This is Tahrir Square in Cairo right now: occupied, lively & packed with protesters.
Anti-Morsi demonstrators filled the Square last night after a decree issued on Thursday expanded his powers and shielded his decisions from any sort of judicial review until the election of a new parliament expected in the first half of 2013.
“We don’t want a dictatorship again. The Mubarak regime was a dictatorship. We had a revolution to have justice and freedom,” 32-year-old Ahmed Husseini said in Cairo.
Definitely a live-stream to keep bookmarked in the days and weeks to come. It seems a safe bet these protests will continue, until such a time as Morsi clarifies his intentions, or cedes back the extralegal authority he’s claimed for himself.
I have nothing to fear, I only fear God, I am here among you.Egyptian President Elect Mohammed Morsi • Opening his jacket to reveal he was not wearing a bulletproof vest while taking a symbolic oath of office in Tahrir Square in front of throngs of cheering suppoters. A bold move by the first Islamist president-elect, who was defying orders from military generals who were to hold Morsi’s official swearing-in ceremony in front of a high court on Saturday. source (via • follow)
Egypt reacts to elections: Supporters of Mohammed Morsi celebrated in Tahrir Square as election results were read over loudspeakers. “We’re finally going to be respected, we’ve been oppressed for too long,” said, Adham Lotfy, a 28-year-old owner of a parking garage. However, not everyone is as ecstatic as members of the Muslim Brotherhood. ”I’m very sceptical, and I fear what is still to be done,” said an anonymous woman to Al Jazeera reporter, Evan Hill. source
Egypt headed to the polls today: In this photo via ITV News, you can see a small portion of the crowds that gathered to vote in this week’s elections in Egypt. No protests broke out on the first day — a change of pace from last week’s protests in Tahrir Square. In fact, reports of violence were rare, and voter fraud was rare. Here’s to hoping the events have begun to usher in a new era and a more positive Egypt. source
It’s not over: The events unfolding in Egypt of late are a striking reminder (and a very condensed sort of case study) in the perils of looking beyond or away from a nation after an ostensibly successful, popular revolution. All these months later, Egyptians are back in Tahrir Square, being beaten and killed as they call on the new ruling faction in Egypt, the military itself, to hold immediate elections. To date, a number estimated around 2,000 Egyptians have been injured in the neo-Tahrir protests, with at least 37 killed. source
Their faces showed up on state television on Tuesday: These three study-abroad students, studying at American University in Cairo, were arrested for reportedly taking part in the mass demonstrations that have caused much unrest in the past few days. “The three boys were throwing molotov cocktails and had no passports on them when they were picked up,” claimed Adel Saeed, a spokesperson for the Egyptian general prosecutor’s office. Protesters have flooded Tahrir Square on Tuesday in reaction to a call for a “million-man” march. source
Protests in Egypt ahead of parliamentary elections: Last week, Egypt’s military-backed cabinet introduced plans for a new constitution — one that gave the military a lot more power, and the parliament a lot less. Reacting to the sudden changes, the Muslim Brotherhood started protests in Tahrir Square on Friday; over the weekend, hundreds camped out and continued protests. That growing group of people was met with riot police. As a result of all this, the interim cabinet offered their resignation Monday; this hasn’t stopped the protests, however. The elections start a week from now. source
Thousands of Egyptian protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in the evening hours of July 8, 2011. The nationwide demonstrations were called to defend the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and to show anger at the new military rulers’ slow pace of reforms. (Mohamed Hossam)
Violence breaks out in Cairo’s Tahrir Square: At least 26 people were injured after clashes broke out between a group of roughly 1,000 demonstrators, who protested in honor of relatives killed during the winter, and security officers who used tear gas and rubber bullets on the protesters. Andy Carvin, above, is tweeting up a storm about the incident.
What happened late Friday was the result of unintentional confrontations between the military police and the youth of the revolution. … [We] did not and will not issue orders to attack the youth, and all measures will be taken to ensure this will not happen again.Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces • Apologizing for a spate of attacks against protesters at Tahrir Square last night. The army, who claims that they did not order these confrontations, nonetheless is facing the spectre of new protests today from those angry about the army’s use of force. A number of protesters were also detained in Friday’s confrontations; the number bandied about has been somewhere around 20. source (via • follow)