Egypt activists begin Tunisia-inspired 'day of revolt'

[pampango]

Source: BBC

Anti-government protests have broken out in Egypt after an internet campaign inspired by recent political upheaval in Tunisia. Weeks of unrest in Tunisia eventually toppled President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia earlier this month.

Protests are rare in Egypt, which President Hosni Mubarak has ruled since 1981, tolerating little dissent. The events in Cairo were co-ordinated on a Facebook page - tens of thousands of supporters clicked on the page to say they would take part.

Reuters news agency quoted the organisers describing the protest as "the beginning of the end". "It is the end of silence, acquiescence and submission to what is happening in our country. It will be the start of a new page in Egypt's history - one of activism and demanding our rights."

The AFP news agency reported that protesters had gathered outside the Supreme Court in downtown Cairo holding large signs that read: "Tunisia is the solution."



Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12272836

---

Didn't realize that Mubarak had been in power for 30 years. He makes Ben Ali look like a short termer.

[molly77]

1. Bangor Daily News online in Maine is saying

they have been hacked by hackers from Tunisia. I could not f------ believe my eyes. Tunisia . Tunisia's dictator was overthrown after WikiLeaks revealed just who he really was.Bangor Daily News has a republican publisher. Wonder if this will catch on across the country. Tunisian hackers. Goddess , they think WE are stupid.

[Joanne98]

2. Egyptians hold anti-government protests

Source: AFP

CAIRO — Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in several parts of Egypt on Tuesday facing a massive police presence as they demanded political and economic reform in a protest inspired by Tunisia's uprising.

In Cairo alone, a security official said 20,000 to 30,000 police had been mobilised in the city centre as protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court with large signs that read "Tunisia is the solution."

A security official said the area housing the interior ministry had been locked down.

Chanting "Down with (President Hosni) Mubarak," who has been in power for three decades, demonstrators broke through several police cordons and began marching towards Cairo's central Tahrir Square and down the Corniche along the nearby Nile, in scenes seldom witnessed in Egypt.



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gaxG3QPXemolvmdthys5Mz_CS-NA?docId=CNG.95111380dfbe35f8a08d6124c5e915e8.731

[Joanne98]

3. ‘Day of anger’

Egypt’s Police Day marks the moment in 1952 when Egyptian police first led the country’s resistance to British occupation. Under Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the Jan. 25 anniversary has become a national holiday. Today Mubarak is facing resistance to his own government in what could be the first test of whether the street-level discontent that led to the ouster of a longstanding ruler in Tunisia will spread across North Africa and the Arab world.

Nearly 86,000 people, according to the Facebook group Revolution Day, have signed on to support street protests in Cairo and throughout the country Tuesday. Like Tunisians, they said they would demonstrate against repressive laws, corruption, and unemployment.

http://www.worldmag.com/webextra/17552

[pampango]

4. Cairo protesters break through police barriers

"Egyptian demonstrators calling for economic and political reforms broke through police barriers in Cairo on Tuesday, as Egypt's authoritarian government braced for one of the biggest opposition protests in recent years. The protest is being seen as an attempt by opposition groups in Egypt to exploit the momentum of the Tunisia protests to agitate Cairo for political and economic reforms.

Over the weekend, large antigovernment demonstrations broke out in Jordan, Yemen and Algeria, while more men — particularly in Egypt and Algeria — have joined the ranks of self-immolators inspired by Mohammed Bouazizi, whose suicide sparked the Tunisia protests.

On Facebook, more than 85,000 people have pledged to attend Egypt's nationwide antigovernment protest, according to Time magazine. If even half that many people were to show up Tuesday, it would be a historic day for Egyptian political activism under the Mubarak regime, wrote the magazine's Abigail Hauslohner in Cairo."

Mubarak, 82, fears the power of populism. He allows opponents of his regime a limited political voice in the hope it will defuse anger at his power monopoly. Ayman Nour, an opposition leader jailed by Mubarak and only released following U.S. pressure, believes Tunisia's revolt has shortened Mubarak's days in power, according to CNN.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/110125/cairo-protest-egypt-hosni-mubarak-tunisia

[JCMach1]

5. Egyptians hold anti-government protests

Source: AFP

Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in several parts of Egypt on Tuesday facing a massive police presence as they demanded political and economic reform in a protest inspired by Tunisia's uprising.

In Cairo alone, a security official said 20,000 to 30,000 police had been mobilised in the city centre as protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court with large signs that read "Tunisia is the solution."

A security official said the area housing the interior ministry had been locked down.

Chanting "Down with (President Hosni) Mubarak," who has been in power for three decades, demonstrators broke through several police cordons and began marching towards Cairo's central Tahrir Square and down the Corniche along the nearby Nile, in scenes seldom witnessed in Egypt...

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gaxG3QPXemolvmdthys5Mz_CS-NA?docId=CNG.95111380dfbe35f8a08d6124c5e915e8.731

---

Rioting in Egypt.........

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

6. Yes! nt

[bemildred]

7. It always comes down to will the police and soldiers shoot the protestors?

Stay tuned.

[CJvR]

8. Revolutions are a dangerous thing.

The most ruthless fanatics always have an advantage in chaos and anarchy.

Are there any opposition in Egypt that isn't worse than the current regime?

[JCMach1]

9. main opposition is the Islamic Brotherhood still

[Lars77]

10. Egypt anti-govt protests escalate

Source: Al-Jazeera

Two Egyptian civilians and a police officer have reportedly died after a wave of unusually large anti-government demonstrations swept across the country.

The two civilians died in the eastern city of Suez, according to the Reuters news agency. The report did not detail how or when they died.

Meanwhile, in Cairo, a police officer died in the capital's biggest protest - held in Tahrir Square in the city centre - state television reported.

Thousands of Egyptians took to the streets on Tuesday in what were reportedly the largest demonstrations in years, and which they explicitly tied to the successful uprising in nearby Tunisia.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/20111251711053608.html

---

Hillary supports Egypt's government. That's nice. And people wonder why the US has no credibility as a force for freedom around the world.