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| Africa North |
| Egyptian protesters plan sit-in until army leaves |
| 2012-01-27 |
| CAIRO: Egyptian youths camped out on Thursday in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and vowed to stay put until the army hands power to civilians, a day after a mass demonstration marked a year since an uprising which brought down Hosni Mubarak. Tens of thousands of Egyptians poured into the square and onto streets of other cities for the Jan. 25 anniversary of the day the revolt began. Although good-natured, the demonstration exposed rifts in the Arab world’s most populous nation. The Tahrir crowds were broadly split between youths demanding the army cede control to civilians immediately and Islamists celebrating a political transformation that has handed them sweeping gains in parliament after decades of repression. Sit-ins have in the past sparked violence when the police and army have sought to clear protesters out, but on Thursday the scene was peaceful. Scores of youths occupied the square surrounded by dozens of tents pitched on traffic islands. Vendors sold hot drinks and some activists huddled round open fires to keep warm in the morning air. “The military council commits the same abuses Mubarak committed. I don’t feel any change. The military council is leading a counter-revolution. We will protest until the military council goes,” said 23-year-old student Samer Qabil. Although troops were cheered when they were ordered onto the streets in the uprising, they have since drawn the wrath of many for heavy-handed tactics against protests demanding they go back to barracks. “There will be a sit-in until they leave,” said Alaa Abdel Fattah, a blogger and activist who was detained by the army after clashes outside state media offices killed 25 protesters in October. In Alexandria, about 100 protesters had also set up tents late on Wednesday near police headquarters, demanding the army hand over power immediately. |
| Posted by:Steve White |