first meeting with the rival Muslim Brotherhood a day earlier.
Around 60 people have been killed in protests, rioting and clashes that engulfed the country this week. The violence marks Egypt's worst crisis since the 2011 fall of dictator Hosni Mubarak.
Around 6,000 protesters massed outside Morsi's presidential palace in an upscale district of the capital, banging on the gates and throwing stones and shoes into the grounds in a show of contempt. At least one firebomb was thrown through the gates into the palace compound.
Security forces inside the palace responded with water cannons on the crowd, then fired volleys of tear gas. A tree inside the palace grounds caught fire.
Port Said protests continue despite curfew
Thousands more rallied in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, the symbolic home of the country's revolution. In the Suez Canal city of Port Said, which has witnessed the worst clashes and highest casualties during the recent spate of violence, thousands took to the streets pumping their fists in the air and chanting, "Leave, leave, Morsi."
The eruption of violence prompted Morsi to declare a state of emergency and curfew in Port Said and two other Suez Canal cities last Sunday. Still, nightly rallies continue in the area.
The wave of protests began around rallies marking the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Mubarak. The unrest was prompted by public anger that Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood are monopolizing power and have failed to deal with the country's mounting woes.
Public outrage has been further fueled by Morsi's public backing of what was seen as security forces' use of excessive force against protesters last weekend, particular in Port Said, where around 40 people were killed.
Amid the escalating tensions the past week, there have been fears of direct clashes between Morsi's opponents and his Islamist backers. Such battles broke out at the palace in December during an earlier wave of unrest, when Islamists attacked an anti-Morsi sit-in, prompting fighting that left around 10 dead.
Ahmed Arif, a Brotherhood spokesman, underlined on Friday that the group would not call its cadres into the streets. But a young Brotherhood member said the group's members were ordered to gather in a mosque near the presidential palace, as a "precautionary measure" in case anti-Morsi protests turned violent. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Government blames violence on 'Black Bloc'
The government, meanwhile, has increasingly blamed violence on a group of protesters called the Black Bloc, who wear black masks and have vowed to "defend the revolution." Officials and state media depict them as conspiratorial saboteurs, but the opposition says authorities are using the group as a scapegoat to justify a crackdown.
Nearly 20 masked protesters are among hundreds arrested around the country the past week. Egypt's official news agency said on Thursday that a member of the Black Bloc was arrested with "Israeli plans" and maps to target vital institutions — recalling past allegations by Mubarak-era security officials that opponents were carrying out Israeli interests.
"There's a great deal of exaggeration concerning the Black Bloc group," said Gamal Fahmy, an opposition figure. "It hasn't been proven that the group has committed violence, these are just calls over the social media."
"This is an attempt from the Muslim Brotherhood to blackmail the opposition," by depicting the anti-Morsi movement as violent, he said.
Opposition calls for unity government
Egypt's main opposition political grouping, the National Salvation Front, called for Friday's protests in Cairo, demanding Morsi form a national unity government and amend the constitution, moves they say would prevent the Islamist from governing solely in the interest of his Muslim Brotherhood group.
"The policies of the president and the Muslim Brotherhood are pushing the country to the brink," the opposition said in a statement.
However, the call came a day after the Front held a meeting with Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood under the aegis of Egypt's premier Islamic institution, Al-Azhar, in their first ever meeting. They and other politicians signed a joint statement denouncing violence.
The meeting appeared to have caused rifts within the opposition, with some saying the Front had handed the Brotherhood the high ground by signing a statement that seemed to focus on protester violence and made no mention of police use of excessive force or explicitly talk of political demands.
"Al-Azhar's initiative talks too broadly about violence as if it's the same to kill a person or break a window and makes no difference between defensive violence and aggressive violence, offering a political cover to expand the repression, detention, killing and torture by the hands of police for the authority's benefit," read a joint statement by 70 activists, liberal politicians, actors and writers.
"The initiative didn't represent the core of the problem and didn't offer solutions but came to give more legitimacy to the existing authority," it added.
Those who attended the Thursday's rare meeting between Egypt's rival political camps defended the anti-violence initiative.
Egypt's leading pro-democracy advocate Mohammed ElBaradei and a Front leader described allegations that the Front is making political compromises them as "intentional attempt to split the ranks."
"We toppled down Mubarak regime with a peaceful revolution. We insist on achieving the goals the same way whatever the sacrifices and the barbaric suppression tactics," the Nobel peace Laureate tweeted.
Original Article
Source: CBC
Author: AP
Protests were held in cities around the country on Friday after a call for rallies by opponents of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. But some cracks appeared in the ranks of the opposition. Some in the crowds sharply criticized opposition leaders for holding their first meeting with the rival Muslim Brotherhood a day earlier.
Around 60 people have been killed in protests, rioting and clashes that engulfed the country this week. The violence marks Egypt's worst crisis since the 2011 fall of dictator Hosni Mubarak.
Around 6,000 protesters massed outside Morsi's presidential palace in an upscale district of the capital, banging on the gates and throwing stones and shoes into the grounds in a show of contempt. At least one firebomb was thrown through the gates into the palace compound.
Security forces inside the palace responded with water cannons on the crowd, then fired volleys of tear gas. A tree inside the palace grounds caught fire.
Port Said protests continue despite curfew
Thousands more rallied in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, the symbolic home of the country's revolution. In the Suez Canal city of Port Said, which has witnessed the worst clashes and highest casualties during the recent spate of violence, thousands took to the streets pumping their fists in the air and chanting, "Leave, leave, Morsi."
The eruption of violence prompted Morsi to declare a state of emergency and curfew in Port Said and two other Suez Canal cities last Sunday. Still, nightly rallies continue in the area.
The wave of protests began around rallies marking the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Mubarak. The unrest was prompted by public anger that Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood are monopolizing power and have failed to deal with the country's mounting woes.
Public outrage has been further fueled by Morsi's public backing of what was seen as security forces' use of excessive force against protesters last weekend, particular in Port Said, where around 40 people were killed.
Amid the escalating tensions the past week, there have been fears of direct clashes between Morsi's opponents and his Islamist backers. Such battles broke out at the palace in December during an earlier wave of unrest, when Islamists attacked an anti-Morsi sit-in, prompting fighting that left around 10 dead.
Ahmed Arif, a Brotherhood spokesman, underlined on Friday that the group would not call its cadres into the streets. But a young Brotherhood member said the group's members were ordered to gather in a mosque near the presidential palace, as a "precautionary measure" in case anti-Morsi protests turned violent. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Government blames violence on 'Black Bloc'
The government, meanwhile, has increasingly blamed violence on a group of protesters called the Black Bloc, who wear black masks and have vowed to "defend the revolution." Officials and state media depict them as conspiratorial saboteurs, but the opposition says authorities are using the group as a scapegoat to justify a crackdown.
Nearly 20 masked protesters are among hundreds arrested around the country the past week. Egypt's official news agency said on Thursday that a member of the Black Bloc was arrested with "Israeli plans" and maps to target vital institutions — recalling past allegations by Mubarak-era security officials that opponents were carrying out Israeli interests.
"There's a great deal of exaggeration concerning the Black Bloc group," said Gamal Fahmy, an opposition figure. "It hasn't been proven that the group has committed violence, these are just calls over the social media."
"This is an attempt from the Muslim Brotherhood to blackmail the opposition," by depicting the anti-Morsi movement as violent, he said.
Opposition calls for unity government
Egypt's main opposition political grouping, the National Salvation Front, called for Friday's protests in Cairo, demanding Morsi form a national unity government and amend the constitution, moves they say would prevent the Islamist from governing solely in the interest of his Muslim Brotherhood group.
"The policies of the president and the Muslim Brotherhood are pushing the country to the brink," the opposition said in a statement.
However, the call came a day after the Front held a meeting with Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood under the aegis of Egypt's premier Islamic institution, Al-Azhar, in their first ever meeting. They and other politicians signed a joint statement denouncing violence.
The meeting appeared to have caused rifts within the opposition, with some saying the Front had handed the Brotherhood the high ground by signing a statement that seemed to focus on protester violence and made no mention of police use of excessive force or explicitly talk of political demands.
"Al-Azhar's initiative talks too broadly about violence as if it's the same to kill a person or break a window and makes no difference between defensive violence and aggressive violence, offering a political cover to expand the repression, detention, killing and torture by the hands of police for the authority's benefit," read a joint statement by 70 activists, liberal politicians, actors and writers.
"The initiative didn't represent the core of the problem and didn't offer solutions but came to give more legitimacy to the existing authority," it added.
Those who attended the Thursday's rare meeting between Egypt's rival political camps defended the anti-violence initiative.
Egypt's leading pro-democracy advocate Mohammed ElBaradei and a Front leader described allegations that the Front is making political compromises them as "intentional attempt to split the ranks."
"We toppled down Mubarak regime with a peaceful revolution. We insist on achieving the goals the same way whatever the sacrifices and the barbaric suppression tactics," the Nobel peace Laureate tweeted.
Original Article
Source: CBC
Author: AP
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